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10 BEST Tips for Increasing your Word Count - Advice for Under Writers - YouTube
Channel: Writing with Jenna Moreci
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Hellooo, everybody! NaNoWriMo is officially upon
us, which is basically a month where everyone
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gets together to write their books. “But Jennaaa,
don't writers write most months out of the year?”
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I know, I don't get it either. But if you're
participating in NaNoWriMo, you may be eager
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to get words on the page, and you may not know
if your story is packing the punch it needs.
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Even if you're not into NaNoWriMo, there are
tons of writers out there who consider themselves
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underwriters, which are basically writers who
tell their stories in bare bones. They don't
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give enough plot, characterization, or detail and
often their stories feel undeveloped and lacking.
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If that's your issue, fear or not, I am dishing
out my ten best tips for beefing up your word
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count. Remember, the goal here isn't to simply add
more words to the page if that was the case, you
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could simply eliminate all contractions. Please
don't do that, I beg you. The goal is to add
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meaningful content, to improve a story that
doesn't have any meat or depth. And of course,
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a byproduct of this will be more words on the
page. So for all you NaNoers, this video’s for
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you. This is a topic I covered a years ago, but
at the time I only had a few tips, now I have way
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more, so it felt worth covering again. Points
three and seven are my favorite. I think they
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make the biggest difference in the quality of
your novel. And in true cyborg fashion, I saved
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the hardest pill to swallow for last. Let's get
into it.
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(The sound of a pen scratching. LOGO.)
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Before we get started I wanted to say thank you
so much to NovelPad for sponsoring today's video.
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I've been super candid in the past about how
I have tried multiple novel writing softwares
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and I hated all of them. Except for NovelPad.
NovelPad is a straightforward easy to use software
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specifically for novelists. Every feature
is designed to help you remember what you
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were doing as quickly as possible, and keep
you one click away from writing at all times.
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NovelPad also lets you track your work from as
many angles as possible. You can track it based
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on a specific character, based on chapters, you
can track it based on your plot, subplots, or even
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settings. One of the things I love most about
NovelPad is they're constantly adding new features
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based specifically on user feedback. They recently
added the thirty second backup system that allows
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you to go back and forth between any safe point
in your novel. They also have a fantastic goals
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and analytics feature. It automatically adapts
to your progress, allows you to specify sprints
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and vacations, and it gives you live updates on
your writing which is especially vital if you are
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embarking on NaNoWriMo. But I'm particularly fond
of the comparison feature. You can now compare
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any two revisions of scenes and essentially pick a
winner which is so helpful for anyone who is stuck
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between rewrites. That happens to me, all the
time. If you're interested in trying out NovelPad
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I am a huge fan and even better, in honor of
NaNoWriMo throughout the entire month of November,
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NovelPad will be free to use! That means you have
the whole rest of the month to try out NovelPad
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for free! $0, I've got the link listed below. Be
sure to check it out. Don't forget to subscribe
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to my channel. I post new videos on Wednesdays.
And if you wanna be alerted as SOON as I upload,
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ring that bell. You totally should, you gotta
be alerted when I upload. I mean, hello,
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you just gotta. The Savior's Champion and The
Savior’s Sister are my number one best selling
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dark fantasy romance adventures, and they are
available all over the place. They're available in
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paperback, hardback, ebook and audiobook. Pick up
a copy today. I've got ‘em linked below. And now
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I'm diving into my ten best tips for increasing
your word count in a way that will both add words
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to the page and also enhance the quality of your
novel. Number One (1): Show don't tell. More often
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than not, this is the main issue underwriters
have. They are telling everything, and showing
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absolutely nothing. Say a character is going to
the store and they're in a really bad mood. If you
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wanted to tell the reader this, you could simply
say: he went to the store, he was in a bad mood.
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If you wanted to show the reader this, you could
instead say: the rickety shop door flung open and
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he trudged through, grumbling under his breath
as the bell jingled behind him. The first option,
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the tell, is short and to the point. Which is fine
in certain situations, for example, transitions.
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But the second option, the show, is far more
dynamic. So instead of simply telling the reader
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‘they were best friends’ show them behaving as
best friends. Instead of telling the reader ‘she
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was beautiful’ describe what makes her beautiful.
If a moment matters to the story, and many do,
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you want to show it. You want to evoke emotions
and create visuals for the reader. And as a
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byproduct of this, you will be adding more words
to your page. Number Two (2): Structure. A lot of
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novels feel too short, because they are literally
too short. They don't hit all the points of a
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standard plot structure, because a lot of writers
don't know shit about structure. How do you not
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know shit about structure? At a bare minimum all
plots have an inciting incident, rising action,
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climax, falling action and resolution. There's a
good chance your book is too short because you've
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missed one of the pivotal parts of storytelling.
Maybe you go straight from the inciting incident
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to the climax with zero rising action. And of
course, most structures are far more in depth
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than the one I listed before. If you want more
information on how to structure a novel I have
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some videos linked below. But go through your
story and make sure you have covered every key
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plot point necessary for a novel. If not, it's
time to go back to the drawing board. Number
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Three (3): Character profiles. One of the most
aggravating parts of reading, is slogging through
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a story with one dimensional characters. Many
people get into stories because of the characters.
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They want personality and depth. They want people
they can root for and relate to. What are your
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characters strengths and weaknesses? What are
their goals? What are their insecurities? You need
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a well rounded view of them in order to write them
in a believable manner. And the better you know
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your character, the more content you can provide,
which means more words. Do your due diligence and
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get to know the voice you're writing through.
Otherwise your characters are going to feel
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really flat. On a related note, Number Four (4):
Descriptions. It's really really annoying to read
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a book without descriptions. Some Descriptions
aren't necessary. I don't need to know how many
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buttons are on your character’s shirt. I don't
need to know the exact square footage of their
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house. But for the love of God, can you at least
describe what the character looks like? At a bare
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minimum, we need their general body type, their
hair color, their eye color, and their skin color.
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Describe to me what the character looks like or
else I can't visualize them. Similarly describe
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to me what the setting looks like or else I
can't visualize that either. “But Jennaaa,
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I want readers to use their imagination.” If they
wanted to completely invent their own characters
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and world. they can write their own fucking book.
Do your damn job and describe what you created.
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You don't gotta get into minute detail, just give
them enough information so they can follow along,
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ya lazy piece of shit. Number Five (5): Setting
the scene. I hesitate to say this because world
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builders disease is a real problem that claims the
lives of thousands of hopeful writers each day.
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But it must be said. If you're writing a book that
takes place in a different world or different era,
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then world building is a necessary facet that
will help ground the readers in the story and
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it'll help boost your word count. But by a world
building, I specifically mean as it pertains to
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setting the scene. Your characters have entered
a new location that readers are unfamiliar with,
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it's time to describe this location so you can
ground your readers in the scene. This is a vital
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part of world building without delving into info
dumping. You're providing information that helps
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with the progression of the story, not jerking
yourself off for being the creative genius you
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are. We get it, you're sad and alone. When setting
the scene, you're showing the readers where the
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character is, for example, a dense, muggy forest.
When they're there, for example, a misty winter
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morning. How the character is feeling, maybe
tired, groggy and afraid. And why this matters,
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maybe the character has been hunting for a
beast for weeks and still hasn't found it.
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This is a great way to increase your word count
without overwhelming the reader with unnecessary
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nonsense. Number Six (6): Subplots. Subplots, add
layers to a story that help make the characters,
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particularly in their relationships, more
realistic. This is because subplots often revolve
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around relationships. If you're writing a sci-fi
adventure, maybe you have a romantic subplot,
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maybe you have a sibling rivalry subplot. So
ask yourself, are there character dynamics you
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could explore? Are there conflicts and stakes
that haven't yet been brought to the surface?
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These are great opportunities to include
subplots, and thus add words to your book. Now
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it's important to consider that subplots should
have a link to the main plot. For example, if your
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book is about a lost princess, fighting to reclaim
her crown, maybe the romantic subplot involves a
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mercenary that she hired to help her fight for her
legacy. In this case, both the princess and the
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mercenary are involved in the main plot, but now
you can explore the romantic tension which adds
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some layers and juiciness and awesomeness. Number
Seven (7): Pacing. Typically novels that need
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beefing up have a huge problem with pacing. Every
scene reads as fast paced because they are raced
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through without any detail. There are plenty of
scenes that should be slower, particularly scenes
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that are heavy in emotion like vulnerability,
connection, grief, or romance. These are the
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sorts of scenes where you need to go into heavier
detail and if you're not sure where to start,
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think about the five senses: sight, touch, taste,
scent and sound. If they are relevant to the
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scene, describe them in lush detail. Get inside
your body, describe the racing of the character's
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heartbeat right before their first kiss. Or the
lump in their throat when they learn that their
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father is in danger. This will go a long way in
improving the quality of your novel and increasing
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your word count. Number Eight (8): Clarity. Spoon
feeding your readers is never the answer. However,
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if multiple people tell you that something
in your novel is glossed over, it's time to
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elaborate. Whip out the words and make that shit
clear. I know you think it makes perfect sense,
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but keep in mind you wrote it, you know all the
things. Unfortunately, this is a point that's
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going to require feedback. But usually if a lot
of people are telling you that something in your
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novel doesn't make sense, it's probably because
you didn't give it the proper wordage it needs.
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Add some explanation and keep it moving. Which
brings us to Number Nine (9): Solicit feedback.
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A critique partner is a fellow writer
who goes through your manuscript leaving
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comments and edits within the document itself,
based on your storytelling and writing. A beta
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reader is someone who reads your manuscript from
the reader's perspective and lets you know it's
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entertainment value and what they liked and
disliked. These people will tell you if your
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work is lacking and they should tell you how. And
if they don't tell you how, ask ‘em. It's that
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simple. Look, writing a book is hard, especially
considering the fact that it's a solitary task.
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So if you can enlist friends to help you along
the way, do it. Gather feedback, gather critiques,
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and see where the common consensus lies. From that
point forward, you will have a much better idea of
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how to strengthen your novel. And Number Ten (10):
Don't. As in, don't increase your word count. Hear
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me out. If you are increasing your word count
because the story is shallow, the characters
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are one dimensional, the content is lacking
and the quality is subpar—absolutely add words
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to the page. But if you are increasing your
word count simply to hit some arbitrary goal,
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to win NaNoWriMo, or to consider yourself
a real writer—back away from the keyboard.
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There is no number of words you have to write to
be a real writer. A writer is someone who writes,
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period. Additionally, novels come in all links;
you don't have to write 100,000 words for it to
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be considered a serious novel. In fact, in many
genres, that's way too long. A book qualifies as
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a novel if it has at least 40,000 words. That's
it. And if your story is great as is, but it's
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less than 40,000 words, maybe it's a novella
or a novelet. Again, if your book needs words,
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add ‘em. Just be honest about whether or not
that's the case. So that’s I got for you today.
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A huge thank you to NovelPad for sponsoring
today's video. And thank you so much for making
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NovelPad free for the entire month of November
in honor of NaNoWriMo. Click the link below,
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check them out. They are an amazing platform,
you will love ‘em. And right now they're free.
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It doesn't get much better than that. Don't forget
to subscribe to my channel. I post new videos on
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Wednesdays. And if you want to be alerted as SOON
as I upload, ring that bell. The Savior's Champion
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and The Savior’s Sister are available in ebook,
paperback, hardback and audiobook. Definitely
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check them out right now. They're available on
all major retailers. I got ‘em linked below.
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And be sure to follow me on social media. I'm on
Instagram, Tumblr, Facebook and BookBub and of course
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you can tweet me @JennaMoreci! Bye!
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(Female Voice) Hey everyone! I'm Emma Tigan, narrator for The Savior’s
Sister written by Jenna Moreci.
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If you enjoy her channel and want to hear more
writing advice and updates about her books,
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be sure to subscribe and ring the bell! That way,
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