Alan O’Hashi, Whole Brain Thinker best chance blog 2026, Books, Marketing 2025

The Accidental Wisdom Saga: Three Books for the Holidays

Three books. Three different journeys. One thing in common: life teaches us what we didn’t know we needed to learn.

The holiday shopping season is upon us. Before you surrender to the usual frenzy of finding the perfect gift, consider something different: a book that might make someone laugh, think, or see life from a new perspective.

Best Chance Media presents the Accidental Wisdom Saga, a three-book collection that explores the unexpected ways we find meaning in our lives. These aren’t instruction manuals for becoming a better person. They’re invitations to embrace our imperfections, recognize the choices we make, and discover that a little wisdom sometimes arrives when we least expect it.

The Zen of Creative Imperfection

For anyone who has ever waited for the perfect moment, the perfect idea, or the perfect first sentence.

How often does the pursuit of perfection keep us from doing something worthwhile? We polish, revise, second-guess, and talk ourselves out of starting.

The Zen of Creative Imperfection celebrates the freedom that comes from letting go of the need to get everything exactly right. Creativity isn’t a straight line from inspiration to accomplishment. It’s a process of experimenting, making mistakes, taking unexpected turns, and discovering possibilities we couldn’t have imagined at the beginning.

Whether you’re a writer, artist, filmmaker, or someone who wants to approach life with a little more imagination, this book offers a gentle reminder: you don’t have to be perfect to create something meaningful.

Sometimes the best work comes from the happy accidents, the rough edges, and the willingness to begin before you have everything figured out.

Purchase the Zen of Creative Imperfection, a holiday gift for the creative soul who needs permission to stop overthinking and start creating.

How a Porta-Potty Saved Me: Making It Out of the Big Thompson Flood

The difference between life and death comes down to a decision you never expected to make.

On July 31, 1976, a devastating flash flood hit Big Thompson Canyon in Colorado. I found myself caught in a disaster that would change my life and how I understood survival.

The story behind How a Porta-Potty Saved Me: Making It Out of the Big Thompson Flood is as unlikely as its title suggests. When the forces of nature overwhelmed any illusion of control, an ordinary object became part of an extraordinary survival story.

Looking back, I can’t help thinking about the role of free will and the choices we make. We don’t control every circumstance that comes our way. We can’t predict when the ground beneath us will shift, literally or figuratively. But sometimes our decisions, instincts, and willingness to act can make a difference.

Survival isn’t always about grand gestures or heroic plans. Sometimes it means improvising with what you have and doing the best you can with the hand you’ve been dealt.

My experience in the Big Thompson Flood taught me that life can turn on a dime. It also left me with a lasting appreciation for the unpredictable ways we find our way through adversity.

Purchase How a Porta-Potty Saved My Life, a holiday gift for the survivor, the adventurer, or anyone who appreciates a true story stranger than fiction.

Not Exactly Holy: A Devotional for the Not-So-Religious

Forty days of reflection without requiring a leap of faith or a halo.

Not everyone feels at home in a church pew. Some of us have questions, reservations, or a healthy suspicion of people who claim to have all the answers. That doesn’t mean we’ve given up on searching for meaning.

Not Exactly Holy is a devotional for people who want to reflect on life’s bigger questions without feeling that they need to sign on to a particular religious formula. It offers a different approach to the traditional devotional: thoughtful reflection for those who are spiritually curious but not necessarily religious.

The journey is about examining our choices, considering how we treat one another, and finding meaning in the everyday experiences that shape our lives. You don’t have to be a saint to benefit from a little introspection. You don’t even have to be sure what you believe.

Sometimes the most worthwhile spiritual questions begin with a simple admission: I don’t have all the answers.

Purchase Not Exactly Holy, a holiday gift for the thoughtful skeptic, the spiritual seeker, or anyone who appreciates reflection without the sermon.

Three Books. Plenty of Accidental Wisdom.

What connects creativity, surviving a flood, and exploring spirituality? All three remind us that life rarely unfolds as planned.

We make choices. Circumstances intervene. We improvise, stumble, learn, and keep moving. Along the way, we might discover that wisdom doesn’t always arrive through careful planning or a perfectly executed strategy. Sometimes it sneaks up on us.

That’s the idea behind the Accidental Wisdom Saga.

This holiday season, give someone a story to enjoy, an idea to ponder, or a fresh perspective on the unexpected adventure we call life.

Explore the Accidental Wisdom Saga from Best Chance Media, and remember: you don’t have to have it all figured out to find something meaningful along the way.

The best wisdom is the kind you stumble into by accident.

Alan O’Hashi, Whole Brain Thinker best chance blog 2026

The Libby Flats Saga

By Alan O’Hashi, Publisher

Lately, I’ve been organizing some of my work—and discovering that several of my novels have been talking to one another all along.

I call them The Libby Flats Saga.

The saga currently includes three novels: The Gathering at Libby Flats, Vengeance at Stone Creek, and What the Morning Brings. They aren’t traditional sequels. Each book stands on its own, with its own story, characters, and time period. But they share a fictional universe, with characters, places, and pieces of history occasionally crossing paths.

At the center of that universe is Libby Flats, a place in Wyoming’s Medicine Bow Mountains where memories, relationships and unfinished business have a way of resurfacing.

The Gathering at Libby Flats

In The Gathering at Libby Flats, Elizabeth Steiner returns to Boulder from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina to attend her dying mother Becca’s funeral. Her return brings together people who haven’t seen one another in nearly four decades.

Elizabeth, Gary, Avery and Jack share a complicated history that reaches back to the 1960s, when they spent summers at Quiver Mountain Ranch near Lander, Wyoming. Old friendships, love, rebellion, and betrayals shaped their lives, and eventually drove them apart.

Now they gather again at Libby Flats to fulfill a promise Becca made decades earlier.

Set partly in contemporary Boulder and partly in the Wyoming of the past, the novel explores what happens when the past refuses to stay buried—and whether it is ever too late to make peace with it.

Buy The Gathering at Libby Flats

Vengeance at Stone Creek

Vengeance at Stone Creek takes a darker turn into the history behind one of the characters who appears in The Gathering at Libby Flats.

Tak Fujiyama is the son of a Japanese American family whose story stretches from the Japanese American community in San Pedro, California to the wartime incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. His family eventually opens a Japanese restaurant in Laramie, but Tak carries a much older wound.

During the war, senseless violence at an incarceration camp leaves a mark that doesn’t disappear when the barbed wire comes down. Tak’s search for justice and revenge forces him to confront what happened to his family and what it means to carry the consequences of injustice across generations.

The novel is part historical fiction, part mystery, and part revenge story, but at its heart it asks a simple question: What happens when an injustice is never made right?

Buy Vengeance at Stone Creek

What the Morning Brings

What the Morning Brings takes the saga into the summer of 1968, when America seems to be coming apart at the seams.

Inspired by Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises, the novel reimagines Hemingway’s world of disillusionment and privilege in Boulder during the 1960s Vietnam War, civil rights movement, and social upheaval.

Hemingway’s Jake Barnes finds himself in Boulder, where he encounters a minor character from Vengeance at Stone Creek. The meeting connects Hemingway’s fictional world with my own and turns a familiar literary landscape into something distinctly Western and distinctly American.

The rodeo, Vietnam, Boulder, and Cheyenne replace the cafés and bullfights of post-World War I Europe. Beneath the surface, however, the same questions remain: What do we do after the world we believed in falls apart? Where do we go when we no longer belong to the world that made us?

Buy What the Morning Brings

Three stories. One fictional world.

The three novels move back and forth through time, but they share a common concern: how the past shapes who we become and how much power we have to change what comes next.

The Libby Flats Saga isn’t finished. I’m still discovering connections between the characters, places, and stories. That’s one of the pleasures of creating a fictional world: sometimes the characters know where they’re going before I do.

For now, these three books provide three different doorways into that world.

Welcome to Libby Flats.

Alan O’Hashi, Whole Brain Thinker best chance blog 2025, Craft

“If I read ‘He Said’ one more time, I’ll scream!” she said.”

By Jennifer Braddock – Editor

Ever feel like your characters are trapped in an eternal tennis match of “he said” / “she said”? You can almost hear the ball bouncing:

“I’m leaving,” she said.
“No, you’re not,” he said.
“Yes, I am,” she said.

Yawn. Your readers didn’t sign up for a hostage situation with repetitive dialogue tags. Let’s break them out. Change the conversation to move the story ahead by showing, and not telling:

“I’m leaving.” She stormed out the door and instantly returned when she walked into a rainstorm.

“No, you’re not!” He grabbed and unfurled an umbrella.

“Yes, I am.” She pulled up her collar and the two walked out together under the umbrella.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to hunt down those tired, overused words in your manuscript. Replace them with fresher, more engaging options. When we’re finished, your dialogue will sparkle. Your pacing will pick up. Your beta readers will stop glazing over halfway through a page.

Step 1: Identify the Repeat Offenders

We all have comfort words we don’t even notice we’re using. Common culprits:

  • Said / replied / asked (every third line in dialogue)
  • Filler verbs: looked, turned, walked, sat, smiled, nodded
  • Filters: thought, realized, noticed, felt
  • Intensifiers: very, really, quite, suddenly

Step 2: Make Dialogue Do the Heavy Lifting

Instead of relying on endless “he said” tags, you can:

  • Use action beats: “I’m leaving.” Mara shoved her keys into her pocket.
  • Use body language: “You think I care?” Sam crossed his arms and stared at the floor.
  • Let the voice carry the tone: If the dialogue itself is distinctive, you can often skip the tag entirely.

Step 3: Search and Replace With Purpose

  1. Find each overused word.
  2. Decide if it’s needed — many can be cut.
  3. Replace with a synonym only if it feels natural. For example:
    • “Said” could become “muttered,” “shouted,” “whispered,” “teased” — but don’t go overboard or you’ll end up sounding like a bad thesaurus.
  4. Read aloud — if the replacement sounds forced, try rewriting the sentence instead of swapping the word.

Step 4: Keep a Repeat Word List

Make a running list of the words you tend to overuse. For example, if “just” appears 437 times, maybe 420 of them can go.

Step 5: Turn Editing Into a Game

Set a timer for 20 minutes. Each time you find and fix a repetitive word, tally a point. Reward yourself with chocolate, coffee, or smug satisfaction when you beat yesterday’s score.

50 Overused Words & Phrases to Hunt in Your Manuscript

I looked up a few sources and categorized this list of 50. If you need more information, check these out. The AP Style Manual should at least be on your bookshelf.

  • Style guides (Chicago Manual of Style, AP Style, and fiction editing resources)
  • Writing coach checklists (Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Browne & King)
  • Author-reported word tallies (forums like the National November Writing Month board-NaNoWriMo)

Dialogue tags:
1. Said
2. Asked
3. Replied
4. Answered

Filler verbs:
5. Looked
6. Turned
7. Walked
8. Went
9. Came
10. Sat
11. Stood
12. Gave
13. Got
14. Took
15. Made

Filter words (create distance from POV):
16. Thought
17. Felt
18. Knew
19. Realized
20. Noticed
21. Saw
22. Heard
23. Decided

Weak modifiers & intensifiers:
24. Very
25. Really
26. Just
27. Quite
28. Almost
29. Nearly
30. Suddenly
31. A little
32. A bit
33. Kind of / sort of

Overused reactions:
34. Smiled
35. Laughed
36. Nodded
37. Shook head
38. Sighed
39. Frowned
40. Raised eyebrows
41. Rolled eyes

Time/transition crutches:
42. Then
43. After
44. Before
45. While
46. When
47. As
48. Again
49. Suddenly
50. Finally

Final Thought: Your characters deserve better than a monotonous ping-pong match of “he said” / “she said.” Give them movement, emotion, and distinctive voices, and your readers will thank you. And hey, if you must keep a “he said,” make sure it’s one that really earns its spot.

Do you have questions or comments? Ask Besty Bot about the writing craft and how to publish your book with Best Chance Media!

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🤯 If I read “he said” one more time… I’ll scream — she said.
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🔍 Pro tip: Ctrl+F your repeat offenders & set your story free! #WritingTips ✏️ #AmEditing 🖊️ #WritersLife 📚 #EditingHacks 🔍 #DialogueTips 💬 #IndieAuthor 🚀 #WritingCommunity 🌍 #AuthorLife 📖 #FictionWriting 🖋️ #WIP 💡 https://bestchancemedia.org/2025/10/16/if-i-read-he-said-one-more-time-ill-scream-she-said-2/

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Alan O’Hashi, Whole Brain Thinker best chance blog 2026

Vengeance! at Stone Creek: The Executive Order That Never Ended

Some novels entertain. Some educate. A rare few refuse to let the reader off the hook.

Vengeance! at Stone Creek is one of those books.

Set in the long shadow of World War II–era Japanese incarceration, the novel explores what happens after injustice has been legalized and filed away.

Rather than retelling history, it integrates unanswered questions and the uncomfortable truth, deferring accountability indefinitely.

Alan O’Hashi writes with restraint and precision. The tension comes from moral pressure and the question history prefers not to ask: What is owed when the harm was sanctioned by law?

When a soldier fires his rifle from a guard tower inside Camp Arroyo, a Japanese American incarceration camp near Stone Creek, Colorado, the sound echoes far beyond the barbed wire. 

What happens next is buried under military procedure, fear, and silence. Official reports flatten the truth. Witnesses are discouraged from speaking. Inside the Camp, grief is expected to be swallowed quietly.

Tak Fujiyama is a child when the shots are fired, but the moment marks him for life. Incarcerated alongside his family without trial, Tak learns early that innocence offers no protection and that the law does not always serve justice.

As the War grinds forward, Camp Arroyo becomes its own harsh world of dust storms, guard towers, loyalty questionnaires, and the daily humiliation of being labeled an enemy by the country of his birth. The violence at Stone Creek is never properly addressed, and Tak is left to grow up carrying an unanswered wound.

After the War ends, America moves on quickly.

The WRA dismantled the camps, archived files, and released families with bus tickets. Tak learns that forgetting is the price of belonging. He builds a life beyond the Camp, but memory proves stubborn. The injustice refuses to fade, shaping his relationships, his sense of self, and his understanding of right and wrong.

Years later, unanswered questions draw Tak back to Stone Creek. His past resurfaces through testimony, suppressed records, and the memories of those who survived the Camp’s violence. Tak confronts what was taken from him and others and reckons with a difficult truth. Vengeance feels like the only remaining form of balance.

Vengeance! at Stone Creek is a powerful work of historical fiction that explores the lasting psychological and moral consequences of wartime incarceration. Through Tak’s journey, the novel examines loyalty under pressure, the burden placed on survivors to remain silent, and the generational cost of unresolved trauma. My story illuminates a rarely told chapter of American history, where citizenship failed to protect and the rule of law bent under fear and prejudice.

At its heart, this is a book about memory, who controls it, who benefits from forgetting, and what happens when those harmed refuse to let the truth disappear. Vengeance! at Stone Creek asks hard questions about accountability and justice, and about what remains when a nation chooses expedience. It is a sobering, deeply human novel about the price of silence and the long shadow cast by injustice.

This novel is for readers who loved Snow Falling on Cedars, No-No Boy, or There There, but it stands firmly on its own. It’s spare, deliberate, and quietly furious. The kind of book that sparks hand-selling conversations. The kind readers come back to talk about.

Vengeance! at Stone Creek dropped February 19th and is available for order from your local bookstore. Buy a signed copy or Buy a copy online.

Alan O’Hashi, Whole Brain Thinker best chance blog 2026, Books, Uncategorized

Vengeance! at Stone Creek: A Novel of Injustice

Some novels entertain. Some educate. A rare few refuse to let the reader off the hook.

Vengeance! at Stone Creek is one of those books.

Set in the long shadow of World War II–era Japanese incarceration, the novel explores what happens after injustice has been legalized and filed away.

Rather than retelling history, it integrates unanswered questions and the uncomfortable truth, deferring accountability indefinitely.

Alan O’Hashi writes with restraint and precision. The tension comes from moral pressure and the question history prefers not to ask: What is owed when the harm was sanctioned by law?

When a soldier fires his rifle from a guard tower inside Camp Arroyo, a Japanese American incarceration camp near Stone Creek, Colorado, the sound echoes far beyond the barbed wire. 

What happens next is buried under military procedure, fear, and silence. Official reports flatten the truth. Witnesses are discouraged from speaking. Inside the Camp, grief is expected to be swallowed quietly.

Tak Fujiyama is a child when the shots are fired, but the moment marks him for life. Incarcerated alongside his family without trial, Tak learns early that innocence offers no protection and that the law does not always serve justice.

As the War grinds forward, Camp Arroyo becomes its own harsh world of dust storms, guard towers, loyalty questionnaires, and the daily humiliation of being labeled an enemy by the country of his birth. The violence at Stone Creek is never properly addressed, and Tak is left to grow up carrying an unanswered wound.

After the War ends, America moves on quickly.

The WRA dismantled the camps, archived files, and released families with bus tickets. Tak learns that forgetting is the price of belonging. He builds a life beyond the Camp, but memory proves stubborn. The injustice refuses to fade, shaping his relationships, his sense of self, and his understanding of right and wrong.

Years later, unanswered questions draw Tak back to Stone Creek. His past resurfaces through testimony, suppressed records, and the memories of those who survived the Camp’s violence. Tak confronts what was taken from him and others and reckons with a difficult truth. Vengeance feels like the only remaining form of balance.

Vengeance! at Stone Creek is a powerful work of historical fiction that explores the lasting psychological and moral consequences of wartime incarceration. Through Tak’s journey, the novel examines loyalty under pressure, the burden placed on survivors to remain silent, and the generational cost of unresolved trauma. My story illuminates a rarely told chapter of American history, where citizenship failed to protect and the rule of law bent under fear and prejudice.

At its heart, this is a book about memory, who controls it, who benefits from forgetting, and what happens when those harmed refuse to let the truth disappear. Vengeance! at Stone Creek asks hard questions about accountability and justice, and about what remains when a nation chooses expedience. It is a sobering, deeply human novel about the price of silence and the long shadow cast by injustice.

This novel is for readers who loved Snow Falling on Cedars, No-No Boy, or There There, but it stands firmly on its own. It’s spare, deliberate, and quietly furious. The kind of book that sparks hand-selling conversations. The kind readers come back to talk about.

Why indie bookstores should carry it:

Because this is exactly the kind of book your customers expect from you. The stories they won’t discover through algorithms or celebrity lists. This story rewards thoughtful readers by inviting dialogue.

Vengeance! at Stone Creek is available this February. Recommend it. Put it in the hands of readers who want comfort and the truth. Order from Ingram iPage, 979-8-9894213-1-2, Retail Price $19.95 USD.

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Thank you for your response. ✨

Alan O’Hashi, Whole Brain Thinker best chance blog 2025, Craft

Vanity Publisher Red Flags You Must Know

By Jennifer Braddock – Editor

You finished your manuscript, and now you’re dreaming of holding your book in your hands. You are just starting to explore publishing. Suddenly, a “publisher” offers you a deal. It sounds too good to be true.

Spoiler alert: it probably is.

The Vanity Press Trap:
Vanity presses prey on your vanity, excitement, and lack of experience. They promise to publish your book for a fee. Traditional publishers pay you and invest in your book’s success. In contrast, vanity presses make their money from you, not for you.

The Typical Vanity Scheme:

  • They flatter your work: “Your book is exactly what we’re looking for!” even if they haven’t read it.
  • They ask for upfront money: Watch out for editing, design, marketing, and distribution discount packages.
  • They overcharge: Don’t fall for their one-stop shop approach for services you could get cheaper elsewhere (e.g., $4,500 for a cover design you could get for $450).
  • They upsell relentlessly: Pay-as-you-go pricing promises things like “Hollywood film options,” “bestseller campaigns,” or “celebrity endorsements.”
  • They retain your rights: Number one criterion for any publishing contract? Retain your book rights. Be sure any rights you cede revert back to you after the contract expires.

Watch for Red Flags:

  • Vague promises or guaranteed success
  • High-pressure sales tactics
  • Unclear or hidden fees
  • They’re listed on Writer Beware, ALLi’s Watchdog Desk, or Predators & Editors

What to Do Instead:

  • Research publishers and agents: Use reputable databases like QueryTracker or Manuscript Wish List.
  • Join writing communities: Get real feedback from other authors who’ve been phished by unscrupulous vanity presses.
  • Consider hybrid publishing carefully: Some are legitimate, but vet them as you would a contractor or a surgeon.
  • Self-publish on your own terms: You keep creative control, and with platforms like IngramSpark or Amazon KDP, you don’t have to go broke.
  • Read contracts: Be careful and pay attention to the details. Hire someone who knows about contracts. Best Chance Media offers some legal tips to get you started with the basics.

Closing Thought and Call to Action:

Thinking of publishing? Do you have a contract or offer you want to vet? Start a conversation with Best Chance Bot. Let’s make sure your dream book doesn’t turn into a costly lesson.

Do you have questions or comments? Ask Besty Bot about the writing craft and how to publish your book with Best Chance Media!

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💸 New writers: If a “publisher” wants you to pay them, it’s not a deal, it’s a SCAM.
Don’t let flattery cost you thousands. Learn how to spot vanity press red flags and protect your work. #WritingCommunity #AmWriting #IndieAuthors #WritersBeware #SelfPublishing #VanityPress #WriterTips #PublishingScams #AuthorLife #ScamAlert #KnowYourWorth 👇
https://bestchancemedia.org/2025/01/23/avoiding-the-vanity-trap-how-new-writers-can-steer-clear-of-publishing-scams/

Alan O’Hashi, Whole Brain Thinker best chance blog 2025, Craft

How to Safeguard Your Manuscript from Theft

By Jennifer Braddock – Editor

Every new writer has that one fear: What if someone steals my story? You’ve poured your soul into your manuscript.

The idea of someone swiping it and cashing in is the stuff of literary nightmares.

Take a breath. The good news? You have more protections than you think, and they’re easier to access than you realize.

Ways Writers Can Protect Their Work:

  • Copyright Automatically Applies: The moment you put your story into a fixed form, like typing it in a document, saved in the cloud, or printed out, it’s automatically protected by copyright law. You own it, even if you haven’t registered it.
  • Register with the U.S. Copyright Office: While copyright is automatic, registration adds teeth. It gives you the right to sue for statutory damages and attorney’s fees if someone actually does steal your work. It’s cheap insurance, about $45 to $65 to register online at copyright.gov.
  • Keep Good Records
    Save dated drafts, emails to critique partners, and notes to yourself. Metadata and timestamps can be useful evidence of originality and creation dates.
  • Use Trusted Sharing Platforms
    If you’re sharing with beta readers or critique groups, choose platforms with built-in version tracking. Google Docs or Dropbox are good options. If you’re really concerned, ask your readers to sign a simple non-disclosure agreement (NDA). This isn’t common in most writing circles.

Myths to Avoid:

  • Poor Person’s Copyright: Mailing your manuscript to yourself is outdated and largely useless in court.
  • Someone Will Steal It Just Because You Shared It: In reality, theft of unpublished stories is incredibly rare. It’s good to have confidence that you have a great story. Most professionals have enough ideas and are too busy creating their own work to bother with stealing yours.
  • Your story deserves to be heard and not hoarded: Equip yourself with the facts, take a few simple steps, and then speak up boldly. After all, the bigger risk isn’t theft, it’s never letting anyone read your work at all out of fear.

Your Call to Action:

Ready to protect your writing and publish with confidence? Share this post with your writing group and check out our guide to registering your first copyright step-by-step.

Do you have questions or comments? Ask Besty Bot about the writing craft and how to publish your book with Best Chance Media!

Copy and Share This Post on Your Social Media:

💡Worried about your story getting stolen? Learn how to protect your work, what counts as first publication, and why fear shouldn’t stop you from sharing. #WritingTips #Copyright #AmWriting #IndieAuthors #WritersCommunity https://bestchancemedia.org/2025/01/09/how-to-safeguard-your-manuscript-from-theft/

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Alan O’Hashi, Whole Brain Thinker Craft, Uncategorized

Why Picking a Genre Matters More Than You Think

By Jennifer Braddock – Editor

When I first started reading about query letters, one piece of advice kept popping up: agents and publishers want to know your genre.

At first, I resisted. “My book doesn’t fit into a neat little box,” I thought. “It’s unique!” But here’s the truth: uniqueness and marketability aren’t the same thing.

I’m looking for ‘funky, magical romance’!

Think of it this way. Walk into a bookstore. What do you see? Shelves with clear labels: Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, Memoir. If your book doesn’t fit neatly under one of those signs, where would a bookseller put it? If readers can’t find your book, or don’t know what to expect when they pick it up, they likely wont buy it.

This isn’t about stifling creativity. It’s about speaking the same language as the people who will help you get your book into readers’ hands. Agents, publishers, and booksellers all use genres as shorthand for understanding your audience.

  • Agents want to know your genre so they can decide if your book fits the kinds of projects they represent. An agent who specializes in romance won’t take on your hard sci-fi novel, even if it’s brilliant.
  • Publishers need genres because they plan book launches around clear categories. If they don’t know whether your book is a historical novel or a thriller, they can’t figure out where to market it, or which editor will champion it.
  • Readers use genre as a promise. When they pick up a mystery, they expect a crime to solve. When they buy a romance, they expect a love story. Delivering on those expectations builds trust and keeps them coming back.

Here’s a simplified way to think about it:

  1. Start broad. Is your book fiction or nonfiction?
  2. Pick a lane. If it’s fiction, is it a mystery, romance, fantasy, historical, or literary novel? If it’s nonfiction, is it memoir, history, self-help, or true crime?
  3. Drill down. Subgenres help narrow your audience. Is your fantasy epic or urban? Is your romance historical or contemporary? Is your memoir a travel memoir or a grief memoir?

Here’s the most important part: be strategic. Query agents and publishers who actually represent or publish your genre. If you have a unique hybrid subgenre, position it smartly in your query letter or pitch.

For example, you might describe your book as “a mystery with speculative elements” rather than forcing an agent to wrestle with a brand-new label. If you spend too much time explaining why your work is part this and part that, you risk sounding uncertain—and uncertainty is the fastest way to lose interest.

Another tip: think about genre before you start writing. Rather than pouring your heart into a draft and then pulling your hair out trying to shoehorn it into a category later, give yourself a boundary from the beginning. Boundaries aren’t restrictions; they’re frameworks. Knowing your story is a thriller, a romance, or a memoir helps guide your choices as you write and keeps you from drifting so far that your story doesn’t fit anywhere.

Once you know your category, you can find comp titles—books that are similar to yours in tone, audience, or subject. Comp titles aren’t about proving your book is unoriginal; they show agents, publishers, and readers where your book fits in the marketplace and why it belongs on the shelf.

So, yes, your book might straddle genres, but for the sake of selling it, you need to pick one primary genre and maybe a subgenre. Think of it as giving your book a home. After all, if you don’t know where to shelve it, how will anyone else?

Call to Action: The next time you sit down to write—or revise—ask yourself: What shelf would my book sit on in a bookstore? Start there, and you’ll save yourself countless headaches when it’s time to query, pitch, and ultimately connect with readers who are already waiting for a story just like yours.

Alan O’Hashi, Whole Brain Thinker Craft, Marketing 2025, Submit Manuscripts

Unlock Your Writing Potential with Best Chance Media

By Jennifer Braddock – Editor

Best Chance Media is an imprint that seeks writers who have been rejected and not been traditionally published. If you fall through the cracks, submit anyway. We’re flexible. We only accept submissions for full-length works: at least 40,000 words: fiction, nonfiction, and memoir.

If there’s a historical element, that’s a plus.

You write romance stories or young adult fiction, and then set them in a historical context. If you’re writing a memoir, think about historical events that happened during the experience that changed your life. Fantasy and science fiction can be set in historical contexts of the earthly world.

  • Fiction: While any fiction will be checked out, we’re partial to historical fiction. The story is set in the past. It may incorporate real historical events, people, or settings. Historical stories feature fictionalized characters, dialogue, and plot details. Your story should create an authentic sense of a particular time while telling a made-up “What If?” story that fits within that historical context.
  • Nonfiction: The same applies to nonfiction. A historical story presents accounts of unique past events, people, and places, based on factual evidence and thorough research. We seek stories that describe historical events. We also explore how areas like history, philosophy, literature, art, and culture have shaped human society.
  • Memoir: Memoirs are historical by definition. They intertwine with history during significant events or periods. These include the writer’s personal story unfolding midst war, migration, or civil rights movements. Such historical events shaped the author’s journey. The memoir doesn’t just list historical facts. It brings history to life through the author’s eyes. It blends personal feelings with the realities of the time.

– The Fine Print:

  • Best Chance does not accept manuscripts that depict violence, like rape, incest, harm to a child, or dismemberment. Manuscripts that advocate criminal activity are also not accepted.
  • Best Chance only accepts manuscripts from authors who are at least 18 years old and residents of the United States.
  • Best Chance only accepts manuscripts written in English. No partial manuscripts or idea pitches will be accepted.
  • Best Chance does not accept manuscripts for foreign rights expansion into the U.S. market.
  • Best Chance does not accept earlier released books (either self-published or released by a traditional publisher).
  • Best Chance does not accept short stories, collections of stories, or poetry.
  • Best Chance will remove manuscripts that do not meet these guidelines.
  • Best Chance will remove any query directly emailed.

If you meet all the requirements, fill out the:

SUBMISSION FORM

We will let you know our decision. It may take Best Chance up to a month to accept or refuse your submission. If you have questions, send an email to bouldercommunitymedia@gmail.com

Do you have questions or comments? Ask Besty Bot about the writing craft and how to publish your book with Best Chance Media!

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Are you frustrated with all your rejection letters? Have you rewritten your story 50 times and you can’t get the interest of any agents or publishers? Best Chance Media are looking for writers like you. We’re a traditional press and won’t ask you for any upfront money, or charge you for editing. Best Chance is a writers’ cooperative that shares and collaborates for the betterment of all! https://bestchancemedia.org/2025/11/06/best_chance_submissions/

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Alan O’Hashi, Whole Brain Thinker best chance blog 2025, Craft

Embrace Authenticity in Writing: The Power of True Stories

By Alan O’Hashi, Publisher

Let’s face it. If you’re a writer and your most “authentic” story is flipping an egg, explore more complex topics that may grow from your breakfast.

Maybe you flipped the egg onto your spouse during a birthday breakfast.

Maybe the egg flipped out of the pan, and your dog made a flying leap to catch it in midair.

Maybe the egg flipped onto the plate with no incident, but the salt shaker lid fell off, adding a quarter cup instead of a pinch.

Dig up the messy stuff from the ordinary. Are you staring at a blank screen or a blank page in your notebook?

You know, like that one time you were caught shoplifting and the cop made you own up to your dad. Remember when you almost got cast as “Man in Crowd #256? You didn’t answer the casting director’s call. You thought it was spam.

Don’t worry.

“All you have to do is write one true sentence,” Ernest Hemingway said.

Authenticity matters more than polish

Polish can make your writing look good, but authenticity makes it mean something. Readers can sense when you’re putting up a front or trying too hard to impress with overly interesting descriptions. They’ll nod politely and move on to the next book.

When you tell the truth, your voice might crack. Your story might stumble. Your guard might drop. That’s when people get hooked. Perfect writing might win awards, but authentic writing wins hearts. When you combine the two, that’s what keeps readers coming back, not to admire your prose, but to feel something real.

Readers crave connection, not perfection

Perfection is intimidating. Connection is comforting. Do you identify more with the person who never makes a mistake, or the one who spilled a Coke down their shirt before a big presentation?

Readers want to see themselves in your story: their fears, mess-ups, and the small triumphs. If you try to make yourself the flawless hero, you shut people out. When you share your struggle, you invite them into your story. In a world filled with filtered selfies and curated feeds, your raw honesty stands out. It is the most refreshing thing they’ll read all day.

Your most embarrassing stories are your most relatable

That time you accidentally called your teacher “Mom”? Or said “I love you” to a customer service rep? Those moments you wish you could delete are storytelling gold. Why? Because we’ve all been there: humiliated, awkward, and unsure. Those memories feel awful in the moment. Yet, they’re the ones that make people laugh, cry, and say, “Oh my gosh, me too.”

If you’re brave enough to tell the story, someone out there is waiting to read it. They want to feel a little less alone.

Every failure, regret, and awkward moment is a secret gold mine

Behind every “I blew it” is a potential breakthrough in your writing and in your life. Failure teaches us what success never will.

Regret reveals our values. Awkwardness strips away ego. These moments are obstacles and building blocks. Don’t run from them. Use them. Write turning points into chapters. Write honestly about what went wrong, and with a sense of humor, transform shame into strength. It’s not about glorifying the stumble. It’s about showing how you got back up and on your feet.

Fiction is great, but truth punches harder

Fiction has power, but even the most fantastic stories hit hardest when they echo something true. We weep over made-up characters because their pain feels real.

When your writing comes straight from experience, it lands with more impact. Your lived truth doesn’t need embellishment. Tell it with bravery.

Your voice is more compelling than anything you dream up. It is shaped by the sweet, the bitter, the bizarre, and everything else you’ve experienced.

Dig deep for your truth

Your life is a ragtag scrapbook of shining and cringe-inducing moments, not a flawless resumé. Own them. Write them. Your one true sentence might start with a terrible haircut, a missed opportunity, or a mistake you thought you’d buried.

Dig deep, be brave, and stop trying to airbrush away your bad experiences. Your truth is your voice. Readers remember it long after the last page.

At the end of the day, writing isn’t about sounding smart or looking impressive. It’s about telling the truth, even when your voice shakes.

Hemingway wasn’t asking us to be profound. He wants us to be honest. One true sentence. Your truth might come wrapped in awkwardness, heartbreak, or absurdity. Your true sentence is what makes your writing believable and powerful. Stop waiting for the perfect idea or the polished version of yourself. Dig deep. Say the things you’ve been scared to say. Start with one true sentence. The rest will follow.

Do you have questions or comments? Ask Besty Bot about the writing craft and how to publish your book with Best Chance Media!

Copy and Share This Post on Your Social Media:

Hemingway said to write one true sentence. That’s it. Not the perfect sentence. Not the impressive one. Just the real one. Your most embarrassing, awkward, even painful stories? They’re your most powerful. Don’t polish the truth out of them. Start with honesty — and let the story unfold from there. 💬 #WriteYourTruth #OneTrueSentence #AuthenticWriting #WritersLife #INFPwriter #RealStoriesMatter #MemoirMoments #WriteToConnect #MessyIsMeaningful #TruthBeTold https://bestchancemedia.org/2025/09/04/embrace-authenticity-in-writing-the-power-of-true-stories/

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