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The Writer's Bookshelf I-O
The I Ching For Writers Sarah Jane Sloane New World Library 14 Pamaron Way, Novato, CA 94949 www.newworldlibrary.com 1577314964 $14.95 1-800-972-6657 Plenty of spiritual guides have been written on the subject of the I Ching; but none with the specialized focus of Sarah Jane Sloane's The I Ching For Writers: Finding The Page Inside You, which tells how to apply I Ching concepts to writer's block and inspirational paths. Each of the I Ching's sixty-four hexagrams is interpreted by Sloane from years of study of over fifty translations, and synthesized into comments pertaining to writer's struggles with words. The I Ching For Writers: Finding The Page Inside You evolves into a delightful, inspirational cure for writer's block under Sloane's careful applications and analysis. I Don't Want to be a Pirate - Writer, Maybe Robert S. Swiatek Aventine Press 1023 4th Avenue #102, San Diego, CA 92101 1593305281, $12.50, www.bobcooks.com A different kind of thief that isn't heard about too often - the ones in the book business. "I Don't Want to be a Pirate - Writer, Maybe" is Author Robert S. Swiatek's account of his adventures with a certainly treacherous industry of books. Covering all the joys, disappointments and hemorrhoids that he as a writer has had to deal with during his career, while still keeping a positive and upbeat demeanor about it all and encouraging aspiring writers not to give up and keep up their efforts. "I Don't Want to be a Pirate- Writer, Maybe" is highly recommended for would be writers and a must have for community library collections catering to them. Inner Drives Pamela Jaye Smith Michael Wiese Productions 11288 Ventura Boulevard, #621, Studio City, CA 91604 1932907033 $26.95 www.mwp.com There are some basic principles to writing good characters into novels and dramas and with them the aspiring screenwriter or novelist can produce powerful, three-dimension figures. Inner Drives: How To Write & Create Characters Using The Eight Classic Centers Of Motivation surveys these principles from the world of mythology, using plenty of examples teamed with exercises to help writers structure characters, devise subplots, make logical connections and more. Chapters discuss 'inner drive centers', link art and writing to New Age concepts, and survey archetypes and classic examples. Inside the Best Sellers Jerrold R. Jenkins & Mardi Link Rhodes & Easton 121 East Front Street, 4th floor, Traverse City, MI 49684 0964940116 $21.95 1-616-933-0445 Inside The Best Sellers shares the stories of famous authors who published their own books because the New York publishing giants had dismissed their manuscripts. The result of taking the risk of self-publishing was fame, financial success, and bestseller status. All of these authors reveal inspiring "rags to riches" stories of beating the corporate/conglomerate publishing system. Inside The Best Sellers is engaging, motivating reading for anyone with a manuscript ignored or dismissed by the publishing elites. In this new age of desktop publishing and do-it-yourself marketing, anyone willing to do their self-publishing homework, and invest their energy and time can accomplish their own dreams of literary immortality on a shoe-string budget. Inside The Best Sellers has demonstrated that it has happened to others, even in this corporate age publishing conglomerates and a fiercely competitive bookselling environment. Insider's Guide to Getting an Agent, The In The Insider's Guide To Getting An Agent: The Definitive Writer's Resource, Lori Perkins shows the aspiring author where and how to target the right agents; the "10 Commandments" for writing an effective query letter; what should be expected from an agent; the anatomy of an attention-getting book proposal; how to build and maintain a great working relationship with an agent; protocol for handling a first book deal; the potential of subrights, publicity and foreign sales; and how to know when it's time to make writing your day job. Lori Perkins is the founding partner of Perkins, Rubie, and Associates, a New York literary agency representing about 150 authors, with foreign representation in eleven countries. She draws upon her more than fifteen years of practical, real-world experience to make The Insider's Guide To Getting An Agent one of the most useful reference books any aspiring or fledgling author can read. Inventing English: A Portable History of the LanguageSeth Lerer Columbia University Press 9780231137942, $24.95 www.columbia/edu/cu/cup Why is there such a difference between English spelling and pronunciation, and how did grammar rules develop? INVENTING ENGLISH is an engaging survey considering all the oddities of English: it not only covers these oddities but places them in rare American historical perspective, adding background to a survey where others would focus on linguistics alone. High school, college and public library holdings alike will find it a lively historical survey of how people discovered and developed new forms of expression bundled into the English language we know and use today. Is There a Book Inside You?: A Step-by-Step Plain for Writing Your Book Dan Poynter & Mindy Bingham Para Publishing PO Box 8206, Santa Barbara, CA 93118-8206 1568600194 $14.95 1-800-727-2782 Is There A Book Inside You? is a practical, comprehensive, easy to follow, step-by-step plan for translating an idea or story into a readable book. Is There A Book Inside You? teaches how to pick a topic, break the topic down into easy-to-attack projects, how and where to do research, making writing as easy as possible, improving the material, manage writing partnerships, evaluating publishing options, and developing an individualized and workable plan. Is There A Book Inside You? reveals the secrets of breaking into print -- even for an unpolished, inexperienced writer. Is There A Book Inside You? teaches how and where to find the help of researchers, editors, peer reviewers, clerical support, contract writers, and co-authors. Is There A Book Inside You? is`"must" reading for any beginning writer, and has much of value for even the experienced professional with publishing credits. The Journey from the Center to the Page, Revise and Updated Jeff Davis Monkfish 27 Lamoree Road, Rhinebeck, NY 12572 9780976684381, $16.00, www.monkfishpublishing.com Writing and Yoga are two concepts alien from one another, or so one would think. "The Journey from the Center to the Page: Yoga Philosophies and Practices as Muse for Authentic Writings" is author and Yoga enthusiast Jeff Davis' guide to combining these two loves. Advising readers to channel their spirit to enhance their writing and immerse themselves in their work, his tips and suggestions are as sound as his soul. "The Journey from the Center to the Page: Yoga Philosophies and Practices as Muse for Authentic Writings" is highly recommended for any writer looking to unleash the best of themselves and for community library Spirituality and Writing collections. Joy Writing Kenn Amdahl Clearwater Publishing Company PO Box 778, Broomfield, CO 80038-0778 www.clearwaterpublishing.com 0962781525 $12.95 www.amazon.com Joy Writing: Discover And Develop Your Creative Voice by published author Kenn Amdahl is an expertly presented introductory guide to the artful approaches to creative writing. Covering the major aspects of the writing process, Joy Writing begins with the fundamental question of "Why Writer?" and then presents five major sections in methodical order: "Before You Write"; "Beginning to Write"; "Thinking about Language"; "The Overall Flow of any Work: and "Improving". For its outstanding perspective, interpretation, and quite stimulating presentation, Joy Writing is very strongly recommended and "user friendly" reading for both novice and seasoned writers alike, but most particularly those aspiring writers struggling with expressing or developing their own distinctively artistic and creative style. Juicy Pens, Thirsty Paper SARK Three Rivers Press c/o The Crown Publishing Group 1745 Broadway, 17th floor, New York, NY 10019 9780307341709, $18.95, www.crownpublishing.com, 1-888-523-9292 Susan Ariel Rainbow Kennedy is a personal growth teacher, an artist, an inspiration speaker, a bestselling author, and under the pen name SARK has written and compiled "Juicy Pens, Thirsty Paper: Gifting The World With Your Words And Stories And Creating The Time And Energy To Actually Do It", a compendium of creative games and techniques that aspiring writers will find to be invaluable in the practice of their chosen craft. There are any number of excellent 'how to' books on how to write better, more effectively, and even more profitably. The unique focus of "Juicy Pens, Thirsty Paper" is an emphasis of practical 'how to' exercises to generate ideas, become inspired by people and things, make time to write within the context of a busy schedule, deal with writer's block and 'bad writing blues', -- even tips on getting published. Enhanced with personal anecdotes, uplifting quotes, interviews with artists, and more, "Juicy Pens, Thirsty Paper" is a welcome and recommended read for all novice authors and holds a great deal of benefit for experienced writers as well. Jump Start Your Writing Mary Hubley Bluefish Bay Publishing 1093 A1A Beach Blvd., Suite 148, St. Augustine, FL 32080 0970726783 $10.95 BluefishBay.com Jump Start Your Writing offers hundreds of creative activities to inspire writers of all experience levels. Exercises such as trying one's hand at a variety of scenes, revising classic poems into prose, and practicing with different narrative points of view are presented alongside simpler suggestions to get creative juices flowing, such as finding a baby photo of oneself or taking a walk amid nature. Black-and-white photographs add a cheerful touch to this handy collection of tips, tricks, and techniques for streching one's mental muscles for all manner of writing projects. Keep It Real Lee Gutkind, editor W.W. Norton 500 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10110 9780393065619, $22.95, www.wwnorton.com Who says that non-fiction has to be just the facts and nothing else? "Keep It Real: Everything You Need to Know About Researching and Writing Creative Nonfiction" is a guide for writers who are set to write nonfiction but want to do it with some flare, by taking the concepts of fiction - scene, dialogue, metaphor, suspense, and applies them to reality, as a way of telling the truth in the way it happened. Explaining the genre as a whole, sifting through facts to find the best story, points of view, libel fears, immersion, and so many more concepts are covered, making "Keep It Real: Everything You Need to Know About Researching and Writing Creative Nonfiction" highly recommended for anyone who wants to dive into this field. Keys To Great Writing Stephen Wilbers Writer's Digest Books/F&W Pub. 1507 Dana Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45207 0898799325 $19.99 1-800-289-0963 In Keys To Great Writing, Stephen Wilbers covers every aspect of the craft of writing and shows the aspiring author how to develop a writer's "voice" that is unique, precise, and effective with their readership. Wilbers covers every aspect of writing from grammar to revision strategies, offering clear, effective information. Of special value to the novice writer are his: Four Mythos of Great Writing; The Elements of Style Checklist; The Elements of Composition Checklist; The Four-Step Writing Process; Glossary of Grammatical Terms; Proofreading Checklist; Four Common Errors in Word choice; Five Ways To Bring Music to Your Writing; and Fourteen Techniques to Eliminate Wordiness. Keys To Great Writing is a complete and highly recommended course in one volume and a valuable reference guide enabling writers to stand out with a distinctive style and literary presence all their own. Landscapes with Figures Robert Root, editor University of Nebraska Press 233 North 8th Street, Lincoln, Nebraska, 68588-0255 9780803259836, $21.95 www.nebraskapress.unl.edu 1-800-755-1105 Landscapes with Figures: The Nonfiction of Place is an anthology of essays, memoirs, nature writing, and travel narratives from thirteen different authors, gathered under the central theme of discussing the effect that a sense of place has on one's writing. Each essay is accompanied by a separate commentary by its author, the better to add perspective. Landscapes with Figures is emphatically not a "how to" manual for writers, but rather offers a wealth of insights to relating personal connections to places with one's perceptions and insight into narrative. An excellent source of inspiration for advanced writers seeking to enhance the integrity and authenticity of their settings. Let's Get Creative: Writing Fiction That Sells William F. Nolan Quill Driver Books 1254 Commerce Way, Sanger, CA 93657 1884956505, $14.95 www.quilldriverbooks.com William F. Nolan is the successful author of more than eighty works of fiction and so brings to "Let's Get Creative: Writing Fiction That Sells" a very special expertise based on personal experience and hard work. Writing with a much appreciated clarity and occasional touches of human, Nolan covers getting started as a writer, where ideas can (and do) come from, the critical value and necessity of a story's climax, the use of dialogue, 'characterization-within-action, the art of revising a manuscript, the value of humor, achieving a personal writing style, employing all five senses in the art and craft of writing fiction, developing conflict to create and hold reader interest, 'hooking the reader', the differences between writing short stories and full length novels, shifting between prose and script writing, handling rejection (the inevitable lot of even the most accomplished and successful authors), and dealing with publishers and literary agents (also inevitable for aspiring writers seeking to become – or continue as – successfully published authors). A superbly presented and informative introduction 'how to' manual to the art, craft and realities of writing fiction, "Let's Get Creative: Writing Fiction That Sells" is a 'must' read for the novice author and has a great deal to recommend it to even the more seasoned fiction writing as well. Life Writing/Writing Lives Bette H. Kirschstein, editor Krieger Publishing Company PO Box 9542, Melbourne, FL 32902 1575240688 $21.50 1-800-724-0025 Life Writing/Writing Lives is an informative collection of ten outstanding essays addressing the practical and intellectual issues related to writing and reading biography, autobiography, memoir, and hybrid blends of these three categories. In the essays, authors of memoirs and biographies explore the complexities of their specialized writing craft, while other contributors address the theoretical side of life writing (especially life writing as literature). Life Writing/Writing Lives is rewarding reading for anyone who enjoys good biography, and very highly recommended for anyone contemplating writing the autobiography or memoir, as well as those seeking to research and write the biography of someone else. LifeWriting Fred White, Ph.D. QuillDriver Books 1821 Industrial Way #101, Sanger, CA 93637 1884956335 $14.95 quilldriverbooks.com Most basic writer's 'how-to' guides advise using personal experience to create memorable writing but just how is this done? Enter Fred White's LifeWriting, a survey of 'photo journalism' focusing on how personal-experiences narratives can be created. His definition of 'lifewriting' tells how to add zest to topics by injecting a dose of personal experience tinged with personal opinion and values. The individual chapters cover everything from organizing an outline and considering themes to building the body of an essay using life experiences. Lights! Camera! Fiction! Alfie Thompson Running Press 125 S. 22nd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103 076242401X $12.95 www.runningpress.com Lights! Camera! Fiction! The Movie Lover's Guide to Writing a Novel is for any who have watched a movie and thought they could've written better. The basics of characterization, plot development, tension development and high drama – all parts of the movie – are also a writer's tools; yet this is the only book to link storytelling skills using examples from film studies. College-level students of either film or writing will find it important. Line By Line Claire Kehrwald Cook Houghton Mifflin Company 215 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10003 0395393914, $12.00 www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com 1-800-225-3362 Based upon the Modern Language Association guidelines, Claire Kehrwald Cooks' instructive 'how to' manual for aspiring authors, "Line By Line: How To Edit Your Own Writing" completely demystifies the process of self-editing, a vital aspect of honing, polishing, and otherwise preparing a manuscript for publication. All the relevant issues are addressed including basic grammar; pruning unnecessary words and phrases; balancing related sentence elements; making subjects and verbs agree; using pronouns accurately; the correct usage of punctuation marks; and avoiding the 'questionable usage' of words and phrases. A welcome and core addition to personal and professional writing reference collections, "Line By Line" is especially recommended reading for aspiring writers, published professionals, business managers and government officials needing to communicate with clarity, advertising and public relations professionals, scholars and students, as well as technical and science writers. Lucky Break Howard Junker, editor Heinemann 361 Hanover St., Portsmouth, NH 03801 0325001561 $17.95 1-603-431-7894 In Lucky Break: How I Became A Writer, Howard Junker introduces nineteen contemporary authors who describe their struggles in transforming themselves into successful and professional writers. Fro some, the idea of being a writer seemed to run in the family, for others, writing was a way of breaking with their families, for still others, writing was the only way to find their own voice, to preserve what was uniquely theirs. These very personal and candid essays were drawn from the pages of the West Coast literary journal ZYZZYVA. Among the authors featured are Sheila Ballantyne, Opal Palmer Adisa, Philip Levine, Jewelle Gomez, Justin Chin, David Rains Wallace, Sallie Tisdale. Becoming a writer is a momentous, sometimes turbulent process. The writers suggest that beyond the necessary talent and hard work (and occasional luck break) lies more hard work -- the task of "being" a writer. They offer engaging accounts of not just the craft of writing, but the many strands that must be woven together to create a personal identity as a writer. Lucky Break is highly recommended for all aspiring writers and novice authors. Make $$$ as a Non-Fiction Writer Duncan Long Loompanics Unlimited PO Box 1197, Port Townsend, WA 98368 #64240 $14.95 www.loompanics.com In Make $$$ As A Non-Fiction Writer, Duncan Long draws upon his more than 30 years experience as an author and educator to help the reader discover if he or she has the right "stuff" to become a professional non-fiction writer; what kind of workspace and equipment is needed; realistic expectations of income as a non-fiction writer; how to present one's self professionally; whether or not to secure the services of an agent; how to develop writing assignments; whether or not freelance writing is the way to go; how to effectively pitch writing ideas; dealing with writer's block; and how a finished piece should look like when it's sent out for a publisher's consideration. Whether you aspire to being a part-time or full-time writer of nonfiction, begin with a thorough and careful reading of Duncan Long's Make $$$ As A Non-Fiction Writer. Make Money Self-Publishing Suzanne P. Thomas Gemstone House Publishing PO Box 19948, Boulder, CO 80308 0966469127 $19.95 1-800-324-6415 Make Money Self-Publishing is a compendium of invaluable advice and "how to" tips, tricks and techniques drawn from fourteen successful self-published authors who have written and published their own works in the genres of cookbooks, mysteries, travel guides, business, education, and women's fiction. Aspiring self-publishers will learn how to evaluate the potential of their book concepts; avoid making costly "beginner" mistakes; learn effective and essential marketing ideas; discover profitable places to sell books outside of traditional bookstores; publicize and promote their book on the Internet and the world wide web; calculate how many books need to be published in order to earn a living; balance the hours of work against a potential income figure; decide when and why to publish other authors; even how to sell publishing rights to a major New York house for additional profits. Make Money Self-Publishing is a valued and much appreciated addition to any personal, professional, school or community writing/publishing reference book collection. The Making Of A Bestseller Brian Hill & Dee Power Dearborn Trade 30 South Wacker Drive, Suite 2500, Chicago, IL 60606 www.dearborntrade.com 0793193087 $19.95 1-800-245-2665 The collaboration of Brian Hill and Dee Power, The Making Of A Bestseller: Success Stories From Authors And The Editors, Agents, And Booksellers Behind Them answers the fundamental question of why certain authors seem to be able to have what they write consistently end up on best seller lists. Readers will learn how literary agents affect the publishing process, how good and bad reviews affect sales, what the role of the bookseller is with respect to a book's success or failure in the marketplace, the importance of marketing and publicity in determining a books impact upon the reading public. The Making Of A Bestseller reveals just how more than fifty best-selling authors approach the craft of writing and marketing their books in ways that aspiring authors can emulate with their own works. If you want to be a professional author whose books are commercially successful, then give a very careful and considerate study to The Making Of A Bestseller. Manual Of Writer's Tricks, A David L. Carroll Marlowe & Company 841 Broadway, 4th fl., NY, NY 10003 1569246076 $12.95 In A Manual Of Writer's Tricks: Essential Advice For Fiction And Nonfiction Writers, David Carroll (Emmy Award- winning television writer and author of twenty-five books, including How To Prepare Your Manuscript For A Publisher) successfully collaborates with Sheree Bykofsky (literary agent and co-executive editor of the New York Public Library Desk Reference) to provide essential tips, tricks and techniques for aspiring fiction and nonfiction writers seeking to save time, improve their style, and avoid common pitfalls associated with the act of writing. This compendium of stratagems and literary shortcuts offer invaluable advice for writing with expression, improving structure, correcting and rewriting with greater efficiency, developing "writer's logic", avoiding the hazards of burnout or boredom, dealing with a lack of motivation or writer's block, and reworking scholarly prose for greater clarity and reader engagement. A Manual Of Writer's Tricks is a "must read" for novice authors just starting out, and has a great deal of value and insight for even the more experienced and seasoned writer. Marketing And Selling Your Books On The Internet Dan Logan The Runaway Press 1241 Knollwood Drive, #137, Cambria, CA 93428 189007702X $8.95 1-805-927-0515 Now in an updated second edition, Marketing And Selling Your Books On The Internet is a very highly recommended 68 page booklet that provides complete introduction and step-by-step instruction for the self-published author and small press publisher for utilizing the Internet as a marketing and promotional tool. Dan Logan draws upon his considerable expertise to show how to establish an Internet connection and utilize Net tools; develop an online presence; effectively utilize E-mail, newsgroups, print-on-demand services; create and market E-books; as well as integrating the Internet into other marketing efforts. Marketing Strategies for Writers Writers who want to assure success have to be even more aggressive in today's competitive market: this uncovers some tactics not mentioned in other books; from how to create a winning professional appearance and using networking to establish publisher contacts to breaking into difficult markets and self-agenting. An important guide for any would-be author. Mastering the Business of Writing In Mastering The Business Of Writing, literary agent Richard Curtis discloses everything a writer must know about publishers, agents, and how to succeed in the writing business today. Mastering The Business Of Writing arms both aspiring and experienced writers with the knowledge they need to build and manage successful careers in the turbulent, fast-changing world of publishing. Through a series of insightful and entertaining chapters, Curtis analyzes the state of the publishing business and details the strategies and skills that will benefit writers in today's marketplace. Mastering The Business Of Writing shows how to approach the various markets, negotiate successful contracts, benefit from agents, and handle legal matters. Curtis' advice comes from a real insider's view of the business issues facing writers. Organized into five section, Mastering The Business Of Writing covers 45 different topics including agents (what they do and they role they play in building an author's career); how to outline ideas for successful book proposals; the pros and cons of book packagers (are they blessing or menace); why sales conferences are critically important to the fates of books; and why buyers for bookstore chains are critical to a book's success or failure. Mastering The Business Of Writing is an unusual and candid insider's perceptive insights on the business of being a writer. The Mind's EyeKevin Clark Pearson Longman 51 Madison Avenue, 29th floor, New York, NY 10010 9780205498239, $25.33 www.ablongman.com University academician Kevin Clark holds a Distinguished Teaching Award, as well as a widely published poet. In "The Mind's Eye: A Guide To Writing Poetry", he brings to bear his many years of experience and expertise to provide aspiring poets with a clear, instructive, and occasionally inspiring 'how to' manual and guide to writing clear, engaging poetry. All the elements of poetic expression are covered including imagery, sound, implication, conflict, transformation, lyricism, structure, portraiture, narrative, traditional forms, sequencing, and revision. Featuring more than one hundred skill building exercises in writing poetry, eighty model poems by diverse contemporary poets, a concise summary of at the end of each chapter distilling its main concepts, as well as suggestions for forming poetry-writing groups, arranging poetry readers, and even how to publish poems, "The Mind's Eye" is an ideal instruction manual and guide that will prove invaluable for aspiring poets whether writing for simple self-expression or who have ambitions to being published. MLA Directory of Scholarly Presses in Language and Literature Now in its second edition, the MLA Directory Of Scholarly Presses In Language And Literature is an essential reference for scholars and writers looking for book publishers. Containing updated information on 315 publishers in literary and linguistic studies, entries include contact names, addresses, phone and fax numbers, and e-mail addresses, subjects published, languages published, submission requirements; documentation style, number of manuscripts submitted and accepted each year, number of outside readers (if any), time between submission and publication decision, time between decision and publication, contracts, royalties, and copyright provisions. Five indexes list the presses by their publishing interests, imprints and subsidiaries, series titles, editorial personnel, and languages of publication. MLA Handbook, 6th EditionJoseph Gibaldi Modern Language Association 26 Broadway, 3rd Fl., NY NY 10004 0873529863 $17.00 www.mla.org This newly revised, completely updated sixth edition of the MLA Handbook For Writers Of Research Papers focuses on research writing, offering students new citation examples, updated lists of references, and over two dozen new annotated illustrations demonstrating how print and electronic sources are used in research documentation. The expanded guidelines and clarifications of usage make this an essential student tool. Movie Magic Screenwriter 2000 Movie Magic 150 E. Olive Avenue, Suite 203, Burbank, CA 91502-1849 screenplay.com $219.00 1-818-843-6557 Endorsed by none other than Academy Award winning script writer and director Francis Ford Coppola, Movie Magic Screenwriter 2000 is an amazing software package that runs on either Windows or Macintosh platforms and is designed expressly to accommodate the needs of writing for the silver screen. Special features include index-card format, a name bank for generating character names, means to import scripts from other writing software, real-time pagination, automatic check for common formatting errors, real-time auto-correction, real-time spell check; password protection for scripts; and much, much more. Movie Magic Screenwriter 2000 also comes with built-in and invaluable internet features including the ability to collaborate on-line with a writing partner; publish scripts directly to the internet; export entire scripts to a PDF format; export script reports, breakdown sheets, and selected pages or scenes to a PDF format; and even register scripts online. Movie Magic Screenwriter 2000 also comes with unique production features including full export into Movie Magic Scheduling; full production breakdown reports; a production solutions guide; industry standard revision draft colors; the ability to generate set lists and rundown sheets, storyboard linking (only in Windows); and real-time scene re-numbering. Movie Magic Screenwriter 2000 is confidently recommended to aspiring and experienced film script writers as being an excellent, time-saving, "user friendly" computer tool for generating professional quality film scripts. Movies In The Mind Colleen Mariah Rae Judith Asher, Publisher PO Box 2853, Santa Fe, 87504-2853 0964419653 $14.95 shermanasher.com With Movies In The Mind: How To Build A Short Story, Colleen Rae provides the aspiring writer with compendium of sound advice, techniques, and strategies for writing plausible, believable, resonating fiction. Each informative chapter is a gem of sound, practical, illustrative, and occasionally inspiring instruction and includes: Entering The Storymaker's Realm; Fiction's Building Blocks; Participatory Art; Digging The Clay; Whose Story Is It Anyway?; Unlocking Your Story; How To Birth A Story; and There's Always A Critic. Very highly recommended for anyone seeking to improve the quality of their fiction, Movies In The Mind is further enhanced with a section of Exercise Pages, a Reading List; and a user-friendly index. My Big Sourcebook EEI Communications EEI Press 66 Canal Center Plaza #200, Alexandria, VA 22314 0935012192 $19.95 Any one who works with words or pictures will find My Big Sourcebook an important reference: a listing of books, software, web sites, workshops and more which pinpoints resources which can supplement a project. From graphics and desktop publishing resources to books on grammar and usage, My Big Sourcebook packs in the tips, tricks and techniques. Mystery Writing In A Nutshell John McAleer & Andrew McAleer James A. Rock & Company, Publishers 9710 Traville Gateway Drive, #305, Rockville, MD 20850 9781596635050, $9.95 www.rockpublishing.com 1-800-411-2230 John McAleer taught crime fiction at Boston College for almost forty years and is an Edgar Allan Poe Award winner, a Pulitzer Prize nominee, and best-selling author in the mystery and suspense genre. Now, in collaboration with his son Andrew McAleer (who is also a Professor of Crime Fiction at Boston College), John McAleer draws upon his extensive expertise and experience to provide aspiring writers with a succinct manual of instruction with "Mystery Writing In A Nutshell: The World's Most Concise Guide To Mystery And Suspense Writing". Comprised of seven densely packed chapters that focus on 'Creating Suspense and Action'; 'The Story & The Hook'; 'Fodder for Writing (Ideas for Getting Ideas)'; 'Voice, Voice, Voice'; 'Clues & Making Tracks'; 'Character Development'; and 'Plot Pourri', "Mystery Writing In A Nutshell" also features a 'Final Word', 'Final Tips', and 'Notes'. Of special interest is the concluding section (Miscellaneous) featuring important addresses for mystery writers, conversations about writers and writing, questions for William G. Tapply, Robert B. Parker, Margaret McLean, 'The Writer in Us', and a short essay on 'Writers Influencing Writers'. Thoroughly reader friendly, informed and informative in presentation, "Mystery Writing In A Nutshell" is superbly organized and very highly recommended as being one of the best introductory guides to writing commercially successful mysteries available to aspiring writers and novice authors today. Naked At The Podium Peter V. T. Kahle & Melanie Workhoven 74th Street Productions 350 North 74th Street, Seattle, Washington 98103 0965570231 $15.95 www.74thstreet.com Naked At The Podium: The Writer's Guide To Successful Readings is a very practical guide of tips, tricks, and exercises for authors who may not be quite so at home giving a public reading as with the usual day's work of bringing drama to blank sheets of paper. Techniques presented include how to use body language, cure pre-reading jitters, become one's characters, and generally make the reading a memorable promotional event to spread word of one's book. Naked At The Podium is strongly recommended reading for authors seeking to promote their books through public readings at bookstores, libraries, or other venues. The Nasty Little Writing Book Madelyne Rovenhauer & D. W. St. John Poison Vine Books 1393 Old Homestead Drive, Second floor, Oakland, Oregon 97462-9506 0965840786 $29.95 www.amazon.com Written by literary agent Madelyne Simone Rovenhauer, with the assistance of D.W. St. John, The Nasty Little Writing Book is a very special guide to writing your own book and getting published - with a dark, satirical twist. Not all of its sometimes cynical advice is meant to be taken literally; many an aspiring or published author will savor a well-earned chuckle from the tongue-in-cheek suggestions. Parody assertions such as that publishers do not remainder books before their time, or that the author bears no responsibility for publicity, are not to be read at face value! At the same time, many insider "dirty little secrets" in the New York dominated publishing industry are exposed for all the world to see, from an expose on sentence sophistry to writing crises as a ploy. Highly recommended as leisure reading for the experienced writer looking to enjoy a good (albeit occassionally rueful) laugh, The Nasty Little Writing Book should be required reading for anyone who aspires to be a "best selling" published author from one of the major publishing houses. The National Writers Association Guide to Writing for Beginners Sandy Whelchel Rowman & Littlefield Education 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706 9781578866854, $24.95, www.rowmaneducation.com Anyone can be a writer. In fact, it's particularly hard to get through the public school system without at one time or another doing some form of creative writing. "The National Writers Association Guide to Writing for Beginners: A How-To Reference for Plot, Dialogue, Nonfiction, Internet Publishing, and More" is simply a guide to getting ones mind going for the process, broken into short, bite sized chunks of information easy to digest for people wanting to get themselves writing once more and how to do it well on a technical level, while serving as an introduction to the writing business as a whole complete with a wade in copyright laws. "The National Writers Association Guide to Writing for Beginners: A How-To Reference for Plot, Dialogue, Nonfiction, Internet Publishing, and More" is highly recommended for any aspiring writer just starting out and for community library collections catering to them. The New Writer's Handbook 2007 Philip Martin Scarletta Press 10 South Fifth Street, Suite 1105, Minneapolis, MN 55402 9780976520160, $16.95 www.scarlettapress.com 1-877-687-2324 Expertly compiled and deftly edited by Philip Marin, "The New Writer's Handbook 2007: A Practical Anthology Of Best Advice For Your Craft & Career" is a compendium of sixty practical, insightful, informed and informative articles that aspiring writers of fiction and novice authors of nonfiction will find to be invaluable as they approach the craft and business of being professional authors. The contributors are experienced, successful, and range from award winners, to writing instructors, to working journalists, to editors, to literary bloggers, to best-selling authors. A critically important and strongly recommended addition to personal, professional, academic, and community library Writing/Publishing reference collections, "The New Writer's Handbook 2007" covers general writing techniques and marketing tips, as well as specific book project pitching tips and models for writing career success. Nonstandardized Quests David E. LeCount Heinemann/Reed Elsevier, Inc. 361 Hanover St., Portsmouth, NH 03801 0867095229 $15.00 heinemann.com Nonstandardized Quests: 500+ Writing Prompts That Matter by highschool English teacher David E. LeCount is an invaluable aide for creative writing teachers. Nonstandardized Quests is packed cover to cover with ideas for unusual writing assignments meant to get young people to think and put effort into expressing themselves. Each topic (such as "a guidebook for horses on how to get along with flies") has a corresponding website for research, and samples of student writings intersperse the abundant ideas. Nonstandardized Quests is also useful and highly recommended for aspiring writers looking to flex their creative muscles via self-administered mini-projects. A Novel Approach To Writing Alfie Thompson Running Press 125 South Twenty-Second Street, Philadelphia, PN 19103-4399 076242401X $12.95 runningpress.com A Novel Approach To Writing: Lights! Camera! Fiction! by movie buff and professional writing instructor Alfie Thompson is a guide to writing great novels especially for movie lovers. Chapters instruct how to watch movies with a writer's eye for what works and what doesn't, blending believable character traits into scenes and plots, using goals to reveal character motivation, judiciously applying foreshadowing and flashback, the power of the suspense of disbelief and how to encourage it, smooth plotting, and much more. A Novel Approach To Writing is a valuable supplement to aspiring and practicing fiction writers, outlining how to absorb the most advanced techniques and inspiration from multimedia experiences and transform it into improved quality within one's own work. Now Write! Sherry Ellis, editor Tarcher/Penguin 375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014-3658 1585425222 $13.95 www.penguin.com Edited by personal writing coach Sherry Ellis, Now Write!: Fiction Writing Exercises from Today's Best Writers and Teachers is a carefully selected collection of writing exercises from some of today's most acclaimed fiction writers such as Steve Almond, Jayne Anne Phillips, Virgil Suarez, and more. From activities just to get motivated practicing writing, to ones focusing on point of view, character development, dialogue, plot and pacing, setting and description, revisions, and more, Now Write! focuses on ideas to get aspiring and practicing writers' creative juices flowing, or engage in activities such as learning to identify the distinctions between real dialogue and smooth, fictional dialogue. Prefacing each idea is a couple pages of solid advice and concepts to keep in mind when crafting the next potential masterpiece. A highly recommended, practical guide for any aspiring writer seeking to take independent study to the next level. Off the Page Carole Burns, editor W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110 9780393339885, $14.95 www.wwnorton.com Off the Page: Writers Talk About Beginnings, Ending, and Everything in Between is an anthology of interviews with a diversity of authors describing the creation process of a literary work. Joyce Carol Oates begins and ends her writing process creating and reworking the beginning of a book; A.S. Byatt assembles a novel from "blocks of color"; and E.L. Doctorow crafts a story from a specific and compelling image that often springs to mind without context. From the intersection of sex, love, and literature (Martin Amis insists that good sex is impossible to write about!) to the reader's part in the creative process (or at least, the effect that readers' imagined reaction has on the mind of the author), Off the Page runs the gamut of influences and effects upon the evolution of a book. Originally typed directly on interviewer Carole Burns' computer as she listened to the interviewees and posted in real-time on the Web, Off the Page is undeniably authentic in his honest portrayal of the authors' mission to write literature worth reading. On Writing Romance Leigh Michaels Writer's Digest Press c/o F&W Publications, Inc. 700 East State Street, Iola, WI 54990 1582974365, $16.99 www.fwpublications.com 1-800-726-9966 In addition to several nonfiction books, Leigh Michaels is the published author of more than eighty romance novels and so brings a very special expertise to "On Writing Romance: How To Craft A Novel That Sells", her instruction manual for aspiring writers in a demanding and popular genre. Practical, comprehensive, informed and informative, "On Writing Romance" covers the origins and evolutions of the romance novel, and then takes the aspiring writer through each and every stage of the writing and publishing process. Breaking down more than thirty romance subcategories, aspiring writers will learn how to steer clear of cliches and stereotypes by studying the genre they propose to establish themselves in; craft engaging and realistic characters that will appeal to a discerning readership; add conflict through the use of secondary characters; utilize tension and timing to make love scenes come alive; and provide stories with 'happy-ever-after' endings that are neither ordinary or uninspiring, but will reward the reader with a story that they will remember long after the book is finished and returned to the shelf. Enhanced with a sample query letter, a cover letter, and synopsis, "On Writing Romance" also provides specific and practical 'how to' information on preparing a manuscript for submission to agents, editors, and publishers. Anyone seeking to write a commercially successful romance novel of any kind should begin by giving a careful and considered reading to Leigh Michael's "On Writing Romance". One Year To A Writing Life Susan M. Tiberghien Marlowe & Company c/o Avalon Publishing Group 245 West 17th Street, 11th floor, New York, NY 10011-5300 9781600940583, $15.95 www.marlowepub.com 1-800-788-3123 Susan M. Tiberghien draws upon her years of experience and expertise as a veteran writing instructor, writers' conference speaker, and graduate school lecturer in "One Year To A Writing Life: Twelve Lessons To Deepen Every Writer's Art And Craft". A gifted writer in her own right, Susan Tiberghien covers journal writing, personal essays; opinion and travel essays; short stories (included the 'Short-Short'); dreams and writing; dialogue; folklore, fairy tales, and contemporary tales; poetic prose and the 'Prose Poem'; memoirs and biography; rewriting; and more. Of special note are her chapters on 'The alchemy of Imagination' and 'Writing the Way Home'. Enhanced with a specialized bibliographies and a comprehensive index, " One Year To A Writing Life" is an informed and informative, as it is inspired and inspiring -- making it strongly recommended reading for all novice writers and aspiring authors. Open Your Heart With Writing Neil M. Rosen Dream Time Publishing 6860 Gulfport Avenue South, Suite 950, South Pasadena, FL 33707 9781601660084, $14.95 www.dreamtimepublishing.com 1-866-623-6203 Writer, psychologist, academician, and Founder/CEO of eWay Direct (an e-marketing technology company), Neil M. Rosen brings a very special expertise to his advice in "Open Your Heart With Writing: Mastering Life Through Love Of Words". Inspired and inspiring, "Open Your Heart With Writing" was written for the specific purpose of helping people in all walks of life realize what they can achieve in terms of self-help and self-realization through the simple process of writing down their thoughts, their ideas, their observations, their reflections, their stories, poems, and essays. "Open Your Heart With Writing" is not intended as a guide to improving writing skills, nor is it intended as an instruction manual on getting published. Rather it shows how to take fleeting thoughts and cultivate them into richly embellished tales of mystery, drama, history, poetic expression, and even a kind of spiritual nourishment for the soul. Whether writing in a journal or diary format, or simply jotting things down in a convenient notebook, "Open Your Heart With Writing" will enable anyone to have confidence in writing for the simple, helpful, intrinsic joy of it. Ordinary Miracles Danny Iny DanDesign 1650 Lincoln, Apartment 1201, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3H 1H1 1411672526 $14.95 www.dandesign.co.il Ordinary Miracles: Harness The Power Of Writing And Get Your Point Across! by Danny Iny is an informed and informative introduction to the writing process as a modern medium for communication. Insightfully providing readers with information clarifying the misinformed understandings presented in grade school and how they might be effecting the writing of many students, Ordinary Miracles addresses such issues as writing structures for effectively presenting solid and compelling arguments; how grammar can be used effectively by sometimes breaking rules; the subtle differences in structure and how it affects readers; and how to choose just the right words to get a specific point across. Ordinary Miracles is very strongly recommended reading for classroom teachers and aspiring writers for its concise understanding of the process of writing as an evermore creative, persuasive, and informative medium for communication. Over 75 Good Ideas For Promoting Your Book Patricia L. Fry Matilija Press 323 East Matilija Street, Suite 110, PMB 123, Ojai, CA 93023 096126425X $6.50 matilijapress.com Patricia Fry's Over 75 Good Ideas For Promoting Your Book is a splendid 71-page compendium of sound, practical, applicable, and effective suggestions for the self-published author, small press publisher, or independent book publicist to effectively promote and publicize any book, whether it is a work of fiction or non-fiction, intended for and adult or juvenile readership. From compiling mailing lists, soliciting promotional testimonials, sending complimentary copies to key people, or writing magazine articles, to publishing a newsletter, creating a website, tapping into the library market, offering a book as a premium, selling books on the road, appearing on radio and television, or designing a market plan, Over 75 Good Ideas For Promoting Your Book is invaluable, sales improving, money saving, anxiety relieving, and very highly recommended for writers and publishers in today's highly competitive book selling marketplace. |
