This month, Writer's Digest Books is releasing one of the most sophisticated fiction writing guides—ever. The editor who discovered this book, Kelly Nickell, said she got goosebumps when reading the original proposal, such was her excitement that we might have the privilege of publishing this book.

While it's definitely not for everybody (and might not have a lot of practical application when it comes to strict genre writing), the people who typically poo-poo writing instruction books will absolutely love it (the problem is: will they condescend to buying it?!).

The book is Alone With All That Could Happen: Rethinking Conventional Wisdom About the Craft of Fiction Writing by David Jauss, a creative writing professor.

Here's a brief snippet from the Introduction:

Each time we sit down to write a work of fiction, we face a vast panorama of possibilities—and not just "all that could happen" but also all the narrative strategies and techniques we could possibly use to convey the people and events we imagine. The process of writing a work of fiction is ultimately the process of making choices among this panorama of techniques and strategies. But before we can make these choices, we need to know what the possibilities are, and in my opinion, too much of what's been written about the craft of fiction restricts the possibilities we can, and should, be exploring. In this book, I have tried to take a descriptive, rather than prescriptive, approach to the craft of fiction.

One note about this book's packaging that's not apparent when viewing it online: It's a hardcover book with a 3/4-length jacket. That means the jacket only extends to just below the title. Now, I have to tell you: The editor, designer, and I were convinced this cover treatment would work, and we fought the objections of sales, marketing, and production. We put ourselves on the line.

So, please, if anything, buy this book because I don't want to be told it didn't sell due to poor packaging! Let's prove that 3/4-length covers sell!