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 Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Writer's Digest Books Excerpt Extravaganza!
Posted by Jane
Our newest team member, Melissa Hill, has been busy posting excerpts of Writer's Digest titles on our web site (both new and old), so I wanted to share with you the full list of free material now available. Welcome your suggestions of what you'd like to see posted or distributed from our catalog of titles! EXCERPTS ON OUR SITE (click on title to be taken directly to excerpt) Fiction writing Inspiration Nonfiction writing General Other genres Reference PDF DOWNLOADS (click on the title to be taken to a landing page linking to the download) The Pirate Primer (a lexicon of pirate language) Chapter 8: Insults
Noble's Book of Writing Blunders Table of Contents, Introduction, and "Don't Add Adverbs and Adjectives to Prettify Your Prose"
By Cunning & Craft A section on crafting your characters, because fiction is all about people
Howdunit: Police Procedure & Investigation Table of Contents, and tips to sharpen your CSI skills
Between the Lines A section on creating effective backstory
Novelist's Boot Camp Mission III: Enlist Your New Recruits
Chapter After Chapter Find your writing wings
Hooked Opening scenes: an overview
What Would Your Character Do? Scenario: Family Picnic
Craft & Technique | Excerpts | Getting Published
Wednesday, July 09, 2008 4:00:57 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) Trackback
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 Tuesday, July 08, 2008
New Title in Write Great Fiction Series
Posted by Jane
 Our newest title in the Write Great Fiction series, Revision & Self-Editing by James Scott Bell (who also authored Plot & Structure), is now widely available, and reviews are starting to appear. Here's a snippet from C.J. Darlington's review at TitleTrakk.com: Speaking of writing
conferences, that’s what reading this book felt like—attending a
break-out session presented by a skilled wordsmith who knows of what he
speaks. Like a caring English Professor, Jim hovers over your shoulder
pointing out the problems and dishing out the fixes. He pulls no
punches, and you can tell he wants those who read this book to succeed.
With lots of sweat, burning desire, and these techniques in your back
pocket, you truly can. When Plot & Structure
released I said, “If you can only buy one writing book, buy this one.”
Well, it’s time to make space on your shelves for one more. Revision & Self-Editing deserves it.
You can … Craft & Technique | New Titles From Writer's Digest
Tuesday, July 08, 2008 3:42:07 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) Trackback
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 Monday, July 07, 2008
How I Broke Into Publishing
Posted by Jane
I'm frequently asked how I ended up with an illustrious book publishing career. My stock response is: college internship. If you're interested in the long version of the story, then you can read the Q&A over at PublishingCareers by Lori Cates Hand. To give you an idea of the conversation, I will now quote myself: At F+W, you went from managing a magazine to managing books. Was that a difficult transition?
Not
at all, though I suspect my experience is unique. F+W is more like a
media company that parcels out its content in different formats and
packages, across a variety of niche audiences (in my case, writers). So
I worked for Writer’s Digest magazine
for a while, then moved to Writer’s Digest Books, which is really the
same kind of game, with a lot of the same players. It also helped that
I had previous experience in the book division before moving to Writer’s Digest magazine. But F+W editors often move between the magazine and book division successfully.
Many thanks to Lori for her insightful questions (and for anyone looking for a career in publishing, her site is not-to-be-missed). F+W Life | General
Monday, July 07, 2008 3:33:04 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) Trackback
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 Thursday, July 03, 2008
Nick Hornby Doubts E-Books
Posted by Jane
Over at the official blog of Penguin Books UK, guest blogger Nick Hornby gives some excellent reasons why he doesn't see e-books (or e-book readers) becoming prevalent or popular any time soon. Basically, his argument boils down to: Books are consistently lovable (unlike CDs). With e-book readers, you do not already own e-books to load on it. (Contrast with iPod where you already own the music.) People don't buy that many books to begin with. Book lovers are late adaptors of new tech. People will waste time on their iPods rather than reading on some other device.
Highly recommend reading the entire post here. Thanks to our managing designer Grace Ring for sharing the post! Digitization & New Technology | Industry News & Trends
Thursday, July 03, 2008 2:30:33 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) Trackback
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 Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Illustrated Zombie Book = Awesome Review & Ecstatic Author
Posted by Jane
 More news from yet another title from HOW Books, Zombie Haiku: Good Poetry for Your Brains. Ain't It Cool News offers up a superlative review, and here's a bit from the final paragraph: This is the single best zombie read I have laid my eyes on this year
and sure to show up in my picks for best original graphic novel of the
year. The book does a phenomenal job of going into the mind of a zombie
and does so in a creative and wholly new and imaginative way. If you
have a taste for horror, this quirky little book is for you. But if
you're a zombie fiend like myself, you should make it your single
minded goal to seek out this book and digest then savor it. It's a true
gem of a book for those with a taste for the macabre.
The author of Zombie Haiku, Ryan Mecum, stumbled upon the review and e-mailed us this morning to share his excitement: I'm the guy who has been reading Aint It Cool every day for about 10 years now, and I saw this review this morning by just going to their site. CRAZY!!!!! I bawled like a baby and called my wife. It's like I'm in a dream.
Nothing better than happy authors (and superlative reviews). Fun | New Titles From F+W
Wednesday, July 02, 2008 1:55:46 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) Trackback
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Why Writers Need Agents
Posted by Jane
In the comments of the last post, Candy Gourlay pointed out the most charming and adorable YouTube video that she created on why writers need agents. Everybody needs a smile in this business, so I highly recommend playing this gem! Why Writers Need Agents at UK YouTube: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=qTUGOjusOfg
Agents | Fun | Getting Published
Wednesday, July 02, 2008 11:07:15 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) Trackback
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 Tuesday, July 01, 2008
How to Avoid Sabotaging Your Writing Career (#7)
Posted by Jane
At conferences, you can spot them from miles away. They’re the
ones who have been beaten down by years of rejection, the ones who
believe the publishing industry is working against them … the ones who have lost all hope and faith and are now looking for someone to blame (or at least someone to complain to). Who am I talking about? The bitter writers. SABOTAGE #7: BECOME BITTERI've often had bitter writers respond to my rejection letters with strident explanations of why the
rejection is wrong, or accusing me of bad
judgment. (Unfortunately, the more I try to engage such people in a rational discussion of the reasons behind a rejection, the less they are convinced, and the angrier they get … which is probably one reason why few editors/agents like to write detailed rejection letters.) Part of what I see here is an inability to separate the personal aspect from the business aspect. I treat rejection as a part of my business day; writers take it as a personal affront, and being unable to bridge the gap produces animosity toward each other at the end of the day. You can avoid this bitterness trap by understanding the industry, understanding why it works the way it does, and having the right expectations (or, no expectations). I'll end with another quote as to the larger implications: "A great secret of success is to go through life as a man who never gets used up" (Albert Schweitzer). And also from Schweitzer: "Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success." Related blog postsHow to Avoid Sabotaging Your Writing Career (#6)How to Avoid Sabotaging Your Writing Career (#5)
How to Avoid Sabotaging Your Writing Career (#4)
How to Avoid Sabotaging Your Writing Career (#3)How to Avoid Sabotaging Your Writing Career (#2)How to Avoid Sabotaging Your Writing Career (#1) General | Getting Published
Tuesday, July 01, 2008 4:06:40 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) Trackback
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Someone Is Trying to Tell You Something!
Posted by Jane
New Titles From F+W | Sneak Peek
Tuesday, July 01, 2008 3:51:06 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) Trackback
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 Monday, June 30, 2008
How to Avoid Sabotaging Your Writing Career (#6)
Posted by Jane
On this one, I'm cutting to the chase:
SABOTAGE #6: ASSUMING A WORK DEEPLY FELT BY YOU WILL BE DEEPLY FELT BY ALL
This is a strange one. I always feel a little mean mentioning it, and I also feel like it's painfully obvious. Yet again and again, without fail, at every writing conference, I meet a writer who assumes I will be interested in their work simply because it's about a transformational or life-changing or soulful experience. Writers who are so wholly consumed—who have become different people because of the ideas or story they are conveying—tend to automatically assume it will interest editors or agents just because it’s something they know or deeply experienced or worked hard on.
Unfortunately, it’s not enough to have written a great work, experienced a life-changing event, or be an expert in the field. You may feel you have an important message to share, but you have to be
able to connect that message to an identifiable MARKET. You must be
able to establish a readership and a market for your work if you want
to interest a commercial or for-profit publishing house; nothing else will matter to them, apart from amazing, fall-off-your-chair writing. In big-picture terms, I'll quote the great philosopher Schopenhauer: "Most men are so thoroughly subjective that nothing really interests them but themselves. They always think of their own case as soon as any remark is made, and their whole attention engrossed and absorbed by the merest chance reference to anything which affects them personally, be it ever so remote."
General | Getting Published
Monday, June 30, 2008 4:49:09 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) Trackback
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Sneak Peek at Alien Invasion Survival Handbook
Posted by Jane
Next spring (2009), HOW Books will release a handbook on how to defend yourself from aliens. I just saw the sales materials cross my desk and wanted to share some images with you. Immediately below is the cover image.  Here are a few defensive moves you should know about, in case aliens should invade before the book releases. The first is the eye gouge, the second is the choking maneuver.   I recommend you print out a copy of this post and keep it in your wallet, should disaster strike. Fun | Sneak Peek
Monday, June 30, 2008 2:59:46 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) Trackback
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