How to Make a Living with Your Writing: Books, Blogging and More


Joanna Penn - 2015
    I was miserable in my job and my creativity was stunted by the crushing daily grind.Then I started writing books and blogging, using my words to create products and attract readers. In September 2011, I left my corporate job to become a full-time author and creative entrepreneur and since then I've grown my business year on year "" all based on my writing. More importantly, I'm finally living the happy life I always wanted.I'm not a Kindle or blogging millionaire and this is not a get rich quick scheme. But I will share with you how I make a six-figure income from writing books, blogging and marketing in an ethical manner.We're living in the best time ever to make a living with your writing! Read on to learn more.The book includes:Overview of how I make a living and income splitFirst principlesTips on writing and productivityTips on mindsetPart 1: How to make money from booksIt's not just one bookYour publishing options: Traditional publishingChanges in the publishing industryYour publishing options: Becoming an indie authorHow to self-publish an ebookHow to self-publish a print bookHow to self-publish an audiobookPart 2: How to make money online in other waysA business powered by content marketingProduct salesAffiliate incomeConsulting or coachingProfessional speakingAdvertising and sponsorshipFreelance writingTips for content marketingThe transition and your next stepsPlus/ Companion Workbook so you can answer the questions in the book for yourself.If you'd like to make a living with your writing, this book will help you take the next steps.

The Art of the Novel


Milan Kundera - 1986
    He is especially penetrating on Hermann Broch, and his exploration of the world of Kafka's novels vividly reveals the comic terror of Kafka's bureaucratized universe.Kundera's discussion of his own work includes his views on the role of historical events in fiction, the meaning of action, and the creation of character in the post-psychological novel.

Aristotle's Poetics for Screenwriters: Storytelling Secrets from the Greatest Mind in Western Civilization


Michael Tierno - 2002
    Long considered the bible for storytellers, Aristotle's Poetics is a fixture of college courses on everything from fiction writing to dramatic theory. Now Michael Tierno shows how this great work can be an invaluable resource to screenwriters or anyone interested in studying plot structure. In carefully organized chapters, Tierno breaks down the fundamentals of screenwriting, highlighting particular aspects of Aristotle's work. Then, using examples from some of the best movies ever made, he demonstrates how to apply these ancient insights to modern-day screenwriting. This user-friendly guide covers a multitude of topics, from plotting and subplotting to dialogue and dramatic unity. Writing in a highly readable, informal tone, Tierno makes Aristotle's monumental work accessible to beginners and pros alike in areas such as screenwriting, film theory, fiction, and playwriting.

The Naked Truth About Self-Publishing


Jana DeleonDenise Grover Swank - 2013
    A book so raw it was banned in one small city in Iowa. If you are thinking about self-publishing or you just want to know all the juicy insider scoop this is a must read.

The Productive Writer: Tips & Tools to Help You Write More, Stress Less & Create Success


Sage Cohen - 2010
    Facing the blank page, staying inspired, sustaining momentum, managing competing priorities and coping with rejection are just a few of the challenges writers face regularly."The Productive Writer" is your guide to learning the systems, strategies and psychology that can help you transform possibilities into probabilities in your writing life. You'll sharpen your productivity pencil by learning how to:Set clear goals--and achieve themCreate a writing schedule that really worksDiscover what keeps you writing, revising, and submittingCarve out writing time amidst the demands of work and familyWeed out habits and attitudes that are not serving youOrganize your thinking, workspace, papers and filesIncrease your odds of publication and prosperityUse social media to build an author platformGet comfortable going public and promoting your writingCreate a sustainable writing rhythm and lifestyleAccomplish what matters most to youCreate the writing life you most desire. "The Productive Writer" will help take you there.

Writing with Power: Techniques for Mastering the Writing Process


Peter Elbow - 1981
    Here, Peter Elbow emphasizes that the essential activities underlying good writing and the essential exercises promoting it are really not difficult at all.Employing a cookbook approach, Elbow provides the reader (and writer) with various recipes: for getting words down on paper, for revising, for dealing with an audience, for getting feedback on a piece of writing, and still other recipes for approaching the mystery of power in writing. In a new introduction, he offers his reflections on the original edition, discusses the responses from people who have followed his techniques, how his methods may differ from other processes, and how his original topics are still pertinent to today's writer. By taking risks and embracing mistakes, Elbow hopes the writer may somehow find a hold on the creative process and be able to heighten two mentalities--the production of writing and the revision of it.From students and teachers to novelists and poets, Writing with Power reminds us that we can celebrate the uses of mystery, chaos, nonplanning, and magic, while achieving analysis, conscious control, explicitness, and care in whatever it is we set down on paper.

Consider This: Moments in My Writing Life After Which Everything Was Different


Chuck Palahniuk - 2020
    Consider it a classic in the making.

Strong Verbs for Fiction Writers (Indie Author Resources Book 2)


Valerie Howard - 2019
    Just look up the weak verb you'd like to replace, and choose a stronger verb from the alphabetized lists. For example: Weak: Sally walked across the room. Stronger: Sally scurried across the room. Weak: Harry lightly touched the edge of the book. Stronger: Harry trailed his fingers along the edge of the book. Weak: Karen ran as quickly as she could to her closet. Stronger: Karen charged her closet in a panic. Weak: Lucy hit her palm on the desk. Stronger: Lucy smacked her palm on the desk. Ready to weed out the weak verbs and not-so-helpful adverbs in your writing and replace them with strong verbs? Let's get started! Indie Author Resources Book 2

Dreyer's English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style


Benjamin Dreyer - 2019
    L. Doctorow, and Frank Rich, into a useful guide not just for writers but for everyone who wants to put their best foot forward in writing prose. Dreyer offers lessons on the ins and outs of punctuation and grammar, including how to navigate the words he calls "the confusables," like tricky homophones; the myriad ways to use (and misuse) a comma; and how to recognize--though not necessarily do away with--the passive voice. (Hint: If you can plausibly add "by zombies" to the end of a sentence, it's passive.) People are sharing their writing more than ever--on blogs, on Twitter--and this book lays out, clearly and comprehensibly, everything writers can do to keep readers focused on the real reason writers write: to communicate their ideas clearly and effectively. Chock-full of advice, insider wisdom, and fun facts on the rules (and nonrules) of the English language, this book will prove invaluable to everyone who wants to shore up their writing skills, mandatory for people who spend their time editing and shaping other people's prose, and--perhaps best of all--an utter treat for anyone who simply revels in language.

Telling True Stories: A Nonfiction Writers' Guide from the Nieman Foundation at Harvard University


Mark Kramer - 2007
    Telling True Stories presents their best advice—covering everything from finding a good topic, to structuring narrative stories, to writing and selling your first book. More than fifty well-known writers offer their most powerful tips, including: • Tom Wolfe on the emotional core of the story • Gay Talese on writing about private lives • Malcolm Gladwell on the limits of profiles • Nora Ephron on narrative writing and screenwriters • Alma Guillermoprieto on telling the story and telling the truth • Dozens of Pulitzer Prize–winning journalists from the Atlantic Monthly, New Yorker, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post and more . . .The essays contain important counsel for new and career journalists, as well as for freelance writers, radio producers, and memoirists. Packed with refreshingly candid and insightful recommendations, Telling True Stories will show anyone fascinated by the art of writing nonfiction how to bring people, scenes, and ideas to life on the page.

The Writer's Complete Fantasy Reference: An Indispensable Compendium of Myth and Magic


David H. Borcherding - 1998
    It can be as inventive and creative as the writer can make it, a whirlwind of images and plot twists, but it cannot be built on a foundation of air. The world must be identifiable with our own, must offer us a frame of reference we can recognize.--Terry BrooksThis is your complete guide to the realm of the fantastic. Whether you write science fiction, fantasy, horror, romance or historical fiction, here you'll find the factual information you need to construct a fantasy world full of wonder, imagination and spellbinding detail.From fabled creatures to occult religions, every page of this intriguing guide reveals the hidden realities of all things mystical, mythical and supernatural.Featuring charts, lists, illustrations and timelines, each chapter focuses on a different facet of fantasy, including:* Pagan orders, secret societies, witchcraft and the rites and rituals of magic* Detailed profiles of fantastic societies and ancient civilizations, from the Incas and Aztecs to Egypt and the Far East* Medieval trades, occupations, laws and punishments* Dragons, naiads, kelpies and other creatures of myth and fantasy* Legendary races, including elves, dwarfs, giants and more* A comprehensive look at the anatomy of a castle, describing the forms and functions of everything from barbicans to trebuchetsThis guide also goes well beyond standard reference books, offering sound advice on the writing styles and structures of this complex genre, with important tips on how to weave the elements of fact and fantasy into an absorbing narrative.Fascinating and authoritative, The Writer s Complete Fantasy Reference is the resource you need to create fiction that is compelling, fresh and wildly fantastic.

Shimmering Images: A Handy Little Guide to Writing Memoir


Lisa Dale Norton - 2008
    Shimmering Images teaches the aspiring memoirist how to locate key memories using Lisa's technique for finding, linking, and fleshing out those vibrant recollections of important moments and situations.Shimmering Images will address:*the difference between memoir and autobiography*how to claim your voice*the art of storytelling*honesty, truth, and compassion in writing*authentic dialogue and the need for specificityReaders will learn how to craft a short piece of narrative nonfiction grounded in their core memories and master a technique they can use over and over again for writing other narratives.A must-have book for anyone who has treasured Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott or Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg.

Time to Write: More Than 100 Professional Writers Reveal How to Fit Writing Into Your Busy Life


Kelly L. Stone - 2007
    Light bulbs went off in my head as I read Kelly L. Stone's Time to Write with its shrewd observations and sage, practical advice for making time to write." -Hallie Ephron, author of Writing and Selling Your Mystery Novel and 1001 Books for Every Mood"When it's a writing day, I'm writing. Period."—Jodi Picoult "I set myself a 500 word a day goal. . . . If I can do that, I can finish a first draft in six months."—Hallie Ephron "If the trouble is just getting started in the morning, I often change my writing place or method."—Jennifer Blake In Time to Write, more than 100 professional writers from across genres-including Sandra Brown, Catherine Coulter, Wendy Corsi Staub, Merline Lovelace, Steve Berry, Tess Gerritsen, Ann Major, Cherry Adair, Christine Feehan, Julia London, and Eloisa James-share their secrets to finding time to write. And if they could find the time to write, then so can you. The time is now.

Wrede on Writing: Tips, Hints, and Opinions on Writing


Patricia C. Wrede - 2013
    Wrede has been a stalwart of the sci-fi/fantasy world for decades, publishing dozens of books across multiple series, storming bestseller lists and corralling accolades from critics and fans alike. Now, with brilliant insight and a sparkling wit, Wrede shows beginning writers the ropes in WREDE ON WRITING. How do I find the time to write? How do I decide when a book is finished? How do I get my book published?Wrede tackles all issues for writers, from the basic how-to’s to the more advanced topics on character development and worldbuilding. In her conversational tone, she gives writers the tips and tricks her experience has brought. After WREDE ON WRITING, authors will have the knowledge to put their tools to better use. Thinking of starting a book? Trying to finish one? WREDE ON WRITING will guide you towards that superior draft to send to agents, to publishers, and to readers.How do I calculate royalties? How do I plan my finances as an author? How do I write as a career?Before she became a successful full-time writer, Patricia C. Wrede worked in finance, and she also provides for authors an extensive look at how to manage the money—from royalties to determining the financial potential of your next project, Wrede provides authors with deep insight into the business of writing. A brilliant guide from a literary stalwart, WREDE ON WRITING is the book everyone with a novel under their beds or inside their heads should read.

Writing Screenplays That Sell: The Complete, Step-By-Step Guide for Writing and Selling to the Movies and TV, from Story Concept to Development Deal


Michael Hauge - 1988
    This is the new screenwriter′s bible.