Le Guin generously shares the accumulated wisdom of a lifetime's work.

    Hall knows. Now, in this entertaining, revelatory book, he reveals how bestsellers work, using twelve twentieth-century blockbusters as case studies—including The Godfather, Gone with the Wind, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Jaws. From tempting glimpses inside secret societies, such as submariners in The Hunt for Red October, and Opus Dei in The Da Vinci Code, to vivid representations of the American Dream and its opposite—the American Nightmare—in novels like The Firm and The Dead Zone, Hall identifies the common features of mega-bestsellers. Including fascinating and little-known facts about some of the most beloved books of the last century, Hit Lit is a must-read for fiction lovers and aspiring writers alike, and makes us think anew about why we love the books we love.

     Everything in this book is based on real strategies currently used by top-earning bloggers. Whether you're new to blogging or an advanced blogger, if there was some magic pill that could take you from nothing to earning a full-time income from a blog, then this book is the closest thing in existence to that magic pill. If you're serious about earning an income blogging, then this book will be the best book which you've ever read on the subject.

    So much of what you need to know is already defined for you. You know that your script needs to be a certain short length, with a certain small number of characters. You know that your choice of scenes is limited to your show’s standing sets and maybe one or two swing sets or outside locations. You know how your characters behave and how they’re funny, either because you invented them or because you’re writing for a show where these things are already well established. Sitcom is easy and sitcom is fun. Sitcom is the gateway drug to longer forms of writing. It’s a pretty good buzz and a pretty good ride, a great way to kill an afternoon, or even six months. And now, thanks to comedy writing guru John Vorhaus (author of THE COMIC TOOLBOX: HOW TO BE FUNNY EVEN IF YOU'RE NOT), writing situation comedy is easier than ever. In THE LITTLE BOOK OF SITCOM, you'll find a whole trove of tools, tricks and problem-solving techniques that you can use -- now, today -- to be the sitcom writer of your wildest dreams. Ready to write? Ready to have fun? THE LITTLE BOOK OF SITCOM is the big little book for you.

    Drawing on a wide range of  great writers, from Philip Roth to Antonin Scalia to Jane Austen, How to Write a Sentence is much more than a writing manual—it is a spirited love letter to the written word, and a key to understanding how great writing works.

    In his novels and stories, in letters to editors, friends, fellow artists, and critics, in interviews and in commissioned articles on the subject, Hemingway wrote often about writing. And he wrote as well and as incisively about the subject as any writer who ever lived…This book contains Hemingway’s reflections on the nature of the writer and on elements of the writer’s life, including specific and helpful advice to writers on the craft of writing, work habits, and discipline. The Hemingway personality comes through in general wisdom, wit, humor, and insight, and in his insistence on the integrity of the writer and of the profession itself.—From the Preface by Larry W. Phillips

    But that was only part of the tale… Now, in his own words, “Irish” Micky Ward tells his inspirational life story as only he can. From his first bout at the age of seven, Micky Ward was known first and foremost for giving as good as he got, and for leaving absolutely everything he had in the ring. When he fought, quitting was never an option. It was that indomitable spirit that would allow him to survive, battle against, and overcome the harsh realities that he faced every day of his life.For it was outside the ring that Ward’s heart would be most needed, from witnessing his idolized older half-brother Dicky fall from grace, to dealing with his wildly dysfunctional—if frighteningly loyal—family, to the darkest of secrets that he has never revealed until now, and the numerous setbacks and defeats that would have stopped a lesser man. Micky Ward has remained a fighter, through and through—both as a professional boxer, and as a man who finally found his greatest strength in friendship, family, and faith in himselfFrom the rough streets of Lowell, Massachusetts, to the blood and sweat of the international fight game, to the bright lights and adulation of Hollywood, this is the rousing, moving, tragic, and humorous story of the one and only Micky Ward.

     A plotting guide for fiction authors who hate outlining. If you’ve read dozens of books on writing but still struggle with finishing or polishing your story, get stuck in the soggy middle, lose motivation to fix your book after the first draft is done, or can’t get readers to stick with your story, this book is for you. After early criticism made me give up writing for nearly a decade, I spent years studying the craft of fiction and boiled everything into a simple, eight-step framework authors can use to improve their writing. Then I added a unique visual framework for creating powerful scenes that readers will love. This book will help you: ✓ Organize your story so you can finish a great book, faster ✓ Unlock hidden potential in your scenes that you didn’t know was there ✓ Hook readers faster so they don’t quit too early Whether you’re a panster or a plotter, the guided exercises in this book will help you gain greater visual clarity, plot and outline your novel, edit and revise your first draft, and renew your enthusiasm for writing fiction. The Plot Dot makes an excellent workbook for writing retreats, is simple enough for children to use (it’s never too early to write your first novel), and introduces a new and useful way to organize your book, improve your writing, and create unforgettable scenes that will make a deep and lasting impact.

    Life coaches with new methodologies for living on purpose . . . energy workers who've discovered new ways to prevent disease and teach self-healing . . . everyday heroes and heroines who have made it through difficult circumstances and want to inspire others to do the same. In today's tumultuous world, we need these voices in the marketplace. Moreover, publishing a book has never been so simple, accessible, or affordable as it is today. So why are so many thought leaders, healers, and change-agents stuck at the starting line?This book will light the way--offering a simple, step-by-step path that takes authors from concept to finished book. In it, publishing veteran Kelly Notaras demystifies the publishing process and gives writers the tools, insider information, and inspiration to start strong, keep going, and get across the finish line as quickly as possible.

    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.

    What's more, training a copywriter to write good copy was just as slow... often taking two to four years and generating lots of hurt feelings.Copy Logic! The New Science of Producing Breakthrough Copy (Without Criticism) eliminates both of these problems. It is far and away the best -- and fastest -- way to improve copy... and cut a copywriter's learning curve in half.In this book, direct-marketing expert Michael Masterson and master copywriter Mike Palmer reveal their methodical, step-by-step process for turning "B-level" copy into control beating "A-level" copy in just 24 hours.This is the exact process that was directly responsible for helping one company boost its revenues into the $300-million-a-year range (while creating six-figure incomes for many of its copywriters).Needless to say, Copy Logic! works.Simply follow Masterson and Palmer's clearly outlined steps and detailed examples, and you can't help bu come out with significantly stronger copy.Whether you're a business owner, marketing director, copy chief, or copywriter, Copy Logic! will help you produce bigger winners, more often.

    In a story or a novel the "I" who tells this tale can be, and often is, an unreliable narrator but in nonfiction the reader must always be persuaded that the narrator is speaking truth.How does one pull from one's own boring, agitated self the truth-speaker who will tell the story a personal narrative needs to tell? That is the question The Situation and the Story asks--and answers. Taking us on a reading tour of some of the best memoirs and essays of the past hundred years, Gornick traces the changing idea of self that has dominated the century, and demonstrates the enduring truth-speaker to be found in the work of writers as diverse as Edmund Gosse, Joan Didion, Oscar Wilde, James Baldwin, or Marguerite Duras.This book, which grew out of fifteen years teaching in MFA programs, is itself a model of the lucid intelligence that has made Gornick one of our most admired writers of nonfiction. In it, she teaches us to write by teaching us how to read: how to recognize truth when we hear it in the writing of others and in our own.

    And with this book, she's here to help you do the best writing of your life--and live your best life while doing it.Using a fresh new approach to Joseph Campbell's archetypal Hero's Journey, Levin reveals how to be a hero in the narrative of your own process. She weaves together wisdom drawn from her years as a life coach for writers and an editor at the world's biggest publishing house with behind-the-scenes stories from a panoply of best-selling authors and career entertainers. With over thirty exercises designed to help you reinvent your creative process from the inside out, this book will show you how to:Identify your biggest challenges and render them powerlessStart a project that you love--and stick with itDesign a structure for writing regularlyWhether you're a first-time writer with a brand-new project or a seasoned pro, you'll reach the end of this book feeling fulfilled, inspired, and ready to mentor the next writer on their creative journey.

    Written by the founder and editor of MarketBeat, a daily investment newsletter with more than 425,000 subscribers, this invaluable resource will show you how to identify investments that offer lower volatility, higher returns and an automatic income stream of dividends that you can live off of during retirement. This strategy is easy to implement and will set you off on a path toward true financial independence. Here's what you'll learn: How you can create an automatic income stream you can actually live on during retirement. How to build an investment portfolio of rock-solid companies that outperform the S&P 500. What criteria can identify dividend stocks that consistently return 10% or more per year. Which newsletters, websites and other resources you should use to research dividend stocks. Why you won't be tempted to cash out your dividend stock portfolio during the next recession. How to reduce your tax bill by choosing the right dividend investments and the right accounts. Why dividend-growth investing is superior to traditional income investing strategies. Market risk is near an all-time high and interest rates are at a historic low. There has never been a better time to switch to a more sensible wealth-generation strategy. If you want to improve your market returns, spend less time worrying about money and achieve true financial independence, this book is for you.

    It offers practical and inspiring advice on such subjects as structuring a plot and handling rejection. And it combines one of today's most successful fiction writers with a published non-fiction writer who teaches creative fiction. HOW I WRITE is the perfect reference for anyone looking to improve their writing, and for those fans who are hungry to find out more about just how Janet Evanovich ticks.