But how do you reach those readers in the second category, no matter what kind of writer you are?The answer to that question is…Universal FantasyUniversal Fantasy is why my sales tripled when I “accidentally” wrote three books that landed in the Amazon Top 100.Universal Fantasy is why some authors get gobs of gushing reviews and some authors who write “way better” get crickets.Universal Fantasy is the answer to many of the questions you might have thought were unanswerable or simply up to luck, like…• Will this sell?• Why is that selling?• Why didn’t this sell?• Will readers like what I am writing?• Why do I love the TV shows/books/entertainments I do?• Why did I buy that thing I bought when I didn’t intend to buy it?BE WARNED…once known, Universal Fantasy cannot be undiscovered. Leave this book be if you’re truly satisfied with your current writing life.But if you’re not afraid—if you’re ready to know the secret hidden inside all bestselling stories, open this gift and find out how to use UNIVERSAL FANTASY to write and market books that SELL to ANYONE.

    The good news is that almost every nonfiction book published is sold by a proposal. In this comprehensive yet accessible guide, you will learn exactly what a proposal is, what it must contain, and how to pull yours together into an informative, persuasive selling package. Already a favorite for thousands of aspiring writers, this book has been revised and updated by Elizabeth Lyon to feature nearly two dozen actual proposals, plus:- Choosing a topic based on current trends and competing titles- Drafting the perfect concept statement--daring agents and editors to reject you- Defining and targeting your readership--then connecting with them- Preparing a table of contents and chapter summaries- Submitting exciting and well-written sample chapters- Writing query letters- Devising a marketing plan that will excite agents and publishers

    Commentary. Interviews. Translated from the French by Alison Ardron. There are several reasons for this book. The principle one is pleasure--the pure joy of returning to Charles Bukowski and to the Beats, by dipping into their legend--particularly since the Beat movement is now enjoying a lively revival of attention through new editions, appearances of previously unpublished material, exhibitions, and other events. There is also the pleasure of rediscovering Charles Bukowski, cult author whose reputation continues to grow steadily all over the world. The full drama of his humor, of his angers, memories, frustrations, and distinctive grace come to life during Jean-Fran�ois Duval's long interview with Buk: An Evening at Buk's Place. The pleasure also consists of having a close look at the links and contradictions between Bukowski and the Beat constellation.

     You know it’s been rattling around in your head since you were young. You want to write a book because the call of the muse has been getting stronger. And, perhaps you have heard You Must Write a Book. The two keys to success for aspiring authors is consistency and a little bit of time. Honorée Corder and Brian D. Meeks are full-time authors who have written over three dozen books combined, both fiction and non-fiction. Honorée is an expert in non-fiction and Brian has penned tomes across five fiction genres. They’ve combined their knowledge to lay out the best practices and answer the most common questions they hear from new authors. The Nifty Fifteen will take you from the blank page to finished book by wiping away the fear that is born of not knowing where to begin. In addition, you’ll be given access to Brian’s Beautiful Gears, which is a session by session look at how he wrote his 13th novel in just fifteen minutes per day. You’ll see the unedited work with all of its errors to show how a full-time author is worried about one thing…get the first rough draft out. The edited version, all polished up and without the daily comments, will also be made available upon its release. Lastly you’ll be given exercises that will make the process easy to undertake. Everyone has a story to tell. It just takes a little time each day, so why not give The Nifty Fifteen a read.

    Romance author Serenity Woods and best selling author Mark Dawson provide ten short tips to help the eager beginner interested in turning their hobby of writing romance stories into a way to earn a living.

    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.

    Toklas was written in 1933 by Gertrude Stein in the guise of an autobiography authored by Alice B. Toklas, who was her lover. It is a fascinating insight into the art scene in Paris as the couple were friends with Paul Cézanne, Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso. They begin the war years in England but return to France, volunteering for the American Fund for the French Wounded, driving around France, helping the wounded and homeless. After the war Gertrude has an argument with T. S. Eliot after he finds one of her writings inappropriate. They become friends with Sherwood Anderson and Ernest Hemingway. It was written to make money and was indeed a commercial success. However, it attracted criticism, especially from those who appeared in the book and didn't like the way they were depicted.

    In her first collection in five years, Anne Carson explores this idea with characteristic brilliance and a tantalizing range of reference, moving from Aphrodite to Antonioni, Demosthenes to Annie Dillard, Telemachos to Trotsky, and writing in forms as varied as opera libretto, screenplay, poem, oratorio, essay, shot list, and rapture. As she makes her way through these forms she slowly dismantles them, and in doing so seeks to move through the self, to its undoing.

    It's all the information you need to solve the mystery-writing riddle!

    These literary heroines did what they wanted and said what they thought, living wholly in the moment. They kicked open the door for twentieth-century women writers and set a new model for every woman trying to juggle the serious issues of economic independence, political power, and sexual freedom. Here are the social and literary triumphs and inevitably the penances paid: crumbled love affairs, abortions, depression, lost beauty, nervous breakdowns, and finally, overdoses and even madness. A vibrant mixture of literary scholarship, social history, and scandal, Bobbed Hair and Bathtub Gin is a rich evocation of a period that will forever intrigue and captivate us.

    A woman's journey ended at the altar. Professor Heilbrun notes that the diversity of women's lives now makes it possible for women to dare to choose their own scripts.

     Join Dana Schwartz on a journey revisiting all of the awful choices she made in her early twenties through the internet's favorite method of self-knowledge: the quiz. Part-memoir, part-VERY long personality test, Choose Your Own Disaster is a manifesto about the millennial experience and modern feminism and how the easy advice of "you can be anything you want!" is actually pretty fucking difficult when there are so many possible versions of yourself it seems like you could be. Dana has no idea who she is, but at least she knows she's a Carrie, a Ravenclaw, a Raphael, a Belle, a former emo kid, a Twitter addict, and a millennial just trying her best. This long-form personality quiz manages to combine humor with unflinching honesty as one young woman tries to find herself amid the many, many choices that your twenties have to offer.

    We'll walk you through the key steps for every part of the process, and while it may seem repetitive at times, we want to make sure you have exactly the information you need, when you need it.And don't forget — this is a process! Publishing on Kindle is easy and takes only 5 minutes of your time — but correctly preparing your book for success on Kindle takes time and effort. Don't worry; if you follow the steps we outline here, you should feel confident you'll end up with a successfully designed and formatted book and one you will be proud to see for sale on Amazon.

    Much as our culture pays lip service to the importance of literature, we rarely examine the creative and cognitive benefits of reading from infancy through adolescence. By exploring how beauty and horror operated in C.S. Lewis 's Chronicles of Narnia, Philip Pullman 's His Dark Materials, J.K. Rowling 's Harry Potter novels, and many other narratives, Tatar provides a delightful work for parents, teachers, and general readers, not just examining how and what children read but also showing through vivid examples how literature transports and transforms children with its intoxicating, captivating, and occasionally terrifying energy. In the tradition of Bruno Bettelheim 's landmark The Uses of Enchantment, Tatar 's book is not only a compelling journey into the world of childhood but a trip back for adult readers as well.

    But a poorly done or unbelievable fight scene can ruin a great book in an instant.In Fight Write you'll learn practical tips, terminology, and the science behind crafting realistic fight scenes for your fiction. Broken up into "Rounds," trained fighter and writer Carla Hoch guides you through the many factors you'll need to consider when developing battles and brawls.- In Round 1, you will consider how the Who, When, Where, and Why questions affect what type of fight scene you want to craft. - Round 2 delves into the human factors of biology (think fight or flight and adrenaline) and psychology (aggression and response to injuring or killing another person). - Round 3 explores different fighting styles that are appropriate for different situations: What really happens in fights on the street? What is the vocabulary used to describe these styles? - Round 4 considers weaponry and will guide you to select the best weapon for your characters, including nontraditional weapons of opportunity, while also thinking about the nitty-gritty details of using them. - In Round 5, you'll learn how to accurately describe realistic injuries sustained from the fights and certain weapons, and what kind of injuries will kill a character or render them unable to fight further.By taking into account where your character is in the world, when in history the fight is happening, what the character's motivation for fighting is, and much more, you'll be able write fight scenes unique to your plot and characters, all while satisfying your reader's discerning eye.