Blue Collar to No Collar: From Trucker to Bestselling Novelist in Two Years


Wayne Stinnett - 2016
    Whether it’s a memoir of an exciting life, or fictional characters in your head trying to get out. Perhaps you’ve thought it might be cool to write a book, but always believed it was beyond your reach and ability.It’s not.To be more precise, it doesn’t have to be. All you lack is the motivation to get started, the tenacity to stay with it, and the expertise in self publishing to get it finished. I can help you with these things.In this book, I’ll show you some of the rewards that might come your way by becoming an self published, or independent author. I also provide a few tips on how to overcome certain common stumbling blocks.But, this isn’t a how-to book. There are many learned scholars publishing books about the craft of creative writing. This is more of a motivational book, giving you an idea of what you might expect in the trenches, as a mid-level self published author. Whether you’re just thinking about writing or already have several books published, we could all use a little motivation.Who am I? Just an old truck driver, who is now off the road and living the life I’ve always dreamed of, after just two years of writing and self publishing.

Editor-Proof Your Writing: 21 Steps to the Clear Prose Publishers and Agents Crave


Don McNair - 2013
    McNair explains the common mistakes made by most writers and shows how eliminating unnecessary words strengthens action, shorten sentences, and makes writing crackle with life. Containing 21 simple, straightforward principles, Editor-Proof Your Writing teaches how to edit weak verb forms, strip away author intrusions, ban redundancies, eliminate foggy phrases, correct passive-voice sentences, slash misused and overused words, and fix other writing mistakes. A superb addition to any writer’s toolkit, this book will not only make writing clearer and more grammatical, it will also make it more concise, entertaining, and appealing to publishers.

Writer's Doubt: How You Can Overcome Doubt and Create Work That Matters


Bryan Hutchinson - 2014
    As a child, he had to take a remedial reading and writing class because he could barely write a full sentence. One editor told him his book would never be published.And yet Bryan is now a bestselling author whose books have been read by over 100,000 people and the book the editor said would never be published has been praised publicly by the foremost experts in the field.All writers doubt their ability. But Bryan's story shows doubt doesn't have to define your writing future.

Word Hero: A Fiendishly Clever Guide to Crafting the Lines that Get Laughs, Go Viral, and Live Forever


Jay Heinrichs - 2011
    What it does require is some knowledge of the tricks and techniques that make words stick.   In Word Hero, Jay Heinrichs rescues the how-to of verbal artistry from cobwebbed textbooks and makes it entirely fresh – even a little mischievous.  Fear not: on offer here are not dry, abstract ideas couched in academic jargon.  Rather, Heinrichs takes you on an amusing – and amazingly helpful – tour of the mechanisms that make powerful language work.  You’ll learn how to slyly plant your words in people’s heads and draw indelible verbal pictures by employing such tools as “crashing symbols,” “rapid repeaters,” “Russian Dolls” and even the powers of Mr. Potato Head.   With those tools and others tucked in your utility belt, you might not immediately achieve “wordsmith immortality” but you will become a better speaker, writer, and raconteur…and long after people have forgotten everything else, they’ll remember your priceless lines.

How To Sell Fiction On Kindle. Marketing Your Ebook In Amazon's Ecosystem: A Guide For Kindle Publishing Authors.


Michael Alvear - 2013
     I’m going to show you examples, rock solid proof, that unknown authors used the keyword phrases in this book to rank higher than superstar authors like J.A. Konrath or Barry Eisler. You can start getting visibility today because...This Book Marketing Guide Answers The Most Critical Question You Face As A Fiction Writer:What keyword phrases should I use for my novel? I’m not going to show you how to find them. I’m going to tell you what they are. This Kindle selling book is quite literally an encyclopedia of keyword phrases that buyers type into Amazon’s search engine when they try to find books in your genre. It’s your biggest challenge answered: Discoverability.Writing a Young Adult novel? Click on the “Young Adult” link in this Kindle selling book and it’ll take you to a list of keyword phrases people use to find YA books. Writing a thriller? A romance? Same thing. My team of researchers pulled the keyword phrases directly out of Amazon’s “Leading Indicators.” Special Bonus! They include Amazon’s “Relative Importance” ranking, which shows you which keyword phrases are more likely to lead to a sale. Get excited! This is your ticket to huge sales! Inside This Kindle Publishing Guide You Will Find The Most Effective Keyword Phrases For Books In: • Romance- Christian- Contemporary- Fantasy & Futuristic- Historical Romance- Paranormal- Romantic Suspense- Time Travel- Vampires- Westerns • Fantasy- Alternative History- Contemporary- Dark Fantasy- Epic- Historical- Paranormal- Urban • Mystery & Thrillers- Crime- Mystery- Police Procedurals- Thrillers• Horror- Dark Fantasies- Occult- Ghosts• And...- Science Fiction- Action Adventure- Contemporary Fiction- Erotica- Literary Fiction- Historical Fiction- Christian Fiction- Gay & Lesbian- Medical- Men’s Adventure- Sea Adventures- Sports- War How To Sell More Books On Amazon, Part Two. Every book buyer goes through nine decision points on their way to a purchase. Will they click on your cover? Read your book description? Click on “Look Inside? Wince at your price? Read your reviews? I’m going to show you how you can influence each of the nine decision points so they result in a sale. This includes how to:• Come up with clever, must-click titles.• Create mesmerizing covers.• Write a book description that ignites click lust. • Use HTML to format your book description.• Use the “look inside!” Feature to clinch the sale.• Set the right price for your book.• Get reviews that jump-starts sales.About Michael AlvearWhen I published my first books on Kindle, I’d check my anemic sales and let out a string of cuss words that made my dog blush. Then I developed my Attract•Engage•Convert strategy and sales took off.

Tell It Slant: Writing and Shaping Creative Nonfiction


Brenda Miller - 2003
    A series of lessons on writing and creating non-fiction

The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life


Twyla Tharp - 2003
    It is the product of preparation and effort, and it's within reach of everyone who wants to achieve it. All it takes is the willingness to make creativity a habit, an integral part of your life: In order to be creative, you have to know how to prepare to be creative. In The Creative Habit, Tharp takes the lessons she has learned in her remarkable thirty-five-year career and shares them with you, whatever creative impulses you follow -- whether you are a painter, composer, writer, director, choreographer, or, for that matter, a businessperson working on a deal, a chef developing a new dish, a mother wanting her child to see the world anew. When Tharp is at a creative dead end, she relies on a lifetime of exercises to help her get out of the rut, and The Creative Habit contains more than thirty of them to ease the fears of anyone facing a blank beginning and to open the mind to new possibilities. Tharp's exercises are practical and immediately doable -- for the novice or expert. In "Where's Your Pencil?" she reminds us to observe the world -- and get it down on paper. In "Coins and Chaos," she provides the simplest of mental games to restore order and peace. In "Do a Verb," she turns your mind and body into coworkers. In "Build a Bridge to the Next Day," she shows how to clean your cluttered mind overnight. To Tharp, sustained creativity begins with rituals, self-knowledge, harnessing your memories, and organizing your materials (so no insight is ever lost). Along the way she leads you by the hand through the painful first steps of scratching for ideas, finding the spine of your work, and getting out of ruts into productive grooves. In her creative realm, optimism rules. An empty room, a bare desk, a blank canvas can be energizing, not demoralizing. And in this inventive, encouraging book, Twyla Tharp shows us how to take a deep breath and begin!

Write The Fight Right


Alan Baxter - 2011
    Baxter's experience from decades as a career martial artist make this book a valuable resource for writers who want to understand what fighting is all about - what it really feels like and what does and doesn't work - and how to factor those things into their writing to make their fight scenes visceral, realistic page turners. Baxter won't tell you how to write, but he will tell you what makes a great fight scene.

Short Story: From First Draft to Final Product


Michael Milton - 2013
    I spent time looking for a book which would show me how a "raw" story was developed through drafts, with comments received and the changes made. Struggling to find such a work, I decided to create my own, being transparent and honest in the details. Using the story that gained me an offer of a place on a Master's in Creative Writing, SHORT STORY will take you through three drafts of the work.The book details not only the major revisions, feedback given by a professional novelist and an academic, but also has a bunch of tips from my writers toolbox condensed between the drafts. I hope that the process provides something useful for you, be it a tip from the writing toolbox, a look at the editing process, or motivation in knowing that you can do better than I did!

The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century


Steven Pinker - 2014
    Rethinking the usage guide for the twenty-first century, Pinker doesn’t carp about the decline of language or recycle pet peeves from the rulebooks of a century ago. Instead, he applies insights from the sciences of language and mind to the challenge of crafting clear, coherent, and stylish prose. In this short, cheerful, and eminently practical book, Pinker shows how writing depends on imagination, empathy, coherence, grammatical knowhow, and an ability to savor and reverse engineer the good prose of others. He replaces dogma about usage with reason and evidence, allowing writers and editors to apply the guidelines judiciously, rather than robotically, being mindful of what they are designed to accomplish. Filled with examples of great and gruesome prose, Pinker shows us how the art of writing can be a form of pleasurable mastery and a fascinating intellectual topic in its own right.

The Writing Life


Annie Dillard - 1989
    A moving account of Dillard’s own experiences while writing her works, The Writing Life offers deep insight into one of the most mysterious professions.

Will Write for Food: The Complete Guide to Writing Cookbooks, Restaurant Reviews, Articles, Memoir, Fiction and More


Dianne Jacob - 2005
    Dianne Jacob—journalist and food-writing instructor and coach—offers interviews with award-winning writers such as Jeffrey Steingarten, Calvin Trillin, Molly O'Neill, and Deborah Madison, plus well-known book and magazine editors and literary agents, give readers the tools to get started and the confidence to follow through. Comprehensive yet accessible chapters range from restaurant reviewing to cookbooks to memoirs. Focused exercises at the end of chapters stimulate creativity, help organize thought, and build practical skills. Will Write for Food is the first and ultimate ins and outs guidebook to the incredibly popular world of food writing.

How to Write a Children's Book and Get It Published


Barbara Seuling - 1984
    What's more, this revised and expanded edition contains updated reading lists and organizational references, as well as the latest information on word processing and illustrating with computers. There's also a new chapter on writing plays for children, and innovative suggestions for handling difficult contemporary issues such as AIDS. From character sketches to bound books, author/editor Barbara Seuling shows how to get involved and work toward success in today's world of children's literature.

Before and After the Book Deal: A Writer’s Guide to Finishing, Publishing, Promoting, and Surviving Your First Book


Courtney Maum - 2020
    Before and After the Book Deal: A Writer's Guide to Finishing, Publishing, Promoting, and Surviving Your First Book has over 150 contributors from all walks of the industry, including international bestselling authors Anthony Doerr, Roxane Gay, Garth Greenwell, Lisa Ko, R. O. Kwon, Rebecca Makkai, and Ottessa Moshfegh, alongside cult favorites Sarah Gerard, Melissa Febos, Mitchell S. Jackson, and Mira Jacob. Agents, film scouts, film producers, translators, disability and minority activists, and power agents and editors also weigh in, offering advice and sharing intimate anecdotes about even the most taboo topics in the industry. Their wisdom will help aspiring authors find a foothold in the publishing world and navigate the challenges of life before and after publication with sanity and grace.Are MFA programs worth the time and money? How do people actually sit down and finish a novel? Did you get a good advance? What do you do when you feel envious of other writers? And why the heck aren’t your friends saying anything about your book? Covering questions ranging from the logistical to the existential (and everything in between), Before and After the Book Deal is the definitive guide for anyone who has ever wanted to know what it’s really like to be an author.

How I Write: Secrets of a Bestselling Author


Janet Evanovich - 2006
    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.