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.
Unless It Moves the Human Heart: The Craft and Art of Writing
Roger Rosenblatt - 2010
With Unless It Moves the Human Heart, the revered novelist, essayist, playwright, and respected writing teacher offers a guidebook for aspiring authors, a memoir, and an impassioned argument for the necessity of writing in our world. In the tradition of Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird, Rosenblatt’s Unless It Moves the Human Heart provides practical insights and advice on the craft, exquisitely presented by one of contemporary literature’s living treasures.
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
Stephen King - 2000
Part memoir, part master class by one of the bestselling authors of all time, this superb volume is a revealing and practical view of the writer's craft, comprising the basic tools of the trade every writer must have. King's advice is grounded in his vivid memories from childhood through his emergence as a writer, from his struggling early career to his widely reported near-fatal accident in 1999 -- and how the inextricable link between writing and living spurred his recovery. Brilliantly structured, friendly and inspiring, On Writing will empower and entertain everyone who reads it -- fans, writers, and anyone who loves a great story well told.(back cover)
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Publishing Children's Books
Harold D. Underdown - 2001
* Includes new chapters for illustrators, on submissions, portfolios, art directors, and more * In 2001, children's book publishing was a $1.8 billion market * Offers practical advice on getting started, plus the basics on writing-and selling-books that kids will love and parents will buy * Very few books on this topic provide specific information by experts * Covers picture book, juvenile, and young adult markets * Includes sample queries and proposals for most types of children's fiction