Book & CD Store for Writers - Page 3
“Painless Punctuation & Grammar and Other
How-To
Books for Writers”
When I split an infinitive, god damn it, I split it so it stays split.
—Raymond Chandler
Bookstore Overview
FoW Fiction and Non-fiction
Banishing Writer's Block
Painless Punctuation & Grammar and Other How-To Books for Writers
Make Money at Writing
Promoting Your Book/Website
Movies, Fiction & Other Fascinating Stuff About Writers
Bookstore Page 3 - Contents
Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day
and How They Feel About What They Do
How to Write a Movie in 21 Days
Words Fail Me
The Fast-Track Course on How to Write a Nonfiction Book Proposal
How to Be Your Own Literary Agent
“Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day
and How They Feel About What They Do”
by Studs Terkel
“The real American experience. The poetry of real people.” ~ Chicago Daily News
Review by Milli Thornton
You can read this book for the “poetry of real people,” but you can also use it as a lively reference book when creating new characters for your stories and novels. Research anyone from a skycap to an industrial investigator to a baby nurse.
Studs Terkel took his tape recorder out on the road to capture the search for daily meaning in our working lives. He makes no distinction between the slovenly and the perfectionist; he's merely there to record what they say about their jobs.
WORKING was published in the early 70's so you're hearing voices from a different era. This book is not so much about the technical aspects of any career as it is about how people feel when they do the job. You may not be able to base the accuracy of your novel on this reference book, but you can certainly use it to spark your imagination.
Writing about our characters from the gut is just as vital as accuracy. This book provides plenty of gut feelings, from all walks of life.
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“How to Write a Movie in 21 Days”
by Viki King
“Viki King manages to demystify the art and science of screenwriting. Speaking from the heart and later, spotlighting concepts from the head, Viki King presents tactics that place writing in the unstressed context of nonthreatening time management. The idea of eight, nine and ten minute sessions is wonderfully simple, promisingly adaptive, and joyfully do-able.”
—Maisha Hazzard, Ohio University
No book can find your ideas for you, but this one provides a great service in helping you discover and develop a story, and to come up with the completed script.
King helps you learn to think cinematically, in the language of the movies, and to keep asking the essential questions as they work: What's the story? Who is the story about? Do you care about the characters? Does anyone?
King also tries to help you survive not just the structural pitfalls that can derail a script, but also the mental or emotional whirlpools that can prevent any artist from finishing a project.
Note from Milli: Be sure to read the five-star review at Amazon.com by Jeff (Los Angeles, CA)
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“What’s the Rule? A Simple Guide to
Perfect Punctuation,
Great Grammar, and Superb
Sentences and Style”
by Kathy Sole
*From Milli's List of Recommended Books
at the Fear of Writing Clinic*
Kathy Sole makes grammar and punctuation a breeze!
WHAT'S THE RULE? has been thoroughly researched. All rules were compared against more than 30 writing texts, style guides, and reference books to ensure completeness and to determine the consistency of rules among experts in the field. Written in plain English, this guide is a comprehensive reference and includes examples to illustrate every rule.
Review by Milli Thornton
No more wading through boring text books written in grammarese by professors who love to make it sound obscure. Kathy Sole came up with this handbook when her corporate and government clients cried for help: "Make it simple!" So she did.
But this is not just for executives. I'm a writer who is terrified of dry tomes on grammar. When brushing up my own book for its second edition, I used Kathy Sole's book as my bible. It was such a pleasure to use, I recommended it to other writers in the back of my book for writers.
Ms. Sole first explains each rule to you in user-friendly language. She then gives an example of the rule in action. Her book also has a section on Sentences & Style, plus a glossary to help you with weird Latin-sounding words such as “ampersand” ( & ) and “ellipses” ( . . . ). Find out what F.A.N.B.O.Y.S. stands for (it's a clever memory device) and how to use quotation marks like a pro.
She makes it all so easy! I recommend this book to anyone who will listen. The book is laid out with colored tabs for easy reference, and the quotes that appear at the end of each section add an extra dash of inspiration. For instance:
“Don't write merely to be understood. Write so that you cannot possibly be misunderstood.” ~ Robert Louis Stevenson
P.S. Beware: You too might start to feel evangelical about your pet rule! I wish more editors and publishers would use this guide. I'm tired of seeing published books with commas and periods outside of quotation marks (rule #9, page 23).
From the Author, Kathy Sole
Business people I meet and adult students in my classes continually tell me they haven't had an English class in many years. They say they don't remember all the punctuation and grammar rules, and they don't have time to look through several books to find the answer to a specific question.
WHAT'S THE RULE? was developed to meet this need. I have made every effort to ensure that the book is as complete and accurate as possible. I have also tried to design it so the information is easy to access. I welcome your feedback and ideas for improvement! Please write me at mail @ whatstherule.com.
Buy “What’s the Rule? ” from whatstherule.com
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“Words Fail Me: What Everyone Who Writes
Should Know About Writing”
by Patricia T. O'Connor
“Lighthearted and funny. . . . It's like Strunk and White combined with S. J. Perelman—none of whom would have had the slightest objection.”
—Daniel Pinkwater, The New York Times Book Review
Patricia T. O'Conner's WORDS FAIL ME is written in the same lighthearted tone as her snappy grammar guide, WOE IS I
“Good writing,” she says, “is writing that works. Write as though you were addressing someone whose opinion you value, even if the reader is . . . a stingy insurance company that won't pay for your tummy tuck.”
O'Conner's material isn't new—like many such books, WORDS FAIL ME advocates the use of small words, fresh verbs, and only well-chosen modifiers—but rarely is a primer so amusing. And the clever titles strewn throughout—“Taking Leave of Your Tenses,”“The It Parade”—provide added pleasure, particularly for anyone who knows how hard it can be to put a headline on a piece of writing.
—Jane Steinberg, amazon.com
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“The Fast-Track Course on How to Write
a Nonfiction Book Proposal”
by Stephen Blake Mettee
Penned by the publisher of Quill Driver Books, Stephen Blake Mettee, this book forges the final frontiers of what editors look for in a proposal
The hard, cold fact about getting a book published is that without something close to divine intervention an author is going to have to write a sales piece, called a book proposal, that will attract the attention of an editor or an agent.
In fact, at most publishers, this sales piece is going to have to hold up under the scrutiny of a committee made up of a bevy of editors and a pod of sales and marketing people.
With The Fast-Track Course on How to Write a Nonfiction Book Proposal, Mettee, a seasoned book editor and publisher, cuts to the chase and provides simple, detailed instruction that allows anyone to write a professional book proposal and hear an editor say Yes!
According to Mettee, the first rule is: Do no harm. Too many authors don't pay enough attention to the small things like spelling and grammar and manuscript format that are needed to make their book proposals appear professional. They may have a great idea for a book and be eminently qualified to write it but they schmuck it up with slovenly disregard for the easy stuff.
The last rule is: Be persistent. If you quit after your first rejection slip or after the thirteenth or the thirtieth, you'll never get published. Many books that are rejected scores of times go on to be best-sellers. You're not defeated until you give up.
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“How to Be Your Own Literary Agent”
by Richard Curtis
Comments from Milli:
Whether or not we have an agent, we writers owe it to ourselves to “get an education” when it comes to publishing contracts, royalties, sub rights, book reps and the effect of superstores on the shelf life of our books. Written with humor (and in layman’s language!) by Richard Curtis, president, Association of Authors Representatives and 30-year head of Richard Curtis Associates Inc.
How to Be Your Own Literary Agent takes the mystery out of book publishing for any writer, published or not. Richard Curtis provides a comprehensive practical overview of the publishing process, from submissions to contract negotiations to subsidiary rights to marketing, publicity, and beyond. He also gives away trade secrets and invaluable wisdom—candid advice that can be found nowhere else. Now completely revised and expanded, How to Be Your Own Literary Agent is essential reading for all writers.
* Big publishers, small publishers, self-publishers, e-publishers: how to keep up in a rapidly changing business
* The new breed of busy literary editors: how to find them and know what they're looking for
* What the electronic revolution means to you, and how to take advantage of it
* How to know your "publishing" rights and negotiate effectively
* How to have a say in your book's design, jacket, and promotion
* How book chains and superstores have altered publishing—and what that means for you
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“Who Cares What You're Supposed to Do:
Breaking the Rules to Get What
You Want
in Love, Life, and Work”
by Victoria C. Dickerson, Ph.D
Comments from Milli: No, this is not a book for writers. In fact, I haven't even read the book myself. But the title sums up one of my philosophies when it comes to writing. Sure, learn the rules of grammar and what publishers want. But be your own person, be your own voice in the wilderness. I plan to review this book at a later stage. Or, if you'd like to write a review for this book, send it to me at this address:
Women in their twenties and early thirties face greater pressure to succeed than ever before. And those who don't “have it all” can be left feeling guilty, full of doubt, and resentful because they don't have:
* A fabulous career
* Financial independence
* A husband and children
* Their own home
* A busy social life
* A great body
* AND the ability to do it all . . . right now!
For women who are tired of hearing what they're “supposed to” be doing, this inspiring guide can help them fight back against the pressure, and find their own priorities. Nationally acclaimed clinical psychologist Victoria C. Dickerson shows women in their 20s and 30s how to put the world's expectations into perspective and see them as the wonderful options and opportunities they can be.
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