THE OTHER NETWORK WRITER'S ROOM
INSIDE THE ART, CRAFT AND BUSINESS OF WRITING for Film, TV, Books, Stage, Print or Digital Media (with Particular Attention to Comedy)
Category Archives: Books
The Case for Not Rushing It: Where Good Ideas (and Good Book Trailers) Come From
“The Latin verb cogito for ‘to think’ etymologically means ‘to shake together.’” Writers are often at their least creative when it comes to beating themselves up for not working, or … Continue reading
4 Stars from the San Francisco Book Review for “How To Be A Writer Who Writes”
“Excellent advice… tips that would help any writer.” **** San Francisco Book Review Do you have a novel in you just waiting to come out? Or a screenplay, or a … Continue reading
7 Reasons Agents Stop Reading Your First Chapter
Blogger Livia Blackburne reports on the reasons a panel of literary agents lost interest in books. Please note that this panel was at a public conference (a horrible environment to … Continue reading
Short is Beautiful: The Comeback of the Short Story?
Two years ago, my friend wrote a beautiful collection of short stories. She got them to a well-known lit agent who told her that there was no way any traditional … Continue reading
How to Write a (Non-Fiction) Book Proposal from Jane Friedman, ex-Publisher of Writer’s Digest
A great article about the what, why, how and when of writing a book proposal from the ex-Publisher of Writer’s Digest and current editor of the Virginia Quarterly Review. She … Continue reading
Found in Translation by Michael Cunningham (author of “The Hours”)
It’s all so perfect in your mind but so hard to translate it from the abstract, timeless concept onto hard, cold paper. Michael Cunningham (Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “The Hours” … Continue reading
Review: The Book Publisher’s Toolkit
The Book Publishers Toolkit: 10 Practical Pointers for Independent and Self Publishers Vol. 1 This short volume (est. 52 pages) is a grab-bag of articles, a few of which are, … Continue reading
Productivity During Your Rough Draft (Including Some Famous Authors’ Daily Page Count)
Productivity (Phase 3: Rough Drafting) “I regard the piece of paper as my employer. I have to fill that piece of paper. How I feel—whether it is difficult or not, … Continue reading
Self-Published Success Story: Trolls and Lots of Them!
Amanda Hocking started writing, and self-publishing, fantasy fiction as a teenager in Minnesota. After she proved her own market, traditional publisher St. Martin’s gave her a $2 million deal. She … Continue reading
Do It Yourself e-Publishing 101: A Report From the Trenches on the Thrill, Agony and Drudgery of Self-Publishing an e-Book
I knew from the start that I wanted to self-publish my new book “How To Be A Writer Who Writes” as a digital e-book. No publisher was going to give … Continue reading
Query Letters That Succeeded in Getting Writers Signed With (Book) Agents
Maybe you’ve already written a book (congratulations!) Maybe you’ve already started the often-maddening process of trying to get an agent to read it and represent it (and you), but it … Continue reading
I Rock!
Another 5-star review for “How To Be A Writer Who Writes: Strategies and Tactics to Start and Finish Your Book or Script” on Amazon: Full of good ideas February 3, … Continue reading
