The Fiction Editor, the Novel and the Novelist

The Fiction Editor, the Novel and the Novelist PDF

Author: Thomas McCormack

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Published: 1994-11-15

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13: 9780312114671

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This book talks about how to plan, write and revise a novel. It describes the sensibility and art required, and it conveys concrete, practical elements of craft. It details how to structure the novel, choose the characters, drive the story, diagnose narrative ailments, and find and apply specific remedies. McCormack is constructive at every level--from individual word choice, up to the over-arching total effect of the novel. Included in full are the author's often-excerpted attack on the notion of "theme" and his innovative analysis of the act of art itself.

The Novelist

The Novelist PDF

Author: Jordan Castro

Publisher: Catapult

Published: 2023-07-18

Total Pages: 209

ISBN-13: 1593767250

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"Brisk and shockingly witty, exuberantly scatological as well as deeply wise, The Novelist is a delight. Jordan Castro is a rare new talent: an author highly attuned to the traditions he is working within while also offering a refreshingly fun sendup of life beset by the endless scroll."—Mary South, author of You Will Never Be Forgotten In Jordan Castro’s inventive, funny, and surprisingly tender first novel, we follow a young man over the course of a single morning as he tries and fails to write an autobiographical novel, finding himself instead drawn into the infinite spaces of Twitter, quotidian rituals, and his own mind. The act of making coffee prompts a reflection on the limits of self-knowledge; an editor’s embarrassing tweet sparks rage at the literary establishment; a meditation on first person versus third examines choice and action; an Instagram post about the ethics of having children triggers mimetic rivalry; the act of doing the dishes is at once ordinary and profound: one of the many small commitments that make up a life of stability. The Novelist: A Novel pays tribute to Nicholson Baker’s The Mezzanine and Thomas Bernhard’s Woodcutters, but in the end is a wholly original novel about language and consciousness, the internet and social media, and addiction and recovery.

How to Write a Novel

How to Write a Novel PDF

Author: Nathan Bransford

Publisher: Nathan Bransford

Published: 2019-10-15

Total Pages: 183

ISBN-13: 173414940X

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Author and former literary agent Nathan Bransford shares his secrets for creating killer plots, fleshing out your first ideas, crafting compelling characters, and staying sane in the process. Read the guide that New York Times bestselling author Ransom Riggs called "The best how-to-write-a-novel book I've read."

The Magic of Fiction

The Magic of Fiction PDF

Author: Beth Hill

Publisher:

Published: 2016-03

Total Pages: 606

ISBN-13: 9780997177008

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Writing a novel can seem daunting, but it doesn't have to be. No matter where you are with your writing project--beginning the first draft, rewriting the fifth draft, or editing the final draft--help is available. The Magic of Fiction is a comprehensive guide for crafting fiction. It's the perfect resource for writers planning to self-publish, authors looking for an edge for manuscript submissions, and editors looking for a handbook on craft. Students and educators will also benefit, with details about the crafts of writing and editing available in a single book.Whether you intend to self-publish or submit your manuscript to agents or publishers, use The Magic of Fiction to master the ins and outs of writing and revision, create stronger early drafts, and edit your own stories.This guide addresses all aspects of editing and writing, from the mechanics to story issues to style concerns. In it you'll find--~ A comprehensive editing checklist~ Fixes for common writing mistakes~ Specifics for punctuation in dialogue~ Tips for putting setting to work for your fiction~ Suggestions for editing for the reader~ Help for writing to genre conventions~ Tips for word choices~ A guide for editing approaches and much more.Every fiction writer should be equipped to not only write well, but to rewrite and edit. There are books designed to help you write a novel, books to help you revise, and books to help you with the nitty-gritty of punctuation and grammar. The Magic of Fiction brings all those elements together in a single easy-to-digest resource for the writer looking for an edge in today's literary marketplace.The format of The Magic of Fiction helps you focus on what you need when you need it. Chapters provide detailed discussions of topics and end with "quick lists" to help you get straight to work on your own stories.Written by freelance fiction editor Beth Hill, The Magic of Fiction will help you produce high-quality fiction that will earn attention for all the right reasons.

What Editors Do

What Editors Do PDF

Author: Peter Ginna

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2017-10-06

Total Pages: 319

ISBN-13: 022630003X

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Essays from twenty-seven leading book editors: “Honest and unflinching accounts from publishing insiders . . . a valuable primer on the field.” —Publishers Weekly Editing is an invisible art in which the very best work goes undetected. Editors strive to create books that are enlightening, seamless, and pleasurable to read, all while giving credit to the author. This makes it all the more difficult to truly understand the range of roles they inhabit while shepherding a project from concept to publication. What Editors Do gathers essays from twenty-seven leading figures in book publishing about their work. Representing both large houses and small, and encompassing trade, textbook, academic, and children’s publishing, the contributors make the case for why editing remains a vital function to writers—and readers—everywhere. Ironically for an industry built on words, there has been a scarcity of written guidance on how to approach the work of editing. Serving as a compendium of professional advice and a portrait of what goes on behind the scenes, this book sheds light on how editors acquire books, what constitutes a strong author-editor relationship, and the editor’s vital role at each stage of the publishing process—a role that extends far beyond marking up the author’s text. This collection treats editing as both art and craft, and also as a career. It explores how editors balance passion against the economic realities of publishing—and shows why, in the face of a rapidly changing publishing landscape, editors are more important than ever. “Authoritative, entertaining, and informative.” —Copyediting

The Fiction Editor, the Novel, and the Novelist

The Fiction Editor, the Novel, and the Novelist PDF

Author: Thomas McCormack

Publisher: Paul Dry Books

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 186

ISBN-13: 1589880307

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"Lucid, thoughtful...writers and teachers will learn much from it...Belongs wherever Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style finds frequent use.”--Booklist "Writers will actually learn things here.”--Los Angeles Times "Perfect for teachers, critics and general readers.”--Library Journal "Required reading for all those who care about good fiction."--Kirkus Reviews Drawing upon twenty-eight years of experience as the CEO and editorial director of St. Martin’s Press, Thomas McCormack gives practical guidance about how to plan, write, and revise a novel. A standard reference for editors since its first publication in 1988, The Fiction Editor has also become popular with writers because McCormack’s advice is constructive at every step of the creative process. From individual word choice right up to the overarching effect of the work as a whole, he details how to structure the novel, choose the characters, drive the story, diagnose narrative ailments, and find and apply specific remedies. In this revised second edition, McCormack takes advantage of almost two decades of additional experience to clarify and expand on what he has learned. "Written in an amiable tone, often using examples, hypothetical writing scenarios, or dialogue-style discourse between industry professionals to clarify its points, The Fiction Editor, the Novel, and the Novelist is a superb handbook for fiction writers but especially recommended for prospective and professional fiction editors."--Midwest Book Review Thomas McCormack edited authors as diverse as James Herriot (All Creatures Great and Small) and Thomas Harris (The Silence of the Lambs). He was awarded LMP's Lifetime Achievement Award and the AAP's Curtis Benjamin Award for Creative Publishing. For two years, he wrote "The Cheerful Skeptic" column in Publishers Weekly.

The Fiction Editor

The Fiction Editor PDF

Author: Thomas McCormack

Publisher: St Martins Press

Published: 1988

Total Pages: 202

ISBN-13: 9780312022099

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An editor for thirty years analyzes the craft of fiction editing, discussing the abilities and training needed to be effective, how to help writers develop their novels, and many other aspects of the editing technique

Jacob Wonderbar and the Cosmic Space Kapow

Jacob Wonderbar and the Cosmic Space Kapow PDF

Author: Nathan Bransford

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2011-05-12

Total Pages: 184

ISBN-13: 1101515074

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Out-of-this-world antics in this hysterical middle-grade adventure! Sixth-grader Jacob Wonderbar is a master when it comes to disarming and annihilating substitute teachers. But when he and his best friends, Sarah and Dexter, swap a spaceship for a corn dog, they embark on an outer space adventure. And between breaking the universe with an epic explosion, being kidnapped by a space pirate, and surviving a planet that reeks of burp breath, Jacob and his friends are in way over their heads. Action packed with an added dose of heart, Jacob Wonderbar and the Cosmic Space Kapow is sure to captivate middlegrade readers all over the universe.