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Blueprint Your Bestseller: Organize and Revise Any Manuscript with the Book Architecture Method
The first draft is the easy part…
In Blueprint Your Bestseller , Stuart Horwitz offers a step-by-step process for revising your manuscript that has helped bestselling authors get from first draft to final draft. Whether you’re tinkering with your first one hundred pages or trying to wrestle a complete draft into shape, Horwitz helps you look at your writing with the fresh perspective you need to reach the finish line.
Blueprint Your Bestseller introduces the Book Architecture Method, a tested sequence of steps for organizing and revising any manuscript. By breaking a manuscript into manageable scenes, you can determine what is going on in your writing at the structural level—and uncover the underlying flaws and strengths of your narrative.
For more than a decade this proven approach to revision has helped authors of both fiction and nonfiction, as well as writers across all media from theater to film to TV.
In Blueprint Your Bestseller , Stuart Horwitz offers a step-by-step process for revising your manuscript that has helped bestselling authors get from first draft to final draft. Whether you’re tinkering with your first one hundred pages or trying to wrestle a complete draft into shape, Horwitz helps you look at your writing with the fresh perspective you need to reach the finish line.
Blueprint Your Bestseller introduces the Book Architecture Method, a tested sequence of steps for organizing and revising any manuscript. By breaking a manuscript into manageable scenes, you can determine what is going on in your writing at the structural level—and uncover the underlying flaws and strengths of your narrative.
For more than a decade this proven approach to revision has helped authors of both fiction and nonfiction, as well as writers across all media from theater to film to TV.
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 29, 2013
52 people are currently reading
414 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
October 7, 2019
I need to return to this after I've finished this first draft. This is my fourth novel and yet I never seem to tire of reading "How-To" books. As if somehow there really is a formula or blueprint (there isn't, I assure you). Still, it's fun and often useful to get a fresh perspective on technique.
January 9, 2018
I feel like I've read all manner of nonfiction on the process of writing fiction, which of course typically touches on editing. But Horwitz is the first 'on-writing' book I've read exclusively on editing and rewriting (good writing is rewritten after all).
Horwitz also tackles the issue of writing in a new a different way, describing a unique way of organizing theme, story arcs (or in his words series) and scenes. The Ugly Duckling is an interesting choice for an example work, but hey it 'works'. Horwtiz also dives briefly into flashbacks, narratives, scene transitions and endings. I think the strength of the book is offering strategy for once a draft is done.
Horwitz also tackles the issue of writing in a new a different way, describing a unique way of organizing theme, story arcs (or in his words series) and scenes. The Ugly Duckling is an interesting choice for an example work, but hey it 'works'. Horwtiz also dives briefly into flashbacks, narratives, scene transitions and endings. I think the strength of the book is offering strategy for once a draft is done.
February 17, 2023
I’d heard this book talked about by other writers as an indispensable guide to revision, and I picked it up since I’m in the throes of a big revision of a novel.
So helpful. The scene, series, theme method helped me untangle the knotted up mess my plot had become. I’ll be re-reading and re-reading shot one for sure!
My only knock is that some of the action steps are a bit a unclear and I had to read ahead and read back, putting them in context.
So helpful. The scene, series, theme method helped me untangle the knotted up mess my plot had become. I’ll be re-reading and re-reading shot one for sure!
My only knock is that some of the action steps are a bit a unclear and I had to read ahead and read back, putting them in context.
January 19, 2013
Why do I think Blueprint Your Bestseller is destined to become a writing classic? 1. By the end of the book you'll know how to revise your manuscript and make it so much better than your first draft. The information contained within the pages is priceless and quite brilliant. I felt like I'd gotten a graduate level course in just two days. 2. It's a fun and inspiring read--you'll feel like you spent time with a good, wise friend.
While Stuart Horwitz' method is brilliant and, yes, methodical, as methods should be, it's also non-dogmatic. You'll find it helps create the structure that generates freedom. A perfect left-brain exercise to take your right brain writing to the next level.
I will recommend it to all my writing students and clients. Thanks, Stuart, for writing that terrific book.
While Stuart Horwitz' method is brilliant and, yes, methodical, as methods should be, it's also non-dogmatic. You'll find it helps create the structure that generates freedom. A perfect left-brain exercise to take your right brain writing to the next level.
I will recommend it to all my writing students and clients. Thanks, Stuart, for writing that terrific book.
September 11, 2013
This is the perfect book for writers who've finished their first draft and need help tightening up the structure. My favorite chapter was on links, the transitional passages that connect scenes.
December 14, 2023
Interesting book
I like how straight forward this book is and I am going try revising using method this method. A friend recommended it.
I like how straight forward this book is and I am going try revising using method this method. A friend recommended it.
August 20, 2015
Useful tools for the craft.
I followed the author's instructions to generate material first. When I was 150 pages into the first draft of a novel, I found myself floundering. So I called this up on my kindle and worked with the exercises as given. I find this method so much more helpful than trying to figure out "acts" or beats. For me, the most helpful parts were his method for finding the theme, based on the identified series, and selecting one series as central. These provide the backbone, and everything connects, events if only tangentially. This helped give me the blueprint of the title.
I didn't give it five stars for the following reasons. The criteria for good and bad scenes didn't work for me. Good as "good enough" and bad as "not to be let out of the house" are inappropriate for a first draft. Hello, I would hardly let a single first draft scene out of my room, much less the house. He gives criteria for what makes a scene. These should be used to better advantage in evaluation of whether a scene works, expanded on. Second, trying to identify key scenes before series when the criterion for a key scene was where several series came together left me scratching my head. I gave up and went directly to identifying series.
I would have liked to see more direction and clarification on how to improve scenes and include missing iterations. Things got foggy there.
But even with its shortcomings, it's a worthwhile investment of money and time.
I followed the author's instructions to generate material first. When I was 150 pages into the first draft of a novel, I found myself floundering. So I called this up on my kindle and worked with the exercises as given. I find this method so much more helpful than trying to figure out "acts" or beats. For me, the most helpful parts were his method for finding the theme, based on the identified series, and selecting one series as central. These provide the backbone, and everything connects, events if only tangentially. This helped give me the blueprint of the title.
I didn't give it five stars for the following reasons. The criteria for good and bad scenes didn't work for me. Good as "good enough" and bad as "not to be let out of the house" are inappropriate for a first draft. Hello, I would hardly let a single first draft scene out of my room, much less the house. He gives criteria for what makes a scene. These should be used to better advantage in evaluation of whether a scene works, expanded on. Second, trying to identify key scenes before series when the criterion for a key scene was where several series came together left me scratching my head. I gave up and went directly to identifying series.
I would have liked to see more direction and clarification on how to improve scenes and include missing iterations. Things got foggy there.
But even with its shortcomings, it's a worthwhile investment of money and time.
April 20, 2015
Yes, this is a great follow-up to "Blueprint Your Bestseller." I've found both books so helpful. I'm the kind of writer who runs from the room when someone's peddling "the formula" for great storytelling. I love that my material comes to me, that I'm following characters as I'm drafting. Horowitz isn't interested in messing with my mo-jo. Rather, he's got a method here, a way of thinking and working through the material once it's roughed out on the page toward clarity and--best of all--depth. His process is organic to content (hallelujah). It's an inside-out model. Form follows not an overlay but questions that arise from the story itself. It turns out we can have our wild, out-of-the-box, left-field creativity and shape it too. I highly recommend these tools.
September 23, 2020
It is easy to lose control of a large manuscript, especially fiction. Too many characters, subplots, locations, etc can become so unwieldy that the author despairs over completing it. Blueprint Your Bestseller offers the Book Architecture Method as a tool to help you.
FINDING THE STRUCTURE IN YOUR MANUSCRIPT
Blueprint Your Bestseller is all about finding the story structure in a draft. It is geared toward fiction but is also applicable to nonfiction. Mr. Horwitz uses Hans Christian Anderson’s short story, The Ugly Duckling, to illustrate his points. For nonfiction work, he notes how he used the method to work with this book.
Mr. Horwitz calls his revision scheme the Book Architecture Method. He depicts the method as a pyramid where you start with a manuscript and begin your work on it by ascending the pyramid (the steps in the Book Architecture Method) to its summit (where you find your theme), and then descend through steps of organization to your completed work.
The method is presented as twenty-two “Action Steps” that are summarized in an appendix. Following these steps takes you through a process where you identify the scenes in your work, then the series (subplots, beats, acts, etc) and finally, the theme (the method allows only one). This is the pyramid ascent. The descent is the evaluating and organizing of this material and the structures revealed, resulting in a solid manuscript.
A SIMPLER CONSTRUCT FOR STORY
Though he prefers to use his own terms, Mr. Horwitz does present the basics of story structure in his method. He simplifies them into constructs that authors not into storytelling theory should find workable. I like that he starts with the scene as the basic unit of storytelling. This makes a baseline connection to other works on writing theory and editing such as The Story Grid. Hence, his definition of “scene” is useful:
“A scene is where something happens, and because something happens, something changes in a way that propels the narrative.”
Just taking this definition to heart and writing by it, will lend momentum to your storytelling.
He also introduces the concept of “series:”
“A series is the repetition of a narrative element (such as a person, an object, a phrase, or a place) in such a way that it undergoes a clear evolution.”
He goes deeper into describing series which includes the subplots and threads we normally consider in a fiction. Mr. Horwitz doesn’t like the term, “plot,” however and doesn’t use it, feeling that it is too vague a term. “Series,” works for him to identify and describe constructs that make up the narrative, winding through the scenes.
With the concept of series established, Mr. Horwitz takes us through a process to discover our story (or nonfiction) theme. He stresses there can be only one overall theme and that every scene and series must support it. He provides a process for discovering what the theme of our story is, as opposed to what we thought it was when we started writing. I very much liked this process and was pleased to use it to find the theme in my own writing.
SIMPLE BUT PRECISE
I think the greatest value of this book is the simplified, but precise, story constructs Mr. Horwitz describes and how to use them to visualize and modify a story.
On the other hand, this simpler view may not be detailed enough to provide the tools needed for a deep story analysis, if that’s what you need. His idea of “key scenes,” for example, doesn’t work for me. I prefer to think of key scenes as they are described by Aristotle’s Incline (re: The Weekend Novelist by Robert Ray).
GOOD FOR PANTSERS AND OUTLINERS
Blueprint Your Bestseller describes the Book Architecture Method of story development that is a clever and understandable way to find the structure in a manuscript. With that structure found, revision can be accomplished. Also, the process for finding your story’s theme, as you’ve written it, is worth the cost of the book.
This perspective on story structure should be especially helpful to seat-of-the-pants fiction writers, enabling them to see the structure they’ve subliminally put into their writing. It can also be useful to the writer who plans and outlines, providing a means to check for solid substructures (series) and adherence to theme.
I found Blueprint Your Bestseller to compliment Shawn Coyne’s, The Story Grid, with the former helping to digest the latter. But even by itself, it is a tool for seeing a story (or nonfiction writing) as a constructed whole. Such vision is indispensable for authors, whether they are pantsers or not, for the sake of revision and understanding the literary work they’ve created.
FINDING THE STRUCTURE IN YOUR MANUSCRIPT
Blueprint Your Bestseller is all about finding the story structure in a draft. It is geared toward fiction but is also applicable to nonfiction. Mr. Horwitz uses Hans Christian Anderson’s short story, The Ugly Duckling, to illustrate his points. For nonfiction work, he notes how he used the method to work with this book.
Mr. Horwitz calls his revision scheme the Book Architecture Method. He depicts the method as a pyramid where you start with a manuscript and begin your work on it by ascending the pyramid (the steps in the Book Architecture Method) to its summit (where you find your theme), and then descend through steps of organization to your completed work.
The method is presented as twenty-two “Action Steps” that are summarized in an appendix. Following these steps takes you through a process where you identify the scenes in your work, then the series (subplots, beats, acts, etc) and finally, the theme (the method allows only one). This is the pyramid ascent. The descent is the evaluating and organizing of this material and the structures revealed, resulting in a solid manuscript.
A SIMPLER CONSTRUCT FOR STORY
Though he prefers to use his own terms, Mr. Horwitz does present the basics of story structure in his method. He simplifies them into constructs that authors not into storytelling theory should find workable. I like that he starts with the scene as the basic unit of storytelling. This makes a baseline connection to other works on writing theory and editing such as The Story Grid. Hence, his definition of “scene” is useful:
“A scene is where something happens, and because something happens, something changes in a way that propels the narrative.”
Just taking this definition to heart and writing by it, will lend momentum to your storytelling.
He also introduces the concept of “series:”
“A series is the repetition of a narrative element (such as a person, an object, a phrase, or a place) in such a way that it undergoes a clear evolution.”
He goes deeper into describing series which includes the subplots and threads we normally consider in a fiction. Mr. Horwitz doesn’t like the term, “plot,” however and doesn’t use it, feeling that it is too vague a term. “Series,” works for him to identify and describe constructs that make up the narrative, winding through the scenes.
With the concept of series established, Mr. Horwitz takes us through a process to discover our story (or nonfiction) theme. He stresses there can be only one overall theme and that every scene and series must support it. He provides a process for discovering what the theme of our story is, as opposed to what we thought it was when we started writing. I very much liked this process and was pleased to use it to find the theme in my own writing.
SIMPLE BUT PRECISE
I think the greatest value of this book is the simplified, but precise, story constructs Mr. Horwitz describes and how to use them to visualize and modify a story.
On the other hand, this simpler view may not be detailed enough to provide the tools needed for a deep story analysis, if that’s what you need. His idea of “key scenes,” for example, doesn’t work for me. I prefer to think of key scenes as they are described by Aristotle’s Incline (re: The Weekend Novelist by Robert Ray).
GOOD FOR PANTSERS AND OUTLINERS
Blueprint Your Bestseller describes the Book Architecture Method of story development that is a clever and understandable way to find the structure in a manuscript. With that structure found, revision can be accomplished. Also, the process for finding your story’s theme, as you’ve written it, is worth the cost of the book.
This perspective on story structure should be especially helpful to seat-of-the-pants fiction writers, enabling them to see the structure they’ve subliminally put into their writing. It can also be useful to the writer who plans and outlines, providing a means to check for solid substructures (series) and adherence to theme.
I found Blueprint Your Bestseller to compliment Shawn Coyne’s, The Story Grid, with the former helping to digest the latter. But even by itself, it is a tool for seeing a story (or nonfiction writing) as a constructed whole. Such vision is indispensable for authors, whether they are pantsers or not, for the sake of revision and understanding the literary work they’ve created.
July 19, 2019
This was the right book at the right time. My two novels are at the stage where they are finished, but not yet ready for publication. I knew they needed some kind of revision, but didn't quite know what was still wrong with them. Horwitz gave me a completely new perspective on my books, so that I could envision changes that need to take place. His method is based on "series" of ideas that weave through a story and move it forward. Since my writing style generally begins with ideas that are more or less themes, or what Horwitz calls series, this works so much better for me than focusing on plot. What is wrong with my books is that I had been too focused on plot, and neglected to control the progress of my series.
The wonder of this method is that it even works for nonfiction. I have a nonfiction book in the works, and Blueprint You Bestseller has helped me to hone in on my main idea, and supporting ideas that will help me to insure the book has a unified feel to it. I'm loving this method!
The only weakness that I see in this book is that he hasn't spent enough time illustrating how those series twist and interact. Maybe I need to read his next book, Book Architecture. ;)
The wonder of this method is that it even works for nonfiction. I have a nonfiction book in the works, and Blueprint You Bestseller has helped me to hone in on my main idea, and supporting ideas that will help me to insure the book has a unified feel to it. I'm loving this method!
The only weakness that I see in this book is that he hasn't spent enough time illustrating how those series twist and interact. Maybe I need to read his next book, Book Architecture. ;)
December 9, 2019
Blueprint Your Bestseller: Organize and Revise Any Manuscript with the Book Architecture Method is the book that pulled everything together for me. This is the third book of the series that I read. I am confident that I read them out of order. Nonetheless, Stuart Horowitz’s series on drafting and refining a manuscript has been extremely helpful with my current writing project. His method makes sense to me and I am looking forward to putting it into action. My first step is to finish the first draft of my book. Read more
October 1, 2019
Very good practical writing advice.
I read this after his later book, Book Architecture (which I gave 5 stars), because that one really resonated with me and I wanted more. I was not disappointed. I recommend reading both, in any order, for a fresh perspective on writing that moves away from the tired old hero on a journey to save the cat and hit those beats. You will get a lot from both books, and Horwitz's easy-going and slightly jokey writing style just adds to the pleasure.
I read this after his later book, Book Architecture (which I gave 5 stars), because that one really resonated with me and I wanted more. I was not disappointed. I recommend reading both, in any order, for a fresh perspective on writing that moves away from the tired old hero on a journey to save the cat and hit those beats. You will get a lot from both books, and Horwitz's easy-going and slightly jokey writing style just adds to the pleasure.
September 18, 2018
I've read both "Finish Your Book in Three Drafts" and "Book Architecture" by Stuart Horwitz, so this one gives me the feeling of having read this before, but slightly different (other examples).
I still feel like the concept and ideas are brilliant, but reading all three feels unnecessary (unless you didn't understand the method by the first two books). It probably gave a few new tips the others didn't.
I still feel like the concept and ideas are brilliant, but reading all three feels unnecessary (unless you didn't understand the method by the first two books). It probably gave a few new tips the others didn't.
February 15, 2018
This is fucking brilliant. Why didn't I find this years ago? Horwitz has a method for structuring novels using thematic unity that is persuasive and practical. Unlike every other book I've ever read on how to structure a novel, this one works for literary fiction and for arty, unconventional forms. I keep asking people how to write a novel and no one has ever really told me until now. Thank you.
March 4, 2019
The best practical book about writing I've read. I was inspired to buy this book after hearing Horwitz speak at a conference a few years ago, and I am glad I did. His method here is structured and elegant, simple and multifaceted. Really looking forward to applying it to my own manuscript!
April 1, 2024
Very helpful in laying out the steps that every writer should undertake in order to create a cohesive work from a first draft. Clear explanations and great examples. Wish I had read it earlier in my writing process!
July 11, 2017
Offers a system for crafting a compelling story
September 25, 2017
I really enjoyed this book. The directions were very clear. I am looking forward to trying the techniques described in this book.
September 8, 2023
Really great information, but it can be a little dull at times, but if you can do it then you'll come out a better writer.
September 15, 2025
short and sweet, I read it in a day
more helpful when you’ve got a good amount of your manuscript done instead of just starting out
more helpful when you’ve got a good amount of your manuscript done instead of just starting out
June 8, 2017
Ever since I started experimenting with fiction again in 2014, I've had all kinds of preconceived notions of how hard the editing process is. This book is one of the few that I've found that nails it on the head in a simple, to the point way that helped me get over my fears of the 2nd, 3rd, etc. drafts.
One of the "lightbulb" moments for me in this book was when it talks about using "Series." These refer to the things that you find in your novel (this book is mainly address to novel-length works) after proofing it that recur over and over again. More likely than not, it's a subconscious thing and you don't even know it's there until you have a resource like "Blueprint Your Bestseller" to point it out to you.
Another great "lightbulb" moment I first heard about in another book called "Nail Your Novel" by Roz Morris is the fact that you don't necessarily have to edit your novel in chronological order. This was a HUGE revelation to me, and "Blueprint..." even helps to identify which parts of your novel need editing at and at what stages via the use of clustering scenes, series, etc. instead of starting with the meticulous line by line edits that we all dread.
If you've written a novel already but have abandoned it or don't even know where to begin organizing it, "Blueprint..." is the book I recommend you start with. (BONUS: this book is mainly geared to those who have already written something of great length, but don't worry if you haven't because it even teaches you how to start writing and achieve massive word counts so you can take advantage of these methods!)
Easily broken down, easy to understand, great examples via "The Ugly Duckling" story Horwitz uses to expound on his methods. Highly recommended by someone who's feared fiction for many years due to these very reasons!
One of the "lightbulb" moments for me in this book was when it talks about using "Series." These refer to the things that you find in your novel (this book is mainly address to novel-length works) after proofing it that recur over and over again. More likely than not, it's a subconscious thing and you don't even know it's there until you have a resource like "Blueprint Your Bestseller" to point it out to you.
Another great "lightbulb" moment I first heard about in another book called "Nail Your Novel" by Roz Morris is the fact that you don't necessarily have to edit your novel in chronological order. This was a HUGE revelation to me, and "Blueprint..." even helps to identify which parts of your novel need editing at and at what stages via the use of clustering scenes, series, etc. instead of starting with the meticulous line by line edits that we all dread.
If you've written a novel already but have abandoned it or don't even know where to begin organizing it, "Blueprint..." is the book I recommend you start with. (BONUS: this book is mainly geared to those who have already written something of great length, but don't worry if you haven't because it even teaches you how to start writing and achieve massive word counts so you can take advantage of these methods!)
Easily broken down, easy to understand, great examples via "The Ugly Duckling" story Horwitz uses to expound on his methods. Highly recommended by someone who's feared fiction for many years due to these very reasons!
May 12, 2013
Plot. Theme. Story arc. Character arc. Dramatic tension.
Writes at every level have heard these terms bandied about for years, decades...quite possibly since the first caveman scratched a sabertooth tiger on the wall of his home.
But what if they're as clear as mud? I mean, we all KNOW what plot is, in a nebulous sort of way, but what steps can we take to transform our story events from the mystical version of plot to a series of events readers want to read?
Stuart Horwitz's Blueprint Your Bestseller puts these (and other) known but somewhat undefined story elements into a series of steps to take with your manuscript to make them come alive. Rather than tell you to just make minimal changes, you're going to cut apart your manuscript to find series, suspense and iterations (not in that order). You may think you know the traditional plot diagram (I've been teaching reading for 20 years and didn't get the meat of the plot structure until TODAY...) but when you finish this book, you'll not only look at your story differently (and better, I believe), you'll see the stories around you in a much more concise light.
Looking forward to using the method on the novella I just completed. We'll let you know how that goes...
Writes at every level have heard these terms bandied about for years, decades...quite possibly since the first caveman scratched a sabertooth tiger on the wall of his home.
But what if they're as clear as mud? I mean, we all KNOW what plot is, in a nebulous sort of way, but what steps can we take to transform our story events from the mystical version of plot to a series of events readers want to read?
Stuart Horwitz's Blueprint Your Bestseller puts these (and other) known but somewhat undefined story elements into a series of steps to take with your manuscript to make them come alive. Rather than tell you to just make minimal changes, you're going to cut apart your manuscript to find series, suspense and iterations (not in that order). You may think you know the traditional plot diagram (I've been teaching reading for 20 years and didn't get the meat of the plot structure until TODAY...) but when you finish this book, you'll not only look at your story differently (and better, I believe), you'll see the stories around you in a much more concise light.
Looking forward to using the method on the novella I just completed. We'll let you know how that goes...
July 15, 2013
Writing the book was hard. It was my first time. I spent hours and hours planning it and then grinding it out. But, now I learn that was the easy part. The book architecture method outlined in this book gives one a useful framework for taking your book apart and working on the pieces before putting it back together as a more cohesive whole.
The book encourages you to break your book into scenes, organize the scenes into series, and then prioritize your series to maximize the impact of your theme. For a first time novelist like myself, this was a really effective tool.
I highly recommend this work.
The book encourages you to break your book into scenes, organize the scenes into series, and then prioritize your series to maximize the impact of your theme. For a first time novelist like myself, this was a really effective tool.
I highly recommend this work.
June 22, 2013
I bought BLUEPRINT YOUR BESTSELLER because I have a first draft novel that needs revision. I was reading the book on the plane and decided to apply the book's method to a short story that I had sold to an anthology but had not submitted yet.
Lucky move!
The method revealed the fact that I had a theme running through the short story but that my main character had never addressed it. He had kind of floated above it. I modified a few lines so that the main character addressed the theme, and that revealed a conflict in a subplot that lacked one.
One evening using this BLUEPRINT's method and I had a much stronger short story. Great stuff!
Lucky move!
The method revealed the fact that I had a theme running through the short story but that my main character had never addressed it. He had kind of floated above it. I modified a few lines so that the main character addressed the theme, and that revealed a conflict in a subplot that lacked one.
One evening using this BLUEPRINT's method and I had a much stronger short story. Great stuff!
March 1, 2013
I found this book to be an excellent primer on how to do the first revision of your novel. The method starts with taking an unfinished manuscript, such as a Nanowrimo effort, and walks you through a process to break apart the work into its component scenes, identify the various threads that weave through the work, discover the book's theme, and then finally put the book back together into a better more cohesive whole. The examples were clear, the language friendly and knowledgable, and the content very useful to any writer.
August 28, 2014
Blueprint Your Bestseller is easily one of the three best books on writing that I have read up to this point. This book is designed for people who have completed a rough draft (or as I call it, a skeleton draft). It takes the reader through a process of combing over what he or she wrote and identifying the things from that draft that really matter. I'm currently working on writing my first novel, and found this book's methodology to really help me figure out what was what. I checked the book out from a library but will be purchasing it so that I can always use it as a reference.
April 1, 2015
As one who is very persnickety about "how to" books (exhibit A: that copy of Chi Running that's been sitting unopened in the backseat of my car for seven months), I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed reading this book and how quickly I began thinking about my own writing in terms of the Book Architecture method. I would highly recommend for writers of any kind. The revision strategies make perfect sense to me, and have given me a sense that I can make something amazing out of all of my work. Really brilliant!
September 17, 2013
Another inspiring book about writing. I really need to stop reading these books and grab a pen! I'm not making any headway on my latest book by reading about it.
The basic premise of this book is to organize a book you're writing by scenes. You separate each scene out, then rearrange them, tweak transitions, etc. It's a great system, I think (I haven't tried it yet, but I envisioned using it on the nearly finished manuscript I'm working on).
The basic premise of this book is to organize a book you're writing by scenes. You separate each scene out, then rearrange them, tweak transitions, etc. It's a great system, I think (I haven't tried it yet, but I envisioned using it on the nearly finished manuscript I'm working on).
July 16, 2015
I'd been working on my memoir for a few years, but couldn't figure out how to take all the complicated parts and craft the right structure. After I read this book and did the exercises, I knew exactly how my book had to be structured, based on what I wanted the book to accomplish. The work with series was what did it. I could finally get an objective look and see what my book was about. If you're a writer or want to be a writer, start reading this book now!
February 22, 2016
Very detailed method for revising. It helped me clear through the clutter of the first draft of my current WIP to see what scenes work and what scenes still need to be written. I think it might be better applied to later drafts rather than first drafts, but I imagine that will vary from writer to writer.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews