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Infinite Words: A Comprehensive Guide to Writing and Publishing
New York Times bestselling author Zane shares the lessons she’s learned over the years about successful book publishing, filmmaking, and TV production.
Drawing on decades of experience as a mega-bestselling novelist, successful publisher, and executive producer of two TV shows, Zane offers practical advice on writing and publishing to aspiring writers across all media, including books, TV, and film. With her signature wit and straightforward style, Zane tells it like it is, emphasizing hard work, discipline, and commitment as the keys to a successful writing career.
Part One covers the writing and creative process, including how to define your writing style, how to outline a story, how to develop characters, typical mistakes to avoid, writing for your medium, and the revision process. Part Two covers the book publishing process, from finding a literary agent who best understands your work, to getting your work in the hands of publishers, to building an audience for your work. Zane also shares wisdom from her early years as a self-published author for those seeking an alternative to traditional publishing.
Infinite Words isn’t just a reference guide; it’s an essential companion for writers facing the unique challenges and opportunities of today’s ever-evolving world.
Drawing on decades of experience as a mega-bestselling novelist, successful publisher, and executive producer of two TV shows, Zane offers practical advice on writing and publishing to aspiring writers across all media, including books, TV, and film. With her signature wit and straightforward style, Zane tells it like it is, emphasizing hard work, discipline, and commitment as the keys to a successful writing career.
Part One covers the writing and creative process, including how to define your writing style, how to outline a story, how to develop characters, typical mistakes to avoid, writing for your medium, and the revision process. Part Two covers the book publishing process, from finding a literary agent who best understands your work, to getting your work in the hands of publishers, to building an audience for your work. Zane also shares wisdom from her early years as a self-published author for those seeking an alternative to traditional publishing.
Infinite Words isn’t just a reference guide; it’s an essential companion for writers facing the unique challenges and opportunities of today’s ever-evolving world.
- GenresWritingNonfiction
208 pages, Paperback
First published May 13, 2014
8 people are currently reading
303 people want to read
About the author
Zane
88 books3,805 followersZane is the New York Times bestselling author of Afterburn, The Heat Seekers, Dear G-Spot, Gettin’ Buck Wild, The Hot Box, Total Eclipse of the Heart, Nervous, Skyscraper, Love is Never Painless, Shame on It All, and The Sisters of APF; the ebook short stories “I’ll be Home for Christmas” and “Everything Fades Away”; and editor for the Flava anthology series, including Z-Rated and Busy Bodies. Her TV series, Zane’s Sex Chronicles, and The Jump Off are featured on Cinemax, and her bestselling novel Addicted is a major motion picture with Lionsgate Films. She is the publisher of Strebor Books, an imprint of Atria Books/Simon & Schuster. Visit her online at EroticaNoir.com. - See more at: http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Z...
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 15, 2015
Quick review for a quick, enlightening read. I really enjoyed the honest, straightforward writing advice Zane provides in "Infinite Words." She touches on many topics that would be beneficial for many writers of different walks (but especially beginning writers). Whether writing fiction, non-fiction, scripts, among other mediums, this book provides a very no-nonsense, straightforward guide of what to keep in mind as you're writing. She stresses the importance of time management, creating a SWOT analysis as a writer, how to best appeal to your readership and structure stories (including writing outlines and making characters pop), among many pertinent topics.
The advice is coupled with personal examples she's encountered in her experience, including her roles as a writer, publisher, and scriptwriter. I appreciated the chance not only to see her various approaches in how to work towards success as a writer, but also her background in the industry - and that was enlightening as much as the writing advice she provides. She's blunt and at times quite humored. (There were a few pet peeves she noted in the mix of common writing mistakes she's observed and I mentally went "Yes! Thank you! I feel the same way." Sometimes I had a good chuckle for her commentaries. My hope is that anyone picking up this guide will listen to the importance of those measures, such as the importance reading avidly as a writer or maintaining consistency in the details of your narrative).
This is a guide that I'll certainly return to, if even in the context of reading more of her work provides because it gives me a frame to see not only how I can improve upon my own craft as a writer, but also how her style and advice has shaped (and continues to shape) her own work.
Overall score: 4/5 stars
Note: I received a copy of this as an ARC from NetGalley, from the publisher Atria.
The advice is coupled with personal examples she's encountered in her experience, including her roles as a writer, publisher, and scriptwriter. I appreciated the chance not only to see her various approaches in how to work towards success as a writer, but also her background in the industry - and that was enlightening as much as the writing advice she provides. She's blunt and at times quite humored. (There were a few pet peeves she noted in the mix of common writing mistakes she's observed and I mentally went "Yes! Thank you! I feel the same way." Sometimes I had a good chuckle for her commentaries. My hope is that anyone picking up this guide will listen to the importance of those measures, such as the importance reading avidly as a writer or maintaining consistency in the details of your narrative).
This is a guide that I'll certainly return to, if even in the context of reading more of her work provides because it gives me a frame to see not only how I can improve upon my own craft as a writer, but also how her style and advice has shaped (and continues to shape) her own work.
Overall score: 4/5 stars
Note: I received a copy of this as an ARC from NetGalley, from the publisher Atria.
March 13, 2017
There is some good, honest points in this book that I haven't seen in many other books of this nature. There is not a lot of technical stuff in here, but Zane does provide a lot common sense that I'm sure she would say is not very common.
Overall, a good read that is fairly quick to get through.
Overall, a good read that is fairly quick to get through.
November 14, 2021
One of many writing books I read over three months. A bit too basic for me, but maybe not for you!
May 2, 2015
Publication Date: March 17, 2015 Title: Zane’s Infinite Words – Zane –– 208 Pages –Atria Books – 978-1476766966– Electronic ARC –4 Stars
I was excited to see this book from Zane. Zane has written tons of books, television shows and movies, owns her own imprint and runs an imprint for Simon & Schuster. Who better to give writing advice? I have a list of books that I suggest to my clients, and for my first time writing and publishing clients, this is a book that I would recommend. Being in the industry for twenty years, I knew many of the tips and advice given in this book; some of it, I did not. However, when working with clients they need to hear the real and hard truths of writing and publishing from someone who has “made it” in this industry. And Infinite Words does give some cold hard facts; a reality check if you will.
This book goes a bit beyond your standard writing and publishing standards. Zane gives tips on how to write screenplays, how to approach and agent, and the dos and donts of this industry. She reiterates that once you become an author, you become a business owner. She also reiterates that one should be careful what they post on social media and how they should engage with their readers. I was even surprised to find a few writing exercises in this book.
Bottom line, seasoned writers can find some value in this book, but if you’re a writer (not an author) and you’re looking to become an author, this book is for you. If you’re one of those aspiring writers/authors who think that you will become an overnight sensation, this is the perfect ego check. I don’t care how easy someone tells you it is to write a book. It is not. And the red tape that comes along with it is not easy in the least. If you’re going to become an author, or at least a reputable one, you’d better plan on putting in some work
Everything in this book may not be for you. That is why I like the easy to navigate parts and chapters of this book, so you can skip to what you need. But again, if you are an aspiring writer/author, read this book from start to finish.
It is refreshing to see an author of Zane’s stature, reach back and help those behind her.
I was excited to see this book from Zane. Zane has written tons of books, television shows and movies, owns her own imprint and runs an imprint for Simon & Schuster. Who better to give writing advice? I have a list of books that I suggest to my clients, and for my first time writing and publishing clients, this is a book that I would recommend. Being in the industry for twenty years, I knew many of the tips and advice given in this book; some of it, I did not. However, when working with clients they need to hear the real and hard truths of writing and publishing from someone who has “made it” in this industry. And Infinite Words does give some cold hard facts; a reality check if you will.
This book goes a bit beyond your standard writing and publishing standards. Zane gives tips on how to write screenplays, how to approach and agent, and the dos and donts of this industry. She reiterates that once you become an author, you become a business owner. She also reiterates that one should be careful what they post on social media and how they should engage with their readers. I was even surprised to find a few writing exercises in this book.
Bottom line, seasoned writers can find some value in this book, but if you’re a writer (not an author) and you’re looking to become an author, this book is for you. If you’re one of those aspiring writers/authors who think that you will become an overnight sensation, this is the perfect ego check. I don’t care how easy someone tells you it is to write a book. It is not. And the red tape that comes along with it is not easy in the least. If you’re going to become an author, or at least a reputable one, you’d better plan on putting in some work
Everything in this book may not be for you. That is why I like the easy to navigate parts and chapters of this book, so you can skip to what you need. But again, if you are an aspiring writer/author, read this book from start to finish.
It is refreshing to see an author of Zane’s stature, reach back and help those behind her.
July 3, 2015
Zane is candid about her good and bad experiences as a writer and publisher in the industry. Her personal anecdotes, recommendations, and advice kept the book from turning into a style manual. I appreciated that, but I felt like the information included could've branched out a little more from the general advice. I understand that new writers could benefit from guidance about grammar and character development, but Zane spent a significant amount of time summarizing some of her work to explain concepts that I felt were simple. The writing exercises and Zane's commentary on writing style, discipline, and her experiences publishing industry kept my attention more. I received this book as a graduation gift and I definitely think it acted as an incentive for me to keep reading and writing.
May 4, 2015
4 stars!
Zane covered a lot in this book. In certain areas she gave great examples and detail, and others were more brief. She offered great advice, too!! I suggest anyone who wants to write and publish read this book. Even if you have done a lot of research on this topic already, as I have, you can never gain enough info and knowledge on the subject. Thank you, Zane, for putting this guide together for writers and aspiring authors like me.
Zane covered a lot in this book. In certain areas she gave great examples and detail, and others were more brief. She offered great advice, too!! I suggest anyone who wants to write and publish read this book. Even if you have done a lot of research on this topic already, as I have, you can never gain enough info and knowledge on the subject. Thank you, Zane, for putting this guide together for writers and aspiring authors like me.
April 29, 2015
Zane is a legend in the publishing world. She started by publishing her stories free on the internet and after realizing her fan base so changed. Zane takes the time to breakdown the publishing industry while giving a few nuggets of advice. While this book isn't the be all in all of how new authors can break into the scene but it is an excellent start. Zane, thanks for sharing your thoughts.
February 24, 2016
I loved this book. I have browsed though many books on how to write a novel and most of them have some useful information in them with a lot of fillers. The reason why I love this book so much is that it got straight to the important stuff. I learned a lot from this book and I would recommend it to anyone who is a beginner writer or wants to work on their craft.
November 16, 2015
Great book! I suggest this book for all writers, authors, publishers, producers, etc. It really helped me get a grasp of the do's and dont's for becoming a better author.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews