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A Writer's Guide to Everything Important: the omnibus edition
Here’s a bargain for anyone who feels the urge to write full-length fiction.
Take a writer with over fifty years of experience as a novelist and publisher. Suppose he writes seven separate guides on the business of writing and publishing fiction, and puts them on sale for the price of a cup of coffee each.
Then suppose this writer makes an omnibus edition of those guides available, and offers it at less than half the price you would pay for all seven.
That’s exactly what Michael Allen has done. First novel published in 1963, and still writing fiction, Michael has taken a year to write down everything that he has learnt in a literary lifetime. His intention has been to write practical, down-to-earth guides, for young and inexperienced writers, on all major aspects of the publishing scene.
Fifty years ago, when Michael first went looking for a publisher, there was precious little information available. So Michael has made it his business to compress everything he has learnt into these essential guides. And now the omnibus edition, containing all seven, is on sale.
Take a writer with over fifty years of experience as a novelist and publisher. Suppose he writes seven separate guides on the business of writing and publishing fiction, and puts them on sale for the price of a cup of coffee each.
Then suppose this writer makes an omnibus edition of those guides available, and offers it at less than half the price you would pay for all seven.
That’s exactly what Michael Allen has done. First novel published in 1963, and still writing fiction, Michael has taken a year to write down everything that he has learnt in a literary lifetime. His intention has been to write practical, down-to-earth guides, for young and inexperienced writers, on all major aspects of the publishing scene.
Fifty years ago, when Michael first went looking for a publisher, there was precious little information available. So Michael has made it his business to compress everything he has learnt into these essential guides. And now the omnibus edition, containing all seven, is on sale.
- GenresNonfictionWriting
452 pages, Paperback
First published March 10, 2014
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9 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 11, 2015
First, the Michael Allen who is credited on this page is NOT the man who wrote this book. The author is an Englishman in his 70s, not a middle-aged dean of a religious school in Florida.
As for the book itself, I loved it. Granted, it gets repetitive at times – I wish Mr. Allen had taken the time to omit quite a number of passages that were repeated verbatim. Beyond that though, there's a lot of useful information here, and I found Michael warm and engaging. Loved his personality and writing style!
All in all, definitely worth the read. Just be aware that you might need to skip ahead here and there to avoid a feeling of déjà vu.
As for the book itself, I loved it. Granted, it gets repetitive at times – I wish Mr. Allen had taken the time to omit quite a number of passages that were repeated verbatim. Beyond that though, there's a lot of useful information here, and I found Michael warm and engaging. Loved his personality and writing style!
All in all, definitely worth the read. Just be aware that you might need to skip ahead here and there to avoid a feeling of déjà vu.
August 6, 2014
Condescending and ridiculously repetitive. At the same time, there were useful nuggets of experience and advice from someone who's been in the biz a long time. Still. It was so tedious to reread the same advice verbatim over and over that I almost wish I could give it one star.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews