Page-Turner: Your Path to Writing a Novel that Publishers Want and Readers Buy

by Barbara Kyle

ACCLAIM FOR PAGE-TURNER

"Brings alive almost every tough issue a writer of fiction must confront . . . friendly and fun to read." — Albert Zuckerman, founder of Writers House literary agency

“Kyle knows her stuff. She’s one of the rare authors who can break down both the art and the craft of writing in a way that is entertaining and easy to understand.”
— #1 New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong

ABOUT THE BOOK

What makes a page-turner? What mysterious literary essence holds a reader so hard they feel they must keep reading? And then tell friends, "I couldn't put it down!"

And what do literary agents and publishers really look for in a manuscript?

Internationally-acclaimed author and story coach Barbara Kyle reveals the answers in Page-Turner with insights into:

- the essentials of story structure
- how to create a "storyline"
- the power of “deep character”
- the art of crafting dialogue
- mastering point of view
- maximizing settings
- plus practical advice on how to query agents and get published
… and more

Page-Turner shows how to create the kind of novel that brings offers from publishers and praise from readers.

For emerging writers who want to break in, and published authors who want to produce a breakout book, Page-Turner is an indispensable guide.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Barbara Kyle is the author of the Thornleigh Saga series of historical novels and of acclaimed thrillers, with sales of over half a million books. "Kyle is a master at her craft."— RT Book Reviews

She has taught writers at the University of Toronto and is a popular presenter at international writers’ conferences. As a story coach, she has launched many writers on the path toward published success,

Visit www.BarbaraKyle.com

Genres: Nonfiction, Writing

246 pages, Paperback

Published October 30, 2016

About the author

Thanks for visiting!

Here’s a little about me. Before becoming an author, I enjoyed a twenty-year acting career playing Shakespearean heroines on stage, leading roles in daytime TV dramas, and characters in Disney made-for-TV movies. It felt like a natural extension of my acting to create characters for fiction, and I hope you'll enjoy my novels. Over half a million copies have been sold worldwide.

My seven-book Thornleigh Saga series is set in 16th-century England and follows a middle-class family’s rise through three generations and three tumultuous Tudor reigns. ("Riveting Tudor drama" - USA Today). I’m also the author of acclaimed thrillers.

My new novel, THE DEADLY TRADE, is a murder mystery. I hope you’ll love it!

As a writing mentor I’ve launched many writers on the path to published success. My video course YOUR PATH TO WRITING A PAGE-TURNER shows how to craft a book that excites publishers and thrills readers. It's a Udemy Bestseller! See: https://www.udemy.com/course/your-pat...

My husband and I live in Guelph, a university city in southern Ontario where we enjoy its riverside walks, vibrant arts community, and good-neighborliness.

Happy reading!

Barbara Kyle

P.S. Follow me on Instagram @BarbaraKyleAuthor

Reviews

[Carrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book for all writers, “Page Turner” takes you all the way from story creation to formatting and querying the final manuscript. For new writers, this information is invaluable, and it's presented in clear, easy language with great examples referenced throughout. For those of us with a few books under our belts, it's also invaluable, because it reiterates concepts we may have let slide. I learned new things as well or was introduced to familiar concepts in new ways, like “psychic distance” and “literary triage,” all of which will enhance my writing.

I've been a fan of Kyle's instruction in the past, and I continue to be today. This book joins my favorites on the craft of writing and will take its rightful place on my desk with the others. I highly recommend it to all authors, no matter what stage of writing they’re at.

[Lyndi Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Page Turner, Barbara Kyle does for novelists what Robert McKee did for screenwriters in Story. She breaks down the story structure into three acts and with confidence demonstrates how to write all aspects of a novel using personal examples and examples from well-known novels. All that’s left is for the writer to follow her instructions.

[Chris Meads · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book for those that are interested in writing a novel. Barbara gives great advice from creating scenes, characters to breaking into publishing. It is one that you will want to add to your list of writing books.

Barbara has so much to share and uses good examples including her own series about the Thornleighs(I got caught up in reading her examples that I started reading the Queen's Lady and the Queen's Daughter)

The only complaint that I have is that I wished she would do something for those who write for children, one of which I am. I can glean things from her writing but children can be a bit different.

[Sue Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Barbara Kyle is an expert on the art and craft of story-telling. Her book, Page-Turner: Your Path to Writing a Novel That Publishers Want and Readers Buy, is a MUST resource for emerging novelists, and a valuable reminder of the basics for published authors too. It holds a prominent spot on my writerly self-help shelf.

[Janice · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you've ever thought of writing a novel, read this book first. Lays out the entire process succinctly and plainly.

[Monica Deregt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surprisingly helpful and inspiring book with practical advice that feels simple to follow. Kyle breaks down the once-overwhelming steps to crafting and publishing a novel with great examples and quick, witty, straight-to-the-point commentary. I found myself stopping often to write or rewrite a first line or character detail, and I'm thinking about my storylines in a totally new way.

[DM Bellis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written by a best-selling author, this craft book offers clear recommendations and examples that both remind writers of solid writing principles and extends those principles.

[Ann Birch]

This book is an excellent guide for aspiring writers, but for published writers like me, it is also a most useful reminder of the best techniques of successful writing. What I especially liked about the book were the concrete examples with which Barbara Kyle illustrates the points that she makes. It's a book that should be on every writer's shelf.

Ann Birch

[Marie Parsons · Rating 5 out of 5]

((This is a slightly altered version of my review on Amazon.))
Whether you are simply a reader, or you are a writer of fiction, this book offers a wealth of guidance. I believe it stands out from among other such guides, for the enthusiasm of its author about this craft of writing.
Ms Kyle is author of 7 Elizabethan-age novels, as well as a mentor of new writers.
Three nuggets of wisdom I appreciate most in Page-Turner:
1. Discussion of not just "writing what you know" but "writing characters you care about." Excellent reminder.
2. Storylining/Outlining. This tends to challenge me at times, no matter how often I look through writing aids. Ms Kyle uses one of her novels to give example of this process. I think I may finally get it.
3. Challenges of writing in one of many Points of View.
I heartily recommend this book.

[Rosanna Micelotta Battigelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Barbara Kyle’s PAGE TURNER is a page turner in itself! Within its attractive covers are all the cutting-edge tools you could wish for to elevate your craft and reach for the heights of success that have made Barbara an international best seller of over half a million books. With clarity, precision, and an entertaining personal style, (just like in person) Barbara reveals the essentials for attaining your own writing success.

Providing salient tips, practical advice, and examples from past and current literary successes, Barbara has graciously and generously revealed the ways of mastering the elements of novel-writing to produce a book that sells!

An absolute must for a novice or emerging writer, and an invaluable reference tool for established authors who want to reach for the stars, PAGE-TURNER is the quintessential book on writing that breakout novel. All you have to do is turn each page to discover the treasures within.

Rosanna Micelotta Battigelli
Author of La Brigantessa, 2018 release, Inanna Publications
(Manuscript Evaluation by Barbara Kyle!)

[Susanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrific, practical, insightful

I read a lot of books about writing even though I'm a published author, because, you know, there's always something to learn. I would definitely recommend kyle's book to aspiring writers, or anyone who wants to just remind herself of some basic principles.

[Bella · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have an MA in English Literature and Creative Writing, a Certificate in Fiction Editing, and I’ve just begun working toward my PhD in Creative Writing, with an emphasis on Fiction because I like to teach at the university level, almost, but not quite, as much as I love to write. I’ve written three novels, many short stories, and even more poems in different styles.

I don’t know how I came across Barbara Kyle, but I’m glad I did. I have written curricula for creative writing programs for adult workshops and for universities, and I’m always interested in how other instructors structure their courses and what they inclue. Most of the time, I will pick up a nugget here and there that I didn’t already know, though I find many of the books sorely lacking. This was not the case with Page Turner by Barbara Kyle. Although I’m lucky enough to know most of the material Ms. Kyle presents, I still gleaned a few very valuable nuggets from the book, and I found every page invaluable for the beginning and midlist author.

Although Ms. Kyle titled her book Page Turner, something that indicates it might only be applicable to people who want to write mainstream blockbusters, the book is for everyone, no matter what genre they write in or whether they want to write a mainstream, hybrid, or literary novel. All books have to be structured correctly, plotted correctly, characters have to come alive, dialogue has to sparkle, etc. Ms. Kyle covers it all. Please take note, though, this is a book for fiction writers of book length fiction, not writers of non-fiction, short stories, or poetry.

The book is written in a terrific, conversational style that's accessible to writers of all levels, and Ms. Kyle provides easy to understand examples from real, published literature.

No matter how educated you are or how much you’ve written, I think this book will help you improve your fiction writing tremendously. In fact, I think it’s invaluable. It’s the best book on fiction writing I’ve ever read, and you can download a free copy from Ms. Kyle’s Website.

Bottom Line: This is a book all writers of fiction need to read.

5/5

Recommended: To fiction writers at every level. This is a terrific book that covers all of the basics and then some.

Please visit my author Website at bellagrimaldi.com

[Dave Wickenden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ms Kyle knows her craft. She has helped many authors succeed in completing the novels. This is a step by step guide for beginners and veterans of novel writing. There is a lot of hard earned advice offered that can help you write a great story. An accomplished actor and author, Ms Kyle can help you create your own masterpiece.

Highly recommended.

[B. Andersen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had followed Barbara Kyle’s email newsletter for some time, so when she announced her book “Page-Turner: Your Path to Writing a Novel That Publishers Want and Readers Buy” I went online and clicked “Add to cart” before you could say “dangling participle.” Kyle is a writing coach and that conversational and encouraging tone comes through in her book. She’s telling you things you need to hear.

The strength of the book is in her use of examples. So many books on writing enumerate objectives for your work such as “show, don’t tell” or “make your antagonist interesting” but then fall short on explaining what those things mean. Kyle’s use of example is nothing short of brilliant. She draws from a variety of stories and sources, including her own work, to drive home the point she’s making. She draws from Gone with the Wind, The Godfather, and The Kite Runner. Long excerpts or detailed analyses of scenes and situations reinforce her lessons. Of the many writing books I’ve read nobody does this better than Kyle.

The book is packed with practical advice as she discusses some of her processes including “storylining.” Just to be sure you get the point Kyle includes a large chunk of her storyline for The Queen’s Exiles. She also encourages you to make a “step-outline” which corresponds nicely to scene chunks you’d create in Scrivener, for example.

Of course the book also covers the standard repertoire of style, voice, pacing, conflict, reversals, and more. These are things you’d expect in a book like this. But Kyle goes beyond this and addresses the questions that stymie so many writers: how do I get noticed? How do I present a book to an agent? When is it ready? What other materials do I need to produce? Kyle walks through all of this in a way that both describes how tough these markets can be, and encourages you to put your best foot forward and try.

I was lucky enough to win the audiobook of Page-Turner in a drawing Barbara Kyle organized on her website. Her presentation is beautiful. She’s a (retired) actress and she doesn’t just read her book, she performs it. As I listened to the book on my commute it was like she was in the passenger seat answering all my questions. I had read the paperback book, of course, but the audiobook, and her voice, engaged me with the material at another level. I’m planning on a second listening.

There are many excellent writing coaches out there but a few have bubbled to the top of my list including Paula Munier, James Scott Bell, K.M. Weiland, and now Barbara Kyle. Get the book, and if you want to listen to a compelling writing coach, get the audiobook, too.

[Jastrow Hill · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very good resource. Barbara Kyle has been there and done that.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant step by step guide to writing fiction. Highly recommended for all writers. It's never a bad time to remind yourself of the everyday basics. Read this book and apply it the novel you are writing.

[T.K. Thorne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this book, especially for people who are trying to write that first novel, but, to be honest, it was extremely helpful to me. It is written in a clear, focused manner that actually makes a page turner in itself. Brilliant.

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book answered a question for me

I am the take-it-or-leave-it writer. I wrote my heart out to heal my wounds. It isn't in my heart to write a novel for others to read. This obviously means I am not the intended audience for this book.

There is nothing really revolutionary in this tome. It is written well and will offend some based on art oppression and expression limitations. I understand where they are coming from and I get it, but to get read you must be readable.

If you're interested in writing a good book others will read, this might just help you out. Of course, it could also do the same thing for you: shut the door on a faux writing career.