The New Writer's Handbook 2007: A Practical Anthology of Best Advice for Your Craft and Career

by Philip Martin (Editor), Erica Jong (Preface by)

Winner of ForeWord magazine's Book of the Year Award in the career category, The New Writer’s Handbook 2007 is an annual anthology of cross-disciplinary articles to refresh and upgrade any writer's skills, with advice on craft and career development. The first edition features an eclectic mix of essays on writing and marketing techniques, stimulating short pieces on creativity and professional issues, and overall encouragement.

With a preface by Erica Jong, this first edition features more than 60 articles on everything from writing techniques to the marketing of articles, stories, and book-length projects. Contributors include luminaries such as Barry Lopez, Richard Powers, Mary Pipher, Jane Yolen, Linda Sue Park, Ridley Pearson, and William G. Tapply. They include winners of the National Book Award, Newbery Medal and many other honors.

The guide contains six Motivation and Creativity, The Craft of Writing, Pitching and Proposals, Marketing Your Work, Career Development and Literary Insights. The articles were recently published in major writer magazines; in books on writing, creativity, and marketing; on literary blogs; and on author websites.

The New Writer’s Handbook is the premier annual anthology for ongoing professional development for working and emerging writers.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Reference

288 pages, Paperback

First published June 6, 2007

Reviews

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-versed compilation of essays about writing, coming from a multitude of writers including Jane Yolen and Neil Gaiman. I think of the sections I found most particularly helpful were the earlier ones on the craft and gathering ideas. There were other various contributions about non-fiction writing, magazine writing, haiku crafting, querying agents and editors, and even dealing with matters regarding the internet - including creating a blog and, surprisingly, dealing with "trolls". It's a smorgasbord of advice, pretty much up for the ready for anyone who wants to peruse it. I enjoyed it and certainly wouldn't mind finding more of this kind of collection.

Overall: 4/5

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has a good variety of articles on writing, publishing and so forth. A few of the articles were (for me) very helpful, some of them were completely useless, most of them were okay, but almost all of them were not your standard thoughts on writing. So if you're looking for something different, this may be the book for you. The variety means that there is something for everyone but probably no one will like everything. But at least you will hear something new and not just the same things over and over again!

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a person who dreams of writing for a living, I found this group of essays from writers inspiring and interesting. I enjoyed the wide range of genres included from journalists to authors of fiction. Some essays made me laugh out loud while others were educational offering advice for the new writer to avoid pitfalls and enjoy success.

[Moriah · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was a good variety in the articles - from practical advice to meditative writings to poetry. As a Christian reader, I appreciate Jong's frequent inclusion of Christian authors.
I almost cried reading one meditative piece on how the author's writing helps him acknowledge both heaven and our present reality.

[Tina · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's something for everyone in here, and that is both a good and bad thing. Some essays are insightful, some are enlightening, and some are completely irrelevant depending on what it is you're in the business of writing. Skim through it. Read what seems relevant. Read what sounds interesting. Skip the rest.

[Sung-Hee Pak · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting reading for those interested in writing!