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Write Good or Die
Survival tips for 21st century writers, from best-selling authors Kevin J. Anderson, M.J. Rose, Heather Graham, J.A. Konrath, Gayle Lynds, Alexandra Sokoloff, Jonathan Maberry, and more. How to develop your craft, improve your writing, get an agent, promote your work, embrace the digital age, and prepare yourself for the coming changes in the publishing industry. Edited by Scott Nicholson.
168 pages, Nook
First published April 13, 2010
477 people are currently reading
1824 people want to read
About the author
Scott Nicholson
209 books767 followersWith more than 800,000 books sold worldwide, Scott Nicholson is an international bestselling thriller writer. He won the Writers of the Future Award in 1999 and was a Stoker Award finalist in 2003. His Fear series was published by Amazon's Thomas & Mercer imprint and 47North released the supernatural thriller McFALL.
He's also published a number of supernatural, paranormal, and fantasy books and stories, including the AFTER, NEXT, and ARIZE post-apocalyptic series, as well as children's books, comics, and screenplays. His 2006 novel The Home is in development as a feature film.
He's also published a number of supernatural, paranormal, and fantasy books and stories, including the AFTER, NEXT, and ARIZE post-apocalyptic series, as well as children's books, comics, and screenplays. His 2006 novel The Home is in development as a feature film.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 180 reviews
December 11, 2024
This book which came out in 2009 feels like a blog article with quotes from different authors.
It has over 50 short ideas from screenwriters, comedians, writers and creators about the challenges of writing. Some talk about a book's POV, and some about the tedious road to publishing.
Some teach you how to write an elevator pitch for your book
When people ask you what your book is about, what they are really asking is–“What’s the premise?” In other words, “What’s the story line in one easily understandable sentence?” That one sentence is also referred to as a “logline” (in Hollywood).
Others think about the importance of speech and character or theme. I picked up some advice and you can too.
- who, what, when, where. That’s good advice for fiction as well.
- dont use adverbs(zise entuziasmat, spuse grăbit) and NEVER more than 1 !
-Now for each story, write a one-sentence premise that contains all these story elements: protagonist, antagonist, conflict, stakes, setting, atmosphere and genre.
-a defined protagonist, a powerful antagonist, a sense of the setting, conflict and stakes, and a sense of how the action will play out.
Exemple of logline: When a great white shark starts attacking beachgoers in a coastal town during high tourist season, a water-phobic Sheriff must assemble a team to hunt it down before it kills again.
When people ask you what your book is about, what they are really asking is–“What’s the premise?” In other words, “What’s the story line in one easily understandable sentence?”
Publish the book on Amazon, OLX wherever you can and make it downloadable.
Not only do you get a sense of how the story can look to convey your themes, but you also have a growing list of specific words that you can work with in your prose so that you’re constantly hitting those themes.
Speech denotes class, racial, cultural, educational, and geographic differences. Make sure each character speaks consistently.
The voices of a book:
Third, Person Limited Told through one character's viewpoint, seeing just what that character sees and thinking just what s/he thinks. Can switch POV away from that character, but the story should only be told through one character's viewpoint at a time.
Second Person The "you" tense. (Largely experimental and only used for a very specific kind of story.
Third Person Omniscient The all-knowing voice, a story told from a god-like perspective. In 19 th century they used it a lot.
1st person pov: It is not the writer's job to make the reader see what is going on, but to make the reader feel what is going on.exclusively on the sense of sight, leading to writing that is flat and one-dimensional.
It has over 50 short ideas from screenwriters, comedians, writers and creators about the challenges of writing. Some talk about a book's POV, and some about the tedious road to publishing.
Some teach you how to write an elevator pitch for your book
When people ask you what your book is about, what they are really asking is–“What’s the premise?” In other words, “What’s the story line in one easily understandable sentence?” That one sentence is also referred to as a “logline” (in Hollywood).
Others think about the importance of speech and character or theme. I picked up some advice and you can too.
- who, what, when, where. That’s good advice for fiction as well.
- dont use adverbs(zise entuziasmat, spuse grăbit) and NEVER more than 1 !
-Now for each story, write a one-sentence premise that contains all these story elements: protagonist, antagonist, conflict, stakes, setting, atmosphere and genre.
-a defined protagonist, a powerful antagonist, a sense of the setting, conflict and stakes, and a sense of how the action will play out.
Exemple of logline: When a great white shark starts attacking beachgoers in a coastal town during high tourist season, a water-phobic Sheriff must assemble a team to hunt it down before it kills again.
When people ask you what your book is about, what they are really asking is–“What’s the premise?” In other words, “What’s the story line in one easily understandable sentence?”
Publish the book on Amazon, OLX wherever you can and make it downloadable.
Not only do you get a sense of how the story can look to convey your themes, but you also have a growing list of specific words that you can work with in your prose so that you’re constantly hitting those themes.
Speech denotes class, racial, cultural, educational, and geographic differences. Make sure each character speaks consistently.
The voices of a book:
Third, Person Limited Told through one character's viewpoint, seeing just what that character sees and thinking just what s/he thinks. Can switch POV away from that character, but the story should only be told through one character's viewpoint at a time.
Second Person The "you" tense. (Largely experimental and only used for a very specific kind of story.
Third Person Omniscient The all-knowing voice, a story told from a god-like perspective. In 19 th century they used it a lot.
1st person pov: It is not the writer's job to make the reader see what is going on, but to make the reader feel what is going on.exclusively on the sense of sight, leading to writing that is flat and one-dimensional.
December 3, 2019
Neki eseji su super, drugi su meh.
Shvatam da je svaki autor preneo neko svoje iskustvo i dao svoje viđenje pisanja, izdavaštva, nalaženja agenta i izdavačke kuće, ali na momente je postalo konfuzno kada jedan pisac kaže jedno a drugi drugo.
Uzeti ovo samo kao interesantno štivo, ali ne voditi se savetima kao nečim što se mora.
Posebno bih istakla kao meni bliske savete Aleksandre Sokolof.
Shvatam da je svaki autor preneo neko svoje iskustvo i dao svoje viđenje pisanja, izdavaštva, nalaženja agenta i izdavačke kuće, ali na momente je postalo konfuzno kada jedan pisac kaže jedno a drugi drugo.
Uzeti ovo samo kao interesantno štivo, ali ne voditi se savetima kao nečim što se mora.
Posebno bih istakla kao meni bliske savete Aleksandre Sokolof.
November 28, 2010
This is a writing guide featuring a collection of essays contributed by about dozen bestselling novelists. Editor Scott Nicholson has not only published it for free, but makes it available on his website for download to your e-reader (http://www.hauntedcomputer.com/writeg...).
This guide is intended for new, unpublished authors. Experienced novelists might learn some new things, but primarily the advice will be useful to aspiring novelists just getting started. As such a person I found it *extremely* valuable. I will return to it many times in the future.
There are motivational pieces about pushing forward to the end of your novel, how to accept and deal with the inevitable rejection slips that all new novelists accumulate, and how to look at your career from a long term perspective, knowing that your craft will improve over time with hard work.
Some basics are covered such as choosing a POV (point of view) for your story, how to outline, and how to construct visual themes. Also some "do's and don'ts" with dialogue, choosing character names, and genres.
If you are new to the publishing process, that is covered extensively as well.
Here are some things that I jotted down as I read, either because they were particularly insightful, or because I wanted to investigate them further:
* BookScan tracks the actual # of book sales.
* On character development: "first you have to hook the reader; they won't care what happens to your characters if they know nothing about them."
* On the 5 W's: ``"when" and "where" should be revealed in tiny doses while the characters are engaged in the business of the plot.'' In other words, the emphasis should be on the "who" and the "what" -- think 'action'.
* Fundumentals: rule #1 -- "don't confuse the reader."
* Brandon Massey has a weekly writers' newsletter on his website.
* HarperCollins has an online slushpile called "Authonomy" and Harlequin has a similar testing ground called "Carina."
It's rare that novelists will take time like this to reveal their secrets, so thanks to each and every one of them for doing so. It makes a difference, really.
This guide is intended for new, unpublished authors. Experienced novelists might learn some new things, but primarily the advice will be useful to aspiring novelists just getting started. As such a person I found it *extremely* valuable. I will return to it many times in the future.
There are motivational pieces about pushing forward to the end of your novel, how to accept and deal with the inevitable rejection slips that all new novelists accumulate, and how to look at your career from a long term perspective, knowing that your craft will improve over time with hard work.
Some basics are covered such as choosing a POV (point of view) for your story, how to outline, and how to construct visual themes. Also some "do's and don'ts" with dialogue, choosing character names, and genres.
If you are new to the publishing process, that is covered extensively as well.
Here are some things that I jotted down as I read, either because they were particularly insightful, or because I wanted to investigate them further:
* BookScan tracks the actual # of book sales.
* On character development: "first you have to hook the reader; they won't care what happens to your characters if they know nothing about them."
* On the 5 W's: ``"when" and "where" should be revealed in tiny doses while the characters are engaged in the business of the plot.'' In other words, the emphasis should be on the "who" and the "what" -- think 'action'.
* Fundumentals: rule #1 -- "don't confuse the reader."
* Brandon Massey has a weekly writers' newsletter on his website.
* HarperCollins has an online slushpile called "Authonomy" and Harlequin has a similar testing ground called "Carina."
It's rare that novelists will take time like this to reveal their secrets, so thanks to each and every one of them for doing so. It makes a difference, really.
July 17, 2012
I found this book to be an incredibly mixed bag. Some articles were very insightful. Others were little more than thinly veiled self promotion or biographical pieces describing their career. Indeed, the last 15 percent of the book are plot synopsis to everything one of the contributors ever wrote. In one piece, an author describes everything they did that day that wasn't writing, yet "I am still writing!" they insist. Not the most helpful article.
If you give yourself permission to skip an article when you realize it is not helpful, you will still enjoy this book.
And if you would like Scott Nicholson to attempt to sell you his bibliography, and call it the last 15 percent of a book on writing, you'll LOVE it.
If you give yourself permission to skip an article when you realize it is not helpful, you will still enjoy this book.
And if you would like Scott Nicholson to attempt to sell you his bibliography, and call it the last 15 percent of a book on writing, you'll LOVE it.
March 17, 2016
A few helpful bits in here, but not much. It was free, so no big deal. I think I've read too many other writing help books to make this one worthwhile.
July 17, 2011
As with any book that’s a compilation of articles like this, there’s going to be some stuff you’ll find useful and some you won’t care for. A lot of things talked about ways to keep yourself motivated and make time for writing.
Then we get into some articles on the actual craft of writing, and there was definitely some good stuff there, though I’m not really sure how much new info I walked away with.
After I was something like 60% through with the book, I decided to just pick and choose the articles I wanted to read because they didn’t all seem entirely useful to me—particularly the stuff in the “How to Get Published” section, because as I’ve read Joe Konrath’s blog (http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/), I’ve become more and more convinced that self-publishing e-books may be the way to go in the future, thus making a lot of the publishing advice in this book sorta obsolete.
On that note, I thoroughly enjoyed Konrath’s tale at the end where he talks about what he went through to get published. I’ve been following his story for a little while now, and it’s always interesting to learn more about his career.
At the end of the day, it’s not a bad book to read if you’re looking for publishing advice. You can usually tell pretty early on in any of the articles whether or not it’s something you really need to read, so just pick and choose if you don’t have time to go through the whole thing.
Then we get into some articles on the actual craft of writing, and there was definitely some good stuff there, though I’m not really sure how much new info I walked away with.
After I was something like 60% through with the book, I decided to just pick and choose the articles I wanted to read because they didn’t all seem entirely useful to me—particularly the stuff in the “How to Get Published” section, because as I’ve read Joe Konrath’s blog (http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/), I’ve become more and more convinced that self-publishing e-books may be the way to go in the future, thus making a lot of the publishing advice in this book sorta obsolete.
On that note, I thoroughly enjoyed Konrath’s tale at the end where he talks about what he went through to get published. I’ve been following his story for a little while now, and it’s always interesting to learn more about his career.
At the end of the day, it’s not a bad book to read if you’re looking for publishing advice. You can usually tell pretty early on in any of the articles whether or not it’s something you really need to read, so just pick and choose if you don’t have time to go through the whole thing.
December 31, 2011
I bought "Write Good or Die" back in December of 2010, but didn't actually read it until about February of this past year (2011). It's a good compilation of articles on writing, the business of publishing, authorial stories of their experiences, among other things that writers might find interesting. I kind of approached it as a bit of a grab bag of information. Some of the articles I thought were pertinent to me, while others I think more of a novice to writing would likely get more out of or just were interesting reads on process and the ways of "getting there" as a writer. I think these articles, ad the wonderfully diverse selection of contributing authors, were worth reading. I think now (as of December 2011) you can find this for free on Barnes and Noble and Amazon. It's worth checking into if you're a writer just to see what you might get out of it.
Among my favorite selections written were those by Mur Lafferty, M.J. Rose, Jonathan Maberry (I don't typically write Three Act Structure, but he gives some good food for thought on the matter, and his Novel Pitch Letter article was quite the read).
Overall score: 3.5/5
Among my favorite selections written were those by Mur Lafferty, M.J. Rose, Jonathan Maberry (I don't typically write Three Act Structure, but he gives some good food for thought on the matter, and his Novel Pitch Letter article was quite the read).
Overall score: 3.5/5
September 19, 2014
A collection of mostly out-dated blog posts. A bit of useful information here and there. Since you can nab it for free, you probably won't cry about it.
January 29, 2013
This book was a bit of a disappointment. It's given on the Internet for free, so perhaps I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth ... but I think the point of giving something away for free is that it's supposed to appeal to you enough to entice you to read more. And this book didn't do that, even though that was obviously its sole purpose.
It was mainly just a collection of repurposed blog posts about writing from various authors, with no real thread to tie them all together. Topics ranged from writing dark humor to definitions of various terms one might come across in the publishing industry. The advice wasn't particularly insightful and was obviously just a ploy to bring the reader back to each author's blog or webpage. The one essay that stood out for me was "Success" by Kristine Kathryn Rush. It was about how many authors had been successful by the world's standards -- writing movies, best-selling novels, etc. -- but still considered themselves failures because they had failed to achieve their own personal dreams (writing a memoir, being able to quit their outside jobs, etc.) It helped me keep things in perspective, and both be grateful for the success I have attained, and feel validated in striving toward my own personal definition (which includes placing a novel with a publisher).
Still, this collection rarely tries to be much more than self-promotion. In fact, only 85% of the book is actual content. A full 15% at the end is dedicated to promotional blurbs, including descriptions of every book the editor has written. Yeah, it's free, so it won't cost you any money -- but it will cost you in the time it takes to read it, and I personally felt that time could have been better spent.
It was mainly just a collection of repurposed blog posts about writing from various authors, with no real thread to tie them all together. Topics ranged from writing dark humor to definitions of various terms one might come across in the publishing industry. The advice wasn't particularly insightful and was obviously just a ploy to bring the reader back to each author's blog or webpage. The one essay that stood out for me was "Success" by Kristine Kathryn Rush. It was about how many authors had been successful by the world's standards -- writing movies, best-selling novels, etc. -- but still considered themselves failures because they had failed to achieve their own personal dreams (writing a memoir, being able to quit their outside jobs, etc.) It helped me keep things in perspective, and both be grateful for the success I have attained, and feel validated in striving toward my own personal definition (which includes placing a novel with a publisher).
Still, this collection rarely tries to be much more than self-promotion. In fact, only 85% of the book is actual content. A full 15% at the end is dedicated to promotional blurbs, including descriptions of every book the editor has written. Yeah, it's free, so it won't cost you any money -- but it will cost you in the time it takes to read it, and I personally felt that time could have been better spent.
June 15, 2016
My main takeaways from this book: (1) book agents have no idea what they’re talking about; (2) editors mostly do; (3) your writing will suck at first (and for a while after that); (4) self-publish; (5) don’t self-publish; (6) the game is changing so fast that no one has any idea what they’re talking about; (7) don’t listen to this advice; (8) well, listen, but take it with a salt shaker; (9) don’t try and write the next Great American Novel; (10) try and write the next Great American Novel; (11) the internet is bad for productivity; (12) the internet is great for sales; (13) self-promotion is awesome; (14) self-promotion is a waste; (15) publishing is more a matter of persistence; (16) but only if you don’t totally suck; (17) don't think about marketability when writing; (18) think about marketability when writing.
February 6, 2013
I have been working on writing a novel for the past year (with several others in the developmental process), so every time I find a book about writing, especially one by authors who have actually done it, I like to check it out to see what they say on the subject. I found this at 3 o'clock and thought, "It's free - what could it hurt?" I really enjoyed this book and even though I do feel that a few of the authors didn't give much actual information, it was nice to read what they had to say about their experiences. If you're like me - an avid reader who is putting your love for writing to better use - I would recommend this book. :)
September 11, 2013
Write Good or Die is a great resource for new writers looking for some inspiration. Not inspiration in the vein of "here's a few ideas to write about", but more along the lines of words to get your writing butt in gear.
This free ebook has some great essays that will resonate with writers, and others that - due to the heavy selection of horror/sf themed pieces - may interest only a few. For those of you who are interested in writing as a profession, this is a great book to start with, but not the only one you should be reading.
This free ebook has some great essays that will resonate with writers, and others that - due to the heavy selection of horror/sf themed pieces - may interest only a few. For those of you who are interested in writing as a profession, this is a great book to start with, but not the only one you should be reading.
Read
April 25, 2011This was a great collection of blog posts on writing. I found about 90% of them useful, interesting, or inspiring.
For a free book (free to Kindle/Nook users), it was an excellent overview of writing. My only word of caution is that some of the posts are about 2 years old and the nature of ePublishing has changed since then. Still, I will be reading the blog in those book to keep abreast of those changes.
For a free book (free to Kindle/Nook users), it was an excellent overview of writing. My only word of caution is that some of the posts are about 2 years old and the nature of ePublishing has changed since then. Still, I will be reading the blog in those book to keep abreast of those changes.
December 26, 2013
Well, reading this a second time allowed me to pick up a lot of gems I missed the first time around.
I'd recommend anybody that wants to be a writer to add this to their must read list. Great pointers, tips, suggestions, and insights from published authors, writers, and literary world figure heads.
I'd recommend anybody that wants to be a writer to add this to their must read list. Great pointers, tips, suggestions, and insights from published authors, writers, and literary world figure heads.
April 16, 2011
This was so good that I took my time reading it in little bites and writing inbetween. Inspirational and instructural...I know that what makes me happy is perfecting the story! So I press...(-:
Informative and very helpful easy read and it was free. Check it out!
Informative and very helpful easy read and it was free. Check it out!
October 10, 2013
This ebook contains a collections of articles written by experienced and best selling authors. The aspiring authors can learn a lot from these articles and the established writers can also pick up something new from this ebook. I enjoyed reading each one of them.
June 3, 2015
Overall a lot of good information. A few things were a bit dated (I want to say the book was published in 2010 or 2011, so to be expected. A few sections were less relevant to indie authors than others, but all in all a really good read (and you can't beat the price).
partly-read
April 7, 2015Mostly dull, mostly predictable advice in, for some reason, a tiny font. When I hit the second unaltered blog post from Kristine Rush - who I think overwrites terribly - I stopped.
September 21, 2017
Decent
This had good advice....for 2010. I did find some tidbits which made it worth reading. The bottom line is you must write a good story first, then publish.
This had good advice....for 2010. I did find some tidbits which made it worth reading. The bottom line is you must write a good story first, then publish.
January 6, 2019
I so need the half star in Goodreads. Can anyone start a petition already? Please?
October 8, 2016
Published in 2010 this is a little dated and largely predates self publishing.
1. if only I had the time By Kevin J. Anderson
2. writing and publishing advice By Heather Graham
3. It's Okay To Suck By Mur Lafferty
4. nurture your inner hack By Scott Nicholson
5. The Freelancer’s Survival Guide: Discipline Kristine Kathryn Rusch
6. NaNoNoNoNoNoMo By Harley Jane Kozak
7. Jeers of a Clown: Exploring the Balancing Act of Black Humor Writing By Adrienne Jones
8. Write the Novel You Want to Read By Robert Kroese
Exactly. Look up the best seller lists of years ago and some you may not even recognise, let alone have read.
9. Persistence By M.J. Rose
Ah, the dreaded refusal letters. Listening to a Mur podcast today with Laurence MacNaughton who has a good series and a decent writing career. He told about how he found his box of ‘no’ letters and started to count them. When he hit one thousand (with more to go) he curled into a ball and stopped writing. It took him some effort to get out of that hole he had no need to dig for himself.
The mind is a powerful thing. Get yours on your side.
10. Success By Kristine Kathryn Rush
11. What’s Your Premise? By Alexandra Sokoloff
Yes. I am doing this at the moment.
12. you, too, can research By Gayle Lynds
13. a writer's mantra By J.A. Konrath
14. types of writers and writing professions By Jonathan Maberry
15. Writing Your First Novel By Brandon Massey
16. Seven Bad Habits of Highly Ineffective Writers By Scott Nicholson
17. Morrell’s Point of View By David J. Montgomery
I have a personal dislike of first person pov… I know…
18. What’s In A Name? By Scott Nicholson
I do a random article search in wikipedia and have sometimes hit a name that was - even though it existed - too namey.
Ugh yesss… so many times I look at book summaries and think ‘if I can’t pronounce that name it’s going to annoy me so badly reading it’, and I don’t buy it.
19. The Three-Act Structure in Storytelling By Jonathan Maberry
20. visual storytelling: imagery By Alexandra Sokoloff
She recommends collecting from magazines, any images that fit with your story. I do that, but these days, I use Pinterest. You can even keep the board secret, so that it is your precious *rubs hands*
21. Talking Points: Dialogue By Scott Nicholson
Avoid slang, idioms and trying to write the way people talk. Yep. Say they’re southern but don’t try to write southern.
22. write what you are passionate about, then try to figure out how to sell it By Dean Wesley Smith
Oh now… I like this one. I heard Brandon Sanderson say that this week in a video lecture.
23. pitching your book By Douglas Clegg
24. novel pitch letter By Jonathan Maberry
25. how to get a literary agent By Brandon Massey
26. the agent/ publisher epic By J.A. Konrath
27. what happens in the publication process By Gayle Lynds
28. get it in writing By Elizabeth Massie
29. ten commandments of getting a book reviewed By David J. Montgomery
30. free email newsletter marketing for authors by Douglas Clegg
31. eight fearless forecasts for the future of ebooks by Scott Nicholson
32. kindle sales: 30k ebooks in 11 months by J.A. Konrath
Hmmm… my kindlespy (as at oct 2016) tells me he has made $30,583 in the last 30 days from 80 titles with 6,937 sales. Which, over 11 months, is closer to 80k sales. So it’s all about volume, eh? Here he says the best price is $1.99 or $2.99 but again, these days he’s choosing $4.99 and up. And that does NOT include any of his pen-names.
I confess to Mr Konrath being on ‘my never buy list’ after he said women couldn’t write erotica and then did so under a female pen name… grits teeth. Read about it here:
http://jennytrout.com/?p=8460
33. ads in ebooks by Scott Nicholson
Personally, I gave up reading Patricia Cornwell when brand names started appearing in every page of her traditionally published books… but hey… shrugs.
33. killing the sacred cows of publishing: self-promotion by Dean Wesley Smith
Yes… see #32 on how to shoot yourself in the foot.
Yes it is. But as has been said (was it Neil Gaiman? Isn’t it always Neil?) that is was both that simple and that hard. Just write one word, then another… and so on, until you have a whole book.
3 outdated stars - some bits are still good. But it is free these days.
1. if only I had the time By Kevin J. Anderson
2. writing and publishing advice By Heather Graham
3. It's Okay To Suck By Mur Lafferty
4. nurture your inner hack By Scott Nicholson
It means you’d better learn how to tell a story. And you need to be a hack. I say “hack” with all due reverence, and I believe it is the highest literary ambition possible. The popular image of a hack is someone who grinds out cheap paperbacks every three months, writes in multiple genres, and borrows and steals from every clichéd plot possible. To me, a hack is someone who is writing so freely and unselfconsciously that the material is flowing from some deep inner fountain, a place where true beliefs and feelings dwell. (Kindle Locations 277-281).
5. The Freelancer’s Survival Guide: Discipline Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Finally, I love beginnings. Not the actual moment of work, which can be hard as I try to figure out how to approach the project, but grooming the idea and preparing it for the actual writing. That bright and shiny part of writing is appealing to me, and I always have more than one project going just to keep that bright and shiny part of my brain occupied.
6. NaNoNoNoNoNoMo By Harley Jane Kozak
7. Jeers of a Clown: Exploring the Balancing Act of Black Humor Writing By Adrienne Jones
8. Write the Novel You Want to Read By Robert Kroese
The one characteristic shared by all successful novels (other than those written by known authors) is that they are books that people tell their friends about. The rub, of course, is that no one knows what exactly causes someone to be filled with the urge to tell another person about a book. (Kindle Locations 695-697).
Exactly. Look up the best seller lists of years ago and some you may not even recognise, let alone have read.
9. Persistence By M.J. Rose
A funny thing happened to me in those three months. I went from dreading and hating the "no's" to understanding something about them. They represented hard work and determination on my part. I was proud of those "no's." Plus, in order to find the right partner for my business the "no's" were important. They weeded out the people I really didn't want to work with anyway. Only someone who truly loved my idea and saw its potential, only the person who said "yes" was the right person.
Ah, the dreaded refusal letters. Listening to a Mur podcast today with Laurence MacNaughton who has a good series and a decent writing career. He told about how he found his box of ‘no’ letters and started to count them. When he hit one thousand (with more to go) he curled into a ball and stopped writing. It took him some effort to get out of that hole he had no need to dig for himself.
The mind is a powerful thing. Get yours on your side.
10. Success By Kristine Kathryn Rush
11. What’s Your Premise? By Alexandra Sokoloff
The best way to learn how to write a good premise is to practice. Make a list of ten books and films that are in the same genre as your book or script— preferably successful— or that you wish you had written! Now for each story, write a one-sentence premise that contains all these story elements: protagonist, antagonist, conflict, stakes, setting, atmosphere and genre. (Kindle Locations 991-993).
Yes. I am doing this at the moment.
12. you, too, can research By Gayle Lynds
13. a writer's mantra By J.A. Konrath
14. types of writers and writing professions By Jonathan Maberry
15. Writing Your First Novel By Brandon Massey
16. Seven Bad Habits of Highly Ineffective Writers By Scott Nicholson
In third-person limited viewpoint, make sure the character doesn’t “know” things happening outside her range of perception. Make sure the character isn’t experiencing the thoughts of another character unless one of them has ESP. (Kindle Locations 1258-1260)
17. Morrell’s Point of View By David J. Montgomery
Bottom line: In Morrell's judgment, most first-person novels could be improved by a shift to the third person. First person is very hard to do— harder than third person limited— and should only be done with great care by the writer, and only when the story demands it. Otherwise, especially for new writers, they're probably better off going with third person. (Kindle Locations 1328-1331).
I have a personal dislike of first person pov… I know…
18. What’s In A Name? By Scott Nicholson
One of the most common mistakes is making your character name sound too “namey.” In other words, the name sounds like that of a fictional character instead of a real person. (Kindle Locations 1355-1356).
I do a random article search in wikipedia and have sometimes hit a name that was - even though it existed - too namey.
Ugh yesss… so many times I look at book summaries and think ‘if I can’t pronounce that name it’s going to annoy me so badly reading it’, and I don’t buy it.
19. The Three-Act Structure in Storytelling By Jonathan Maberry
Death Star. So, that’s the short and long of the Three Act Structure. You may not be able to watch Wizard of Oz the same way again; and if you’re a true writer, you’ll be forever plagued with trying to identify the act breaks in every book, TV show or movie you ever watch. Don’t blame me… blame the Greeks. (Kindle Locations 1495-1498).
20. visual storytelling: imagery By Alexandra Sokoloff
She recommends collecting from magazines, any images that fit with your story. I do that, but these days, I use Pinterest. You can even keep the board secret, so that it is your precious *rubs hands*
21. Talking Points: Dialogue By Scott Nicholson
Avoid slang, idioms and trying to write the way people talk. Yep. Say they’re southern but don’t try to write southern.
22. write what you are passionate about, then try to figure out how to sell it By Dean Wesley Smith
Oh now… I like this one. I heard Brandon Sanderson say that this week in a video lecture.
23. pitching your book By Douglas Clegg
24. novel pitch letter By Jonathan Maberry
25. how to get a literary agent By Brandon Massey
26. the agent/ publisher epic By J.A. Konrath
After 10 books, 12 years, and 460 rejections, my dream had finally come true.
27. what happens in the publication process By Gayle Lynds
28. get it in writing By Elizabeth Massie
29. ten commandments of getting a book reviewed By David J. Montgomery
30. free email newsletter marketing for authors by Douglas Clegg
31. eight fearless forecasts for the future of ebooks by Scott Nicholson
32. kindle sales: 30k ebooks in 11 months by J.A. Konrath
Hmmm… my kindlespy (as at oct 2016) tells me he has made $30,583 in the last 30 days from 80 titles with 6,937 sales. Which, over 11 months, is closer to 80k sales. So it’s all about volume, eh? Here he says the best price is $1.99 or $2.99 but again, these days he’s choosing $4.99 and up. And that does NOT include any of his pen-names.
I confess to Mr Konrath being on ‘my never buy list’ after he said women couldn’t write erotica and then did so under a female pen name… grits teeth. Read about it here:
http://jennytrout.com/?p=8460
33. ads in ebooks by Scott Nicholson
My informal polling on ad-supported ebooks yields statements like: “I'll quit reading before I put up with that.” I also remember saying I'd never carry a cell phone, or be on Facebook, or give up my vinyl albums, or start thinking that maybe nuclear energy is the best short-range answer to our energy addiction. Or that I’d ever read an entire book on a screen. I don’t know the answer, but I am deeply invested in the question. (Kindle Locations 2355-2359)
Personally, I gave up reading Patricia Cornwell when brand names started appearing in every page of her traditionally published books… but hey… shrugs.
33. killing the sacred cows of publishing: self-promotion by Dean Wesley Smith
The myth simply is: “All self promotion for a writer is good.” Nope. Completely false.
Yes… see #32 on how to shoot yourself in the foot.
If your books are not selling, learn how to write better books and learn how to write better proposals, and then mail it all to editors. It really is that simple. (Kindle Locations 2390-2391).
Yes it is. But as has been said (was it Neil Gaiman? Isn’t it always Neil?) that is was both that simple and that hard. Just write one word, then another… and so on, until you have a whole book.
3 outdated stars - some bits are still good. But it is free these days.
June 17, 2021
The cover paints a different picture of what’s expected within. It’s not a bad cover as it pictures a man typing away, dribbling over a bad habit of smoking, but it leads away from the various topics that are covered. (The cover could use an update)
That being said, the book does contain some of the greatest entries I’ve seen on writing. And you read that correctly, this book is entry based from articles, each covering a topic on writing. We are going from publication, to grammar, to writing what you love, et cetera. That is the whole of this book. Think of it simply as a web browser where you are given some of the best articles that you will read On Writing. What’s really good, is that you read the take from many different authors. You see their struggles. You see the hard work. You see what it takes to make it in this business.
Take for example and author writing a book, finished it with 130k words, then having requested that is be shortened by 30k words, to another 10k after that. To finally come with a denial on the whole book. He kept writing. Writing some more and finally landed a deal with 6 figures. That’s all it takes. Bleeding on that keyboard and bettering ever more when someone rejects your work. One entry had the sum of over 800 rejections. What does that even do to a person. To a writer it should never bring them down. Yes, maybe for a moment. But if you love it, do it!
Also covered is the production of a simple query letter. I think that this person had a good grasp on query lettering, as they kept it simple, and knew how to land a deal for their book. I have trust in these authors that shared their valued information on writing. I would hope for a second edition with more entries: title it “Keep Writing or Die Again.”
I strongly recommend this book. Take the time to highlight the information you think is valuable. You’ll need it later for reference, motivation, and help. I hope that you enjoy just as much as I did. There is too much to cover in a basic review. So go ahead and pick it up. The best part, the information is cheap. I grabbed for free on a special!
That being said, the book does contain some of the greatest entries I’ve seen on writing. And you read that correctly, this book is entry based from articles, each covering a topic on writing. We are going from publication, to grammar, to writing what you love, et cetera. That is the whole of this book. Think of it simply as a web browser where you are given some of the best articles that you will read On Writing. What’s really good, is that you read the take from many different authors. You see their struggles. You see the hard work. You see what it takes to make it in this business.
Take for example and author writing a book, finished it with 130k words, then having requested that is be shortened by 30k words, to another 10k after that. To finally come with a denial on the whole book. He kept writing. Writing some more and finally landed a deal with 6 figures. That’s all it takes. Bleeding on that keyboard and bettering ever more when someone rejects your work. One entry had the sum of over 800 rejections. What does that even do to a person. To a writer it should never bring them down. Yes, maybe for a moment. But if you love it, do it!
Also covered is the production of a simple query letter. I think that this person had a good grasp on query lettering, as they kept it simple, and knew how to land a deal for their book. I have trust in these authors that shared their valued information on writing. I would hope for a second edition with more entries: title it “Keep Writing or Die Again.”
I strongly recommend this book. Take the time to highlight the information you think is valuable. You’ll need it later for reference, motivation, and help. I hope that you enjoy just as much as I did. There is too much to cover in a basic review. So go ahead and pick it up. The best part, the information is cheap. I grabbed for free on a special!
November 9, 2017
This freebie of writing advice I have been reading off and on for a while. Well at least it was free when downloaded it. It is a selection of essays from various writers as with anything of nature, some advice resonates more than others personally. It is a bit dated also, 8 years old now and some of the information feels odd now. The digital book ‘revolution’ that is talked about a lot seems to have peaked, as of last I read print books on rise again. Yet we still live in a social media obsessed world so some advice is still easily relevant and some writing advice is regardless of format. So a few handy tidbits, as long as this is still free worth picking up. Not sure would be worth paying for unless cheap, say a pound or two as pretty short too. But as at the very least I can call myself an aspiring writer, any advice is food for the mind to chew over and some may very well help, even if you don’t agree with it your internally reaching that decision is useful. So 3 stars seems right, it shouldn’t be an issue but of course it’s a factor if you did have to start paying too much would say 2 stars. Good advice is worth its weight in gold, but okay advice sadly is not.
June 12, 2018
For my good reads I chose to read “Write good or die- writing tips for the 21st century”. To me this was a good book but it wasn't really for me. This book mainly when over his life story from the beginner when he started writing at age 6 and by age 18 he has printed his first novel. He said all he wanted to do when he got older was to be a writer like a big writer but by age 24 he had already had 8 rejection letters from publishers and big writing companies he wanted to write for, after he got done explaining his life story he gives like 20 tips on how to write correctly and not to make the same mistakes that he did when he started off. This book would be good for people who like to write in general o people who are planning on being writers now or when they got older.
February 12, 2018
This was an interesting and very informative read. it's a book that everyone who wants to be a writer needs to read before committing him or herself to a life as a writer. It's a book that I wish I could have read way back in the 1980's when I was overcome with the need to write, not only the need to write but the need to see what I wrote published. I would have given this tiny book a five star rating if the stats on e-books were more current. Never the less, overall, Scott Nicholson has written with Write Good or Die a book that is well worth reading by every aspiring writer.
February 3, 2019
I picked up this book from a link that said: "Must read books for copywriters". Quite disappointed at the person who shared this book in the link. It is mainly for the people who aspire to write a book. There were parts where one thing was repeated many times. Making the book all the more mundane to read. Immense self-promotion on every page. And last 15% of pages contained has book plots of various authors.
June 22, 2017
This book is a culmination of various bits of writing advice for those who may want to take a dip into the writing pool. It is a little dated, and some of the predictions that certain authors make are somewhat humorous. Overall, the advice is solid and I would recommend it for those who are wanting to put pen to paper.
October 14, 2021
Some advice was good, some advice was meh. Definitely, felt a little outdated (well, I am the one reading it ater ten years of its publication...)
So, yeah, you may skip this one since it talks about a reality of ten years ago, and speculations that should have happened years ago.
While some advice is time-proof, I would not recommend reading the whole just to get some value.
So, yeah, you may skip this one since it talks about a reality of ten years ago, and speculations that should have happened years ago.
While some advice is time-proof, I would not recommend reading the whole just to get some value.
May 7, 2017
Great collection of advice on becoming a better story teller
Perfect collection of advice for becoming a better writer of books or any kind of casual writing. If don't plan on publishing a book, you can pretty much skip the second half of the book.
Perfect collection of advice for becoming a better writer of books or any kind of casual writing. If don't plan on publishing a book, you can pretty much skip the second half of the book.
February 25, 2018
If you're a writer hoping to get published -- or to publish -- definitely give this a read. Though it was written in 2010, so much of it is still relevant now.
Experienced authors, especially those who have been published, will still find useful information here.
Experienced authors, especially those who have been published, will still find useful information here.
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