I am Writerious, and this is my blog. Here I will explore the mysteries of the writing life. I'm a writer and a voracious reader. I'll be writing about my own writing experiences, struggles with editors, the thrill of publication and the sting of rejection. I'll also review the books I'm reading, an eclectic assortment of whatever turns me on at the moment, be novels, essays, or books on writing.
If any of my readers are published authors, I'll be happy to review your works. Send them in a self-addressed stamped mailer if you need them back. I review only books that are published by traditional publishers, or that are truly self-published (that is, bear the imprint of your own one-writer publishing company). I do not review books that bear the imprint of any of the vanity publishers: AuthorHouse, Dorrance, XLibris, etc. If you paid to have it published and it bears the name of some company other than your own, and if you did not buy the ISBN from Bowker's directly, it's vanity published.
Subsequent posts will be, I hope, more interesting than this one. Stay tuned.
Recommended Books for Writers
The First Five Pages by Noah Lukeman. Editors aren't reading for fun. They're looking for reasons to reject 90% of what's on their desks. Don't give them a reason to reject yours. Make your work shine, especially those first crucial pages.
Stein on Writing by Sol Stein. The author has some definite opinions on what counts as "real" writing, but the parts about self editing are worth the occasional annoyance.
Self Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Brown and David King. A complete how-to manual of editing your own writing, an essential skill in today's tight writing market.
How to Write a Damn Good Novel by James Frey. This is one plan for novel writing, suitable for writing adventure fiction of all kinds.
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Publishing Children's Books by Harold Underdown. Get the straight scoop on the children's market from a respected editor.
Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury. A delightful series of essays on writing and the writing life, a book I keep turning to again and again.
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