179 Ways to Save a Novel
By Peter Selgin
Publisher: Writer’s Digest Books
ISBN: 9781582976075
$16.99
Reviewed by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, award-winning author of This is the Place and Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered and The Frugal Book Promoter
What Writer Doesn’t Want Just One Great Way to Save A Novel?
Peter Selgin offers you 179 of them!
Novelists are going to love this author. He dedicates his book 179 Ways to Save a Novel to “Walter Cummins. And to my students, especially those who argue with me.” As a teacher myself, I know that students who argue offer the best opportunities for learning for everyone from the rest of the class to the teacher herself.
Selgin also knows that “no artist should ever be afraid to make mistakes.” Another core learning principle.
With an introduction that shouldn’t be overlooked, Selgin launches into a small book, dense with ideas for writers of fiction. Writers everywhere will be inspired to write a great new character or improve on an old one, reexamine the deaths that occur in our stories and on and on. Subjects I’ve never seen covered in a book (and I read a lot of books for writers!).
I also appreciate the design of this book. Writer’s Digest assigned Claudean Wheeler to the task and what she does with this book feels right. It’s creative and caring.
Writer’s Digest and Selgin (and Wheeler, too!) should be proud of this one. I hope it lands on the suggested reading list of any teacher who makes it her business to guide students to better-crafted fiction. It’s certainly going on mine!
Writing, publishing, book marketing, all offered by experienced authors, writers, and marketers
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Review: 179 Ways to Save a Novel
Labels:
179 Ways to Save a Novel,
book reviews,
writing tips
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Why It's Called The Slush Pile
By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin Every writer pitches their ideas to literary agents and publishers. I've listened to many of these pit...


-
Editing Skills for Do-It-Yourselfers or Those with Editors: Help Your Editor Avoid “Bad Breaks” As a freelance editor of fiction, memoir,...
-
by Suzanne Lieurance Many new freelance writers are confused or intimated by sidebars. But that’s usually because they just don’t understa...
-
You may be an author or writer who takes the time to comment on other websites. This is an effective online marketing strategy. It builds br...

2 comments:
It sounds like a wonderful book. Thanks for the review.
CD
This sounds like a book that could certainly come in handy when I hit one of those brick walls in writing my manuscripts. Thanks for the review.
Post a Comment