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Emanuel
Veteran Poster
Username: Emanuel
Post Number: 607
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, July 16, 2008 - 08:11 pm: | 
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Can anyone recommend a book or two on manuscript revisions, especially from first draft to submission? Newly released titles would be extremely helpful. Thanks in advance. |
Ferociouskitty
Veteran Poster
Username: Ferociouskitty
Post Number: 336
Registered: 02-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, July 16, 2008 - 09:02 pm: |
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Emanuel, this book isn't specifically for revision, but I highly recommend "The First Five Pages" by Noak Lukeman.
The First Five Pages: A Writer's Guide to Staying Out of the Rejection Pile
"Amazon.com
The difference between The First Five Pages and most books on writing is that the others are written by teachers and writers. This one comes from a literary agent--one whose clients include Pulitzer Prize nominees, New York Times bestselling authors, Pushcart Prize recipients, and American Book Award winners. Noah Lukeman is not trying to impart the finer points of writing well. He wants to teach you "how to identify and avoid bad writing," so that your manuscript doesn't come boomeranging back to you in that self-addressed, stamped envelope. Surprise: Agents and editors don't read manuscripts for fun; they are looking for reasons to reject them. Lukeman has arranged his book "in the order of what I look for when trying to dismiss a manuscript," starting with presentation and concluding with pacing and progression. Each chapter addresses a pitfall of poor writing--overabundance of adjectives and adverbs, tedious or unrealistic dialogue, and lack of subtlety to name just a few--by identifying the problem, presenting solutions, giving examples (one wishes these weren't quite so obvious), and offering writing exercises. It's a little bizarre to think about approaching your work as would an agent, but if you are serious about getting published, you may as well get used to it. Plus, Lukeman has plenty of solid advice worth listening to. Particularly fine are his exercises for removing and spicing up modifiers and his remedies for all kinds of faulty dialogue. --Jane Steinberg
From Library Journal
Novice and amateur writers alike will benefit from literary agent Lukeman's lucid advice in this handy, inexpensive little book. Lukeman draws on his years of editorial experience to present an inside look at manuscript submission. He provides suggestions, examples, and practice exercises designed to lift ordinary prose to a higher level. Covering writing fundamentals, including viewpoint, tone, pacing, character development, grammar, and more, Lukeman sprinkles examples of common writing problems and simple solutions throughout the text..." |
Ferociouskitty
Veteran Poster
Username: Ferociouskitty
Post Number: 337
Registered: 02-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, July 16, 2008 - 09:02 pm: |
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That's NOAH. ;-) |
Emanuel
Veteran Poster
Username: Emanuel
Post Number: 608
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, July 16, 2008 - 11:21 pm: |
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Thanks Ferociouskitty. I just reserved it and Walter Mosley's "This Year You Write Your Novel" at the library online. |
Ferociouskitty
Veteran Poster
Username: Ferociouskitty
Post Number: 339
Registered: 02-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, July 16, 2008 - 11:29 pm: |
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Mosley's was a slim, helpful volume. He's just blunt: Sit yo' ass down and write. Every day. Period.
Hey, maybe I just saved you a few dollars! ;-) |
Nom_de_plume
Veteran Poster
Username: Nom_de_plume
Post Number: 102
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, July 17, 2008 - 01:05 am: |
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The Artful Edit by Susan Bell!!!
Just came out last August, excellent excellent book. |
Emanuel
Veteran Poster
Username: Emanuel
Post Number: 612
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, July 17, 2008 - 10:23 am: |
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Thanks Nom_de_plume. I'll see if I can get a review copy from the publisher.
Ferociouskitty thanks. I heard Mosley's NPR interview regarding the book and figured as much. I'm getting it from the library so it's not costing me directly (just my tax dollars). |
Emanuel
Veteran Poster
Username: Emanuel
Post Number: 615
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, July 18, 2008 - 10:41 pm: |
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A friend who reads this board but doesn't post (What do you call that again?) recommends "Self-Editing For Fiction Writers: How To Edit Yourself Into Print" by Renni Brown & Dave King. |
Emanuel
Veteran Poster
Username: Emanuel
Post Number: 623
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, July 22, 2008 - 04:40 pm: |
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"The First Five Pages" was helpful. It's nice to have this reference from a book written by a literary agent if you plan on submitting to traditional publishers. The latter part of the book was stuff on writing I knew already.
Next I'll be reading "Self-Editing For Fiction Writers: How To Edit Yourself Into Print." |
A_womon
AALBC .com Platinum Poster
Username: A_womon
Post Number: 2360
Registered: 05-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, July 22, 2008 - 06:16 pm: |
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Emanuel,I really like "The Everything Get Published" book. It was also written by two literary agents. It tells you all about how to submit to an agent, has sample queries, tells you what to expect once you submit, and a whole bunch of other stuff that I can't remember. The library has this book, too if you don't want to buy it.There are some others that I found quite helpful too. Stephen King's "On Writing"comes to mind. I can't think of the others right now, but if I do, I'll post them. |
Emanuel
Veteran Poster
Username: Emanuel
Post Number: 624
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, July 22, 2008 - 09:20 pm: |
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Thanks A_Womon. I'm on information overload right now. After the Self-Editing For Fiction book, I think I'll be done for a while on reading books on submissions. Then it's back to my draft.
BTW, I read "On Writing" many many years ago when it was first released.
You know, "The First Five Pages" would be a GREAT book to recommend to self publishers. They'd avoid a lot of mistakes (like some I made). |
A_womon
AALBC .com Platinum Poster
Username: A_womon
Post Number: 2361
Registered: 05-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, July 22, 2008 - 09:44 pm: |
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You're welcome E, keep that title in mind if you feel you need more input before you submit. |
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