Published: Jan. 20, 2011
Words: 61954 (approximate)
Language: English

Short description

Writing can seriously damage your health – not to mention your relationships, your bank account, and your career prospects. But here at last is a book which tells writers how to survive and prosper while struggling to make sense of the mad worlds of publishing, theatre, television, and film. Michael Allen can draw on fifty years of experience as a writer and publisher.

Extended description

Writing can seriously damage your health – not to mention your relationships, your bank account, and your career prospects. But here at last is a book which tells writers how to survive and prosper while struggling to make sense of the mad worlds of publishing, theatre, television, and film.

The early chapters help you to clarify your ideas about what you hope to achieve as a writer – money, fame, or literary reputation; they also provide a realistic assessment of your chances of achieving those aims.

Subsequent chapters provide a detailed explanation of how the modern publishing industry works, and explain the crucial role of emotion for writers of both fiction and drama.... (Read more) Writing can seriously damage your health – not to mention your relationships, your bank account, and your career prospects. But here at last is a book which tells writers how to survive and prosper while struggling to make sense of the mad worlds of publishing, theatre, television, and film.

The early chapters help you to clarify your ideas about what you hope to achieve as a writer – money, fame, or literary reputation; they also provide a realistic assessment of your chances of achieving those aims.

Subsequent chapters provide a detailed explanation of how the modern publishing industry works, and explain the crucial role of emotion for writers of both fiction and drama.

The latter part of the book offers practical advice on how to find the time and energy to pursue your writing career, and provides help on how to market your work in the digital age.

Michael Allen can draw on fifty years of experience as a writer and publisher. He is the author of numerous novels and short stories (some written under pen-names) which have variously been published in hardback, paperback, and ebook editions in the UK, USA, France and Denmark. He has also had work successfully produced on stage, television, and radio. He is a former director of two publishing companies.

The experts’ views:

‘Thoroughly enjoyed the book – made me laugh in parts. Most of it needed saying, and I say much of it frequently!’ Sheila Nugent, editor of Peninsular

‘Loved the book. It’s going to help a lot of writers to think clearly about their craft and what they expect to accomplish.’ Tim Bete, Director, Erma Bombeck’s Writer’s Workshop
(Less)

Tags

writing, nonfiction, play, short story, success, novel, truth, book, how to, author, television, writer, screenplay, novelist, publisher, radio, producer, director, theatre, script, contract, stage, playwright, screenwriter, dramatist

Available ebook reading formats

Single purchase gains access to all formats. How to download ebooks to e-reading devices and apps.

Format	Full Book	Sample First 50%
Online Reading (HTML, good for sampling in web browser)	Buy	View sample
Online Reading (JavaScript, experimental, buggy)	Buy	View sample
Kindle (.mobi for Kindle devices and Kindle apps)	Buy	Download sample
Epub (Apple iPad/iBooks, Nook, Sony Reader, Kobo, and most e-reading apps including Stanza, Aldiko, Adobe Digital Editions, others)	Buy	Download sample
PDF (good for reading on PC, or for home printing)	Buy	No sample available
RTF (readable on most word processors)	Buy	No sample available
LRF (Use only for older model Sony Readers that don't support .epub)	Buy	Download sample
Palm Doc (PDB) (for Palm reading devices)	Buy	Download sample
Plain Text (download) (flexible, but lacks much formatting)	Buy	No sample available
Plain Text (view) (viewable as web page)	Buy	No sample available

Reviews

Log-in to write a Review   Log-in to add a Video Review

Review by: Ruth Ann Nordin on Feb. 16, 2012 :
Most authors who write a book and publish it expect the book to make them an instant success (regardless of whether they go with a publisher or not). A couple years ago, most authors strived for a traditional publisher, and this book gives an excellent inside look into the publishing industry. My research, discussions with traditionally published authors, and meeting agents and publishers support what Michael Allen says in this book. So if you are looking for a deeper look into the publishing industry (like what publishers want, why publishing is not going to always make authors successful, how they handle submissions), this book does a wonderful job of explaining it.

I self-publish, so my leaning is more toward the part of the book that took a look at what writers want, if they'll get it, emotion, finding time and energy to write, selling in the digital world, and the components of success. Again, this is stuff that has played out to be true when I've talked with self-published authors and did my research. Sadly, most authors who go into self-publishing focus way too much on selling a book instead of writing an emotionally satisfying book for those who read it. Self-publishing is seen (by most) as a get-rich-quick scheme. The reality is that it's not that, and it shouldn't be that. Michael Allen gets down to the nitty gritty of what a lot of authors are motivated by (money, fame, and literary acclaim) and why it's not as easy to get these things as they think. I think instead of believing they will be the next million-book-selling sensation, authors would do well to take what Michael Allen says to heart. It's not as easy as they assume, and a real, solid fanbase is best established with one reader at a time, which is done when authors focus on providing an emotionally satisfying read for the reader. I also liked his tips on finding energy and time to write.

This book wasn't only a great resource as a writer, but I thoroughly enjoyed Michael Allen's sense of humor. This book is definitely worth reading.
(reviewed the day of purchase)

Reason for report:
— Select a reason — Book is or contains spam Book infringes copyright Same content is published elsewhere with different author (for ex., by private-label rights) Duplicate Incomplete work (such as sample or serial) Should be marked adults-only Category is inappropriate Poorly formatted Nudity or other inappropriate content on cover Nudity or other inappropriate visual content in book Inappropriate erotica content Cover image is improper Content is inappropriate Other violation of Terms of Service Other reason not shown above.

Additional details: