Quote:
Originally Posted by William Campbell
Indeed a fantastic book, a copy of which I own myself and have read more than once. Which reminds me of another great book coming out this month in print (on Smashwords for now). Look for "The Editor's Lexicon: Essential Writing Terms for Novelists," by Sarah Cypher, who just so happens to be that fabulous editor I've been talking about. (Couldn't resist the opportunity to plug a valued colleague.)
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William,
I think you might like to read the Review of Sarah's little gem I've just put up on Amazon, both the USA and the UK sites. My opinion isn't hyperbole, but a genuine reflection of the book's worth:
An excellent little book, April 28, 2010
By Michael J. Hunt "mjhunt21" (England) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Editor's Lexicon: Essential Writing Terms for Novelists (Paperback)
Indispensable - a must for every fiction writer and editor. Literary reference books are often too wordy, with their over-lengthy examples and valuable information difficult to locate. This lexicon is just the opposite: it offers all the principle terminology in alphabetical order under five useful categories - Premiss, Theme, Voice, Plot, Character and Style - and is cleverly designed for easy reference.
For writers, especially newbies, this little book will almost certainly de-mystify the often cryptic comments made by publishers in those maddeningly brief rejection letters; for editors it makes for a very handy reference to check out first impressions; for book reviewers it will help prevent errors of judgement, and for editors it will sit well alongside their more comprehensive literary texts. In fact, there's something for everyone here.
I shall be recommending this to the would-be authors in my novel writers' support groups and to all my other writing acquaintances in England, so well done Sarah and Glyd-Evans Press.
Author of Matabele Gold, The African Journals, of Petros Amm and Two Days in Tehran
Also, I hadn't realised that there's a freebie button on Amazon to publicise anything you care to mention - hence my books appearing at the bottom of the review. There are several advantages, that aren't at first obvious, to reviewing books in this way. Firstly, it allows you to keep a record of books you've read, secondly, it gives you practice in reviewing, thirdly, it makes you more aware of what readers look for in books, fourthly, it makes you sensitive to what might be your own short-comings as a writer. Finally, as I mentioned above, you can puff your own books.
MJ