
The Author's Checklist
An Agent's Guide to Developing and Editing Your Manuscript
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Narrated by:
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Nan McNamara
About this listen
The bad news: even really good manuscripts have weak spots that are enough to garner rejections from agents and publishers. The good news: most of these problems are easy to fix - once the writer sees and understands them.
Over time, literary agent Elizabeth Kracht noticed that many submissions had similar problems, so she began to make a list of the pitfalls. She knew that even excellent projects could be rejected based on these surmountable issues because those on the receiving end of proposals most often don’t have the time to walk writers through needed adjustments. And writers can’t clearly judge their own creative output.
The checklist Kracht has created helps writers make their manuscripts good to go. It offers short, easy-to-implement bites of advice, illustrated by inspiring - and cautionary - real-world examples. Kracht cuts to the chase and demystifies intricate issues like dialogue and pacing as well as nuts-and-bolts subjects such as query letters and agency guidelines.
The result is a reliable, doable way for writers to make their work truly ready for readers. Most aspiring authors yearn for a friend in book publishing. The Author’s Checklist is just that.
©2020 Elizabeth K. Kracht (P)2020 Recorded BooksListeners also enjoyed...
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- By: Christopher Booker
- Narrated by: Liam Gerrard
- Length: 38 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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This remarkable and monumental book at last provides a comprehensive answer to the age-old riddle of whether there are only a small number of "basic stories" in the world. Using a wealth of examples, from ancient myths and folk tales via the plays and novels of great literature to the popular movies and TV soap operas of today, it reveals that there are seven archetypal themes which recur throughout every kind of storytelling.
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Save your time and money, the book is worthless
- By Kindle Customer on 08-20-20
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Elements of Fiction
- By: Walter Mosley
- Narrated by: Mirron Willis
- Length: 2 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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In his essential writing guide, This Year You Write Your Novel, Walter Mosley supplied aspiring writers with the basic tools to write a novel in one year. In this complementary follow up, Mosley guides the writer through the elements of not just any fiction writing, but the kind of writing that transcends convention and truly stands out. How does one approach the genius of writers like Melville, Dickens, or Twain? In Elements of Fiction, Walter Mosley contemplates the answer.
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An organic way of storytelling
- By Amazon Customer on 12-18-19
By: Walter Mosley
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How to Write a Book This Weekend, Even If You Flunked English Like I Did
- By: Vic Johnson
- Narrated by: Wes Talbot
- Length: 1 hr and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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“Who else wants to write a book this weekend?” It’s easier than you think! Best-selling author Vic Johnson actually wrote this book in a weekend to prove how easy it is. And he gives you step-by-step detail of everything he did, including the resources he uses to turn out content-rich books in no time at all. How to Write a Book This Weekend is a perfect strategy for first-time book writers who have been discouraged by the thought of pounding out words for months at a time.
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Good lil' book
- By Oliver Nielsen on 04-16-16
By: Vic Johnson
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The Craft of Scene Writing
- Beat by Beat to a Better Script
- By: Jim Mercurio
- Narrated by: Stephen Bowlby
- Length: 11 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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No one comes out of a movie talking about structure. What audiences love and remember about a movie are great scenes. Marlon Brando in the back seat in On the Waterfront giving his "I could'a been a contender" speech. Meg Ryan's fake orgasm in Katz's Deli in When Harry Met Sally with the climactic punch line: "I'll have what she's having." In Superbad, Jonah Hill professing "I love you" to his friend Michael Cera by touching his nose with a "boop".
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Abridged and censored- not the full book!
- By Jonathan on 10-02-20
By: Jim Mercurio
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Help! For Writers
- 210 Solutions to the Problems Every Writer Faces
- By: Roy Peter Clark
- Narrated by: Roy Peter Clark
- Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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The craft of writing offers countless potential problems: The story is too long; the story's too short; revising presents a huge hurdle; writer's block is rearing its ugly head. In Help! For Writers, Roy Peter Clark presents an "owner's manual" for writers, outlining the seven steps of the writing process, and addressing the 21 most urgent problems that writers face. In his trademark engaging and entertaining style, Clark offers 10 short solutions to each problem.
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Good advice, but novelists beware
- By Robert Jason on 06-17-20
By: Roy Peter Clark
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Telling Lies for Fun and Profit
- A Manual for Fiction Writers
- By: Lawrence Block
- Narrated by: Lawrence Block
- Length: 8 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Lawrence Block is a best-selling author of popular mystery fiction. With over 30 of his works in print, he is as prolific as he is skilled. This collection of essays and articlesfrom his Writer’s Digest columns has been in print for over 20 years. Here he provides invaluable advice to the aspiring writer and the established author. Featuring a witty and honest narration from the author himself, Block presents an illuminating look into the world of the professional writer.
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inspirational
- By Victoria Evangelina on 02-27-13
By: Lawrence Block
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The Writer's Guide to Emotions and Expressions
- By: S. A. Soule
- Narrated by: Virtual Voice
- Length: 5 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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UPDATED 2022 EDITION! These two bestselling writing and editing handbooks, “The Writer’s Guide to Character Emotion” and “The Writer’s Guide to Character Expression” have been updated and combined to create one remarkable single volume! This comprehensive edition contains descriptive writing tools to help writers craft a riveting novel that instantly grabs a reader’s attention. Writers will gain the essential skills needed to craft realistic emotions, visceral responses, and body language to deepen characterization that you can easily and quickly apply to your own writing. ...
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Awesome
- By Danny Howell on 04-26-24
By: S. A. Soule
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On Becoming a Novelist
- By: John Gardner
- Narrated by: Anthony Haden Salerno
- Length: 5 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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On Becoming a Novelist contains the wisdom accumulated during John Gardner's distinguished twenty-year career as a fiction writer and creative writing teacher. With elegance, humor, and sophistication, Gardner describes the life of a working novelist; warns what needs to be guarded against, both from within the writer and from without; and predicts what the writer can reasonably expect and what, in general, he or she cannot.
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Great book, slightly irritating narration.
- By mahoneko on 06-06-15
By: John Gardner
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Point of View
- Writers Guide Series
- By: Sandra Gerth
- Narrated by: Rosemary Benson
- Length: 3 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Point of view is one of the most powerful tools in a writer's kit, but it's also one of the hardest to understand and master. In this book, Sandra Gerth draws on her experience as an editor and a best-selling author to teach you how to handle point of view in a way that will make your readers identify with your main character, draw them into the story, and keep them captivated until the very last page. The book provides concrete examples and exercises that will hone your writing skills, whether you're a novice writer working on her first story or an established author.
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Great advices on POV use
- By Anonymous User on 11-30-24
By: Sandra Gerth
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Write The Damn Book!
- Steps For Overcoming Your Fear Of Writing
- By: Stefanie Newell
- Narrated by: Virtual Voice
- Length: 1 hr and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Soothe your inner critic and start writing. So, you want to write a book... Maybe being a published author is your lifelong dream. Or maybe you’ve recently been inspired to put pen to paper (or fingers to your keyboard). But when it comes time to sit down and actually do the writing, you freeze. What if my idea isn’t any good? What if I’m a terrible writer? What if no one wants to read what I put out there? What if I get nothing but one-star reviews on Amazon? And just like that, the notebook is closed, and writing a book is nothing more than a distant fantasy. Sound familiar? Well, ...
By: Stefanie Newell
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The Writing Revolution
- A Guide to Advancing Thinking Through Writing in All Subjects and Grades
- By: Judith C. Hochman, Natalie Wexler, Doug Lemov - foreword
- Narrated by: Margaret Strom
- Length: 10 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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The Writing Revolution (TWR) provides a clear method of instruction that you can use no matter what subject or grade level you teach. The model, also known as The Hochman Method, has demonstrated, over and over, that it can turn weak writers into strong communicators by focusing on specific techniques that match their needs and by providing them with targeted feedback. Insurmountable as the challenges faced by many students may seem, TWR can make a dramatic difference.
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excellent, thorough, step-by-step process
- By rs on 08-10-18
By: Judith C. Hochman, and others