Author and former literary agent Nathan Bransford shares his secrets for creating killer plots, fleshing out your first ideas, crafting compelling characters, and staying sane in the process. Read the guide that New York Times bestselling author Ransom Riggs called "The best how-to-write-a-novel book I've read."

Want to be a better writer? Perfect your process. For example, do you fear the blank page? You may be skipping the essential early phases of writing. Do you generate swarms of ideas but never publish anything? You need strategies to focus and persist to the finish. When you learn to work with your brain instead of against it, you'll get more done and have more fun. Master the inner game of writing The Writer's Process combines proven practices of successful authors with cognitive science research about how our minds work. You'll learn: How to invite creativity and flow into the writing process Why separating the writing process into different steps makes you more productive How to overcome writer's block, negative feedback, and distractions How to make time for writing in a busy, interrupt-driven lifeIt's filled with ideas that you can put into practice immediately. The Writer's Process is a 2017 Readers' Favorite Gold Medal Winner and a Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Silver Award winner.

Don’t let simple mistakes ruin your book’s chances! If you’re not getting published, you may suffer from foggy writing—writing that’s full of unnecessary, misused, and overused words. Foggy writing drives editors crazy, and it’s the number one reason most manuscripts are rejected on first glance. Let veteran editor Don McNair show you how to clear up your foggy writing and produce sparkling copy that will attract agents, editors, readers, and sales. Editor-Proof Your Writing will show you how to avoid fatal writing mistakes by eliminating unnecessary words—and in the process you’ll strengthen your book’s action, invigorate your dialogue, and make your writing crackle with life. Containing 21 simple, straightforward principles, Editor-Proof Your Writing teaches how to edit weak verb forms, strip away author intrusions, ban redundancies, eliminate foggy phrases, correct passive-voice sentences, slash misused and overused words, and fix other writing mistakes. A must-have addition to every writer’s toolkit, Editor-Proof Your Writing won’t just make your writing clearer; it will make you a better writer — more expressive, more entertaining, and more likely to sell.

Forget for a moment the prevailing notion that you can only manage your anxiety through endless visits to your therapist's office and daily cocktails of psychiatric medication - what if you could put yourself back in the equation?What if you could learn to manage your fear better by changing your thoughts and beliefs about it? What if you could turn down the firehose of overwhelm you experience so often? You can.More than 17% of Americans fill at least one psychiatric drug prescription each year. This would be just fine if medication were actually solving mental illness, but it seems that's not the case. Medication is just one potential piece of the puzzle; we can't keep discounting our ability to influence our own conditions.Through the latest research, personal anecdotes, and a heavy dose of practicality, this book discusses that influence and teaches you:-Where anxiety comes from and how to stop perpetuating it-10 crucial steps for mitigating anxiety during stressful situations-How to leverage fear into a vehicle for personal growth-How to stop fighting yourself and start living again

_____________ 'It is almost impossible not to fall under the spell of Eustace Conway ... his accomplishments, his joy and vigor, seem almost miraculous' - New York Times Review of Books 'Gilbert takes a bright-eyed bead on Eustace, hitting him square with a witty modernist appraisal of folkloric American masculinity' - The Times 'Conversational, enthusiastic, funny and sharp, the energy of The Last American Man never ebbs' - New Statesman _____________ A fascinating, intimate portrait of an endlessly complicated man: a visionary, a narcissist, a brilliant but flawed modern hero At the age of seventeen, Eustace Conway ditched the comforts of his suburban existence to escape to the wild. Away from the crushing disapproval of his father, he lived alone in a teepee in the mountains. Everything he needed he built, grew or killed. He made his clothes from deer he killed and skinned before using their sinew as sewing thread. But he didn't stop there. In the years that followed, he stopped at nothing in pursuit of bigger, bolder challenges. He travelled the Mississippi in a handmade wooden canoe; he walked the two-thousand-mile Appalachian Trail; he hiked across the German Alps in trainers; he scaled cliffs in New Zealand. One Christmas, he finished dinner with his family and promptly upped and left - to ride his horse across America. From South Carolina to the Pacific, with his little brother in tow, they dodged cars on the highways, ate road kill and slept on the hard ground. Now, more than twenty years on, Eustace is still in the mountains, residing in a thousand-acre forest where he teaches survival skills and attempts to instil in people a deeper appreciation of nature. But over time he has had to reconcile his ambitious dreams with the sobering realities of modernity. Told with Elizabeth Gilbert's trademark wit and spirit, The Last American Man is an unforgettable adventure story of an irrepressible life lived to the extreme. The Last American Man is a New York Times Notable Book and National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist.

How many pieces of paper land on your desk each day, or emails in your inbox? Your readers – the people you communicate with at work – are no different. So how can you make your communication stand out from the pile and get the job done? Whether you’re crafting a short and sweet email or bidding for a crucial project, Business Writing For Dummies is the only guide you need. Inside you’ll find: The basic principles of how to write well How to avoid the common pitfalls that immediately turn a reader off Crucial tips for self-editing and revision techniques to heighten your impact Lots of practical advice and examples covering a range of different types of communication, including emails, letters, major business documents such as reports and proposals, promotional materials, web copy and blogs - even tweets The global touch - understand the key differences in written communication around the world, and how to tailor your writing for international audiences

Develop and implement an effective content strategy tailored to your business’s needs Inbound Content is a step-by-step manual for attracting the right people, turning them into leads, and closing them into customers. Today, everyone knows that content is king. It’s how we engage, how we inform, and how we pass the time; content is everywhere, and if you’re not leveraging its power to promote your business, you’ve already been left behind. Having a website and social media is not enough; if you truly want to take advantage of unprecedented levels of connectedness, you have to create content that draws customers in. It’s not about blindly expanding reach, it’s about reaching out to the right audience. Today’s marketplace is no longer about chasing the sale—with the right approach to content, your customers will come to you. Your content must be valuable, relevant, and consistent—but how should it be implemented at the actual content-creation level? This book shows you how to develop a unified strategy, create compelling content tailored to your needs, and utilize that content to its greatest advantage in order to build your brand. Discover the power of storytelling and generate effective content ideas Plan a long-term content strategy and a content creation framework Create great content, promote it, measure it, and analyze its performance Extend your content’s value, become a more effective writer, and develop a growth mentality Effective content is worth its weight in marketing gold. It stands out from the noise, and to the customer, looks like an oasis in a desert of clickbait and paid reviews. Inbound Content shows you how to plan, build, and implement your content strategy for unprecedented engagement and sales.

Foreword by M. G. Leonard: 'It's rare to find a book that's as useful as it is inspiring ... essential reading.' The indispensable guide to writing for children and young adults, this Yearbook provides inspirational articles from successful writers and illustrators, as well as details on who to contact across the media. It provides practical advice on all stages of the writing process from getting started, writing for different markets and genres, through to submission to literary agents and publishers as well as on the financial and legal aspects of being a writer. Widely recognised as the essential support for authors and illustrators working across all forms: fiction, non-fiction, poetry, screen and theatre, it is equally relevant to those wishing to self-publish as well as those seeking a traditional publisher-agent deal. New articles for 2022: Christopher Edge Plotting and pace in your middle-grade adventure L. D. Lapinski World-building in your fantasy fiction Anna Wilson Finding your voice and point of view Rachel Bladon The learning curve: writing for the children's educational market Jenny Bowman How to hire a freelance editor Sophie Clarke The life and works of a literary scout Rachel Rooney Writing poetry for children

The first novel-writing guide from the best-selling Save the Cat! story-structure series, which reveals the 15 essential plot points needed to make any novel a success. Novelist Jessica Brody presents a comprehensive story-structure guide for novelists that applies the famed Save the Cat! screenwriting methodology to the world of novel writing. Revealing the 15 "beats" (plot points) that comprise a successful story--from the opening image to the finale--this book lays out the Ten Story Genres (Monster in the House; Whydunit; Dude with a Problem) alongside quirky, original insights (Save the Cat; Shard of Glass) to help novelists craft a plot that will captivate--and a novel that will sell.