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Named to "Writer's Digest 101 Best Websites," this #SharingwithWriters blog is a way to connect with my readers and fellow writers, a way to give the teaching genes that populate my DNA free rein. Please join the conversation using the very tiny "comment" link. For those interested in editing and grammar, go to http://thefrugaleditor.blogspot.com.

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Get the Writer in Your Life Off to a Great 2011 with This Book!

179 Ways to Save a Novel
By Peter Selgin
Publisher: Writer’s Digest Books
ISBN: 9781582976075
$16.99




Reviewed by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, award-winning author of This is the Place and Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered and The Frugal Book Promoter


What Writer Doesn’t Want Just One Great Way to Save A Novel?

Peter Selgin offers you 179 of them!

Novelists are going to love this author. He dedicates his book 179 Ways to Save a Novel to “Walter Cummins. And to my students, especially those who argue with me.” As a teacher myself, I know that students who argue offer the best opportunities for learning for everyone from the rest of the class to the teacher herself.

Selgin also knows that “no artist should ever be afraid to make mistakes.” Another core learning principle.

With an introduction that shouldn’t be overlooked, Selgin launches into a small book, dense with ideas for writers of fiction. Writers everywhere will be inspired to write a great new character or improve on an old one, reexamine the deaths that occur in our stories and on and on. Subjects I’ve never seen covered in a book (and I read a lot of books for writers!).

I also appreciate the design of this book. Writer’s Digest assigned Claudean Wheeler to the task and what she does with this book feels right. It’s creative and caring.

Writer’s Digest and Selgin (and Wheeler, too!) should be proud of this one. I hope it lands on the suggested reading list of any teacher who makes it her business to guide students to better-crafted fiction. It’s certainly going on mine!

Here are another couple of books that will help writers by the reviewer: The Frugal Editor and Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips.

----- Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and two how to books for writers, The Frugal Book Promoter: How To Do What Your Publisher Won't and The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success. Her FRUGAL book for retailers is A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. She is also the author of the Amazon Short, "The Great First Impression Book Proposal". Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor . If your followers at Twitter would benefit from this blog post, please use the little Green widget to let them know about it:

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