"I write this blurb in distress because for years I've been stealing John McNally's sharp insights into writing and publishing and passing them off as my own. Now this generous so-and-so is sharing his vast experience as a writer and editor with everyone. Worse yet, this book, despite its instructional value, is irresistibly, un-put-downably readable."---Timothy Schaffert, author, Devils in the Sugar Shop --
Award-winning musical dramatist and teacher David Spencer provides a guide-to-the-game that helps you negotiate aspects of the musical theatre business and more.
When your story gets stuck, the Writer Emergency Survival Guide has the tools you need to get you out safely. Fix plot holes. Resuscitate characters. Rethink your themes.This guide contains:- 30 illustrated journal pages- 30 day writing log- Tons of helpful suggestions to try
WINNER Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in Non-Fiction! "Lucy Snyder has seen some $@#&, brother. She's been through the trenches; she knows the way the world comes down. You can feel it in the work. This lady is not only courageous, she's fearless. We need more like her ...." - author Tom Piccirilli, from his introduction to Snyder's Chimeric Machines "Lucy Snyder is straight up gangsta." - Maurice Broaddus, author of The Knights of Breton Court "There is no other writer working today quite like Lucy A. Snyder." - Hellnotes Join award-winning author Lucy A. Snyder for this guide to working, surviving and thriving as a writer in a world that often doesn't properly value creative professionals. Snyder - who's authored ten books and over 200 stories, poems, and articles - shares her no-nonsense advice on: * Finding time to write * Surviving as a short fiction writer * Plotting * Setting and world building * Characterization * Binge writing * Collaborating on fiction * Conducting sharp interviews * Finding or creating a writers' group * Self-publishing * Finding and working with an agent * Using Kickstarter to fund your project * Networking at conventions * Getting your books into libraries * Promoting your book You'll also get her interviews with luminary authors such as Clive Barker, Chuck Palahniuk and Ursula K. Le Guin along with valuable information on the various subgenres of fantasy and horror.
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then it's a good bet that at least half of those words relate to the picture's copyright status. Art historians, artists, and anyone who wants to use the images of others will find themselves awash in byzantine legal terms, constantly evolving copyright law, varying interpretations by museums and estates, and despair over the complexity of the whole situation. Here, on a white—not a high—horse, Susan Bielstein offers her decades of experience as an editor working with illustrated books. In doing so, she unsnarls the threads of permissions that have ensnared scholars, critics, and artists for years. Organized as a series of “takes” that range from short sidebars to extended discussions, Permissions, A Survival Guide explores intellectual property law as it pertains to visual imagery. How can you determine whether an artwork is copyrighted? How do you procure a high-quality reproduction of an image? What does “fair use” really mean? Is it ever legitimate to use the work of an artist without permission? Bielstein discusses the many uncertainties that plague writers who work with images in this highly visual age, and she does so based on her years navigating precisely these issues. As an editor who has hired a photographer to shoot an incredibly obscure work in the Italian mountains (a plan that backfired hilariously), who has tried to reason with artists' estates in languages she doesn't speak, and who has spent her time in the archival trenches, she offers a snappy and humane guide to this difficult terrain. Filled with anecdotes, asides, and real courage, Permissions, A Survival Guide is a unique handbook that anyone working in the visual arts will find invaluable, if not indispensable.
Not too long ago I decided to write a book about my creative writing process, and the many experiences that I've had throughout my career. The inspiration behind it was pretty straightforward. I simply wanted to share what I've learned over the past 25+ years with other writers. It didn't take me long to realize however, that the book I was writing would only partially be about process. The other part would be about psychological survival. Ironically, what I learned from this little adventure was that the two things are really one in the same. Having a process that you can rely on is your lifeblood as a writer, and if you are going to have any hope of surviving in this profession, that process needs to evolve and grow with you. When you buy this book you'll get a step-by-step walk thru of the process of creating original stories, both "on spec" and "for hire," as well as helpful hands-on checklists at the end of each chapter, all framed through the first hand experiences of a writer in the trenches. Written in a conversational style, Live To Write Another Day, A Survival Guide for Screenwriters and Creative Storytellers, is both a practical, tell-it-like-it-is approach to demystifying the nuts-and-bolts mechanics of storytelling, and an inspirational, heartfelt primer on what it truly takes to do this crazy job for a living.
A music-career book like no other, The Music Producer’s Survival Guide offers a wide-ranging, exploratory, yet refreshing down-to-earth take on living the life of the independent electronic music producer. If you are an intellectually curious musician/producer eager to make your mark in today’s technologically advanced music business, you’re in for a treat. This new edition includes industry and technological updates, additional interviews, and tips about personal finances, income, and budgets. In this friendly, philosophical take on the art and science of music production, veteran producer, engineer, and teacher Brian Jackson shares clear, practical advice about shaping your own career in today’s computer-centric "home-studio" music world. You’ll cover music technology, philosophy of music production, career planning, networking, craft and creativity, the DIY ethos, lifestyle considerations, and much more. Brian’s thoughtful approach will teach you to integrate your creative passion, your lifestyle, and your technical know-how. The Music Producer’s Survival Guide is the first music-production book to consider the influence of complexity studies and chaos theory on music-making and career development. It focuses on practicality while traversing a wide spectrum of topics, including essential creative process techniques, the TR-808, the proliferation of presets, the butterfly effect, granular synthesis, harmonic ratios, altered states, fractal patterns, the dynamics of genre evolution, and much more. Carving out your niche in music today is an invigorating challenge that will test all your skills and capacities. Learn to survive—and thrive—as a creative-technical professional in today’s music business, with the help of Brian Jackson and The Music Producer’s Survival Guide!
Big data entrepreneur Allen Gannett overturns the mythology around creative genius, and reveals the science and secrets behind achieving breakout commercial success in any field. We have been spoon-fed the notion that creativity is the province of genius -- of those favored, brilliant few whose moments of insight arrive in unpredictable flashes of divine inspiration. And if we are not a genius, we might as well pack it in and give up. Either we have that gift, or we don’t. But Allen shows that simply isn’t true. Recent research has shown that there is a predictable science behind achieving commercial success in any creative endeavor, from writing a popular novel to starting up a successful company to creating an effective marketing campaign. As the world’s most creative people have discovered, we are enticed by the novel and the familiar. By understanding the mechanics of what Gannett calls “the creative curve” – the point of optimal tension between the novel and the familiar – everyone can better engineer mainstream success. In a thoroughly entertaining book that describes the stories and insights of everyone from the Broadway team behind Dear Evan Hansen, to the founder of Reddit, from the Chief Content Officer of Netflix to Michelin star chefs, Gannett reveals the four laws of creative success and identifies the common patterns behind their achievement.
Every kid’s must-have primer for being a good friend. Whether kids find socializing as natural as smiling or as hard as learning a new language, this book can help them improve their social skills so they can better enjoy the benefits of friendship. Practical advice covers everything from breaking the ice to developing friendships to overcoming problems and being a good friend. True-to-life vignettes, “what would you do?” scenarios, voluminous examples, quizzes to test learning, “Try This” assignments for practicing techniques, and advice from real kids make this an accessible life-skills handbook. Survival Guides for Kids Helping Kids Help Themselves® Straightforward, friendly, and loaded with practical advice, the Free Spirit Survival Guides for Kids give kids the tools they need to not only survive, but thrive. With plenty of realistic examples and bright illustrations, they are accessible, encouraging, kid-friendly, and even life-changing.
