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Books For Writing Fiction

 

The best way to learn how to write fiction is to read a lot of fiction. I hear this advice repeatedly, and I wholeheartedly agree.

Sometimes, though, when you’re after a bit of extra guidance, it can be helpful to have some explicit advice on hand.

Though there can be some alarming and even strange advice out there (write every day or you are destined to fail! Always write your first draft by hand!), I’m yet to find a single book on writing from which I haven’t gained a nugget of inspiration.

If you’re overwhelmed by all the choices out there in the wide world of writing about writing, the following list focuses on some of the best books I have come across on how to write fiction, particularly if you’re just beginning.

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 I began writing poems and short stories, published several, which provided the courage to move on. I did that through writer’s groups and reading every writing book I could find.

The books I’ve chosen include a range of:

· Practical strategies

· Creative exercises

· Structural guidance

· Tips on how to foster creativity and flow

·   Grammar rules

· Industry advice

The books range from inspiration through to learning to write and perhaps build a novel, then pursuing a writing career.

Zen in the Art of Writing: Releasing the Creative Genius Within You by Ray Bradbury

This book is outstanding for creative inspiration

Ray Bradbury is a master storyteller, so a book full of essays on writing, which also provides a glimpse into Bradbury’s career.

This book provides practical tips for:

· Finding original ideas

·  Developing your unique style and voice

· Characterization

·  Descriptions

· Other storytelling essentials

It’s broken up into different essays, so it’s easy to pick up when you need it.

Bradbury also encourages reading short stories. Reading begets writing and can help you get your head around the overarching structure of a narrative.

Steering the Craft: A 21st Century Guide to Sailing the Sea of Story by Ursula K. Le Guin

This book is brilliant for: Bringing words and stories to life

Ursula K. Le Guin is one of my favorite authors. She’s a master of the sound of language, sentence construction and point of view.

Le Guin’s book will make your stories come alive, helping you maintain the excitement and passion.

· Pace and Rhythm

· Story structure

· Characterization

· Narrative writing

 

Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative by Austin Kleon

 

This book is great for: When you’re worried, your ideas aren’t original enough

One way I became comfortable with my creativity in writing, and developing character backstories, was using elements from some of my favorite writer's works.

He isn’t advocating for plagiarism. But he also doesn’t get hung up on ideas needing to be perfectly original. Instead, he concentrates on helping you harness your creativity, trust your creative instincts.

Writing is about creating fresh perspectives and exciting twists, and following fresh paths and ideas on what is ultimately a road that’s been walked before.

For new writers, Kleon also provides tips that he wishes he had received when he was starting out.

The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White

 

This book is impressive for: Learning the laws of English grammar

William Strunk was E. B. White’s English professor in 1919, but this book published by Macmillan until after Strunk’s death in the late 1950s, it was on White’s list of required textbooks.

This book is the Bible of English grammar rules but remember, these are modern times. That said, The Elements of Style is a must for your writing toolkit. If you want to break the rules of writing, you must learn them first.

BONUS TIP: You should also use Grammarly or ProWritingAid to assist your work.

In this book, with each rule, they succinctly explain and provide clear examples of proper and improper usage.

On Writing: a memoir of the craft by Stephen King

 

This book is outstanding for: Practical, ‘no BS’ advice from a famous and prolific writer.

If you want expert advice on writing, Stephen King is at the top of the game.

It starts: ‘Fiction writers, present company included, don’t understand very much about what they do – not why it works when it’s good, not why it doesn’t when it’s bad.’

 

His advice includes reading lots and writing lots or only having one day off when you’re a beginner. This will help you naturally build your vocabulary, rather than forcing it.

He follows some hard and fast rules that are widely accepted, like using active verbs, avoiding adverbs and unnecessary dialogue tags, and showing, not telling. Most professional writers advocate the same.

There is a lot of helpful, easily applicable advice in On Writing, including some useful guidelines, like ‘Write 1,000 words six days per week’, and that your second draft should be your first, minus ten percent.

But even putting this aside, it’s an interesting and incredible memoir of the craft, and of Stephen King’s life.

Click any underlined link or book pic above to purchase or click here:

IMPROVE MY WRITING

 This is for both writers and those that are friends of writers

WE DON’T GET BOOKS FREE.

One misconception about writers is they have a stock of books for giveaway. We wish that were true because the fact is, writers don't make the money fans think we do. There are exceptions, but most of us happily share our stories for nickels and dimes. We have to order our books from the publisher, though sometimes we can buy wholesale. Those books we sell when we speak or teach a workshop. From that margin, the author must pay state sales taxes and file those reports once a month or once a year, depending on your status. The author has to pay their own travel to and from a signing event, and provide table covers and free handouts at craft shows.

So what do you do as a writer?

BUILD A MAILING LIST 

Amazon, Goodreads, BookBub and others have author pages. Get one. On your “About the Author” page, encourage readers to sign up for your mailing list. If they sign up, you’ll be able to contact them to promote your backlist titles, new releases, giveaways, price promotions, etc.

TARGET YOUR AUDIENCE 

It does you nothing to send your announcement to cat lovers if you write a book about dogs. Write down what you know about the core group of readers you’re targeting, fiction, romance, mystery, fantasy, etc., and think about them when you’re creating an ad, designing a cover, writing a tweet. It is critical to narrow any blurb, tweet, post to five to seven keywords your target audience would typically search. Include these words into the description headline, description copy, and keyword details in your author website and every time you talk about your book.

FREE SAMPLE CHAPTERS CAN HELP

I did this for my first novel and will for the second one. I created a flip page document through the internet (free) and provided a link on my website. Don’t be afraid of giving away something for free! On Amazon, users can download the first ten percent of a book for free or read it on-site via the “Look Inside” feature. You might score a sale if the reader wants to continue so be sure every sample ends on a cliffhanger.

DO THE MATH

Cost? It will kill you. My novel sells for $17.99 paperback at book stores. The book store buys my book at about 45% of that price ($8) so that leave $9. Of that $9 dollars, $5 is printing cost and there is the publishers cut. In the end, my income is about 20 cents a book if I am lucky, so for 1,000 books sold I make $200 and then I pay taxes and such. Another sad note are the returns. If your book doesn't sell out, the store can return them and get their money back—I pay for shipping and the cost of the book.

I can also sell my books on consignment, but it is best to only place them in stores where I live and shop or in towns nearby. If I have to spend a full day or more driving to different stores to check inventory and sales I lose money – not just for gas – but also the time that would be better spent writing my next book.When setting the price for your book you need to be competitive. You can't list your book for $25 if every other book in your genre is selling for $15. Printing is about 25% the distributors get 20% and the bookstore commission 45%. That leaves the smallest cut for author royalty. An author won't see a royalty check for a couple months, or maybe the royalty has to reach a certain amount before they send it out.  As writers, we publish our books because it is our dream. We all have our reasons and our writing has to be a labor of love.  Choose the marketing that can be the most effective at the lowest cost. Overall my advice is go electronic. Print books for the little guy is a killer.