Authors are the CEOs of their books, and their book proposals are their business plans. Most agents and publishers require a proposal before ever setting eyes on a manuscript, and it is a crucial element in getting published. Writing a proposal can also help an author to write the right book for the right audience, and to more successfully pitch a book to the right agent or publisher. Propose Your Book offers a clear understanding of the book proposal...

The founders of "National Novel Writing Month" offer practical advice on how to organize and commit to writing stories and novels, and includes motivating essays from such popular authors as John Green and Scott Westerfeld.

"Combing anecdotes and hard-won lessons from decades of teaching and writing -- and invoking everyone from Hemingway to your third-grade teacher -- retired professor Thomas C. Foster guides you through the basics of writing. With How to Write Like a Writer you'll learn how to organize your thoughts, construct first drafts, and (not incidentally) keep you in your chair so that inspiration can come to visit" --

"Write for Your Life is a guide for those who don't, won't, or think they can't write, what Anna Quindlen calls "civilians." Using examples past, present and future--from Anne Frank to Toni Morrison to members of her own family--Quindlen makes vivid all the ways in which writing connects us, to ourselves and to those we cherish. From love letters written after World War II to journal reflections from nurses and doctors today, and using her personal...

"Each of the twelve chapters of How Poems Get Made examines a specific aspect of the poetic medium: diction, syntax, rhythm, echo, figure, repetition, and more. Acclaimed poet and critic James Longenbach shows how a poet may manipulate these most basic elements of diction and syntax to create voice, image, tone, or song, and bring a poem to life. Why does a great lyric poem ask to be reread, even after we know it by heart? In How Poems Get Made, Longenbach...

With straightforward advice and a plethora of up-to-date recommendations, the authors provide step-by-step information on everything aspiring children's book authors needs to know.