I Love This Book
Techniques of a Selling Writer is now my favorite how-to writing book. Here’s how I found this old gem (published in 1965):
About a year ago, I got into the habit of watching writing instruction videos. Not unpublished writers telling other unpublished writers how to write, but videos by established, selling authors. That’s how I found a set of videos by Jim Butcher, and I liked what he had to say about scenes and sequels. I started playing around with his ideas and saw a marked improvement in my writing. A few months later, I came across this article, “Writing the Perfect Scene,” by Randy Ingermanson and discovered Butcher’s primary source: Techniques of the Selling Writer by Dwight V. Swain.
I’m a go-to-the-source researcher, so I went to Amazon, hoping the book was still in print–it is. When I saw the cover, I realized I owned the book. It had been sitting on my bookshelf for years. I hadn’t read it because I didn’t like the cover.
For me, the dollar sign in place of the “S” is a turnoff. The cute ploy suggests the book is about making money rather than a practical writing guide for fiction writers. Each time I thought about reading it, I put it back on the shelf. Oh, foolish girl!!
The book is a practical writing guide as well as a guide to producing writing that sells.
Why Get the Book?
If you are tempted to just watch Butcher’s video or read Ingermanson’s article, you’ll lose, suffer loss, be deprived of. Yes, you’ll miss out.
Why?
Because the book goes into detail and digs deeper than a short talk or essay can. I’ve read Techniques… twice and will probably re-read it again and again.
As I read this book, I could see how writers I admire use these techniques.
What I liked
I’m tempted to say, “I liked everything,” which would be true, but here’s what sets this book apart from other books:
- It’s organized in a logical progression from the smallest writing unit to the broad strokes of storytelling.
- It’s detailed and specific.
- There’s lots of examples.
- The writing is clear and easy to understand.
- Swain’s breaks down the techniques genre fiction writers use to tell compelling stories.
- I’ve tried his techniques and have seen a marked improvement in my writing.
Warnings
I don’t want you to think this is a perfect book or a quick and easy read. There are some potential issues. I didn’t mind these things, but I imagine they could be stumbling blocks for some.
- The book is dense; he packs more into 300 pages than most writing books. I get frustrated with books that are thin on content.
- It’s dated, which anyone would expect from a book published 45 years ago; be prepared for talk about typewriters and other outdated things. If you think this might annoy you, remember that this book is still in print for a reason.
- This is the kind of book you’ll read slowly and study–this is a plus for me, but I know some people want a quick an easy fix.
- Some say that the writing is dry, but I didn’t notice. My academic background might make me jaded. The content is so valuable that I didn’t notice dry writing.
If you are an aspiring writer or a writer who want to improve, I recommend this book. For me, it’s a must-have.
Companion Book
The next writing instruction book I’m going to review is Writing 21st Century Fiction: High-Impact Techniques for Exceptional Storytelling by Donal Maass (Literary agent and head of Donald Maass Literary Agency).
I see Writing in the 21st Century Fiction as the perfect companion book to Techniques of the Selling Writer. It was published in 2012 and written by a top literary agent who knows his stuff. Here’s a teaser, quotation from chapter one:
“High impact comes from a combination of two factors: great stories and beautiful writing. High-impact novels utilize what is best about literary and commercial fiction. They embrace a dichotomy. They do everything well and as a result, sell astoundingly.” (p. 2-3)
The Usual Reminders:
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