Writer's Tale [Hardcover]

Richard Laymon (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Deadline Pr (December 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0963136771
• ISBN-13: 978-0963136770
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,119,942 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Writer's Dream, April 16, 2002

By 

Regina Mitchell (Mt. Pleasant, MI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Writer's Tale (Hardcover)

A Writer's Tale is probably the best book I've read on writing. And it reads like a personal letter from a friend.

I had heard wonderful things about A Writer's Tale before reading it, but still wasn't expecting much. After all, this is a book about writing. How interesting can that be? In this case, very.

Dick takes us through the beginnings of his career, where he started and where he ended up. He also gives us insight to the publisher-author and agent-author relationships, which so many other writing books leave out. Best of all this book gives encouragement to newer writers.

I wish I hadn't waited so long to seek this book out but am very glad I was able to find it.

While fans of Laymon's might be interested in this book for the personal side of it (we are shown backgrounds of all of Dick's novels up through A Writer's Tale), this book is most valuable to writers. I'm sure any Laymon fan will have fun with it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Impressive, November 22, 2006

By 

Keith Luethke "Laymon" (Knoxville, TN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Writer's Tale (Hardcover)

A Writer's Tale was written by Richard Laymon. By now your should see his books at Walmart everywhere, which is rare because 10 years ago everything he printed was in the UK Headline Press. Well just about everything. Currently, this book is rare, but look for it in about half a year. Kelly Laymon (Richard Laymon's daughter) is rewriting A Writer's Tale. Cemetary Dance is printing it. And anybody who wants to be any kind of horror writer should read it.

10 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Really Intriguing but such a pinpoint audience ...., June 27, 2000

By 

"zen" Michael T Bradley (Provo, UT) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Writer's Tale (Hardcover)

Richard Laymon is such an anomaly in so many ways. Over 20 books to his name, he's a bestseller in england, but lives in america, is from chicago, and rarely gets published in the us (though leisure is now reprinting some of his stuff in a very random way). so he does seem the perfect candidate to write a book on the highs and lows of being a writer -- he enjoys both success and obscurity AT THE SAME TIME.

I really enjoyed this book. It's about 1/3 pep-talk/how-to on writing fiction; 1/3 look at all of laymon's bibliography, reasons behind certian choices, kind of a 'director's commentary' on the books; 1/3 autobiography.

The problem is, its audience seems such a tiny select group, that I can't really recommend it to many (that's why the three stars -- thoroughly well-done but so unappealing to so many). I mean, I'm a horror fiction fan who loves Laymon's stuff and one day aspires to write something, so i dug it, but how many others out there really fit that bill?

still, an interesting point-by-point discussion of getting published, the politics of publishing, and the like.

if you like laymon, or want to become a writer, go ahead and pick this book up. laymon's 'aw shucks' but still slightly egotistical manner of writing have such an endearing quality you'll feel like you're ready to run out and pump out your first novel after reading this.