Writing Novels That Sell (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (October 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671683934
• ISBN-13: 978-0671683931
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,121,977 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Teaching the Basics., November 28, 2001

By	"nevadavic" (Benicia, CA USA) - See all my reviews

Bickham is teaching the basics in this book. It is a perfect first step to a solid foundation for the novice writer. Rationally, his approach and content is contextually in-tune with Ayn Rand's "The Romantic Manifesto". Knowing "The Romantic Manifesto" is the advanced stage to writing, then "Writing Novels That Sell" is the mandatory beginning. The novice artist uses this book to decide either to 'try writing novels' or to 'try another form of art'. This book should be required for all junior high school English students AND again in the first year of college.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Voice of Experience, December 27, 2004

By	Thomas W. Fox (Louisville, KY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is not a book to be read and set aside, it is a book to be studied and applied. In this book Jack Bickman offers a distillation of his many years of experience as a professional writer combined with his many years as a professional teacher of writing at the university level. This is a very practical book, and I recommend to anyone who is seriously interested in actually doing the hard work of learning the novelist's craft.

This is not a book for dreamers or posers. Bickman devotes the first two chapters of this book to driving home the importance of dedicated hard work, professionalism, and seriousness of purpose involved in crafting a publishable work of fiction.

Book Chapters:

1. The Professional Attitude
2. Work Habits and the Imagination
3. The Nature of Story
4. Viewpoint
5. Stimulus and Response
6. Goal Motivation and the Story Question
7. How a Story Starts . . . and How It Ends
8. Scene and Sequel
9. Handling Time
10. Building Characters
11. Making Your Characters More Complex
12. Other Problems
13. Revision and Submission
14. Final Words

"Writing Novels that Sell" is one of those books where it is apparent that the author knows much more about the subject than what is expressed within the book itself. Bickman's knowledge comes from actually doing what he teaches, and his is the voice of experience.

Again, I recommend this book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Yawn., March 15, 2006

By	James B. Johnson (HUDSON, FL United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Writing novels that sell (Hardcover)

Unfortunately, Bickham has trouble keeping me interested. He does a good job of explaining scene and sequel, but you can get the same and better from Dwight Swain (who taught Bickham) and Manuel Komroff; HOW TO WRITE A NOVEL. James N.Frey recommends Bickham, but I think Frey does a better job of teaching how-to-write than Bickham does. My biggest problem with Bickham is his 'my-way or the hi-way' regimentation. There are much better writers out there who advocate practices Bickham dislikes. And Bickham doesnt even pay lip-service to mastering the fundamentals of good writing, except to note this is something his reader should have already accomplished. This is a book to borrow from the library...not keep.