The 10% Solution (Paperback)

~ Ken Rand (Author), Patrick Swenson (Author), Honna Swenson (Editor), Keith Boulger (Illustrator, Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Ken Rand has put together a succinct book packed with the kind of useful information it generally takes struggling writers years to learn on their own. The 10% Solution is concise, precise, and points out the kind of small but important trouble areas to help build a powerful narrative voice and a more firmly controlled style. Kudos to Ken Rand for putting his own advice into practice and offering to give others the benefit of his hard-earned knowledge." -- Tom Piccirilli, author of Hexes and The Dead Past

"The Ten Percent Solution is proof positive that effective books on writing need not be long or tedious. This is the best tool for writers that I've seen in many, many years. I've written fiction for thirty-five years, and taught fiction writing for twenty. During all those years I could have used The Ten Percent Solution. It would have helped me, and it would have saved my students a world of time.

"Ken Rand's twenty-five years of writing experience have produced a book that every writer needs. It is especially important for the writer who is still trying to break into publishing, but I would recommend it to the most experienced writers. It's a reminder that we should not get loose or sloppy." -- Jack Cady, author of The Off Season

"You could spend a gazillion bucks patronizing the Famous Writers School. Or you could pick up Ken Rand's economical text and pay scrupulous attention. The Ten Percent Solution is the Real Thing. The Write Stuff. Ken Rand and I share a common background, so I know right where he learned his hard lessons. This little book offers no magical shortcut; but it does distill many years'professional experience and common sense. When I suspect that one of my own stories is working, it's inevitably for one or more of the reasons Ken enumerates herein. The guy knows what he's talking about. If you're a long-time successful writer, pick this up as your refresher course. If you're an ambitious novice, consider this your bible." -- Edward Bryant, author of Flirting With Death

Product Description

Mark Twain said "Eschew surplusage." The Ten Percent Solution: Self-editing for the Modern Writer, is short--63 pages. It gets on and off the pot and gets you back to your regularly scheduled life fast. The point, in a user-friendly (often funny) how-to format: any writer can write better right now.

Any writer. Student or pro, writing prose fiction or non-fiction, any genre, any length (even novels), any purpose (profit or non), any writer can improve his or her prose clarity and accuracy using The Ten Percent Solution. Now.

More: while the step-by-step techniques in The Ten Percent Solution can help improve already written prose, the theory behind it can help writers increase productivity. Slow writers can write faster. Stuck writers can become unstuck. You'll understand what's broke and exactly what to do to fix it.

The Ten Percent Solution is modular. It adapts to you and to what you want to write, you don't change to fit it. It's like one of those tho! usand-in-one tools; change the doohickey on the end to fit the job and ignore the rest.

Try it on your own work after reading the book. Judge for yourself how well it works for you. Instantly. No exercises, no classes, no messy bowls to clean.

Caveat: there are things The Ten Percent Solution won't teach you. Plotting, character, suspense, theme, viewpoint and so on--look elsewhere to learn these. Writing is still work, but many readers will find, with The Ten Percent Solution, writing is fun.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 63 pages
• Publisher: Fairwood Press, Inc; 1 edition (October 31, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0966818407
• ISBN-13: 978-0966818406
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 4.9 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #239,228 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's the most helpful book on revision I've ever read., October 21, 1999

By A Customer

Take this book and read it cover to cover. It won't take forever. Then sit down with a story you wish to polish and follow Ken's method, his 10% solution for trimming the wordiness from your prose. It works. He explains how his solution came about, how it helped him and how it can help you. Then he details the method, step by step. Lastly he demonstrates how it worked on his own writing. It made all the difference in my writing. I now keep his book next to me when I revise my writing. It's that good.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The most succinct approach to editing I've seen., March 23, 1999

By	[e-mail] James Van Pelt (Colorado) - See all my reviews

Ken Rand's short, no-nonsense approach to editing your own work, properly applied, will do more to make your writing appear professional than anything I've seen like it. Ken's style is funny and concise. He shows you how to go through your manuscript to tighten it, emphasizing accuracy, clarity and brevity. I've been selling professionally (Analog, Realms of Fantasy, Weird Tales) for several years, and Ken's approach still managed to trim over 500 words from a 5,000 word story that later went on to sell to a pro magazine. I've bought 20 copies to give to friends and students.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The most helpful how-to book on writing I've read in 20 year, March 23, 1999

By A Customer

Rand's methods of making a manuscript better is easy to use, easy to learn, and--most importantly--very effective. This slim volume rivals Strunk & White's "Elements of Style" in its quick "let's get to the point" method of pretty nearly instantly making any manuscript better. The real value of this book is best demonstrated by my own experience with it. After reading it, I followed Rand's method with an old story of mine which had been rejected 18 times over 5 years. Two weeks after submitting my story, it sold. I've never read a book on writing that could ever do this for me. The real beauty of this little gem is that it can do wonders for a writer. There's no guarantee that using Rand's method equals a sale, but you'll no longer get rejection slips telling you to write tighter if you use the method with an open mind. I've already bought copies for 3 friends who write and they are not finished thanking me. Blow the few bucks on this one--postage that you spend on getting rejected without it costs more.