Fairy Tales for Writers (Perfect Paperback)

~ Lawrence Schimel (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Fairy Tales for Writers holds up a magic mirror to the joys and struggles of the creative process and the writing life, reflecting them through the lens of the powerful archetypes of these formative stories. In these pages the reader will find: the new writer who encounters a wolf along the path to publication; that member of a writing workshop who always needs to be the fairest of them all; a writer who give sup her voice for love; and even that shy, anonymous author who slips away before the end of the reading, but is nonetheless tracked down at last by an editor who wishes to publish her work. Because sometimes there is a happy ending, even in publishing. Everyone who has ever felt lost in the deep, dark forest of the publishing world will find resonance in these cautionary tales.

About the Author

Lawrence Schimel (New York, 1971) is an author and anthologist, who's published over 80 books in numerous genres. His poems have been published in a diverse range of periodicals,such as the Christian Science Monitor, the Saturday Evening Post, Physics Today, Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, and the Lyric, among others, and have been widely anthologized in The Random House Treasury of Light Verse, Neil Gaiman's Sandman: The Book of Dreams, Chicken Soup for the Horse-Lover's Soul 2, The Pagan's Muse, Lives: Poetry About Famous Americans, and The Practice of Peace, among others. His writings have been translated into Basque, Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Dutch, Esperanto, Finnish, French, Galician, German, Greek, Hungarian, Icelandic, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, and Spanish. He lives in New York City and Madrid, Spain.

Product Details

• Perfect Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: A Midsummer Night's Press (June 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0979420806
• ISBN-13: 978-0979420801
• Product Dimensions: 5.6 x 4.2 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #492,529 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Sometimes there is a happy ending, even in publishing.", June 10, 2007

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

"Fairy Tales For Writers" is a virtually unique entry into the Midwest Book Review's monthly book review column 'The Writing/Publishing Shelf' which is usually devoted to 'how to' books and manuals for aspiring writers and novice publishers. This small, slender, imaginative, hilarious, and all-to-true 30-page collection of poetry by Lawrence Schimel wonderfully and artfully reflects the almost archetypal hopes, ambitions, frustrations, passions, and processes of writing for publication. Here in a kind of poetic folklore format are 'the new writer who encounters a wolf along the path to publication'; the writing workshop member who must always be 'the fairest of them all'; the writer who for the sake of love gives up her own special voice; the shy, anonymous author who slips away before the end of the reading only to be remorselessly tracked down by the editor wanting to publisher her work. Everyone who has ever put pen to paper, and the tried to submit that paper to a publisher, will recognize the poetically expressed truths in Lawrence Schimel's superb little book, "Fairy Tales For Writers". As the last line on the last page of this marvelous little gem has it: "Sometimes there is a happy ending, even in publishing."

5.0 out of 5 stars Charming, just like a fairy tale prince, October 15, 2009

By	Steve Lenius (Minneapolis/St. Paul area, MN United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This petite gem of a book belongs on every writer's bookshelf. Schimel distills common experiences in the world of writing and publishing into compact, perfect little allegories. Like all good fairy tales, some will provoke shivers and some will provoke sweet smiles. But all of them are delectable.

In addition to the enchanting writing, the design of the book is clean, and the pages are attractive and easy to read. One would think those qualities would be a given, but lately I've seen many small-press books that made me cringe. Hurrah for Schimel and hurrah for A Midsummer Night's Press for maintaining such high standards.

5.0 out of 5 stars A Writer's Dream Comes True, January 31, 2009

By	M. Harris "Bluemoon Northeast" (New England) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This small collection of Fairy Tales for Writers by Lawrence Schimel is a delightful and encouraging read for the fledgling or struggling writer. Using various real writer's life scenarios, Schimel weaves the tales of Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel and others. Each story relates the scary evil a writer may confront as she pens her way through the dark and lonely forest of the writing life. I found this book an entertaining and encouraging read. Not only do I recommend it -- but I also think it would make and ideal gift for a writing friend or family member who is just finding their way in the writing world or perhaps just graduating from a writing program.