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Writing the Blockbuster Novel (Paperback)

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4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (24 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Writing the Blockbuster Novel is part fiction-biology textbook, part cookbook. Its author, Albert Zuckerman, dissects the commercial bestseller, then provides recipes for each discrete element. Settings, according to Zuckerman, should be "topical, trendy, 'sexy'"--either newsworthy hotspots or uncharted territory--and main characters, à la Don Corleone and Scarlett O'Hara, should loom larger than life. Like Hollywood blockbusters, "mega-books" should be high concept, with high stakes. Zuckerman discusses point of view (there should be multiple), character relationships, plotting, revision, and especially outlining. "Every mega-book with which I've been involved was planned and replanned and planned again," he confides. Indeed, a 63-page chapter here features four versions of Ken Follett's outline for The Man from St. Petersburg and an analysis of each. Still, no matter how good your outline, remember that there's a learning curve. A beginning novelist writing a successful blockbuster novel, says Zuckerman, is about as likely as "a high school athlete trying to play with the Dallas Cowboys." --Jane Steinberg

From Library Journal

Zuckerman, a veteran literary agent representing such best-selling authors as Ken Follett and Eileen Goudge, here explains how authors can get their novels onto the best-sellers list. This book is not intended for beginning writers but will help those who have mastered the craft of novel writing and now wish to write a book with blockbuster potential. Of course, there are no guarantees here: the reading public is fickle, and, ultimately, readers are the ones who make best sellers. That said, Zuckerman knows what works most of the time. He spends the two largest sections of the book on outlining and revision. Authors need to know where they are going, and a detailed outline will help them map a plan to bring together all the characters and plot lines. Best-selling novels by Follett, Goudge, and others are used as examples. This will be useful in libraries that serve writers. Recommended.
- Lisa J. Co chenet, Plainfield P.L. Dist., Ill.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

Paperback: 210 pages
Publisher: Writer's Digest Books; 2nd edition (February 2002)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1582971277
ISBN-13: 978-1582971278
Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces

Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (24 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #568,191 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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	3% buy Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, Second Edition: How to Edit Yourself Into Print 4.6 out of 5 stars (136) $9.88

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Customer Reviews

24 Reviews

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4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
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Average Customer Review

4.2 out of 5 stars (24 customer reviews)

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34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Blockbuster Author's Bible--An Absolute MUST HAVE!, January 5, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Writing the Blockbuster Novel (Hardcover)

If you want to write "serious" literature, look elsewhere. But if you want to write a blockbuster novel, one that will top the bestseller charts and be read for decades to come, then you NEED this book! Not a course in literature or even in novel writing (Zuckerman presumes that you know the basics) this book is a guide to writing the "big book," the book all agents dream of finding, the book that will earn you the million dollar advance, be sold to the movies, etc. While it's not absolutely necessary to read the blockbuster novels Zuckerman cites in this work, it does help, and some familiarity with them is certainly necessary. Knowing example is the best teacher, Zuckerman takes us, step-by-step, through each of the requisite elements of a blockbuster novel--elements that each and every big book share. The book is not for everyone, though. If you aspire to short-story writing or the writing of small, quiet books that may be excellent but will never "take the world by storm" then you'll probably find Zuckerman "too commercial." But if it's commercial you're looking for, this book is truly worth its weight in gold. Thank you Mr. Zuckerman for writing it, and a special thanks to Ken Follett for sharing his early drafts with us. You both did far more than you'll ever know and we appreciate it.

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24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Resource for Mainstream Novelists, March 14, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Writing the Blockbuster Novel (Hardcover)

This book should prove very helpful to writers of commercial fiction. It's not necessary to read the blockbusters (Man from St. Petersburg, GWTW, Godfather, Thorn Birds) to follow Zuckerman's arguments, though the novels will certainly help any writer learning the craft. The Follett outlines demonstrate how a serious (and ambitious) novelist crafts his work prior to writing. The outlines give a very detailed look at the novel in its various stages of development, and Zuckerman's analyses of them are dead-on. However, Zuckerman pays too little attention to the other novels: he's not nearly as detailed or insightful of their inner workings as he is with Follet's, which he edited. Moreover, the inclusion of "Garden of Lies," a novel written by his wife, seems to be a ploy to squeeze royalties out of an anachronistic book that few nowadays would consider a blockbuster. But Zuckerman is an agent, after all, so such tactics shouldn't scare die-hards off.

Zuckerman warns that the first-time novelist attempting a blockbuster might be biting more than he can chew, since he he isn't talking about any ordinary bestseller, but a "blockbuster." However, some of his advice (e.g., not to write a historical work) must be taken with a grain of salt because, even as he points out, most of the works he's dealing with are period pieces. In addition, anyone looking for a "how to write" book will not find much guidance here (Zuckerman assumes we know the basics of conflict, structure, character, etc.). Nor does he delve into the matter of how to sell your work.

Overall, an excellent resource to your writer's library, and well worth the price. Writers who aspire to blockbusterdom (or just plain bestseller status) owe Zuckerman a big thanks.

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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a little something extra, August 30, 2004

By	bookloversfriend (United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This book IS different from most others. First of all, where other authors bob and weave about exactly what you should do, Al hits you in the face with it. If you agree, fine. If you disagree, better get some other book. For instance, he lays out his value criteria: "high stakes; larger-than-life characters; a strong dramatic question; a high concept; a farfetched plot premise; intense emotional involvement between several point-of-view characters; and an exotic and interesting setting."
Really, there's the whole book for you in a nutshell. In separate chapters, he elaborates each of these elements. If you're not sure you want to base your novel on a farfetched premise? Or have larger-than-life characters? Well, you have a problem.
He also devotes about a quarter of this rather short book to discussing in detail the re-writing of one of Ken Follett's novels. If you don't want to write the type of novel Follett writes, better choose some other writing book.
Still, if you can afford one more book on writing, this one might challenge some of your assumptions and provoke you to make your novel just a little more gripping.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Invaluable Advice for the Wanna-be Blockbuster Novelist
This book explains how to grow your writing from that of a good writer--who follows the rules of character development, crises, story arc, etc--to one who integrates them... Read more

Published 25 days ago by J. Murray

5.0 out of 5 stars An Invaluable Asset
Al Zuckerman's Writing the Blockbuster Novel is an invaluable asset for any writer, regardless of his degree of success. Read more

Published 4 months ago by Michael A. Black

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good if you are planning to polish
I think this book SHOWS, more than theorizes about writing. It has little theory (so if you've read other "how to write" books, then this book probably will have a few pages... Read more

Published 20 months ago by Monica Bustamante Wagner

5.0 out of 5 stars Practically necessary
I'm torn. Normally, there are books I recommend to absolute beginners, & books I push on those who are about ready for publication. Read more

Published on April 20, 2007 by Anthony D Ravenscroft

3.0 out of 5 stars Same-o, Same-o
WRITING FOR STORY by Jon Franklin remains the best of the writing aids books, followed by Richard Rhodes' and Stephen King's contributions to the genre. Read more

Published on June 22, 2005 by James B. Johnson

5.0 out of 5 stars For The Serious Writer Of Novels This Is An Excellent Book
I don't know what it is about most of the reviewers here of Zuckerman's book when they pan parts of it. Read more

Published on November 2, 2004 by Strephon Kaplan-Williams

3.0 out of 5 stars Another book on writing --nothing special
This is, once more a book on writing and to tell you the truth, If you've read one, you've read them all. Read more

Published on March 9, 2002 by Jason A. Myers

5.0 out of 5 stars Great practical advice and a good read in itself
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and I think I learned a lot too. Zuckerman is an agent with enough experience to deserve the ear of anyone wanting some basic advice and... Read more

Published on October 26, 2001 by Michael Bird

3.0 out of 5 stars Some sound advice, but too windy
Writing the Blockbuster Novel is too long by about 20 percent. I don't mean that it's a big book - at 224 pages, it's not. Read more

Published on August 29, 2001 by F. G. Hamer

4.0 out of 5 stars Helpful addition to one's collection
From reading the title one might gather that an appropriate subtitle might be "A Hack's Guide" or "Slanting for Success. Read more

Published on May 15, 2001 by Gerald Ladmirault

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