Writing the Blockbuster Novel - Hardcover

Zuckerman, Albert

3.96

366 ratings by Goodreads

9780765382467: Writing the Blockbuster Novel

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0765382466 ISBN 13: 9780765382467

Publisher: Forge Books, 2016

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Albert Zuckerman, legendary literary agent, has worked with many bestselling authors, including Ken Follett, Olivia Goldsmith, Antoinette Van Heugten, Michael Lewis, and F. Paul Wilson. Zuckerman is a master at teaching writers the skills necessary to crack the bestseller list.

For this revised edition of Writing the Blockbuster Novel, Zuckerman has added an analysis of Nora Roberts's The Witness, which he uses along with classic books like Gone With the Wind and The Godfather, to illustrate his points. Zuckerman's commentary on Ken Follett's working outlines for The Man From St. Petersburg provide a blueprint for building links between plot and character. A new introduction discusses social media and self-publishing.

Writing the Blockbuster Novel is an essential tool for any aspiring author. As Dan Brown said in an interview: "Not long ago, I had an amusing experience meeting the author of a book I received as a gift nearly two decades ago a book that in many ways changed my life. I was halfway through writing my first novel when I was given a copy of Writing the Blockbuster Novel. [Zuckerman's] book helped me complete my manuscript and get it published. [When] I met Mr. Zuckerman for the first time. I gratefully told him that he had helped me. He jokingly replied that he planned to tell everyone that he had helped me write The Da Vinci Code."

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About the Author:

Albert Zuckerman has been a literary agent and book doctor to many bestselling writers, including Ken Follett, Michael Lewis, Olivia Goldsmith, Antoinette Van Heugten, and Stephen Hawking. Zuckerman has written novels and television scripts. He won the Stanley Drama Award for aspiring playwrights and taught playwriting at the Yale School of Drama before founding Writers House, an eminent literary agency.

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.

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