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    Creative Writing: How to Write a Bestseller
    Creative Writing: How to Write a Bestseller
    Creative Writing: How to Write a Bestseller
    Ebook115 pages1 hour

    Creative Writing: How to Write a Bestseller

    By Albert Jack

    ()

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    About this ebook

    From the Author of the Internationally Bestselling Books - Red Herrings & White Elephants, What Caesar did for my Salad, Shaggy Dogs, Pop Goes the Weasel, They Laughed at Galileo:


    Over the years I have often been asked, by unpublished writers, how they should go about finding a publisher. I am also often asked the question, ‘what should I write about.’
    And, whilst that is irritating; the chief reason being, ‘That’s your job,’ it is still a good question. (The main thing a writer has to do is to have the idea in the first place.)
    The answer, of course, is something that other people, your readers, will want to buy and then read and there are very simple ways to find out what that might be. To start with a writer has to consider their reader and what interests them.
    Can you come up with a book idea that will appeal to an 80 year old lady, a fifteen year old boy, a 25-year old girl and a middle aged man all at the same time? Because that is what you need to do, find as wide an audience as possible.
    Books about left handed, Norwegian badminton players will not enjoy big sales. 


    A couple of years ago I was in a small, artistic town in South Africa and found myself at a table of half a dozen would-be writers who were all asking me those same questions, and more.
    And I had the answers because there are professional techniques and habits that a writer must adopt and over the years it seems I have adopted them, possibly without realising it.
    Somebody then said, ‘you should be teaching this. We don’t know any of this, no wonder I can’t get a reply from a publisher.’ And this made me stop to think for a while.
    He was right, they didn’t know any of this, but it was actually all quite simple. He was just doing all the wrong things. (Lesson number one – Nobody is really interested in your own life story. Unless you are Nelson Mandela) 


    So I began to explain how to find an idea that a top publisher might be interested in commissioning. A subject they would see they could sell to as many people as possible.
    The questions kept coming and I began to start thinking that maybe I should offer a professional writer’s workshop and start sharing all this inside knowledge with as many people as possible.
    But one thing prevented me. It was fear! I was afraid that no-one would turn up or be interested in what I had to say. The same thing that most writers are afraid of.


    After fifteen years of working with Random House, Harper Collins and, for the larger part, Penguin Books I must have picked up something along the way.
    So, I had been firmly encouraged to share my experiences as a professional writer with those who would like to also follow that particular path.
    Now, with five successful workshops behind me, I have also been encouraged, by Kindle Direct Publishing, to share those experiences on a much wider scale by releasing what are essentially the workshop notes that I give to all my writers (as I like to call them) in the form of this ebook.


    I can only now hope this encourages you to develop the correct habits and to target the paying markets in a professional way.
    In about two hours reading time you should certainly be better equipped to do so.
    Albert Jack

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAlbert Jack Publishing
    Release dateSep 21, 2018
    Creative Writing: How to Write a Bestseller

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      Book preview

      Creative Writing - Albert Jack

      Copyright Page

      Creative Writing

      Learn How To Be A Writer in 60 Minutes

      (2018 eBook Edition)

      Copyright © March 2016 Albert Jack

      Cover Art: Ama Page

      Cover Design: Ama Page

      ebook Production: Albert Jack

      All rights are reserved to the author. no part of this ebook may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

      This is largely a work of non-fiction although the author could not resist the temptation to be creative with historical detail wherever possible.

      Albert Jack Publishing

      PO Box 661

      Seapoint

      Cape Town

      South Africa

      albertjack.com

      albertjackchat (facebook & Twitter)

      Dedication

      This book is dedicated to everybody with dreams and ambitions to become a recognised writer. I hope this helps.

      About the Author

      Albert Jack is a writer and historian. His first book, Red Herrings and White Elephants explored the origins of well-known idioms and phrases and became an international bestseller in 2004.

      It was serialised by the Sunday Times and remained in their bestseller list for sixteen straight months. He followed this up with a series of bestsellers including Shaggy Dogs and Black Sheep, Pop Goes the Weasel and What Caesar did for My Salad.

      Fascinated by discovering the truth behind the world’s great stories, Albert has become an expert in explaining the unexplained, enriching millions of dinner table conversations and ending bar room disputes the world over.

      He is now a veteran of hundreds of live television shows and thousands of radio programmes worldwide. Albert lives somewhere between Guildford in England and Cape Town in South Africa.

      Including

      Introduction

      Chapter 1 – Why Do Writers Write?

      Chapter 2 - Universal Thinking - How to form and develop ideas

      Chapter 3 - Market Research - What is the Publisher Looking For?

      Chapter 4 - Getting Started: They Don’t Write Themselves You Know!

      Chapter 5 - Routine and Method, the Craft of Writing.

      Chapter 6 - Commercial Writing and Targeting your Audience/Market

      Chapter 7 - Strong Prose Writing

      Chapter 8 – It’s Submission Time

      Introduction

      The first question a working writer is asked when they reveal their profession is, ‘Really – so what have you written then? Or ‘Really, what do you write about?’ Well, at least that’s the question I am always asked. It’s a simple and obvious question and it is fair to assume that unless you are Stephen King, or J.K Rowling, then few people will have heard of you, and so it needs answering. That means you either need to take the time to explain your books both patiently and as if that is the first time you had been asked that particular question, or tell them in the first place that you work for the Inland Revenue.

      That usually stops any further enquiries but the problem there is that if somebody at the table does know who you are, or perhaps has been kind enough to buy one of your books, then you are going to appear to be an even bigger idiot than if you actually did work for the Tax Department. (Please note that I use the phrase ‘working writer’ here because that is what I am - it’s my day job. I’m not a teacher of creative writing or a professor of English in a University somewhere. I am a professional writer and I am assuming that if you are reading this then you may wish to have a similar job)

      Over the years I have often been asked, by unpublished writers, how they should go about finding a publisher. I am also often asked the question, ‘what should I write about.’ And, whilst that is irritating; the chief reason being, ‘That’s your job,’ it is still a good question. (The main thing a writer has to do is to have the idea in the first place.) The answer, of course, is something that other people, your readers, will want to buy and then read and there are very simple ways to find out what that might be. To start with a writer has to consider their reader and what interests them. Can you come up with a book idea that will appeal to an 80 year old lady, a fifteen year old boy, a 25-year old girl and a middle aged man all at the same time? Because that is what you need to do, find as wide an audience as possible. Books about left handed, Norwegian badminton players will not enjoy big sales (with apologies to them)

      A couple of years ago I was in a small, artistic town in South Africa and found myself at a table of half a dozen would-be writers who were all asking me those same questions, and more. And I had the answers because there are professional techniques and habits that a writer must adopt and over the years it seems I have adopted them, possibly without realising it. Somebody then said, ‘you should be teaching this. We don’t know any of this, no wonder I can’t get a reply from a publisher.’ And this made me stop to think for a while. He was right, they didn’t know any of this, but it was actually all quite simple. He was just doing all the wrong things. No wonder he couldn’t get a reply from a publisher indeed, I thought to myself, if that is how he is approaching them. ‘And with that subject matter?’ (Lesson number one – Nobody is really interested in your own life story. Unless you are Nelson Mandela and, you can trust me on this one, you are not.) Instead think about making your life story your final book, your autobiography. Once you have sold enough other books to justify one.

      So I began to explain how to find an idea that a top publisher might be interested in commissioning. A subject they would see they could sell to as many people as possible. The questions kept coming and I began to start thinking that maybe I should offer a professional writer’s workshop and start sharing all this inside knowledge with as many people as possible. But one thing prevented me. It was fear! I was afraid that no-one would turn up or be interested in what I had to say. The same thing that most writers are afraid of.

      So I asked my long time friend and illustrator Ama Page, who is usually quite blunt with her advice, ‘What would you say if I set up a writer’s workshop and started sharing the tips, techniques and habits I have picked up over the years,’ I expected her to say something along the lines of, ‘don’t you think that’s a bit self indulgent or presumptuous.’ Or perhaps, ‘hark at you Mr Know-It-All, but instead she replied, ‘What would I say? It’s about bloody time too is what I would say.’ That took me by surprise. ‘Are you sure,’ I said, ‘would anybody really turn up?’ ‘They better do,’ she told me. ‘After all, you know how it all works.’

      And I suppose I do. After ten years of working with Random House, Harper Collins and, for the larger part, Penguin Books I must have picked up something along the way. So, I had been firmly encouraged to share my experiences as a professional writer with those who would like to also follow that particular path. Now, with five successful workshops behind me, I have also been encouraged, by Kindle Direct Publishing, to share those experiences on a much wider scale by releasing what are essentially the workshop notes that I give to all my writers (as I like to call them) in the form of this ebook.

      I can only now hope this encourages you to develop the correct habits and to target the paying markets in a professional way. In 28,000 words time (that’s about 2 hours reading time and one month of writing time) you should certainly be better equipped to do so. You will definitely know how to prepare and submit a professional proposal as there is one of my own included in chapter three (I think). You can even have the idea as my gift.  As I said, I am not a teacher. I actually do this for a living and have plenty more ideas where that came from. And so could you have in a few hours time.

      Albert Jack

      Cape Town

      December 2012

      Chapter 1 - Why Do Writers Write?

      There are millions of writers hidden away all over the world, both

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