The Writing category has 232 audiobooks on Listento.it, with an average listener rating of 4.6★ across 523 ratings. The most-rated is Bird by Bird.
Bird by Bird
Summary
A New York Times best-selling author of both fiction and nonfiction, Anne Lamott was also the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship. As much a guide to writing as an exploration of the emotional challenges of being a writer, Bird by Bird offers a candid and often humorous look at how to tackle these varied obstacles.
©1994 Anne Lamott (P)2013 Recorded Books
Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t
Summary
There's a mantra real writers know but wannabe writers don’t. And the secret phrase is this: "Nobody wants to read your shit." Recognizing this painful truth is the first step in the writer's transformation from amateur to professional. “When you understand that nobody wants to read your shit, you develop empathy. You acquire the skill that is indispensable to all artists and entrepreneurs - the ability to switch back and forth in your imagination from your own point of view as writer/painter/seller to the point of view of your reader/gallery-goer/customer. You learn to ask yourself with every sentence and every phrase: Is this interesting? Is it fun or challenging or inventive? Am I giving the reader enough? Is she bored? Is she following where I want to lead her?"
©2016 Black Irish Books, LLC (P)2018 Black Irish Books, LLC
How to Write Best-Selling Fiction
Summary
Most people think the way to write a best seller is to have a lot of talent and even more luck. As you will learn, there is a recipe for success, and luck may be the least important ingredient in creating a best seller. When it comes to solving the mystery of what makes a best-selling novel, no one has cracked the code better than James Scott Bell. A best-selling author himself, winner of the International Thriller Writers Award and the Christy Award for Suspense, plus the author of the number-one best seller for writers, Plot & Structure, Mr. Bell has been teaching the principles of best-selling fiction for over 20 years, principles that apply to any genre or style. In the 24 lectures of How to Write Best-Selling Fiction, Mr. Bell provides a comprehensive, eye-opening, and illuminating survey of the entire writing process, as well as a full breakdown of how best-selling authors such as Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Michael Connelly, Suzanne Collins, Janet Evanovich, and dozens of others have implemented best practices in their own writing. From fun creative challenges to help you get started with unique plot and character ideas to how to format, package, and promote your finished material - with help dotting every "i" and crossing every "t" along the way - Mr. Bell offers an insightful, intimate, and extraordinarily revealing look at the elements that elevate a novel to become a best seller. Any aspiring author will gain a wealth of tools that will not only improve their ability to write, but will also increase their enjoyment of the craft. The famous writer Somerset Maugham once said, “There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.” And maybe no one knows the “rules”, but there are writing techniques, practices, and fundamentals that writers have used for decades to become best-selling authors. And just like Picasso, once you master the basics of your art, then you can create your own rules. With How to Write Best-Selling Fiction, you get an intimate introduction to the fundamentals of how to write your best seller, from a best-selling author who has mastered the secrets to success. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2019 The Great Courses (P)2019 The Teaching Company, LLC
American Icon
Summary
At the end of 2008, Ford Motor Company was just months away from running out of cash. With the auto industry careening toward ruin, Congress offered all three Detroit automakers a bailout. General Motors and Chrysler grabbed the taxpayer lifeline, but Ford decided to save itself. Under the leadership of charismatic CEO Alan Mulally, Ford had already put together a bold plan to unify its divided global operations, transform its lackluster product lineup, and overcome a dysfunctional culture of infighting, backstabbing, and excuses. It was an extraordinary risk, but it was the only way the Ford family - America's last great industrial dynasty - could hold on to their company. Mulally and his team pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in business history. As the rest of Detroit collapsed, Ford went from the brink of bankruptcy to being the most profitable automaker in the world. American Icon is the compelling, behind-the-scenes account of that epic turnaround. On the verge of collapse, Ford went outside the auto industry and recruited Mulally - the man who had already saved Boeing from the deathblow of 9/11 - to lead a sweeping restructuring of a company that had been unable to overcome decades of mismanagement and denial. Mulally applied the principles he developed at Boeing to streamline Ford's inefficient operations, force its fractious executives to work together as a team, and spark a product renaissance in Dearborn. He also convinced the United Auto Workers to join his fight for the soul of American manufacturing. Bryce Hoffman reveals the untold story of the covert meetings with UAW leaders that led to a game-changing contract, Bill Ford's battle to hold the Ford family together when many were ready to cash in their stock and write off the company, and the secret alliance with Toyota and Honda that helped prop up the American automotive supply base. In one of the great management narratives of our time, Hoffman puts the reader inside the boardroom as Mulally uses his celebrated Business Plan Review meetings to drive change and force Ford to deal with the painful realities of the American auto industry. Hoffman was granted unprecedented access to Ford's top executives and top-secret company documents. He spent countless hours with Alan Mulally, Bill Ford, the Ford family, former executives, labor leaders, and company directors. In the best-selling tradition of Too Big to Fail and The Big Short, American Icon is narrative nonfiction at its vivid and colorful best.
©2012 Bryce G. Hoffman (P)2012 Tantor
On Writing Well: Audio Collection
Summary
This expanded audio collection presents William Zinsser's On Writing Well, the classic teaching book that has sold more than 1 million copies, together with a new 90-minute section that tells you how to write a memoir. Based on a course that Zinsser taught at Yale, On Writing Well has long been praised by writers, teachers, and students for its sound advice, its clarity, and the warmth of its style. It's for everybody who wants to learn how to write or who needs to do some writing to get through the day. Whether you want to write about people and places, science and technology, business, sports, or the arts, this is the definitive guide to the craft of nonfiction. Part II of this collection, on memoir, personal history, and family history, tells you in helpful detail how to write the story of your life: who you are, who you once were, and what heritage you come from. Throughout, Zinsser refers to the work of many successful memoir writers, including Frank McCourt, Annie Dillard, Russell Baker, and Eudora Welty, to demonstrate how they solved the problems of selection, compression, focus, and tone that every memoir writer struggles with.
©1990, 1999, 2003 William Zinsser (P)2003 HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.
Save the Cat! Writes a Novel
Summary
The first novel-writing guide from the best-selling Save the Cat! story-structure series, which reveals the 15 essential plot points needed to make any novel a success. Novelist Jessica Brody presents a comprehensive story-structure guide for novelists that applies the famed Save the Cat! screenwriting methodology to the world of novel writing. Revealing the 15 "beats" (plot points) that comprise a successful story - from the opening image to the finale - this audiobook lays out the 10 story genres ("Monster in the House"; "Whydunit"; "Dude with a Problem") alongside quirky, original insights ("Save the Cat"; "Shard of Glass") to help novelists craft a plot that will captivate - and a novel that will sell. With a PDF that includes charts, lists, and exercises from the audiobook. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2018 Jessica Brody (P)2018 Random House Audio
Structuring Your Novel
Summary
Is Structure the Hidden Foundation of All Successful Stories? Why do some stories work and others don't? The answer is structure. In this IPPY and NIEA Award-winning guide from the author of the bestselling Outlining Your Novel, you will discover the universal underpinnings that guarantee powerful plot and character arcs. An understanding of proper story and scene structure will help you to not only perfectly time your story's major events, but will also provide you with an unerring standard to use in evaluating your novel's pacing and progression. Structuring Your Novel will show you: How to determine the best methods for unleashing your unique and personal vision for your story. How to identify common structural weaknesses and flip them around into stunning strengths. How to eliminate saggy middles by discovering your "centerpiece." Why you should NEVER include conflict on every page. How to discover the questions you don't want readers asking about your plot-and then how to get them to ask the right questions. Story structure has empowered countless bestselling and classic authors. Now it's your turn!
©2013 Katie M. Weiland (P)2014 Katie M. Weiland
Writing Down the Bones
Summary
With nearly one million copies of the book Writing Down the Bones in print, Natalie Goldberg has helped change the way writing is practiced in homes, schools, and workshops across America. Here is a new collector's edition of this modern classic as you have never heard it before, read by Natalie Goldberg herself and then infused with her most personal reflections about this "magic manual" for all writers. Try these ingenious, Zen-based exercises to expand your writing skills - or just for fun.
© Natalie Goldberg; (P) Sounds True
Wired for Story
Summary
Imagine knowing what the brain craves from every tale it encounters, what fuels the success of any great story, and what keeps people transfixed. Wired for Story reveals these cognitive secrets - and it's a game-changer for anyone who has ever set pen to paper. The vast majority of writing advice focuses on "writing well" as if it were the same as telling a great story. This is exactly where many aspiring writers fail - they strive for beautiful metaphors, authentic dialogue, and interesting characters, losing sight of the one thing that every engaging story must do: ignite the brain's hardwired desire to learn what happens next. When writers tap into the evolutionary purpose of story and electrify our curiosity, it triggers a delicious dopamine rush that tells us to pay attention. Without it, even the most perfect prose won't hold anyone's interest. Backed by recent breakthroughs in neuroscience as well as examples from novels, screenplays, and short stories, Wired for Story offers a revolutionary look at story as the brain experiences it. Each chapter zeroes in on an aspect of the brain, its corresponding revelation about story, and the way to apply it to your storytelling right now.
©2012 Lisa Cron (P)2017 Tantor
Outlining Your Novel
Summary
Let outlines help you write a better book! Writers often look upon outlines with fear and trembling. But when properly understood and correctly wielded, the outline is one of the most powerful weapons in a writer's arsenal. Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Way to Success will: Help you choose the right type of outline for you Guide you in brainstorming plot ideas Aid you in discovering your characters Show you how to structure your scenes Explain how to format your finished outline Instruct you in how to use your outline Reveal the benefits: Ensures cohesion and balance Prevents dead-end ideas Provides foreshadowing Offers assurance and motivation Dispel misconceptions: Requires formal formatting Limits creativity Robs the joy of discovery Takes too much time
©2011 K. M. Weiland (P)2014 K. M. Weiland
Bird by Bird
Summary
An essential volume for generations of writers young and old, Bird by Bird is a modern classic. This 25th anniversary edition will continue to spark creative minds for years to come. For a quarter century, more than a million readers and listeners - scribes and scribblers of all ages and abilities - have been inspired by Anne Lamott’s hilarious, bighearted, homespun advice. Advice that begins with the simple words of wisdom passed down from Anne’s father - also a writer - in the iconic passage that gives the book its title: “Thirty years ago my older brother, who was ten years old at the time, was trying to get a report on birds written that he’d had three months to write. It was due the next day. We were out at our family cabin in Bolinas, and he was at the kitchen table close to tears, surrounded by binder paper and pencils and unopened books on birds, immobilized by the hugeness of the task ahead. Then my father sat down beside him, put his arm around my brother’s shoulder, and said, ‘Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.’”
©2019 Anne Lamott (P)2019 Random House Audio
The Secrets of Story
Summary
The Secrets of Story is a revolutionary and comprehensive writing guide for the 21st century, focused on clever ways to get an audience to fully identify with an all-too-human hero. Authors will learn to how to cut through pop culture noise and win over a jaded modern audience by rediscovering the heart of writing: shaping stories that ring true to our shared understanding of human nature. Providing conversational advice that spans multiple disciplines - from fiction to film to creative nonfiction - Matt Bird's insightful techniques allow characters to come alive and stories to reach a new level of appeal.
©2016 Matt Bird (P)2016 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books
The Elements of Style (Recorded Books Edition)
Summary
The Elements of Style has long been a valued and beloved resource for all writers. Hailed for its directness and clever insight, this unorthodox textbook was born from a professor's love for the written word and perfected years later by one of his students: famed author E. B. White. Ever since its first publication in 1959, writers have turned to this book for its wise and accessible advice.
©1995 William Strunk (P)2007 Recorded Books
How to Write Non-Fiction: Turn Your Knowledge into Words
Summary
Do you want to write a non-fiction book but don't know where to start? Or perhaps you worry that you're not an expert or have enough authority in your niche to write a book on it? Are you ready to help other people and change your own life with your words? The first non-fiction book I wrote changed my life. Sure, it helped other people, but mostly it altered the course of my life - so much so that 10 years later, I make a living with my writing. In this book, I'll share everything I've learned along the way and save you time, effort, and frustration on your author journey. This book includes the business models of writing non-fiction, mindset issues around writing, the details of how to research, write and edit your book, dictation and productivity tips, as well as publishing, product creation, and marketing.
©2018 Joanna Penn (P)2018 Joanna Penn
Stein on Writing
Summary
Stein on Writing provides immediately useful advice for writers of fiction and nonfiction, whether newcomers or accomplished professionals. As Sol Stein, renowned editor, author, and instructor, explains, "This is not a book of theory. It is a book of usable solutions, how to fix writing that is flawed, how to improve writing that is good, how to create interesting writing in the first place." With examples from his best sellers as well as aspiring students' writing, Stein offers detailed sections on characterization, dialogue, pacing, flashbacks, liposuctioning flab, the "triage" method of revision, using the techniques of fiction to enliven nonfiction, and more.
©1995 Sol Stein (P)2003 Blackstone Audiobooks
Dreyer's English
Summary
New York Times best seller • A sharp, funny grammar guide they’ll actually want to read, from Random House’s longtime copy chief and one of Twitter’s leading language gurus Named one of the Best Books of the Year by O: The Oprah Magazine • Paste • Shelf Awareness "Essential (and delightful!)" (People) We all write, all the time: books, blogs, emails. Lots and lots of emails. And we all want to write better. Benjamin Dreyer is here to help. As Random House’s copy chief, Dreyer has upheld the standards of the legendary publisher for more than two decades. He is beloved by authors and editors alike - not to mention his followers on social media - for deconstructing the English language with playful erudition. Now, he distills everything he has learned from the myriad books he has copyedited and overseen into a useful guide not just for writers but for everyone who wants to put their best prose foot forward. As authoritative as it is amusing, Dreyer’s English offers lessons on punctuation, from the underloved semicolon to the enigmatic en dash; the rules and nonrules of grammar, including why it’s okay to begin a sentence with "And" or "But" and to confidently split an infinitive; and why it’s best to avoid the doldrums of the Wan Intensifiers and Throat Clearers, including "very," "rather," "of course," and the dreaded "actually." Dreyer will let you know whether "alright" is all right (sometimes) and even help you brush up on your spelling - though, as he notes, "The problem with mnemonic devices is that I can never remember them." And yes: "Only godless savages eschew the series comma." Chockful of advice, insider wisdom, and fun facts, this audiobook will prove to be invaluable to everyone who wants to shore up their writing skills, mandatory for people who spend their time editing and shaping other people’s prose, and - perhaps best of all - an utter treat for anyone who simply revels in language. Praise for Dreyer’s English "Playful, smart, self-conscious, and personal... One encounters wisdom and good sense on nearly every page of Dreyer’s English." (The Wall Street Journal) "Destined to become a classic." (The Millions) "Dreyer can help you...with tips on punctuation and spelling.... Even better: He’ll entertain you while he’s at it." (Newsday)
©2019 Benjamin Dreyer (P)2019 Random House Audio
Romancing the Beat: Story Structure for Romance Novels
Summary
What makes a romance novel a romance? How do you write a kissing book? Writing a well-structured romance isn't the same as writing any other genre - something the popular novel and screenwriting guides don't address. The romance arc is made up of its own story beats, and the external plot and theme need to be braided to the romance arc - not the other way around. Told in conversational (and often irreverent) prose, Romancing the Beat is like sitting down to coffee with romance editor and author Gwen Hayes while she explains story structure - the way she does with her clients, some of whom are regular inhabitants of the New York Times and USA Today best-seller lists. Romancing the Beat is a recipe, not a rigid system. The beats don't care if you plot or outline before you write, or if you pants your way through the drafts and do a "beat check" when you're revising. Pantsers and plotters are both welcome. So sit down, grab a cuppa, and let's talk about kissing books.
©2016 Gwen Hayes (P)2017 Gwen Hayes
The Elements of Style: 60 Minutes to Better Writing & Grammar
Summary
What you need to know about grammar and writing as taught widely in colleges, high schools, and grammar schools wherever American English is spoken! William Strunk, Professor at Cornell, wrote his famous Little Book on good grammar and writing to simplify the subject for students far and wide. His famous motto was, "Omit needless words." This unabridged version follows this motto and can be listened to in just 60 minutes! This is the original "Little Book," without add ons by later writers. This is a treasure to writers because it "omit(s)" needless words" and subject matter Professor Strunk did not believe was core to better writing. The brevity encourages relistening to deepen one's knowledge of the subject, the point made by Professor Strunk to his students: "the knowledge comes from rereading" or in our case, relistening. This unabridged version has 25 tracks: 1. Preface. 2. Introduction.. 3. Elementary Rules of Usage. 4. Form the Possessive Singular of Nouns with 's. 5. Three or More Terms with a Single Conjunction. 6. Enclose Parenthetic Expressions Between Commas. 7. Place a Comma before and or but. 8. Do Not Join Independent Clauses by a Comma. 9. Do Not Break Sentences in Two. 10. A Participial Phrase at the Beginning of a Sentence. 11. Divide Words at Line-ends. 12. Elementary Principles of Composition. 13. Make the Paragraph the Unit of Composition. 14. Begin a Paragraph with a Topic Sentence. 15. Use the Active Voice. 16. Put Statements in Positive Form. 17. Omit Needless Words. 18. Avoid a Succession of Loose Sentences. 19. Express Co-ordinate Ideas in a Similar Form. 20. Keep Related Words Together. 21. In Summaries Keep to One Tense. 22. Keep the Emphatic Word of a Sentence at the End. 23. A Few Matters of Form. 24. Words and Expressions Commonly Misused. 25. 56 Words Commonly Misspelled.
©2008 William Strunk (P)2008 Simply Magazine Inc.
The Writing Life
Summary
Through their many best-selling books, Natalie Goldberg and Julia Cameron have done nothing less than deepen the way millions of us experience the art and practice of writing and creativity. Now, with The Writing Life, Cameron and Goldberg join forces for the first time in this revealing dialogue that speaks to our common search for an everyday spirituality. Join these two creative giants as they explode cherished misconceptions about who should write and why they should do it, opening the door to the writer's world for everybody, not just a chosen few. Goldberg and Cameron take us inside their personal lives as committed writers and spiritual seekers and explore the following questions: How can writing best be practiced? What is the difference between therapeutic writing and writing for publication? How do we conquer the twin dragons of mood and time? Is it dangerous or inspirational to dabble in different arts, such as music, painting, and writing? How is addiction related to the writer's life? Edgy, surprising, and useful for its hard-won advice, The Writing Life is an invitation to a life-transforming act that requires no more than a pen, some paper, and the will to get started.
©2005 Julia Cameron and Natalie Goldberg (P)2005 Julia Cameron and Natalie Goldberg
Successful Self-Publishing: How to Self-Publish and Market Your Book
Summary
Do you want to successfully self-publish in eBook, print, or audiobook formats? There are thousands of new books being published every day, but many self-published books quickly sink to the bottom of the pile. Many authors are frustrated because there are so many options for self-publishing, and they don't know which one to choose or what will be best for their book. Others spend thousands of dollars to publish and end up brokenhearted with the result. But it doesn't have to be this way. I've spent the last seven years self-publishing best-selling fiction and nonfiction books and in 2011, I left my day job to become a full-time author entrepreneur. I've made lots of mistakes along the way, but through the process of self-publishing 17 books, I've learned the most effective way to publish and market your books. In this book, I'll share everything with you. The book includes: What you need to know before you self-publish Why self-publishing an eBook is a good idea How to format an eBook Exclusivity and going direct How to self-publish an eBook Why self-publish a print book Print-on-demand will change your life What you need to know before you print How to self-publish a print book What to do if you want help with the publishing process How to self-publish an audiobook After self-publishing How much does it cost to self-publish? How do you get paid when you self-publish? Book marketing principles How to market fiction How to market nonfiction Plus, links to more useful resources. If you're ready to successfully self-publish, then buy this book now.
©2019 Joanna Penn (P)2019 Joanna Penn