With NaNoWriMo looming ever nearer, I would like to hear your best tips, tricks, habits, and techniques for staying chained to the keyboard. [more inside]
posted by BitterOldPunk on Oct 22, 2009 - 26 answers

Which author comes closest to Cormac McCarthy? [more inside]
posted by Bacillus on Oct 21, 2009 - 19 answers

I just joined a book club and our first meeting is this weekend. The club has existed for over a year, so I'm the newbie. One of our "assignments" is to bring the name of an author that has published 4 or more books we'd like the group to read. Since I only marginally know one of these women, I'm going into this blindly. So what do you say, hive mind, any suggestions? [more inside]
posted by fyrebelley on Oct 9, 2009 - 44 answers

I need a book recommendation for my girlfriend; her favourite book is Yann Martel's "Life of Pi". Any ideas? [more inside]
posted by mizike on Oct 7, 2009 - 28 answers

Book festivals? National Book Festival? What to expect? [more inside]
posted by notcomputersavvy06 on Sep 25, 2009 - 4 answers

I'm trying to remember a poem I read about a man's character. Or was it about leadership? [more inside]
posted by BirdD0g on Sep 11, 2009 - 3 answers

I have savings and, soon, no work. I want to do something interesting, write about it, and publish - ideally to kick-start a writing career. How should I go about these 3 things? [more inside]
posted by jeatsy on Sep 8, 2009 - 14 answers

I'm looking for a book I read in year 6 (1995), and I loved, but can't remember much about it. I think it was "world of O", or "secret of O", or something along those lines, but searches on that don't come up with hits on Google or Amazon. I remember that on the cover, the O had a sinuous line through it (like the yin/yang symbol), and there was a bit where the guy was given special gloves and socks that allowed him to cling on to a sheer cliff face (might have been a deep hole instead, not sure). Does anyone recognise this book? Help appreciated :)
posted by Anon Ymous on Sep 1, 2009 - 5 answers

Are authors very private about who they use for a literary agent? [more inside]
posted by bodgy on Aug 7, 2009 - 11 answers

Is there such thing as an online tool to compare two pieces of text and determine if they were written by the same author? [more inside]
posted by cell divide on Aug 4, 2009 - 9 answers

Can you help me remember the name of a book I read 15 years ago which had a character repeatedly using the catchphrase "What the fuck, it's only a buck" when wasting money? [more inside]
posted by arniec on Jun 23, 2009 - 3 answers

I have put together a book using some old notes that a relative left for me over the years that I scanned as jpegs. In some of them the handwriting is bad so I need to put a translation, and some of them need an explanation to set the scene. I've decided to self-publish them. Blurb is very intuitive but lacks the sales options that Lulu offers. Whereas, Lulu makes it very difficult for what I'm looking to do because it's sort of a hybrid book. Any advice or recommendations would be appreciated.
posted by adfeb on Jun 9, 2009 - 3 answers

"Millions long for immortality who don't know what to do with themselves on a rainy Sunday afternoon." What's the original source for this quote? [more inside]
posted by joe lisboa on Apr 12, 2009 - 5 answers

I'm looking for the title and author of a sci-fi short story about a man who dies creating a rogue black hole, which then falls in love with the man's wife. [more inside]
posted by pointless_incessant_barking on Mar 24, 2009 - 11 answers

I need a recommendation for an instructional book on putting together a memoir. I already have a good portion of it written. The area I need help with is what to do with the various experiences that I've written about. Right now it's a bunch of stories with a central theme. I need to pull it together and make it a book in other words.
posted by adfeb on Mar 1, 2009 - 2 answers

I need help finding contact information for author Matthew Stover. My Google-fu has failed...is your Shaolin google-fu better than my Dragon Claw? [more inside]
posted by arniec on Jan 29, 2009 - 7 answers

A male writer wrote about his appreciation of "Little Things", all the small and entrancingly feminine knickknacks and accouterments women have that men do not. Things he had no idea what to do with, like, perhaps, an eyelash curler. Do you know who this is? I am trying to find the author and source.
posted by Tufa on Jan 13, 2009 - 8 answers

Old sci-fi stumpers. Can you identify the writer/story? [more inside] [more inside]
posted by darkpony on Jan 12, 2009 - 8 answers

Looking for examples in literature where the author had to rely on his/her editor rather heavily. I'm thinking of instances where the authors were capable of spinning a good yarn, yet they had trouble with grammar, structure, punctuation, etc. [more inside]
posted by captainsohler on Dec 29, 2008 - 23 answers

ID That Story: novel (novella? short story?) in which a man is standing in line. Pretty much the entire story is his experience while waiting in line. It's a future/dystopia story. The man is waiting in line to make a complaint. He falls in love with the girl in front of him, though she's not allowed to turn and look at him. It's a parable about overpopulation. It was probably written in the 60s or 70s. That's all I remember.
posted by grumblebee on Nov 20, 2008 - 8 answers

Are there any reasonably well-known (or even famous) writers who are truly multi-genre? [more inside]
posted by wackybrit on Nov 10, 2008 - 54 answers

Looking for an adventurer and author who was noted for confronting specific fears and paying people to ensure he had no option but to follow through. [more inside]
posted by kaydo on Oct 19, 2008 - 2 answers

How much do authors get paid for their published books? Specifics inside. [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Oct 6, 2008 - 13 answers

I've been asked to contribute to a collection of op-ed/essays/creative nonfiction type stories, to be published together as a book. I have no idea how this stuff works, but I know the release form says I won't get paid. Anybody have any experience with this kind of thing? Is this a normal clause for a first-time author who barely even counts as an author? [more inside]
posted by ultraultraboomerang on Sep 29, 2008 - 6 answers

Tété-Michel Kpomassie: where is he now? Whatever happened to him? I can't find other books by him after An African in Greenland; I've read he eventually received French citizenship and lives there now - but what does he do? He must have written other books or articles, right? Anyone know?
posted by luriete on Sep 3, 2008 - 3 answers

Up for serious discussion: What are the ethics of writing under a pseudonym? [more inside]
posted by Toto_tot on Aug 28, 2008 - 16 answers

Years ago I saw a website that displayed authors' names in a rotatable 3D space, with genre, style, and theme indicated by proximity. [more inside]
posted by BitterOldPunk on Aug 27, 2008 - 4 answers

Help me identify the author of this quote: "It is not hatred that is wrong; it is hating the wrong thing that is wrong. It is not anger that is wrong; it is being angry at the wrong thing that is wrong. Tell me your hatred and I'll tell you your character." I've been stumped by someone in my house. :) Thanks!
posted by Delfena on Aug 3, 2008 - 3 answers

My friend has her first novel coming out soon, and I want to get her a neat present to celebrate her major-publisher, first-time author status. Any suggestions? [more inside]
posted by melodykramer on Jul 10, 2008 - 18 answers

The rights to my ~400 page pop/technical book reverted to me when the publisher went bankrupt. How can I best monetize the second edition? [more inside]
posted by lothar on Jun 11, 2008 - 4 answers

An agent is interested in my book but says that they only have an "optional" contract- authors can sign it or not, given their preference. Should I give them my book? [more inside]
posted by arnicae on Apr 13, 2008 - 15 answers

I've been reading 'New Kings of Nonfiction' by Ira Glass and love it. I want to read more articles and books in this vein. [more inside]
posted by reenum on Feb 27, 2008 - 7 answers

To this day, what do we know about Dimitri Nabokov (Vladimir Nabokov's son) decision to burn his father'as last book : Laura ? [more inside]
posted by Jireel on Feb 19, 2008 - 9 answers

I'm planning to co-author a book with a semi-famous person who wants to tell her own story, but needs help with the writing part. My biggest question is about money - how should we split it? It's her story, but I'll be doing most of the writing. Yet we are attempting to treat this as a real collaboration where we edit together, pass drafts back and forth, and so forth. Any sense of what percentage is appropriate for each of us? Also, should I join the Writers Union to get help with this type of question? I'd like to join on principal but I'm your classic broke writer, so the dues feel prohibitive. Thanks!
posted by anonymous on Dec 10, 2007 - 3 answers

What playwrights produced bodies of work rife with monologue material? [more inside]
posted by GPF on Dec 4, 2007 - 18 answers

How can I get B-List Celebrities to give me a quote for the back of my book? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Aug 22, 2007 - 15 answers

I have a small book coming out in a few months, and will most likely be asked to sign a number of them for family, friends, complete strangers. However, my signature is a indiscernible squiggle. Should I practice a special signature for the book, or maybe buy a small embosser to use with the signature? Any examples of out of the ordinary author signatures people have are welcome. [more inside]
posted by inthe80s on Aug 8, 2007 - 20 answers

How do you get a book published by a (semi) major publisher as a first time author? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Jul 8, 2007 - 13 answers

I'm a writer who has been contributing free works of fiction (novellas, short stories) to the Web for the past five years. I've enjoyed sparks of brief net popularity and these glimmers show that what I put out there is definitely appreciated by a certain faction of the reading population. Is there something better I can do to get my name and work out there than waiting around to get Slashdotted again? [more inside]
posted by CheeseburgerBrown on Jun 21, 2007 - 15 answers

Should I follow in the footsteps of Douglas Adams? [more inside]
posted by humblepigeon on Jun 21, 2007 - 18 answers

How much should I charge to author a textbook for a Taiwanese company? A Taiwanese publishing company has asked me to author a short English textbook (the final edit should have around 35,000 words). I have a good amount of experience with ESL (teaching, creating new material, worked on multi-media stuff, etc) and I'm doing my PhD in linguistics now - but I'm no expert. They've asked me tell them how much I'd like to earn. What is a fair price for this? (Either per word or for the entire project.) Should my first offer be a bit higher than what I expect, or is that sleazy somehow? I'd appreciate any advice - Thanks!
posted by mateuslee on Jun 9, 2007 - 8 answers

I'm looking for examples of beautiful "author's profile" pages. I'm building a community blog and I want to create good author's profile pages that will really make the authors look good. What websites/publications have good formats and designs I can use as examples? [more inside]
posted by m2002 on Feb 23, 2007 - 3 answers

Should I bother with a publisher? How much do nonfiction authors make off a book deal these days? [more inside]
posted by antipasta_explosion on Feb 12, 2007 - 8 answers

Unprofessional behavior and bad PR in the book world... am I better off taking my book back from this publisher or sucking up their bad behavior and just being done with it? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Feb 12, 2007 - 9 answers

Help me find the (prolific, I think) short story writer I read in high school! Fuzzy, mixed up memories inside. [more inside]
posted by !Jim on Jan 5, 2007 - 9 answers

How can I find the agent of a particular author? [more inside]
posted by Bookhouse on Nov 28, 2006 - 5 answers

In the 80s, I read a collection of books by a gentleman who was a cousin of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. His last name was not Bouvier. The books were all set in the High Society 1920s-50s in New England/New York. The other major part that I remember is that the Brownstone style of housing was utilized extensively. One book had a picture of a house on the cover. [more inside]
posted by TauLepton on Nov 1, 2006 - 3 answers

'The Flâneur': What fascinating titbits can you add to my knowledge about this concept? Art, history, philosophy and literary theory links all welcome. [more inside]
posted by 0bvious on Oct 25, 2006 - 22 answers

Author seeks London venue for Neutral Milk Hotel reading in November. Can you help? [more inside]
posted by Scram on Oct 2, 2006 - 18 answers

I have found a ton of information both here and other places about the outline of a NOVEL, but not other types of books. What would be the general structure of an outline for a book that is: 1/3 history, 1/3 case-study/interviews/current applications, 1/3 how-to and NOT a novel. Useless information included inside :-) [more inside]
posted by sandra_s on Aug 15, 2006 - 4 answers