Reviews (17)

Good Resource for All
My publisher recommended this book as I prepared to write my second non-fiction book.I was looking for guidelines for proposal writing, and was not disappointed.I found something helpful in each of the ten proposals the Hermans chose to illustrate their guidelines. The list of elements that need to be included in any proposal, no matter the genre, convinced me I'd do well to follow their advice.I recommend this book for new authors looking for help getting their foot in a publisher's door.

Success Breeds Success
Many unpublished authors have never seen a successful book proposal that landed a book contract. In simple, straight-forward language, Jeff Herman and Deborah Herman provide would-be writers with TEN different examples of book proposals which sold--combined with their analysis of why they sold.
A Perfect Resource for Anyone Writing a Nonfiction Proposal
I recommend this book to anyone who tells me they need help with a nonfiction proposal.Literally.I can't think of a better resource on the market in terms of giving concrete examples and explaining what a proposal should accomplish, and how precisely it should be organized.A MUST for anyone looking to nail down a nonfiction proposal! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Authors and publishers    2. Authorship    3. Book proposals    4. Business Communication - General    5. Composition & Creative Writing - General    6. Language    7. Language Arts & Disciplines    8. Language Arts / Linguistics / Literacy    9. Reference / Yearbooks & Annuals    10. Writing & editing guides   

Subjects:  1. Archival resources    2. Bibliographies & Indexes    3. Bibliography    4. Church history    5. Evangelicalism    6. Library resources    7. Protestantism    8. Reference    9. Religion    10. United States    11. Protestantism & Protestant Churches   

Reviews (7)

Hard To Read Wealth of Children's Litature Course
If you plan to teach a children's literature course, then this book possesses nearly all of the information, history, and important milestones that you need...if you can get by the stilted language.
Reads like telephone book!
This is by far the most boring text book I have ever read. I can't stomach it. It reads like one long boring bibliography. There are so many lists of children's books and their authors that any meaningful information gets lost. The authors of this book overload you with too much information and research that they are obviously very proud of but which puts a strain on your mind. I wanted to learn about the history of children's literature but I just couldn't get past the many, many, many list of children's books that litter the text. I just think that the lists should have been at the end of each chapter for those want to know that stuff. For those who just want the facts, like me, the book is useless. But that's my opinion.

Thanks!
Book I great.Learned a lot from it for my literacy class.I was a little steep on the money side, but a good investment. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Bibliographies & Indexes    2. Books & Reading    3. Books and reading    4. Children    5. Children's Literature - General    6. Children's literature    7. History and criticism    8. Juvenile Literature    9. Literary Criticism    10. Literature - Classics / Criticism    11. Reading Education (General)    12. Teaching Methods & Materials - Reading    13. United States    14. Literary Criticism & Collections / General    15. Literary studies: general   

Subjects:  1. 1945-1989    2. American Journalism    3. Essays    4. Foreign relations    5. History & Theory - General    6. Journalism    7. Language    8. Language Arts & Disciplines    9. Politics / Current Events    10. Politics and government    11. U.S. Political History    12. United States    13. United States - 20th Century    14. World politics    15. POLITICS & GOVERNMENT    16. Postwar period, 1945 to c 2000    17. Serials, periodicals, abstracts, indexes    18. USA   

Editorial Review

The difference between Read more

Reviews (84)

Self-Edit Self-Help
This is a good book for the writer that wants a little help with self-editing, who needs to have an idea of what to look for in his/her own writing.However, I have to say that some of the examples he gives look like writing from books I have read and others look like good ideas that a little polishing could make an award winning book.(Although I must admit that, as a reader, I generally don't care much for award winning books!)At any rate, the ideas expounded by the author are good.

Good guide for your self-edit
From the title and cover description, this book seemed like it would be a good resource for helping me attack the self-edit of my second novel, and it was.
Excellent Resource!
Packed full of one man's experience that (hopefully!) will take your manuscript out of the dreaded slush pile and to the shelves of published beauties! It's great to benefit from Noah's time in the industry. He has a few technical hints but it's mostly a book that shows you how to not sound like, well, slush. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Authorship    2. Language Arts / Linguistics / Literacy    3. Openings (Rhetoric)    4. Personal & Practical Guides    5. Reference    6. Rhetoric    7. Writing Skills    8. Language Arts & Disciplines / Authorship    9. Writing & editing guides   

Editorial Review

This is the definitive text for questions of manuscript protocol, copyediting, style, grammar, and usage. For those who find Read more

Reviews (21)

Nearly indispensable, yet thirty years old!
Somebody who had read my review of Bryan A Garner's Modern American Usage, 2nd ed. (2003)--IMHO, the preeminent book on usage, per se--wrote me the other day asking about a good book on typographical style.I recommended Words into Type which I have used for many years.But as I prepared to write a review, I was amazed to learn that a new edition of this outstanding reference work is lacking.
Recommended by the authorities
I recently posed a question to "The Chicago Manual of Style" Web site and received a very quick response along with the recommendation that my future grammar questions could best be answered by consulting "Words Into Type." That's the only recommendation I needed to convince me to buy a copy.

Great book in need of an update
This is a great style guide; however, it hasn't been updated to include technology and practice for even the late twentieth century!When talking computer technology, Words into Type talks about cathode ray tubes, for crying out loud.Having said all that, it is in many cases, much more user-friendly than the Chicago Manual of Style.Where Chicago can be vague or indecisive, Words is most helpful.Apart from the fact that Words really needs to be updated, it's an invaluable tool.Since it hasn't been updated since 1974, you'd be better offbuying a used copy than plunking down good dough for a text that's 30 years old. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Authorship    2. Handbooks, manuals, etc    3. Printing    4. Reference    5. Style manuals    6. Writing Skills    7. Writing & editing guides    8. Editing   

Subjects:  1. Authorship    2. Journalism    3. Journalistic Writing    4. Language    5. Language Arts & Disciplines    6. Reference    7. Writing Skills    8. Reference / Writing Skills   

Editorial Review

What can we say? This weighty tome is the essential reference for all who work with words--writers, editors, proofreaders, indexers, copywriters, designers, publishers, and students. Discover who Ibid is, how to deftly avoid the split infinitive, and how to format your manuscripts to impress any professor or editor (no, putting it in a blue plastic folder is just not enough). ... Read more

Reviews (35)

Prescriptionist McKinnon is off base

A Cancer upon American Letters
Knowing that I go against the current strain of popular thought, I am writing to urge people not to buy this error-laden work of fools.The Chicago Manual of Style has done more to devalue American writing than anything other than the educational cutbacks initiated in the early 80's by the Reagan administration.Many of the "rules" expounded in the Chicago Manual of Style are in direct contradiction to accepted convention; to name just two examples, the placement of a serial comma before the "and" and the addition of an "s" following the apostrophe in a possessive already ending in "s." Putting the Exceptions Where they Belong
As a freelance editor and typesetter, I find myself using CHICAGO nearly every day. At first, I thought it was unnecessarily thick and dense, but as I compared it to other style manuals, I found CHICAGO to be more comprehensive, thorough, and well-organized than others.Read more

Subjects:  1. Authorship    2. Composition & Creative Writing - Academic    3. Composition & Creative Writing - General    4. Editing    5. Handbooks, manuals, etc    6. Language    7. Language Arts & Disciplines    8. Printing    9. Publishers and publishing    10. Publishing Guides    11. Reference    12. Style manuals    13. Writing Skills    14. Printing & reprographic technology    15. Reference / Writing Skills    16. Reference works    17. Writing & editing guides   

Subjects:  1. Antiques & Collectibles    2. Antiques/Collectibles    3. Art    4. Bibliography    5. Collectibles    6. History    7. Sports & Recreation    8. Surfboards    9. Surfing    10. Water Sports    11. Antiques & Collectables    12. Surfing, windsurfing, water skiing   

Reviews (5)

Great tool to help us raise our children
The ADHD book of list is a great guide to discovering the facts about ADHD and what can be done to work with a child who has been diagnosed with it and help him or her to be successful in life. It is appropriate for parents, counselors, educators and an community member who comes in contact with children and adults with this disorder.

this book is HUGE!
I didn't expect this book to be so huge...in size and also in the amount of info.i just received this book today and have skimmed over most of the info in it. i have already found several pages that i will photocopy and give to my child's teacher. the way that the information is presented is easy to follow, easy to locate, and easy to understand. well worth the money and time spent reading it from cover to cover.

Recommended by Psychologist
If you buy only one book on ADD, make it this one.Read more

Subjects:  1. Attention-deficit-disordered c    2. Attention-deficit-disordered children    3. Cognition Disorders    4. Education    5. Education Of Exceptional Children    6. Family / Parenting / Childbirth    7. Handbooks, manuals, etc    8. Hyperactive children    9. Parenting - Hyperactivity    10. Psychopathology - General    11. Special Education - General    12. Special Education - Socially Handicapped    13. United States    14. Bibliographies, catalogues, discographies    15. Education / Special Education / General    16. Teaching of children with emotional & behavioural difficulties   

Reviews (9)

Not very useful
I did not find this book to be very useful. For one thing, it seems to assume that if you're going to publish a magaine you had better have a lot of money. I didn't have a lot of money, so this book started out by making me feel like I ought to throw my idea away. Second, it has a lot of information about management (how to make business decisions, budgeting, strategy, subscribers are a leaking bucket, blah blah) but I was already past that. I just wanted to know how to get started. Nothing truly practical here. If you're just thinking about starting a magazine, this book gives a decent overview of how to think about and plan your idea. If you're already in the process of putting together your magazine, you need something different. I recommend "How Not to Start a Magazine" by B. Ann Bell.

Great Guide
I recommend this book to an individual with no prior magazine publishing experience or know-how.

Who is this Patrick Brady?
I read this book and I can see that most other reviewers agree with me that the book's pretty good.It's not perfect, but what is?Reviewer Patrick Brady panned the book, however.I'd like to know Patrick Brady's credentials.He says he's published a magazine.Which magazine?Is it on newsstands? ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Entrepreneurship    2. Journalism    3. Language    4. Language Arts & Disciplines    5. New Business Enterprises    6. Newsletters    7. Periodicals    8. Publishing    9. Publishing (General)    10. Small Business/Entrepreneurship    11. Strategic Planning    12. United States   

Reviews (1)

The inkologist`s bible !
A broad yet relatively complete technical foray into the specialized domain of printing inks.For inkies I find this book is most useful to shore up on ink types you are not most familiar with.Not too technical.A must for those involved in formulating inks. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Counseling - Vocational Guidance    3. Engineering - Chemical & Biochemical    4. Paint Chemistry And Technology    5. Printing ink    6. Publishing    7. Techniques - Painting    8. Techniques - Pen & Ink Drawing    9. Technology & Industrial Arts    10. EU (European Union)    11. Industrial / Commercial Art & Design    12. Language Arts & Disciplines / Publishing    13. Pigments, dyestuffs & paint technology    14. USA    15. United Kingdom, Great Britain   

Reviews (36)

Must Have For Any Writer
While the market's themselves don't change much from one year to another, the Writer's Market is filled with great information from writing tips to new markets.Anyone who is even thinking of becoming a writer should invest it this book.

A must-have for every writer
No writer's going to make a penny unless he knows where to submit his work.The Writer's Market is a absolute essential on every working writer's bookshelf, and it's highly recommended that writers update their version each year when the new edition comes out, because the market is always changing.

should have bought it earlier
with all the scam and vanity presses on the internet, any poor or new author is going to be lead to believe they can be published by any book publishing site they google, that is why this book is so important for any new author wanting to get published.it not only shows examples of what a bad query looks like but also a good one, which i learned a little too late that all my failed attempts at getting published was because i was acting the same as the person who did the bad example of a query letter.the only drawback with this is that if you don't think you can get published on your own, there's only 50 listed agents in this book which makes it seem i'll have to save up more money and buy the literary agents guide book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Authorship    2. Canada    3. Composition & Creative Writing - General    4. Directories    5. General    6. Handbooks, manuals, etc    7. Language    8. Language Arts & Disciplines    9. Language Arts / Linguistics / Literacy    10. Publishers and publishing    11. Publishing    12. Reference    13. United States    14. English    15. Literary & Linguistic Reference Works    16. Publishing industry    17. Reference works   

Reviews (8)

Essential reference book for the serious collector.
I have owned books by Joel Whitburn for over two decades now.As an avid record collector and someone who is extremely interested in the history of popular music I cannot imagine life without them.Of all of Whitburns books,this is perhaps my very favorite.This book is unique among the Whitburn offerings in that it begins with a seven page "Chronology of Milestones in Popular Music/Recording History 1877-1954."It is a fascinating look at the history of the recording industry beginning with Thomas Edisons invention of the phonograph. You will also learn about the history of the Billboard music charts as well as the beginnings of two of America's most venerable record labels Columbia and Victor. If you're interested in pre-Elvis music, this helps a lot
Music charts never tell the whole story as anybody who has followed pop charts of any era will know. They serve as an approximate guide to what music was fashionable at the time. A Musical Journey Through The Past
I purchased this book through Mr.Whitburn's Record Research company in 1993-Right away,I was awestruck at the amount of artists & songs that were listed-I was happy to see that the songs that helped to launch the rock era were included,such as "Sh-Boom",& "Shake,Rattle,& Roll"-One reviewer indicated that this book should be updated,as far as listing the years when these artists died-I'm sure that Joel Whitburn would find that to be quite time consuming-Anyway,this book is terrific. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Discography & Buyer's Guides    2. Genres & Styles - Pop Vocal    3. Music    4. Music/Songbooks    5. Reference    6. 20th century    7. Music / Reference    8. Reference works    9. Rock & pop    10. c 1800 to c 1900   

Reviews (42)

I'm on my third copy
Joel Whitburn's Top 40 books are an absolute necessity to anyone who enjoys popular music, but beware, they're just the tip of the iceberg.I started out with an early 80's copy, which I reduced to confetti.A second copy was eventually given to a friend, and the third copy serves me well to this day.The problem comes when you realize that a lot of the songs you've been searching for can only be found in the Billboard Hot 100 chart book or the Bubbling Under The Hot 100 book.Pretty soon you find yourself with your own music library, which is just what happened to me.This is one of those books that you can spend a day lost in, bouncing from one song to another and completely absorbed in the journey.Good times.

And the Girl Groups Too!
What was the first chart hit for the Coasters?What was the last hit by the Byrds?What was the Mystics only hit?How many hits did Shelley Fabares produce-and which star of M*A*S*H* was her second husband?And speaking of Girl Groups, how many chart makers did Arlene Smith and the Chantels have? - (Answers below). This reviewer first became aware of Mr. Whitburn's compiling skills via his wonderful and highly recommended "Top 40 Country" Hits".This volume is the perfect companion.By necessity, it is considerably heftier because it covers a far broader range of music. So much is here: Rock N' Roll, Pop, Easy Listening, Doo-Wop, Motown, the British Invasion, crossover Country hits and yes indeed-Girl Groups.Trivia mavens will delight in the 844 pages, one question will quickly lead to another: Just as in the Country version, Whitburn supplies an alphabetical listing of all versions of Billboard songs, and a list of the Top 100 Singles from 1955 on as measured by weeks on the charts.There is a listing of the top artists in those decades' most charted singles and most Top 10 singles.Plus so much more! The answers from the teasers above are: "Searchin'" (1957); "My Back Pages" (1967); "Hushabye" (1959); and 2 -"Johnny Angel" and "Johnny Loves Me" (1962).Shelley married B.J./ Captain Hunnicut, who is Mike Farrell in real life. Arlene, Sonia, Rene, Jackie and Lois had 4 chart makers from `58-'61 but appeared for many years at oldies/Doo -Wop concerts.Speaking of the preceding groups, this reader learned that the Byrds were American (!) and that "Now That Summer's Here" did not make the charts for Phil Cracolici and the Mystics.(It's bad form to mention a Doo-Wop group without listing the lead singer!).This reviewer interests are obviously from the `50s and `60s, but the `70s, `80s and `90s are well represented too.This readers' copy became quickly well worn and yours will too. A closing warning: If you don't know what a Girl Group is, then you are deep in the Dog House! Shirley, Ronni, Judy, Brenda, and Barbara, want to have a serious talk with you.

Good chart info, but watered down by rap & hip-hop
This is a good book if you don't have one of his previous editions. If you do, and you despise hip hop as much as I do, don't waste your money, or get an earlier version.
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Subjects:  1. Discography    2. Genres & Styles - Pop Vocal    3. Music    4. Music/Songbooks    5. Popular music    6. Reference    7. Reference - Guides & Reviews    8. Statistics    9. United States    10. Bibliographies, catalogues, discographies    11. Contemporary popular music   

Subjects:  1. 1809-1882    2. Biology (General)    3. Catalogs    4. Correspondence    5. Darwin, Charles,    6. General    7. Great Britain    8. Life Sciences - Biology - General    9. Life Sciences - Evolution    10. Naturalists    11. Science    12. Science/Mathematics    13. Darwin, Charles    14. Darwin, Charles,--1809-1882--Correspondence--Catalogs    15. Evolution    16. History of science    17. Science / Evolution    18. c 1800 to c 1900   

Subjects:  1. Bibliography    2. Caribbean & West Indies - General    3. Caribbean Area - History    4. Dictionaries    5. History    6. History - General History    7. History: World    8. Reference    9. Trinidad and Tobago    10. American history    11. Reference works    12. Social Science / Reference    13. Trinidad & Tobago   

Reviews (16)

Predictable and boring
Why waste your time and money?Based on this book's standards, just buy anything by a British artist or on a British label and you are sure to have a complete three-star CD collection.What source are you left with?Listen to a lot of versions of a given work(for example in public libraries)and decide what kind of approach you like.You might find out that your tastes are not those of elder conservative British gentlemen.

Truly, the very best guide available.
Considered by many as a "bible" for those interested in collecting the best classical music, the Penguin Guide is the most comprehensive, objective guide in this difficult and discriminating world.It avoids the prejudices of other guides and presents clear arguments to support its claims to the ranking of the various recordings according to the merits of musical interpretation, quality of playing and recording.The simple evaluation system, based on one to three stars, readily informs the reader about the characteristics of each recording.On the other hand, the rosette award almost invariably calls the reader's attention to exceptional recordings which provide great satisfaction in many ways to the listener.
Still the best at what it does but might be slipping
Is the Penguin Guide becoming an anachronism that relies too heavily on its timeworn recommendations and lets them get in the way of better new recordings? This is the first question I asked when I purchased the newest guide (apparently written in 2005 and dated 2005-06) and couldn't find any of the newer CDs I had purchased that surely deserve some commendation herein (the new Shostakovich symphony set led by Kitaenko on the Capriccio label being the most obvious.)
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Subjects:  1. Compact discs    2. DVD-Audio discs    3. Discographies    4. Discography    5. Discography & Buyer's Guides    6. Music    7. Music/Songbooks    8. Reference    9. Reference - Guides & Reviews    10. Reviews    11. Bibliographies, catalogues, discographies    12. Contemporary popular music    13. Music / Reference   

Reviews (16)

Reasonable principles
I found his metaphors and principles about fire, tinder, flame-fanning, etc. reasonable.I particularly appreciated his insistence on honesty and integrity (vs. puffery) in marketing.I am one of the many people who resent being mass-marketed to.I will *avoid* companies (and their products) that subject me to advertising -- the opposite of the effect intended.I like to reward businesses that have *not* polluted my life with advertising.
Powerful Marketing Information for Any Writer
As a part of the marketing department at Zondervan Publishing House, Greg Stielstra has been involved in marketing more than 750 different books including twenty #1 bestsellers and eight books which sold more than a million copies. Now Stielstra is the Vice President of Marketing for Christian Books at Thomas Nelson Publishers. PyroMarketing gives the history of mass marketing and points out the current lack of effectiveness with such techniques.
It was much too generalized
I wanted to like this book...the first chapter or two makes sense...but it ended there. Too much story telling, too many references to fire, and too many connections to The Purpose Driven Life and The Passion of the Christ. It took me one day to skim through it looking for relevant material. I put it up for sale immediately.
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Subjects:  1. Book Industry And Trade    2. Business & Economics    3. Business / Economics / Finance    4. Business/Economics    5. Christianity - Christian Life - Business    6. Marketing    7. Marketing - General    8. Nonprofit Organizations & Charities    9. Publishing    10. Selling    11. Business & Economics / Marketing / General    12. Sales & marketing   

Reviews (13)

You will love it too
This is the guide that everyone recommended to me, and I'm so grateful they did. From the opening chapter, I immediately liked and trusted the author--she's an award winning fiction writer and poet who has taught at Breadloaf and many universities and who also has an insider's perspective on the publishing industry. But more impressive than her credentials is the guidebook itself. In a very clear, easy-to-read style she presents an honest, realistic and objective perspective on the world of graduate Creative Writing Programs. She doesn't push you in any one direction and she doesn't even try to convince you that an MFA is the best path to take. I felt one hundred percentbetter about my decision to go back to school after reading this book and considerably less nervous about the daunting task of putting together an application. I wish there was a way I could give this book even more than five stars. I loved it!

My new favorite book!
I borrowed this book from my friend at the beginning of the summer and haven't given it back yet.Everything is well researched and accurate and the tone is friendly, but candid. She doesn't beat around the bush. She tells you excatly why certain programs have the best reputations, but points out the advantages of going to some of the other "less prestigious" or less "high profile" programs too. She's all about helping you find the program that fits you best.I STRONGLY recommend this book to anyone who's applying to graduate school in creative writing next year.You won't regret buying it.

ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL
This is the best purchase I made all summer. Two people from my writers group recommended it to me and I have been recommending it to everyone I know who is either in an M.F.A. Program or applying next year. The title makes it seem like it's only for people who are thinking about applying to graduate school, but it's equally valuable for people who are there now or even people who have graduated. I will probably use this guide as a resource for the next ten years of my life. The information on writing colonies and residencies alone is worth the money. Whether you're a poet, fiction writer, or non-fiction writer, you'll wonder how you ever got along without it. An essential guide. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Authorship    2. Creative Writing    3. Directories    4. Graduate Departments And Schools    5. Graduate School Guides - General    6. Language    7. Language Arts & Disciplines    8. Reference    9. Study and teaching    10. Writing Skills    11. Reference / Writing Skills