"What do you think of my fiction book writing?" the aspiring novelist extorted. 
"Darn," the editor hectored, in turn. "I can not publish your novel! It is full of what we in the business call 'really awful writing.'" 
"But how shall I absolve this dilemma? I have already read every tome available on how to write well and get published!" The writer tossed his head about, wildly.
"It might help," opined the blonde editor, helpfully, "to ponder how NOT to write a novel, so you might avoid the very thing!"
Many writing books offer sound advice on how to write well. This is not one of those books. On the contrary, this is a collection of terrible, awkward, and laughably unreadable excerpts that will teach you what to avoid—at all costs—if you ever want your novel published. 
In How Not to Write a Novel, authors Howard Mittelmark and Sandra Newman distill their 30 years combined experience in teaching, editing, writing, and reviewing fiction to bring you real advice from the other side of the query letter. Rather than telling you how or what to write, they identify the 200 most common mistakes unconsciously made by writers and teach you to recognize, avoid, and amend them. With hilarious "mis-examples" to demonstrate each manuscript-mangling error, they'll help you troubleshoot your beginnings and endings, bad guys, love interests, style, jokes, perspective, voice, and more. As funny as it is useful, this essential how-NOT-to guide will help you get your manuscript out of the slush pile and into the bookstore.

How Not to Write a Novel: 200 Classic Mistakes and How to Avoid Them--A Misstep-by-Misstep Guide

Literature & Fiction

Mittelmark, Howard

Newman, Sandra

History & Criticism

William Morrow Paperbacks

Ever been betrayed by a pretty cover and a pair of alluring blurbs? Rest assured: Read This Next will never hurt you. The 500 book recommendations contained within these pages have all been carefully vetted and approved by two literary professionals with discerning taste and witty wit. Arranged into delightful thematic lists, these suggestions cover the best of literature high and low, from page-turning classics to mind-expanding fluff; from murder mysteries and post-apocalyptic visions to historical fiction and bathroom books. Each book is paired with deeply insightful, deeply hilarious discussion questions, perfect for book groups or for readers who just enjoy talking to themselves. In a world where so many books disappoint robbing you of your time and money, promising more than they can deliverRead This Next is the wickedly smart, faithful, and attractive partner youve always dreamed would bring you true and lasting reading happiness.

Read This Next: 500 of the Best Books You'll Ever Read

United States

Harper-perennial

Peter Coulter, ignoring the whispered rumors about the house he lives in, finds history repeating itself when his sister, once popular and outgoing, becomes self-destructive, and his father is possessed by a sudden calling from God, which urges them to do horrible things. Original.

Age of Consent

Contemporary

Signet

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Books by Mittelmark, Howard