THE ICE PICK

Writing to Sell, by Scott Meredith. 4th ed. Cincinnati : Writer’s Digest Books, 1995. ISBN 0-89879-750-0. $17.99.

Along with advice on plotting, viewpoint, characterization, plausibility, and setting, this very comprehensive book includes a great deal of information about the business end of writing.

In the first and last parts of the book, Meredith discusses the "business facts," such as writing in different genres, the advantages of paperback versus hardback, types of material most in demand, manuscript length, whether you should write what you like or for the market, and whether you should submit a "portion-and-outline" or a complete manuscript. He explains what goes on in agents’ and editors’ offices, how often to submit a manuscript before giving up, how to tell when an editor’s comment is an invitation for revision, the ins and outs of contracts, etc., as well as things like how to avoid writing slumps.

You may not agree with Meredith’s dislike of objective viewpoint, flashbacks, and the use of dialogue to begin a story, but the man knew what sold to editors and to the public. At least his arguments should provoke you into questioning what you are doing and whether that is the best way to present your story.

If you have difficulty getting your characters in and out of scenes, bridging time gaps, or changing point of view, Meredith’s chapter on transitions is excellent, showing how to accomplish these things smoothly and economically.

His explanations of various kinds of endings and their advantages and disadvantages is also excellent, and well worth study. You may even discover a kind of ending you hadn’t thought of before. And as they say, your book’s ending is often what sells your next book.

Some of what Meredith says runs counter to the "prevailing wisdom." For example, he disagrees with the generally held view that you should set aside your manuscript for a "cooling off period," believing it difficult to get back "inside" the story, and that it is better to get the thing finished and done with so you can go on with another project. If you have found this to be true for yourself, you may want to try his way next time.

As he points out in his summary, no matter how hard we work, some of the ingredients in our stories may not be as good as they might be, but few editors judge a book by its individual components. "It’s the total effect, the total reaction, given by a book that usually determines its acceptance or rejection.... Exact perfection is for machines."

The legendary literary agent, Scott Meredith, died in 1993, but this updated edition of the book he first published in 1950 is still a classic work.

{Published in GPIC, the Oklahoma Science Fiction Writers Newsletter, Feb. 2000.}