The Bestseller Code
Anatomy of the Blockbuster Novel
Jodie Archer & Matthew L. Jockers
First annotation on .
3 quotes
Chapter 2
- It should be fair to say, then, that the “what” of a book is considered paramount. If you recommend a book to a friend or if you are a writer yourself and you mention your work, the first question you’ll be asked is likely going to be, “What is it about?” It is rarely—unless you are a biographer—who is it about, or where is it about, or when is it about. An interest in subject is what comes first. Which begs the question, what is the killer topic?Sep 30 2024 6:30PM
- In On Writing—one of the most popular recent books by a genre author about the craft of writing—Stephen King suggests that aspiring novelists take a subject they know and then blend in “personal knowledge of life, friends, relationships, sex and work. Especially work. People love to read about work. God knows why but they do.” It’s a curious observation about work, telling aboutSep 30 2024 6:31PM
- The linguist John Rupert Firth noted in 1957 that the way to understand a word is by looking at the company it keeps.Sep 30 2024 6:38PM