Titled
THANKS, BUT THIS ISN’T FOR US: A (Sort of) Compassionate Guide to Why Your Writing is Being Rejected, the book offers sassy and straightforward instruction from Jessica Page Morrell, a Portland-based veteran writing coach and developmental editor who has been affectionately dubbed the “Angel of Death” by her students, thanks to her no-nonsense approach. In
THANKS, BUT…, Morrell delivers a crack-down on lousy writing and offers a step-by-step guide to leaving the slush pile for good.
The book covers First Impressions: how to get an agent or editor past page one; Underpinnings: story structure basics and not-so-basics; Strip Tease: building suspense with confidence, one layer at a time; and Bling-Bling: avoiding overwriting and mastering subtlety. Morrell says there’s a reason that editors keep stock rejection letters on hand. Less than one percent of manuscript submissions are actually accepted, which is bad news for aspiring writers.
THANKS BUT... (Tarcher/Penguin paperback, release date August 20), is a witty, practical guide that reveals the essentials of good fiction and memoir writing, shows writers what they're doing wrong and how to stop it. A developmental editor and writing instructor, Morrell gives writers a blunt but well-meaning wake-up call to what’s not working within the story and what stylistic adjustments can save it. Featuring helpful tools such as examples, checklists, exercises and takeaway tips, plus a useful glossary of literary terms, Morrell's book takes a step-by-step approach to scrutinize and refine each element of a literary work and helps writers turn an elusive dream into a solid book deal. Her book will be available at local book stores and on Amazon.com.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jessica Page Morrell is the author of
Bullies, Bastards & Bitches: How to Write the Bad Guys in Fiction, The Writer’s I Ching: Wisdom for the Creative Life, Voices From the Street, Between the Lines, Master the Subtle Elements of Fiction Writing, and Writing Out the Storm. She works as a developmental editor, and was formerly the Writing Expert at iVillage.com. She has contributed articles to
The Writer and
Writer’s Digest magazines, as well as several newspapers. Morrell teaches at writing conferences throughout North America, leads a series of workshops and classes in the Northwest, and is the founder and coordinator of “Summer in Words,” an annual writing conference on the Oregon coast. Jessica's website is
www.TheWritingLife.com.
