Writers Tricks of the Trade January-February 2015

PRESS “CONTROL” THEN CLICK BUY TO PURCHASE THE BOOK CURRENT NYT BEST SELLERS 1/18/15 COMBINED PRINT & EBOOK FICTION 1. ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE, by Anthony Doerr. 2. GONE GIRL, by Gillian Flynn 3. BIG LITTLE LIES, by Liane Moriarty 4. DIE AGAIN, by Tess Gerritsen 5. GRAY MOUNTAIN, by John AGENDAS (CONT’D) When you’re a new author, just getting started, readers see the preaching and agendas and they think you always write that way. If they agree, they become fans. If they don’t, you just lost half your audience. Word gets around. All of a sudden, you’re on one side of the fence, whether you intended it or not. You may not even realize you’re going overboard with your pet political or social view. That’s where those second sets of eyes come in handy. Make sure those second sets of eyes aren’t just close friends, who tend to be of the same political and social group. You need those outsiders to look for what you can’t see. I’m not saying let it go overboard, but don’t dismiss all those out of left field comments (and I’m not talking politically, per se). Do yourself a favor and write a story everyone can enjoy in your genre, unless you’re specifically targeting a political or social group. If that’s the case, like Glenn Beck or Bill O’Reilly, for example, all bets are off. Happy writing! Fred Grisham Complete List » COMBINED PRINT & E-BOOK NONFICTION 1. UNBROKEN, by Laura Hillenbrand 2. AMERICAN SNIPER, by Chris Kyle with Scott McEwen and Jim deFelice 3. WILD, by Cheryl Strayed 4. THE BOYS IN THE BOAT, by Daniel James Brown 5. YES PLEASE, by Amy Poehler JAN-FEB 2015 PAGE 4 WRITERS TRICKS OF THE TRADE

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