Great New Book for Writers

Dear Reader,

As you will note in the "Important Links" section of this website, we feature what we regard as the leading titles for writers of different levels to reference, in order to improve their skills and gain publishing industry knowledge.

Perhaps one of the best recent books to come around is Reading Like a Writer by Francine Prose, an author who has been a finalist for the prestigious National Book Award. Prose emphasizes the point that many other successful writers make--to improve one's writing, it is vitally important to study the works of critically-acclaimed writers, or, at a minimum, the books of authors who inspire you or have subject material similar to your own.

Prose emphasizes her message early on in the book when she writes, "Like most, maybe all, writers, I learned to write by writing and, by example, from books." The more we practice anything in life, the better and more efficient we become at doing it. Prose believes that our minds are able to hone in on individual elements of the books that we read--the sentence structure, narration, dialogue, and paragraph format--the more frequently that we perform this activity. She also makes the point throughout that we should not be intimidated by reading the works of some of the greatest writers in history, perhaps due to the feeling of interiority when comparing them to our own writing, but rather we should embrace the opportunity. Maybe some of their skills or "magic" will rub off on us, or, at least, inspire us as we put pen to paper.

Without revealing too much of the structure of the book and Prose's advice, we strongly recommend that you read this book if you have time, as it is a very interesting read, in addition to being useful.

Many more updates soon to come on the Get Between the Covers project...there are exciting developments, and we look forward to sharing them with all of you.

All the best,

Neil and Eric

Remembering September 11th

To all,

We wanted to be sure to post something on this important day for America. Today, we remember the tragic events of 5 years ago, the innocent victims who lost their lives, and the heroes who emerged from all walks of life. It is a day that none of us will ever forget in our lifetimes.

We salute all of those who continue to protect our country, our way of life, and our freedoms, which we sometimes overlook. You are truly selfless and brave. You make your families, your country, and all of us proud.

Best,

Neil and Eric