{"id":3316,"date":"2017-06-28T18:36:03","date_gmt":"2017-06-28T13:06:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fableandi.com\/?p=3316"},"modified":"2022-03-30T21:35:41","modified_gmt":"2022-03-30T16:05:41","slug":"kissing-demon-amrita-kumar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thebooksatchel.com\/kissing-demon-amrita-kumar\/","title":{"rendered":"Kissing the Demon by Amrita Kumar – A Crash Course for the Creative Writer"},"content":{"rendered":"
How can you swim through an idea in your head, get it printed on paper and sign a book deal? Kissing the Demon<\/em> by Amrita Kumar is the creative writer\u2019s handbook and has the answers to all (I mean, ALL) the questions in your head about the publishing industry and the writing process.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n This is a very difficult book to review because it is a help book for writers. A new writer is always confused \u2013 Do I need an agent? Should I self-publish? Can I do my own marketing? How to start? Is my idea good enough? Will I survive? Should I have a day-job? Where can I write? And so many more! Let me put it this way \u2013 If you are interested in writing or looking for an online course to brush up your writing skills, this book would be an excellent investment. If you know nothing about the publishing field but want to write a book and eventually publish it, this is the handbook you can live by. This book tells you the ABC of everything related to writing a book, right from when you get an idea in your head to creating a book out of your idea.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I really enjoyed reading the book. I was curious about the book after reading a review on Books and Strips<\/span> which praised the book. I am happy to report that the book deserves all the praise. Kissing the Demon<\/em> is divided into many sections \u2013 The empty page, Narrative Techniques (Structure and Plot, Characterization, Narration, Dialogue, Settings and Description, Beginning and Endings), Getting ready to publish, The publishing process and Ten Commandments for Writerly Life. Each section elaborates on the topic and includes several subsections with a generous amount of examples quoted from famous novels, movies and lives of other writers. There are writing exercises included at the end of some sections that will help you to tune your skills.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The book was very informative for me. For example even though I knew some aspects of the written word, I did not know the terms that defined them (objective information and subjective information regarding a character). It was interesting to see how the earnings of a single book are distributed among the publisher, marketing personnel, the editor and the writer; and what the book\u2019s profits will be depending on how the book is sold (bookstore, online market etc). Amrita, having four decades of experience in the publishing industry, points out mistakes and clich\u00e9s writers fall into, terms in your contract you should be careful about before you sign it and what to do if you do not have that perfect dream desk to write on.<\/p>\n <\/p>\nReview<\/h3>\n