Trivia:

What do pirates, bestsellers, Golden Retrievers, Cape Cod, Commodore Vanderbilt, the Whydah, writing, Newport, Rhode Island, publishing and Gloria Vanderbilt have in common?

What book did President Reagan unwittingly launch to the bestseller lists by recommending it to Washington staffers as a "perfect yarn?"

 

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"How a book makes its way from an author's head to a reader's hand is sometimes a miraculous journey, often an improbable journey, always an incredible journey." Arthur T. Vanderbilt, II.

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What the Experts are Saying:

  • "It's a joy to take this tour of the book business with its eye-opening emphasis on writers." Judith Appelbaum, author of How to Get Happily Published

  • "Vanderbilt tells all that every aspiring writer should know about publishing today, and every reader, too." Louis Auchincloss

  • "Mr. Vanderbilt's book is teeming with lore and advice and warnings and imprecations. It is a joy as a book to read." William F. Buckley, Jr.

  • "A blurb--for a man who knows about blurbs and everything else that goes into the making of best sellers, even including the writers thereof." Tom Wolfe

  • "Publishing a book is something like going to the track. There's a favorite--but you never know. It's a mystery--though Arthur Vanderbilt's book, The Making of a Bestseller, goes a long way towards penetrating it. Apart from scrutinizing the mystery, Mr. Vanderbilt guides us, with wit and erudition, through the Byzantine world of publishing. Why shouldn't The Making of a Bestseller be a bestseller? It's a hell of a good read." Frank McCourt, Pulitzer prize winning Author of Angela's Ashes

The Making of a Bestseller is one of those books that truly has something for everyone:

Aspiring Authors: "On publication date most books make their appearance not with a blare of bugles and a ruffle of drums, but quietly, like wisps of fog coming in from the sea."

Established Writers: "Any successful writer who is honest with himself will admit that luck contributed to the success of his book."

Publishers and Editors and Literary Agents: "Some bestsellers are meteorites, blazing through the dark with a brilliance which for a moment, focuses all attention on them. Others are stars that will be there, shining in the night sky, long after the meteorites are ashes."

For all Readers: "There are people out there, educated people, many people who have never met Huck {Finn} or Holly {Golightly}. One wonders sometimes how they live without having made such acquaintance."

    Amazing Authors Showcase: "5 STARS AND MORE!--A cold slap of reality for writers lost in the fantasy world of publishing--I found it to be the most educational and, quite possibly, the most constructive book a writer could ever own." (Read entire review below or visit "http://members.aol.com/AmazingAuthors/index.html" (Lower right page)

     

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Review By Pepper Raines - Amazing Authors Showcase

THE MAKING OF A BESTSELLER: From Author to Reader, by Arthur Vanderbilt, is not a textbook or instruction guide on how to get published. It is not chock full of success stories that leave you saying, 'yeah, yeah, so what.' It is not intended to pump up your ego, it does not guarantee you will be published, it doesn't even spell it out how you can be, but it does open your eyes about what it really takes to become a successful author.

With wit and realism, Arthur Vanderbilt chronicles entertaining, as well as enlightening, stories about the realities each writer needs - no, MUST know. Talent is only a small part of the publishing business and by the time you finish reading THE MAKING OF A BESTSELLER: From Author to Reader you will be well armed to begin the real battle of getting publishing.

In an interview with Bev Walton-Porter (Suite 1010.com), Arthur Vanderbilt talks about his book THE MAKING OF A BEST SELLER: From Author to Reader. When asked what inspired him to write this incredible eye-opening book, he responded:

"Something all writers live to do is read about other writers. &ldots; Exactly how a book makes its way from an author's mind into a reader's hands I find to be an incredible journey, both from my own work and from the experiences of other authors. And this is what I set about to follow that journey in "The Making Of A Bestseller."

"Somewhere along the way I must have hit a responsive chord, for authors who have read it - from Frank McCourt to Tom Wolfe to William Buckley to Louis Auchincloss-are giving it glowing endorsements."

Despite the endorsement of Pulitzer Prize winner Frank McCourt and the other world renowned people who have reviewed Arthur Vanderbilt's book, THE MAKING OF A BESTSELLER: From Author to Reader, the traditional mainstream reviewers have ignored this title. This surprises me because after finishing Arthur's book I found it to be the most educational and, quite possibly, the most constructive book a writer could ever own.

 

 

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