Books on Writing

I love exploring how writers overcome setbacks, blocks, horrible reviews, lack of sales. Books like On Becoming a Novelist by John Gardner (1983), Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott (1994), On Writing Well by William Zinsser (1976), Talking Horse: On Life and Work by Bernard Malamud (1996), and all the volumes of correspondence by Maxwell Perkins. (Dear Scott/Dear Max: The Fitzgerald-Perkins Correspondence edited by John Kuehl and Jackson R. Bryer (1971), The Only Thing That Counts: The Ernest Hemingway-Maxwell Perkins Correspondence edited by Matthew J. Bruccoli (1996), Editor to Author: The Letters of Maxwell E. Perkins selected and edited by John Hall Wheelock (1950), Max & Marjorie: The Correspondence between Maxwell E. Perkins & Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings edited by Rodger L. Tarr, and To Loot My Life Clean: The Thomas Wolfe-Maxwell Perkins Correspondence edited by Matthew J. Bruccoli and Park Bucker.) For instance, it is fascinating to read the discussion between Ernest Hemingway and his editor Maxwell Perkins about the publisher's desire to edit out certain words from Hemingway's book:

. . . .The operation of emasculation is a tiny one-It is very simple and easy to perform on men-animals and books-It is not a Major operation but its effects are great. . . .I know, on the other hand, that you will not want to print in a magazine certain words and, you say, certain passages. In that event what I ask is that when omissions are made a blank or some sign of omission be made that isn't to be confused with the dots that writers employ when they wish to avoid biting on the nail and writing a hard part of a book. . . . (The Only Thing That Counts: The Ernest Hemingway-Maxwell Perkins Correspondence edited by Matthew J. Bruccoli (1996, p. 91))

Also, John Gardner's take on editors and publishers is revealing (and unfortunately) right on target:

One should fight like the devil the temptation to think well of editors. They are all, without exception -at least some of the time-incompetent or crazy. Like writers, they are under insupportable pressures: they have to choose books that will sell, or at least bring the publisher honor, so they become hypercritical, gunshy, cynical. It is useful, in short, for young writers to think of editors as limited people, though if possible one should treat them politely. They are often ambitious idealists . . . . but they're unsure of themselves. The editor is happiest when he can bet on a favorite while at the same time appearing to have discovered him. (On Becoming a Novelist by John Gardner (1983, p. 101))