Eva van Emden (she/her), freelance editor

Certified copy editor and proofreader

eva@vancouvereditor.com

October 15, 2010

Terry Pratchett on getting a book written

Once more: with footnotes by Terry Pratchett I love Terry Pratchett and was excited to find Once More: With Footnotes. Why is reading an author writing about his writing so much fun? Are all great fiction writers even better non-fiction writers?

Just a little way into the book I was struck by something he says in his essay “Paperback Writer”: “And if you think you have a book evolving, now is the time to write the flap copy . . . Getting the heart and soul of a book into fewer than a hundred words helps you focus.”

This reminds me of Blake Snyder’s advice to nail down the “logline,” or short pitch, for your movie script first.