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Writing Books/Questions Answered by Expert Richard Seltzer
| Subject | Date Asked |
| Writing a foreword | 5/18/2009 |
| Q: I am in the process of writing my first cookbook. I need to know if a foreword can be written by a ... A: The format of the published book is determined by the editor, after you find a publisher. As I said ... | |
| RIGHTS WHEN WRITING AUTOBIOGRAPHIES | 2/25/2009 |
| Q: Can you tell me if I write an autobiography and use names of real live people that I put in my book ... A: You should ask a lawyer. (I am not a lawyer). I believe that there are two issues: 1) libel 2) ... | |
| Victorian Dialogue | 2/13/2008 |
| Q: I'm writing a novel with Victorian dialogue and I'm not sure how to write dialogue between the Lady ... A: It so happens that I publish collections of public domain books on CD and DVD. In particular you ... | |
| 2 Q's on research | 12/1/2006 |
| Q: It unquestionably erased a lot of avoidable anxiety. I have one more question for you: Are there ... A: I primarily use the Web. Do Google searches. Go to Wikipedia. For many subjects (but not nobility in ... | |
| 2 Q's on research | 12/1/2006 |
| Q: How do you do research for a historical novel and how much time does this normally take before the ... A: The answer depends entirely on your personality. Some people spend their whole lives researching a ... | |
| writing books on palaces,castle and manors, with emphasis on thier architectural elements | 7/18/2005 |
| Q: I would like to write a series of books on architectural elements, such as doors, windows, gate, ... A: First, read Mortal Lessons by Richard Selzer (he's a retired surgeon; he spells "selzer" without a ... | |
| That is not a question. | 9/18/2004 |
| Q: I'm Rima from Lithuania, I have a great stories about Soviet Union life. I'm trying to write a ... A: In writing a story or novel, you should go through the following steps (or their equivalent): 1) ... | |
| Book | 5/19/2004 |
| Q: I am a researcher and I have to prepare a research about The Plague = La Peste (Author: Albert ... A: That book is still under copyright and will be for a long time to come. (The European Union extends ... | |
| writer's profit per book | 4/21/2004 |
| Q: How much from the price of the book goes to the writer of the book? Where else does the rest of the ... A: In the old days "standard" terms were a 10% royalty on domestic sales and 15% for foreign sales, ... | |
| Things that your life and work has taught you | 4/13/2004 |
| Q: Seltzer As a young and aspiring author, I would be grateful to receive some of your wisdom and ... A: No one can find the topic/setting/basic situation for your novel but you. It must be something that ... | |
| Historical characters | 2/18/2004 |
| Q: When writing historical fiction do you use locations and time period but make up characters? If you ... A: There are no hard and fast rules. You could do anything. But the usual practice is either 1) Keep ... | |
| depth of study | 2/18/2004 |
| Q: How much background material do you believe is sufficient to properly set the tone when writing a ... A: Whatever it takes to get the point where you can shut your eyes and believe that you are there, ... | |
Writing Books
Answers by Expert:
Richard Seltzer
Top Expert on this page
Expertise
I prefer questions that directly relate to my current areas of interest: historical works and historical fiction dealing with Russia and Ethiopia around 1900.
Experience
Author of fiction:
The Name of Hero, historical novel (Tarcher/Houghton Mifflin)
The Lizard of Oz, fantasy (B&R Samizdat)
Also nonfiction:
The AltaVista Search Revolution (Osborne/McGraw-Hill)
Shop Online the Lazy Way (Macillan)
Publications
See my Web site http://www.samizdat.com/readers.html
for complete novels and short stories by me, as well as resources for
writers.
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