Introducing: Ken Atchity's Master Class In Achieving Your Dreams
For Every Author Who Wants To
Make Their Dreams Come True And Finish Writing Their Book!
Make Their Dreams Come True And Finish Writing Their Book!
"Keeping your spirits up is a funny, life changing and unmissable online course. If you want to recover from writer's block, stay on track and achieve your dreams this course is for you.
I genuinely wish this course was available when I was starting out."
Laurence O'Bryan, Author & Online Book Marketing Expert Who Has Published Three Books Traditionally and Self Published Two Others And Has Worked With Over 3,500 Authors To Help Them Achieve Their Dreams.
You don't know how to keep a positive attitude during the writing process. The long hours of solitude, writer's block, and doubt often get to you.
And you know that the tools to overcome this situation exist since many authors publish their books and become successful.
And
Trying to figure out how to do all this the right way is a nightmare if you don't have a reliable guide.
And
There are so many high-cost courses, claiming they have the perfect answer, but you need to find something that delivers on its promise, at a reasonable price, which has been designed for authors, who need to stay productive and self-confident at a low cost.
You need to know the insider secrets of keeping your spirits up, and achieving your dreams from someone who has actually done it. Someone who has been coached hundreds of writers.
And you need to be sure of who this person is, what he has done, and how this will help YOU as an author.
Introducing: Master Class In Achieving Your Dreams
This course is NOT a content-driven course - it's ATTITUDE driven. It's coaching for your spirit that will help you to:
- Make the most out of your talents
- Keep your spirits up when the going gets tough
- Get started and keep going
- Get in a proper mood for getting your work done
- Leverage your attitude, a writer's best asset
- Keep your ego healthy
- Keep your psyche positive
- Have a happy and productive creative life
- Get ready for all the "stuff" folks can throw at you
Who is Ken Atchity?
Ken Atchity, on the set of
"Angels in the Snow"
Teaching:
- Former professor of comparative literature and teacher of creative writing at Occidental College and UCLA
- Fulbright Professor at the University of Bologna
- Produced nearly 30 films in the past 25 years for major studios, television broadcasters, and independent distribution.
- His documentary special for Discovery Channel, based on the New York Times bestseller “The Kennedy Detail” by Jerry Blaine & Lisa McCubbin, was nominated for an Emmy.
- Has worked in nearly every part of the entertainment and publishing industries
- Nearly two dozen of his clients have been NYT Bestsellers.
- An author who has been on the inside of the publishing industry and knows how it works
- An author of over 20 nonfiction books and novels
- An experienced writing coach helped literally hundreds of writers find a market for their work by bringing their craft and technique to the level of their ambition and vision
- He was a book columnist for The Los Angeles Times Book Review
- He is the founder and co-editor of DreamWorks: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Dreams and the Arts
- He has a sound track record in the creative industries, from motion picture and television production to literary management to all aspects of branding, from launch to positioning
This is why keeping your spirits up during the writing process is so important:
What good is knowledge or technique if your spirits are down and you can't get started, or keep going? "Writer's block," said Norman Mailer, "is a failure of the ego."
“A
Master Class In Achieving Your Dreams”shares a lifetime of secrets
learned by and from the most successful writers and creative industry
professionals.
Ken Atchity is uniquely qualified, as a best-selling author and writing coach, to help you understand everything you need to know and do to achieve your dreams and be a successful author.
And there is more...
- Ken Atchity founded The Story Merchant to help storytellers make a difference and ignite their careers
- He brings to your table the experience and expertise you need to craft an innovative approach to maximizing the potential of your creative project and career: from direct publishing, proactive film making, to out-of-the-box representation and the development of effective advertising and marketing strategies, including licensing and franchising.
- Ken Atchity is the author of these six best-selling guides for writers:
Here's Exactly What You're Going To Get With The "Master Class In Achieving Your Dreams:"
- Video Training that will change your attitude
- Discussion Forum Online
- Fast track material so you are not overloaded with material you DON'T need
- No padding, just what AUTHORS NEED to learn, FAST
- A way to get CREATIVE FAST, WITHOUT needing to pay anything extra
- AN ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT that will set you up for long-term success
- Access to Full Course Online, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for you to review
- You can take this course when you want
- No deadlines for completion
- Additional Support, If You Take That Option
- Please see the list of modules further down the page for even more detail!
Total Retail Value: $290 - for the basic course - BUT YOU WON'T PAY THAT!
AND IT'S 100% Risk-FREE!
If "MasterClass In Keeping Your Spirits Up" doesn't deliver on its promise you WILL receive a full refund, This Is A No Quibble Refund Policy!
Special Pricing When You Order Now
So the total value of what you're getting today is $290, for the course, especially when you take into consideration the insider knowledge we're including for you. But the good news is you are NOT going to pay that price.
Because I know what it's like to struggle, when you're an outsider in the industry and don't know how to build an email list, and because I want to do everything I can to help you succeed, TODAY we're giving you everything listed at a special price of just $29! That's right, that a 90% discount for a LIMITED TIME ONLY! This offer will close soon!
And
If you're an author who wants to see their book selling, here's why you need to act on this right now.
- This is the golden age for independent writers to sell books
- Insider suport is essential to success
- This course is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have a proven author coaching expert walk you through the process of keeping your spirits up.
- In a crowded market, only those who have the right mentality can win.
Get Started Now
Go ahead, click an order button below now, and you're on your way to the success you want!
Do it now before the price goes up.
Don't miss this breakthrough online course that will show you to move forward fast.
Order Now Below!
Claim your copy of this exciting and informative NEW Master Class from Ken Atchity!
Total Value: $290 - for the basic course, but you won't pay that price!
P.S.
Never before have you had such a unique opportunity to have this PROVEN
expert take you by the hand and help you get in the right mindset to
achieve your dreams. Get in on this today before your competitors use
it!
This introductory price of $29 is a "Buy it NOW before it's gone" offer... so act now!
P.P.S. - If you want to see your dreams coming true, if you want to see results, and earn real money from your career this is the course you need and a real opportunity for YOU.
Act now! Your satisfaction is guaranteed.
This is your opportunity!
- Publishing has changed in the last 5 years. Learn the mentality you need to succeed.
- The market for ebooks is booming from self-publishers
- Avoid the pitfalls of overthinking, overwriting, losing confidence, doubt, frustration, self imposed deadlines
- Get your story done and bring it in front of the readers
- Become immune to other people's negativity and criticism
And, last but not least, we are a Partner Member of The Alliance of Independent Authors, the leading independent author association in the world and adhere to their Code of Conduct, verified & enforced to ensure authors get value for money from service providers.
Ken Atchity
Best-selling author, writing coach, movie producer
Dr. Ken Atchity
(Yale Ph.D.), author of over 20 nonfiction books and novels, has spent
his lifetime helping writers get started with and improve their careers
and has worked in nearly every part of the entertainment and publishing
industries. He’s produced nearly 30 films in the past 25 years for major
studios, television broadcasters, and independent distribution. His
documentary special for Discovery Channel, based on the New York Times
bestseller “The Kennedy Detail” by Jerry Blaine & Lisa McCubbin, was
nominated for an Emmy. Nearly two dozen of his clients have been NYT
Bestsellers.
As professor of comparative literature and teacher of creative writing at Occidental College and UCLA, he helped literally hundreds of writers find a market for their work by bringing their craft and technique to the level of their ambition and vision. During his academic career, Ken also served as Fulbright Professor to the University of Bologna, Italy, book columnist for The Los Angeles Times Book Review, and founder and co-editor of DreamWorks: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Dreams and the Arts.
Films he’s produced include “Gospel Hill” (starring Danny Glover), “The Madams Family: The Truth about the Canal Street Brothel” (Ellen Burstyn), “Joe Somebody” (Tim Allen), “Life or Something Like It” (Angelina Jolie), “Hysteria” (Maggie Gyllenhaal,), “Erased” (Aaron Eckhart), and “Angels in the Snow” (Kristy Swanson).
Ken’s books include A Writer’s Time, Writing Treatments That Sell, How to Publish Your Novel, and How to Escape Lifetime Security and Pursue Your Impossible Dream: A Guide to Changing Your Career; as well as Seven Ways to Die (with William Diehl), The Messiah Matrix, and Brae Mackenzie.
As professor of comparative literature and teacher of creative writing at Occidental College and UCLA, he helped literally hundreds of writers find a market for their work by bringing their craft and technique to the level of their ambition and vision. During his academic career, Ken also served as Fulbright Professor to the University of Bologna, Italy, book columnist for The Los Angeles Times Book Review, and founder and co-editor of DreamWorks: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Dreams and the Arts.
Films he’s produced include “Gospel Hill” (starring Danny Glover), “The Madams Family: The Truth about the Canal Street Brothel” (Ellen Burstyn), “Joe Somebody” (Tim Allen), “Life or Something Like It” (Angelina Jolie), “Hysteria” (Maggie Gyllenhaal,), “Erased” (Aaron Eckhart), and “Angels in the Snow” (Kristy Swanson).
Ken’s books include A Writer’s Time, Writing Treatments That Sell, How to Publish Your Novel, and How to Escape Lifetime Security and Pursue Your Impossible Dream: A Guide to Changing Your Career; as well as Seven Ways to Die (with William Diehl), The Messiah Matrix, and Brae Mackenzie.
admin@booksgosocial.com
For Every Author Who Wants To
Make Their Dreams Come True And Finish Writing Their Book!
Make Their Dreams Come True And Finish Writing Their Book!
"Keeping your spirits up is a funny, life changing and unmissable online course. If you want to recover from writer's block, stay on track and achieve your dreams this course is for you.
I genuinely wish this course was available when I was starting out."
Laurence O'Bryan, Author & Online Book Marketing Expert Who Has Published Three Books Traditionally and Self Published Two Others And Has Worked With Over 3,500 Authors To Help Them Achieve Their Dreams.
You don't know how to keep a positive attitude during the writing process. The long hours of solitude, writer's block, and doubt often get to you.
And you know that the tools to overcome this situation exist since many authors publish their books and become successful.
And
Trying to figure out how to do all this the right way is a nightmare if you don't have a reliable guide.
And
There are so many high-cost courses, claiming they have the perfect answer, but you need to find something that delivers on its promise, at a reasonable price, which has been designed for authors, who need to stay productive and self-confident at a low cost.
You need to know the insider secrets of keeping your spirits up, and achieving your dreams from someone who has actually done it. Someone who has been coached hundreds of writers.
And you need to be sure of who this person is, what he has done, and how this will help YOU as an author.
Introducing: Master Class In Achieving Your Dreams
This course is NOT a content-driven course - it's ATTITUDE driven. It's coaching for your spirit that will help you to:
- Make the most out of your talents
- Keep your spirits up when the going gets tough
- Get started and keep going
- Get in a proper mood for getting your work done
- Leverage your attitude, a writer's best asset
- Keep your ego healthy
- Keep your psyche positive
- Have a happy and productive creative life
- Get ready for all the "stuff" folks can throw at you
Who is Ken Atchity?
Ken Atchity, on the set of
"Angels in the Snow"
Teaching:
- Former professor of comparative literature and teacher of creative writing at Occidental College and UCLA
- Fulbright Professor at the University of Bologna
- Produced nearly 30 films in the past 25 years for major studios, television broadcasters, and independent distribution.
- His documentary special for Discovery Channel, based on the New York Times bestseller “The Kennedy Detail” by Jerry Blaine & Lisa McCubbin, was nominated for an Emmy.
- Has worked in nearly every part of the entertainment and publishing industries
- Nearly two dozen of his clients have been NYT Bestsellers.
- An author who has been on the inside of the publishing industry and knows how it works
- An author of over 20 nonfiction books and novels
- An experienced writing coach helped literally hundreds of writers find a market for their work by bringing their craft and technique to the level of their ambition and vision
- He was a book columnist for The Los Angeles Times Book Review
- He is the founder and co-editor of DreamWorks: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Dreams and the Arts
- He has a sound track record in the creative industries, from motion picture and television production to literary management to all aspects of branding, from launch to positioning
This is why keeping your spirits up during the writing process is so important:
What good is knowledge or technique if your spirits are down and you can't get started, or keep going? "Writer's block," said Norman Mailer, "is a failure of the ego."
“A
Master Class In Achieving Your Dreams”shares a lifetime of secrets
learned by and from the most successful writers and creative industry
professionals.
Ken Atchity is uniquely qualified, as a best-selling author and writing coach, to help you understand everything you need to know and do to achieve your dreams and be a successful author.
And there is more...
- Ken Atchity founded The Story Merchant to help storytellers make a difference and ignite their careers
- He brings to your table the experience and expertise you need to craft an innovative approach to maximizing the potential of your creative project and career: from direct publishing, proactive film making, to out-of-the-box representation and the development of effective advertising and marketing strategies, including licensing and franchising.
- Ken Atchity is the author of these six best-selling guides for writers:
Here's Exactly What You're Going To Get With The "Master Class In Achieving Your Dreams:"
- Video Training that will change your attitude
- Discussion Forum Online
- Fast track material so you are not overloaded with material you DON'T need
- No padding, just what AUTHORS NEED to learn, FAST
- A way to get CREATIVE FAST, WITHOUT needing to pay anything extra
- AN ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT that will set you up for long-term success
- Access to Full Course Online, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for you to review
- You can take this course when you want
- No deadlines for completion
- Additional Support, If You Take That Option
- Please see the list of modules further down the page for even more detail!
Total Retail Value: $290 - for the basic course - BUT YOU WON'T PAY THAT!
AND IT'S 100% Risk-FREE!
If "MasterClass In Keeping Your Spirits Up" doesn't deliver on its promise you WILL receive a full refund, This Is A No Quibble Refund Policy!
Special Pricing When You Order Now
So the total value of what you're getting today is $290, for the course, especially when you take into consideration the insider knowledge we're including for you. But the good news is you are NOT going to pay that price.
Because I know what it's like to struggle, when you're an outsider in the industry and don't know how to build an email list, and because I want to do everything I can to help you succeed, TODAY we're giving you everything listed at a special price of just $29! That's right, that a 90% discount for a LIMITED TIME ONLY! This offer will close soon!
And
If you're an author who wants to see their book selling, here's why you need to act on this right now.
- This is the golden age for independent writers to sell books
- Insider suport is essential to success
- This course is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have a proven author coaching expert walk you through the process of keeping your spirits up.
- In a crowded market, only those who have the right mentality can win.
Get Started Now
Go ahead, click an order button below now, and you're on your way to the success you want!
Do it now before the price goes up.
Don't miss this breakthrough online course that will show you to move forward fast.
Order Now Below!
Claim your copy of this exciting and informative NEW Master Class from Ken Atchity!
Total Value: $290 - for the basic course, but you won't pay that price!
P.S.
Never before have you had such a unique opportunity to have this PROVEN
expert take you by the hand and help you get in the right mindset to
achieve your dreams. Get in on this today before your competitors use
it!
This introductory price of $29 is a "Buy it NOW before it's gone" offer... so act now!
P.P.S. - If you want to see your dreams coming true, if you want to see results, and earn real money from your career this is the course you need and a real opportunity for YOU.
Act now! Your satisfaction is guaranteed.
This is your opportunity!
- Publishing has changed in the last 5 years. Learn the mentality you need to succeed.
- The market for ebooks is booming from self-publishers
- Avoid the pitfalls of overthinking, overwriting, losing confidence, doubt, frustration, self imposed deadlines
- Get your story done and bring it in front of the readers
- Become immune to other people's negativity and criticism
And, last but not least, we are a Partner Member of The Alliance of Independent Authors, the leading independent author association in the world and adhere to their Code of Conduct, verified & enforced to ensure authors get value for money from service providers.
Ken Atchity
Best-selling author, writing coach, movie producer
Dr. Ken Atchity
(Yale Ph.D.), author of over 20 nonfiction books and novels, has spent
his lifetime helping writers get started with and improve their careers
and has worked in nearly every part of the entertainment and publishing
industries. He’s produced nearly 30 films in the past 25 years for major
studios, television broadcasters, and independent distribution. His
documentary special for Discovery Channel, based on the New York Times
bestseller “The Kennedy Detail” by Jerry Blaine & Lisa McCubbin, was
nominated for an Emmy. Nearly two dozen of his clients have been NYT
Bestsellers.
As professor of comparative literature and teacher of creative writing at Occidental College and UCLA, he helped literally hundreds of writers find a market for their work by bringing their craft and technique to the level of their ambition and vision. During his academic career, Ken also served as Fulbright Professor to the University of Bologna, Italy, book columnist for The Los Angeles Times Book Review, and founder and co-editor of DreamWorks: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Dreams and the Arts.
Films he’s produced include “Gospel Hill” (starring Danny Glover), “The Madams Family: The Truth about the Canal Street Brothel” (Ellen Burstyn), “Joe Somebody” (Tim Allen), “Life or Something Like It” (Angelina Jolie), “Hysteria” (Maggie Gyllenhaal,), “Erased” (Aaron Eckhart), and “Angels in the Snow” (Kristy Swanson).
Ken’s books include A Writer’s Time, Writing Treatments That Sell, How to Publish Your Novel, and How to Escape Lifetime Security and Pursue Your Impossible Dream: A Guide to Changing Your Career; as well as Seven Ways to Die (with William Diehl), The Messiah Matrix, and Brae Mackenzie.
As professor of comparative literature and teacher of creative writing at Occidental College and UCLA, he helped literally hundreds of writers find a market for their work by bringing their craft and technique to the level of their ambition and vision. During his academic career, Ken also served as Fulbright Professor to the University of Bologna, Italy, book columnist for The Los Angeles Times Book Review, and founder and co-editor of DreamWorks: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Dreams and the Arts.
Films he’s produced include “Gospel Hill” (starring Danny Glover), “The Madams Family: The Truth about the Canal Street Brothel” (Ellen Burstyn), “Joe Somebody” (Tim Allen), “Life or Something Like It” (Angelina Jolie), “Hysteria” (Maggie Gyllenhaal,), “Erased” (Aaron Eckhart), and “Angels in the Snow” (Kristy Swanson).
Ken’s books include A Writer’s Time, Writing Treatments That Sell, How to Publish Your Novel, and How to Escape Lifetime Security and Pursue Your Impossible Dream: A Guide to Changing Your Career; as well as Seven Ways to Die (with William Diehl), The Messiah Matrix, and Brae Mackenzie.
admin@booksgosocial.com
Hollywood High Concept
Studios today are producing, for the most part, two kinds of films. One type is pre-established franchises (comic books, TV series, famous novels, toys, such as Star Wars, Captain America, and The Hunger Games. The other type is high-concept scripts that are either conceived of in-house by executives, producers, managers, and agents who know what the market responds to — or by “spec” screenwriters determined to break the bank.
Writing even the greatest screenplay that isn’t high concept is choosing either the indie path or willful self-indulgence.
Dealing with
“high concept” is one of the most challenging and frustrating tasks of
the Hollywood writer, agent, or producer; reducing the story to a
compelling logline is what high concept is all about. As a former
academic not prepared for a world focused on marketing, it took me years
to realize that the term “high concept” means almost its opposite. It
means “simple concept,” as in Fatal Attraction: An innocent smile at a party turns a married man’s life upside down and put his family in mortal jeopardy.
Sometimes a title is its own high concept, as with Margaret Mitchell’s best-selling novel Gone with the Wind,
the extended logline of which would be: “Against the backdrop of the
great Civil War, a narcissistic Southern beauty obsessed with idyllic
love struggles to reconstruct her life and finds that her true love is
closer than she thinks.”
High concept is
a story that will compel the broadest audiences to watch the movie
after hearing a pitch of only a few, or sometimes even one, word(s):
Psycho
Sleepless in Seattle
Armageddon
Unwanted Attentions
Vertigo
Jaws
How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days
American Sniper
Unfaithful
Four Weddings and a Funeral
San Andreas
Black Hawk Down
Panic Room
Selma
Runaway Bride
Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead
Home Alone
Cabin Fever
Die Hard
Ex Machina
These examples
of high concept are pitched by their very titles. It’s enough to hear
the title—and know that Adam Sandler and Jack Nicholson star—to compel
audiences to the box office for Anger Management.
“Die Hard on a boat,” was allegedly the logline line that led to the sale of Steven Seagall’s Under Siege.
Titles like The Fisher King, Seven Days in May, Snow Falling on Cedars, The Shipping News
may be evocative, but do not express a high concept that will instantly
lure audiences. Though such titles may get lucky and become successful
movies, in today’s blockbuster market they’d be swimming upstream.
Nothing is more
important to marketing your story than a “high concept logline” that
makes it immediately stand out from all those stories that are subtle,
nuanced, and difficult to pitch, and that depend entirely upon
“execution.” Here are some more examples that have led my companies or
others to sales:
• “Jurassic Shark!” (the two-word description given AEI client Steve Alten’s Meg
by ICM-agent Jeff Robinov, who spearheaded a “preempt” from Disney for
$1.1 million; the story was then re-sold to Newline, and then to Warner
Brothers)
• When the most obnoxious guy in the world realizes he’s become an asshole on a false premise, he makes a list of all the people he’s wronged and sets out to repay them one by one. (John Scott Shepherd’s Henry’s List of Wrongs, sold to New Line Pictures for $1.6 million).
• Life or Something Like It: An ambitious and self-involved reporter is sparked into action to change the pattern of her life when she interviews a street-psychic who tells her that her life is meaningless—and that she’s going to die—soon.
• The Madam’s Family: The true “Canal Street Brothel” story of three generations of madams and their battle against persecution by the FBI.
• The Lost Valentine: A man and woman find the love of their lifetimes when they’re brought together to memorialize the bittersweet story of a doomed World War II pilot and the wife who promised to wait forever for his return.
• When the most obnoxious guy in the world realizes he’s become an asshole on a false premise, he makes a list of all the people he’s wronged and sets out to repay them one by one. (John Scott Shepherd’s Henry’s List of Wrongs, sold to New Line Pictures for $1.6 million).
• Life or Something Like It: An ambitious and self-involved reporter is sparked into action to change the pattern of her life when she interviews a street-psychic who tells her that her life is meaningless—and that she’s going to die—soon.
• The Madam’s Family: The true “Canal Street Brothel” story of three generations of madams and their battle against persecution by the FBI.
• The Lost Valentine: A man and woman find the love of their lifetimes when they’re brought together to memorialize the bittersweet story of a doomed World War II pilot and the wife who promised to wait forever for his return.
Consider these further examples, grouped by “genre”:
A woman or a family in jeopardy
The Shallows:
While riding the waves at a remote beach, a young surfer finds herself
injured and stranded just twenty miles from shore on a buoy—as a great
white shark begins stalking her.
Room: After being abducted, abused, and imprisoned for seven years in a small windowless room a mother devises a bold escape plan.
An ordinary woman in extraordinary circumstances
The Danish Girl: What happens if the husband you adore needs to be a woman?
Woman in Gold:
Six decades after World War II, a Jewish octogenarian begins a quest to
reclaim the artwork confiscated from her family by the Nazis and now
proudly celebrated by the Austrian government—including a famed Gustav
Klimt masterpiece.
Men on a mission
Saving Private Ryan: US soldiers try to save their comrade who’s stationed behind enemy lines.
Bridge of Spies:
At the height of the Cold War in 1960, the downing of an American spy
plane and the pilot’s subsequent capture by the Soviets draws Brooklyn
attorney James Donovan into the middle of an intense effort to secure
the aviator’s release.
Man against nature
The Martian: He was left behind—on Mars.
The Revenant: A frontiersman fights for survival after being mauled by a grizzly and left for dead by his own hunting team.
Man or woman against the system
Spotlight:
A Boston news team sets out to expose numerous cases of child
molestation and cover up on the part of the local Catholic Archdiocese.
Concussion:
A pathologist uncovers the truth about brain damage in football players
who suffer repeated concussions and comes up against the corporate
power of the NFL.
People Vs. Larry Flynt: A pornography publisher becomes the unlikely defender of free speech.
Class Action: A female attorney finds that her nemesis is her own father, and must choose between her corporate client and justice.
A woman escaping from something or someone she loves.
The Perfect Guy: After breaking up with her boyfriend, a professional woman gets involved with a man who seems almost too good to be true.
Enough: On the run from an abusive husband, a young mother begins to train herself to fight back.
Sleeping with the Enemy: A young woman fakes her own death in an attempt to escape her nightmarish marriage, but discovers it’s impossible to elude her controlling husband.
Filmmakers long to spot in our onslaught of daily email queries a high concept logline that makes a story out of universal—
• human emotions: fear, love, hate, envy, etc.
• deadly sins: anger, greed, lust, etc.
• plot motivators: betrayal, vengeance, discovery, rebirth, survival, etc.
• virtues: loyalty, faith, responsibility, etc.
—and embodies those elements in characters we can care about, relate to, and root for to shape an “original story” that feels both fresh and relevant to today’s global market.
• human emotions: fear, love, hate, envy, etc.
• deadly sins: anger, greed, lust, etc.
• plot motivators: betrayal, vengeance, discovery, rebirth, survival, etc.
• virtues: loyalty, faith, responsibility, etc.
—and embodies those elements in characters we can care about, relate to, and root for to shape an “original story” that feels both fresh and relevant to today’s global market.
If you can do
that, and your writing effectively expresses your vision, you’re only
steps away from recognition in the toughest story marketplace of all.
Excerpt from my forthcoming Sell Your Story to Hollywood, at http://www.realfasthollywooddeal.com
"I could have been a Rhodes Scholar except for my grades."—Duffy Daugherty, Michigan State
Known for his keen wit, unfailing good humor and wisdom, as well as his fantastic 109-69-5 career record, Duffy Daugherty was Michigan State’s head coach for 19 years, the longest term in the history of Spartan football.
Known for his keen wit, unfailing good humor and wisdom, as well as his fantastic 109-69-5 career record, Duffy Daugherty was Michigan State’s head coach for 19 years, the longest term in the history of Spartan football.
The world is full of fools and faint hearts; and yet everyone has
courage enough to bear the misfortunes, and wisdom enough to manage the
affairs, of his neighbor.—Benjamin Franklin
We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. You ask, what
is our policy? I can say: it is to wage war, by sea, land and air, with
all our might and with all the strength that God can give us; to wage
war against a monstrous tyranny never surpassed in the dark, lamentable
catalog of human crime. That is our policy. You ask, what is our aim? I
can answer in one word: it is victory, victory at all costs, victory in
spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may
be.—Winston Churchill
Book Pleasures Interviews Writer, Producer, Career Coach, Teacher and Literary Manager, Dr. Ken Atchity
Ken's life passion is finding great storytellers and turning them into bestselling authors and screenwriters.
Ken has produced over 30 films, including “Angels in the Snow” (Kristy Swanson), "Hysteria" (Maggie Gyllenhaal, Hugh Dancy, Informant Media), "Erased" (Aaron Eckhart, Informant), the Emmy-nominated "The Kennedy Detail" (Discovery), "The Lost Valentine" (Betty White; Hallmark Hall of Fame), "Joe Somebody" (Tim Allen; Fox), "Life or Something Like It" (Angelina Jolie; Fox), and "14 Days with Alzheimer's."
Nearly twenty of his clients’ books have been New York Times
bestsellers. His new imprint, Story Merchant Books, has published more than 150 titles in its first three years. Ken’s many books include books for writers atevery stage of their careers, and, recently, three novels, Seven Ways to Die (with the late William Diehl), The Messiah Matrix and Brae Mackenzie.Norm: Good day Ken and thanks for participating in our interview.
Ken: My pleasure, Norm. My Story Merchant authors love your blogsite.
Norm; Could you tell us a little about people you have met or books you have read that have inspired you to embark on your various career hats that you have worn?
Ken: That’s a great question. I’ve had many inspiring mentors, from whom I’ve learned the fundamentals that have shaped my life.
Saturday Review editor Norman Cousins, who urged me to leave my tenured academic position to challenge my abilities and aspirations in the world of commercial storytelling.
Yale President and Baseball Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti, whose course in the Renaissance inspired me to follow his model, and become a practicing “Renaissance man.”
I ran into him in the Yale Club elevator one day. He said, “Atchity, what is this I hear about a professor of comparative literature producing romance movies?” I said: “What is this about the President of Yale becoming the Baseball Commissioner?”
Psychology Today editor Paul Chance, who counter-inspired me by saying, “Find your niche, young man. Find your niche.”
I swore when he said that, in turning down my proposal to publish DreamWorks, a journal exploring the relationship between the arts and dreams, that I would NEVER be a niche-person. And it’s true years later. I found a publisher for the journal, by the way: New York’s Human Sciences Press.
Novelist-professor John Gardner, who urged me to clean my writing of all academic spider webs and write and speak clear English that everyone could understand. He also told me to start a file for crazy letters, critical or otherwise, called “Cranks & Weirdos”—and put letters in it without reading more than enough to determine they belong there. That file is about four inches deep at this point.
Norm: In the last few years have you seen any changes in the way publishers publish and/or distribute books? Are there any emerging trends developing?
Ken: The last few years have seen nothing but change in publishing. To begin with traditional publishers have nearly all been acquired by conglomerate international corporations. The impact of that is to make them focus almost entirely on the bottom line and to take fewer and fewer chances with new voices.
That’s exactly why I founded Story Merchant Books. It was getting discouraging watching promising new writers get nothing but rejection from the traditional publishers and I wanted books in my hand to take to my Hollywood associates. One day I thought, why don’t I make the books? The trend is definitely away from traditional publishing and toward this kind of direct publishing.Norm: In your opinion, what is the most difficult part of the writing process? As a follow up, what, in your opinion, are the most important elements of good writing?
Ken: The most difficult part, by far, is finding a good story and letting it ruminate long enough to make the writing down of it almost like ‘automatic writing.’ Character is the heart of it, but plot is also important—and action that keeps moving the story along, preferably in unexpected directions.
Norm: What makes a good story and how do you go about finding great storytellers and turning them into bestselling authors and screenwriters? As a follow up, what is the process in determining if a book has film potential?
Ken: A great story transports the reader or the audience to its world, and you don’t want to leave it. You want to prolong the engagement, or repeat it. It sells you on that world and on its characters. If a story does that, it can be a film as well as a book.
I don’t go finding writers anymore; they come to me from my years of experience, from my books on writing, from my alumni as a professor, and from referrals from publishers, agents, studios, and independent producers.
Norm: Many writers want to be published, but not everyone is cut out for a writer's life. What are some signs that perhaps someone is not cut out to be a writer and should try to do something else for a living?
Ken: You can determine whether a writer is cut out for it or not the minute he starts asking you to help him determine, numerically, his risk-reward ratio. Real writers invest everything they can access, physically, mentally, psychologically, spiritually, and financially--to pursue their careers.
Norm: Do you feel that writers, regardless of genre owe something to readers, if not, why not, if so, why and what would that be?
Ken: Yes, they owe them a good story, thereby repaying them for the time the reader invests in their book. As I learned from Lowry Nelson, Jr., my Yale mentor, there is a “fictive contract” between the reader and the author under the terms of which the author sets expectations and then must fulfill those expectations satisfactorily.
You know you’re reading a good story when you begin by reading it faster and faster, and end up reading it more and more slowly because you don’t want to see it end. When that happens the author has fulfilled his part of the contract. When the reader posts a thoughtful review, he’s fulfilled his.
Norm: Do you ever suffer from writer's block? If so, what do you do about it?
Ken: I’ve never had writer’s block. “It’s a sign,” Norman Mailer said, “of failure of the ego.” I think the key to writing is having something to say, or some story to tell. I’ve never wanted for either.
My book A Writer’s Time (available as an e-Book as Write: Time) gives good advice about dealing with it. One of my points: “Never sit down to write until you know what you’re going to write before you sit down.”
Norm: What is Story Merchant Books all about and what do you look for when accepting to publish a book?
Ken: I started Story Merchant Books to give promising new writers a professional entrée into the story marketplace, and I’m happy to say that even mid-career writers and several estates have found their way to SMB as well. I almost always base the decision on the strength of the story and the voice behind it—as well as my being able to envision it as a film.
Norm: Could you tell our readers about your two recent novels, The Messiah Matrix and Brae Mackenzie.
Ken: After I was asked to finish the late and much-admired William Diehl’s unfinished thriller, Seven Ways to Die, and discovered I really did have a knack for fiction (most of my previous books were nonfiction).
Messiah Matrix was based on my first lifetime of classical learning and teaching and the childhood comparisons I heard from the Jesuits between Caesar and Jesus.
It got such great response—including outrageous attacks on those who insisted on regarding it as nonfiction—that I revised a novel I’d drafted years ago, and am just publishing it, Brae Mackenzie, about a discontent American woman who investigated her ancestral roots and finds the love of her life in the myths of Scotland, and a man who introduces her to them first-hand.
Norm: Are you working on any books/projects that you would like to share with us? (We would love to hear all about them!)
Ken: Yes, I’m working on my memoirs, A Story Merchant’s Story, which will be in several volumes. I think I’ve learned a lot in my various walks of life and it’s time to pass what I’ve learned on to others.
Norm: Where can our readers find out more about you and your work?
Ken:
My AUTHOR CENTRAL PAGE ON AMAZON
The Messiah Matrix
is a good start. Thanks for asking Norm.
Norm: Thanks once again and good luck with all of your future endeavors.
Norm Goldman,
B.A. LL.L, is the
Publisher & Editor of Bookpleasures, which he created in 2002.'
Practicing law for over 35 years enabled Norm to transfer and apply to
book reviewing his many skills that he had perfected during his career
in
the legal profession and as a result he became a prolific free lance
book reviewer & author interviewer. To read more about Norm Follow Here
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