Writing the Blockbuster Novel
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Writing the Blockbuster Novel Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Albert Zuckerman (Author), Michael Russotto (Narrator), Random House Audio (Publisher)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 169 ratings
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Every novelist dreams of it - writing the book that rockets to the top of the best-seller lists. Now, they can see how it's done, up close, in an audiobook by an agent who has sold manuscripts that turned into hits. Here Albert Zuckerman covers the essential elements of the blockbuster novel and shows writers how to put them to work in their books. Zuckerman covers the subject thoroughly, from creating outlines and building larger than life characters to injecting suspense and more. His instruction is decisive, direct and clear and is supported with examples from Gone With the Wind, The Godfather, and other blockbusters.

Previous page
  1. Listening Length
    9 hours and 32 minutes
  2. Author
    Albert Zuckerman
  3. Narrator
    Michael Russotto
  4. Audible release date
    September 17, 2013
  5. Language
    English
  6. Publisher
    Random House Audio
  7. ASIN
    B00EF86YR6
  8. Version
    Unabridged
  9. Program Type
    Audiobook
  10. See all details
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Product details

Listening Length 9 hours and 32 minutes
Author Albert Zuckerman
Narrator Michael Russotto
Audible.com Release Date September 17, 2013
Publisher Random House Audio
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B00EF86YR6
Best Sellers Rank #308,427 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
#1,640 in Words, Language & Grammar (Audible Books & Originals)
#1,645 in Words, Language & Grammar Reference
#1,942 in Study & Teaching Reference (Books)

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
169 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Becket
5.0 out of 5 stars A seminar level course
Reviewed in the United States on September 8, 2012
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Providing advice to aspiring writers seems to be a major industry. Aspiring writers grasp for the silver bullet that will get them published. If you purchase Albert Zuckerman's book in hardback, it will cost you a text book price. The Kindle version is more accessible. I'm an aspiring writer, I have a degree in English lit and have written professionally for over thirty years and still have not written the blockbuster novel, still I recommend this book.

From my experience, the how to write a novel books fall into two distinct categories. The first is those relating to writing genre fiction. The second is about writing something that sells but that is also art. "Writing the Block Buster Novel" falls into the second category. The first example of a blockbuster discussed by Mr. Zuckerman is Ken Follett's "The Man from St. Petersburg." Here Mr. Zuckerman shows how Ken Follett wrote his novel, a very iterative process, a very exacting process, and a process most people would be either unable or unwilling to do. I won't list the elements of fiction. These are found in books such as "Aspects of the Novel" by E.M. Forster and "How Fiction Works" by James Wood. What Zuckerman shows is how Ken Follett and other authors achieved these elements. The single most important part of a "how" text rather than a "what" text for an aspiring writer is the ability to make the "How" techniques understandable and employable by the aspiring author. Zuckerman succeeds.

You can gain a lot from simply reading what Zuckerman has written and not reading the novels he references as you read "Writing the Block Buster Novel." I recommend the latter approach. I have further recommendations. You should read Donald Maass's "Writing the Breakout Novel" as a first step. Maass teaches you the recipe and will give you an excellent grounding in the principles and conventions of commercial fiction. Beyond that you need to read a lot fiction and to read it critically. Finally you need to write enough to discover what you don't know how to do and to acquire the determination to find out for yourself how to solve these problems. At this point Mr. Zuckerman, Sol Stein, and Oakley Hall will be very valuable to you.

So now, let's suppose, you've written 85,000 or so words that has been proof read, subjected to review by a good critique group, reflects Zuckerman's wisdom etc. You will need to acquire a literary agent, acquire a publisher (assuming traditional publishing ambitions) and will receive hundreds of rejections in the process. It took Joseph Conrad twenty years to become published, F.Scott Fitzgerald fifteen. If commercial success is your goal stick to well defined genre work, mysteries, romance, thrillers, Y.A., and anything that might be popular with a book club. The agents and publishers are risk averse to an extreme and driven by profitability. That's why a cozy mystery featuring a charming kitten detective and recipes for toll house cookies sells and you don't.
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Shelley Souza
5.0 out of 5 stars The big story
Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2010
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Having read most of the reviewers' comments, I believe that to get the most from this book, you have to want to write a blockbuster novel; that is, a BIG story that asks (and answers) big questions. Blockbuster novels are not the same as genre novels. The most obvious difference between them is their architecture. Although a three-storey house and 200-storey building both require architectural designs and blue prints, the challenges inherent in the construction of each building increases with the size of the building.

The big story, or blockbuster novel, is like the 200-storey building. What this book reveals (thanks to Ken Follet's generosity) is how to revise the plans for the 200-storey building so that the final edifice enthralls visitors (readers) with its richness of details, interesting occupants, multi-layered textures and intricate design. So much so, the visitor believes s/he temporarily entered a building that doesn't actually exist, even if certain elements within it were real.

That's what I've come away with from reading this book.

It does assume that the writer delving into its pages already understands proper plot construction, where twist points, climax, etc., fall along the plot line. It also assumes that the writer wants to write a character-driven, commercially successful, BIG story; not just a character-driven, commercially successful story: there is a difference between the two, and this book reveals what that is.
8 people found this helpful
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Bob Miller
4.0 out of 5 stars Good advice and examples
Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2014
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Zuckerman has edited many top novels and he shares his knowledge of what goes into a blockbuster novel.
He starts off by saying that he's going to be using examples from five blockbusters (Godfather, Gone with the Wind, and others) and he suggests that the reader should read them all to understand his references.

Well, I had not read any of them. And I think that if I had put his book down in order to become familiar with these other five, then I wouldn't be writing this review for another two years. I did start reading Gone with the Wind. (I found it for free on the Gutenburg project.) So I started reading a few chapters. But I didn't read any others, and I was still able to learn a lot from the book.

For all beginning writers, I'd recommend it because he gives very concrete examples of what he's talking about. Since he edited a novel by Ken Follett, he has Follets actual outlines for a novel in various stages of development. I found that quite interesting: to see how he wrote some ideas in an outline, then later changed them.

That is what writers are doing all the time. If you want an answer to the question: What changes would improve my novel? then this book has got some answers.

It was an easy read. Learned a lot. Worth it.
4 people found this helpful
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Ralph White
5.0 out of 5 stars A Novelist's Rules of the Road
Reviewed in the United States on February 13, 2010
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In this 120 page gem, Al Zuckerman, the founder of literary agency, Writer's House, succinctly sets out the six building blocks of a successful novel. If you follow some fairly simple rules you have a decent chance of making your manuscript commercially viable. The rules are high stakes, larger than life characters, a clear foundation for suspense, an outlandish premise, multiple points of view, and captivating setting. If you have all six your chances of getting it sold are good. This presumes that the writing is skillful to begin with. It's far easier to build these elements into your manuscript from the outset than trying to edit them in after it's done. To achieve that you will have to use an outline, so Zuckerman also instructs you on how to develop and edit your outline. He makes it clear that his approach isn't formulaic. You still have to be a skillful writer. But you can be a skillful writer (even getting awards), but if you neglect Zuckerman's rules of the road, you are bucking the odds. You may eventually find an agent to represent you, but it's not going to be Writer's House.
9 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Evaldo Teixeira Nunes (@evaldotnunes)
5.0 out of 5 stars Para quem se interessa pelo mercado editorial.
Reviewed in Brazil on May 25, 2021
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O autor dá dicas realistas e aplicáveis para quem deseja escrever um livro que venda.
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CA
5.0 out of 5 stars Good
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 1, 2020
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Good
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Client Amazon
5.0 out of 5 stars UTILE ET PRATIQUE
Reviewed in France on May 24, 2017
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A. Zuckerman est un véritable docteur pour romanciers débutants....
Un ouvrage très utile. Un des meilleurs, au milieu de la jungle des guides pour écrivains.
Peut-être indispensable ? Personnellement, je recommande vivement sa lecture...
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Carlo Sente
5.0 out of 5 stars A must for every newbie writer
Reviewed in Germany on February 23, 2017
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After reading Albert Zuckerman's book, I realized, I had to completely rewrite my first novel. I stubbornly did so, and was able to lift my work from the flatlands of boredom to the peaks of uniqueness.
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Sarbo
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book on "How to write Fiction"
Reviewed in Canada on July 19, 2013
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Though written twenty years ago, and dated in some respects, I can't find a newer book that comes close to the quality of teaching the writing of fiction that this book does. Taught by a former writing teacher and a highly successful literary agent, this book is like a course complete with analyses of novels like "Gone with the Wind" and "Garden of Lies" that are still available. The real prize of Zuckerman's book, in my opinion, is Ken Follett's outlines for "The Man From St. Petersburg." As a serious writer-in-training, I found this of immense value when compared with what appeared in the actual book. Seeing how Follett departed from his outlines gave me permission to change original ideas when they didn't work in my own novel.

Other treasure troves are Zuckerman's techniques for dealing with backstory, and detailed analyses for plot, setting, and character development. The book is dated in that he references books, movies, and authors with which the younger generation may not be familiar, though they can look them up like I did. More importantly, the publishing industry has changed drastically over the past twenty years and I would encourage new writers to find current information on how to get published.

However, the blockbuster novel has not gone out of style and in my opinion, the techniques for writing it hold as true today as they did twenty years ago. I hope Al Zuckerman's book continues to be available for a long time to come.
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