
audiobook
by Grant M. (Grant Martin) Overton
WHY AUTHORS GO WRONG AND OTHER EXPLANATIONS
I WHY AUTHORS GO WRONG
II A BARBARIC YAWP
III IN THE CRITICAL COURT
IV BOOK “REVIEWING”
V LITERARY EDITORS, BY ONE OF THEM
VI WHAT EVERY PUBLISHER KNOWS
VII THE SECRET OF THE BEST SELLER
VIII WRITING A NOVEL
This witty essay takes a fresh look at the age‑old question of why writers sometimes miss the mark. Rather than offering a dry academic treatise, it treats the topic as a lively conversation, mixing moral reflection with sharp humor. The author surveys a range of literary figures—both celebrated and controversial—to illustrate how ambition, principle, and circumstance can lead an author astray.
Through clever anecdotes about well‑known names, the book reveals how motives such as the pursuit of profit, the desire to uplift readers, or the urge to experiment can all become double‑edged swords. It probes the paradox of writing as both art and business, inviting listeners to reconsider what “going wrong” really means in the world of letters. The result is an entertaining, thought‑provoking guide that challenges assumptions while keeping the tone light and engaging.
Language
en
Duration
~4 hours (249K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
David E. Brown and The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)
Release date
Jan 25, 2021
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
Subjects
1887–1930
A lively early-20th-century American man of letters, he moved between journalism, criticism, fiction, and editing with ease. His books and anthologies show a sharp interest in how stories work and in the writers shaping modern literature.
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