Tuesday, August 24, 2010

My Nightstand - August 2010 Edition

I'd completely forgotten today was the fourth Tuesday of the month until I wandered by 5 Minutes for Books this morning.  Where has the month gone?  But since it is, that's means it is time for this months' What's on Your Nightstand.

Just last night, I finished up Tied In, a book I was sent for review by the editor, Lee Goldberg.

This book is a collection of essays by members of IAMTW, International Association of Media Tie-In Writers.through mostly personal stories, we get a very clear picture of what it takes to write a tie-in novel.

Now if you are wondering what a tie-in novel is, it's anything written based on a TV show, movie, video game, or some other franchise in another medium.  Personally, I really enjoy these books, so I loved getting a glimpse into what it takes to write them.  We're talking short deadlines and input from not just the editor but also the person who holds the rights to the franchise.

But I also got a real sense that these authors love what they do.  They are often fans as well, so they work hard to create something they would enjoy as fans.  Frankly, that always comes through to me in the best of the tie-ins I've read.

I really do recommend this book is you enjoy these books or want to learn more about what goes into writing them.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

That is SO interesting, Mark! I've read a few movie tie-ins lately that I've really enjoyed!

If you'd like to do a guest post in the Books on Screen column reviewing this book, that might be fun. We have things scheduled the next 2 weeks, but if you think you could do more than a typical review -- maybe some quotes or how it changed your impressions of the tie-in or whatever -- that would be cool. If you don't have time, that's okay too.

(By the way, I've been celebrating this month, because I just got the amazon Top 1000 badge -- nowhere near you, but it's fun!)

Jennifer
5minutesforbooks.com

bekahcubed said...

I'm not really a fan of movie-tie-ins, but I do enjoy books that explore certain professions. So I might just have to give this one a look!

Mark Baker said...

Bekahcubed, if you enjoy looking at unusual professions, I think you'll enjoy the book for that. Maybe not quite as much as I did, but you'd still enjoy it.

Jennifer, let me think about it and get back to you. I'm pretty busy for the next few weeks (new roommates moving in, I'm in a friend's wedding), but I'd like to do something. Let me see what I can come up with and get back to you.

And congrats on reaching the top 1000. These days, with the increase of reviewers writing there, that's quite an accomplishment.

Evelyn said...

Thanks for the links and I'm still finding cool book bloggers! This is fun! Thanks Mark! :)