Have you heard about this? Amazon has launched Kindle Singles, one-off pieces of fiction, non-fiction and journalism which are typically much shorter than a novel, but longer than a magazine
article. The Singles can be read on any of the many Kindle platforms, from the Kindle itself through smart-phones to your desktop (download the Kindle reader free to your computer), and they are priced accordingly, from $1 to $5.

I bought my first one yesterday. For 2.99 I received a mini-memoir by Ann Patchett, best-selling author of Bel Canto and State of Wonder, that talks about her writing career. I’m reading it now and as a long-time writer and fan of Ann Patchett, I am really enjoying it. Here’s the blurb on Amazon:

“The journey from the head to the hand is perilous and lined with bodies. It is the road on which nearly everyone who wants to write, and many of the people who do write, get lost.”

So writes Ann Patchett in “The Getaway Car”, a wry, wisdom-packed memoir of her life as a writer. Here, for the first time, one of America’s most celebrated authors (“State of Wonder”, “Bel Canto”, “Truth and Beauty”), talks at length about her literary career –the highs and the lows–and shares advice on the craft and art of writing.

In this fascinating look at the development of a novelist, we meet Patchett’s mentors (Allan Gurganas, Grace Paley, Russell Banks), see where she made wrong turns (poetry), and learn how she gets the pages written (an unromantic process of pure hard work).

Woven through engaging anecdotes from Patchett’s life are lessons about writing that offer an inside peek into the storytelling process and provide a blueprint for anyone wanting to give writing a serious try. The bestselling author gives pointers on everything from finding ideas to constructing a plot to combating writer’s block. More than that, she conveys the joys and rewards of a life spent reading and writing.

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You can buy the Ann Patchett book for your Kindle here. I don’t receive anything for promoting this book. I just wanted to let you know in case it’s something that might interest you. Has anyone else read it? If so, I’d love to hear what you think.

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