Reading Fanatic Reviews

Writing

The Tidy Guide to Writing a Novel by Rachel Aukes

Universal Book Link

Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, Google Play, Scribd, 24 Symbols, Thalia, Mondadori, Angus & Robertson, and Bol.de

The Tidy Guide to Writing a Novel*

Might Help a Real Beginner Get Started

This is a super short guide about how to write a novel. There are only four chapters. The second chapter gives tips for planning, whether you are a plotter or pantser (or somewhere in between, like most of us are); she does this in very broad strokes. In the third chapter, she goes over more precisely what she calls Little Ups as well as more specific information about the novel writing process. Little Ups, I think, is an odd phrase; they’re meant to motivate people to write in short stages, which could give a sense of accomplishment as you fulfill each milestone.

The book does give a thumbnail sketch of one writing process, which may or may not work for every writer. While there are some good tips and hints, it doesn’t feel like there is much substance to the book. You won’t really learn how to write a novel by reading this book, although you may be encouraged to do so. There is nothing really new here hasn’t been talked about in more detail in other books, magazines, and writers’ forums. But if you’re relatively new to writing (or are considering writing a novel), you might find this book is one that can help with your new author mindset and get to you heading in the right direction.

Copy Cocktail by Kerrie Legend

Universal Book Link

Available at Amazon, iBooks, Kobo, Scribd, 24 Symbols, Mondadori, Angus & Robertson, and Indigo (Chapters)

Copy Cocktail*

Solid Information but Bad ToC and Annoying Theme

As I have several businesses myself, I am definitely interested in creating better copy, so I was drawn to this book. The author does have enthusiasm for writing compelling copy. In this book, she discusses good and bad copy with a lot of examples, both made up and real world. If you’re relatively new to marketing, you will find a lot of useful information that will help you on your path. She even goes into a little about which English rules you can (and should) break and effective use of language in copy. There are lots of numbered lists to give you ideas from topics about figuring out your optimal customer to how to best target them, whether in a headline or on a sales page.

The biggest drawback to this book has nothing to do about its information but its organization. For whatever reason, the author has built up this whole book idea around alcohol and cocktails. I think the metaphor is stretched far too thin and actually becomes a bit tiresome. But it created a bigger problem. To me, the best non-fiction books are very transparent at several points, like the blurb and table of contents. The clear blurb gets me to buy, but well done table of contents not only preframes me for what I’m about to read but can also be the signposts needed when I want to refer back to a particular book topic. It is part of the old “tell him what you’re going to tell him” that is crucial for a non-fiction reader. Unfortunately, the author instead chose to make a table of contents that was more cutesy than practical, with chapter headings that tell you nothing about the content like Mocktail Style Writing and Magic Cocktail Syrups.

That said, I think the book has solid information that can help you with marketing and better copywriting. Just be sure to bookmark the pages that you might want to refer back to because the table of contents will not help you at all in that regard.

How to Write a Spiritual Dramatic Suspense by Krista Wagner

Universal Book Link

Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited

How to Write a Spiritual Dramatic Suspense Novel*

A Look at a Very Specific Subgenre

I had never heard of this particular sub-subgenre of suspense! As a writer and editor myself, I am fascinated by the topic of writing. So when I saw this show up at one of my favorite book review sites, I was curious and had to choose it to find out more. Unfortunately, I found this book a little light on content, though it did have some interesting insights and exercises.

The book starts out with a very brief definition of this subgenre and then goes into other information about the overall arc and elements of a suspense story and what the author calls tropes. I found the writing of this part to be a little tedious because the author tends to state what she is going to explain at some length and then explains it more fully, even for relatively minor concepts. Just get to the explaining! If she felt a need for a transition between ideas, a simpler one could have been chosen. I also disagree with what the author calls tropes. I think she is mixing up the concepts of genre conventions and tropes in most cases.

The bulk of the book is actually the author’s book called Intent. Interspersed between paragraphs is the author’s commentary about what she was doing in a particular segment of a scene, discussing some elements that she had talked about in the general section previous. Each chapter ends with a writing exercise or two about an idea that the author believes was reflected in the preceding chapter. These are actually fairly decent writing prompts/exercises for any fiction writer, not just for one of this subgenre. She suggests exercises that look at minor characters, foreshadowing, tensions, and the like. There’s no real wrap-up section, which I think would have been helpful. It does end with a little discussion on theme.

I believe the author should have explicitly stated on the cover that the book is more about Christianity rather than general spirituality. In fact, Bible quotes precede each writing exercise. Perhaps she should have used the word “Christian” instead of “spiritual” as the title. After all, there are many types of spirituality which could form the basis of a suspense novel.

I felt like the beginning section, the part before her novel and analysis of it, was too short to be of much use to someone who actually is interested in writing this subgenre. The writing itself in that section, also, was sometimes confusing, and not just because she didn’t seem to understand the difference between conventions and tropes. I think nonfiction is best when it’s written in a conversational style, as if you were just telling the information to a good friend who is interested in the topic but doesn’t have the amount of knowledge that you do. Unfortunately, the author did not succeed in that very accessible nonfiction writing style.

Mini Style Guide by Denise O’Hagan

Universal Book Link

Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, 24 Symbols, Mondadori, Angus & Robertson, and Indigo (Chapters)

Mini Style Guide*

OK as Far as It Goes

I’m an editor myself, so I was curious about what this book would have to say about style. The book is divided into three parts. The first part is the largest and has to do with good writing—like how to write in plain English, commonly misused words, and copyright—as well as a punctuation guide. The second section looks at manuscript presentation while the final section gives a brief look at the publishing industry today (traditional vs. self-publishing). The appendix at the back has letters and forms that were mentioned in the main text.

The author is Australian. There are sections in the front that discuss British vs. American English, not just the one that is entitled that. I am an American myself, so I found her examples of American English sometimes to be inaccurate, like the discussion about sneakers and gym shoes. At least where I live in the western United States, we rarely call them sneakers; we are more apt to say tennis shoes or tennies. In one example that I thought was rather amusing, she stated that Americans are more prone to turn brand names into verbs, but then the example she gave of such a transformation is one that is never said in America; it’s a British term.

As an editor, I had hopes that this book would be something I could recommend to my clients to help them understand how to approach style and good writing better. I thought the initial sections of the book didn’t directly apply to what most writers want or need today. In the parts that would be most applicable, the descriptions were either too wordy or not explanatory enough. I would have liked this book to have been something an author could just pick up, flip to a particular question about style and find a quick, easy, and applicable answer to get them going on their way.

I think, too, that Americans could be confused by the style used in this book itself. Perhaps we need a streamlined guide similar to this but written by an American editor so that the gap between what the writer should be going for and what the writer reads in the guide isn’t so large.

For a book about style that has been edited, there were inconsistencies about punctuating the examples. Some of these examples seem like complete sentences but didn’t have periods, or full stops as this author would say. I thought that the sections on manuscript presentation and publishing were too short to be of much use.

The Book Marketing Audit by Kilby Blades

Universal Book Link

Available at Amazon only currently
Not on KIndle Unlimited

The Book Marketing Audit*

Knowing Yourself and How to Tweak a Book Retail Page Key to Marketing Success

If you are an author or want to be one, this book gets you thinking about marketing in terms of your personality and author type, goals, existing books, and limits in the first section of the book. The next section goes over the most important pieces of your retail page of the book: your cover, title and subtitle reviews, blurbs, and pricing. The final section discusses which parts of the marketing plan you would like to do yourself and guidelines for working with others the things that you do not want or are unable to do.

I think this is a great book for any author or would-be author. The book is supportive and compassionate, and you can tell that the author has walked the talk. What do I mean by supportive? In that first section where she has you examined your goals and limitations, a key part of her strategy is forgiveness. She stresses that we should forgive ourselves for what we cannot or do not want to do in terms of our book marketing..

I’ve looked at a lot of book-marketing books as I have a few cookbook titles published myself, and I think this is a unique one amongst the thicket of book-marketing books out there. What makes it unique? It’s very practical. First, you look at yourself, your library, your goals, and what you do and don’t want to do to move your marketing plan forward. Once you understand yourself and your needs, you can start creating a marketing plan for your future. And then she goes into the details about the things that matter most on a retail book sale page, giving very practical advice about each component.

I can wholeheartedly recommend this book to other authors and would-be authors.

Indie with Ease by Pauline Wiles

Indie with Ease*

Ideal Companion on Road to Indie Authorship

Being an independent author is not an easy feat. You have to juggle many tasks and often work with freelancers to get things like your cover and editing done. You put your book out there, and you may or may not see the sales that you’d hoped for. This book, written by a successful independent author, is meant to support you in your indie journey by giving you the inside scoop on a variety of topics, from self-care to productivity to marketing. Most importantly, the author wants you to help you have the correct mindset so you don’t stress out about the process or lose the desire to keep writing.

To this end, she shares information and insights in this book on a wide range of topics. She first looks at understanding your writing personality, time constraints, and other issues that have strictly to do with you. She’s a firm believer in self-care, and she encourages you to be realistic about what is achievable, both professionally and personally. Chapters in the middle section of the book range from organizing your time to the minimum viable needs of your book to the use of social media (or not). It’s not really meant as a how-to; you’re not going to get specific Instructions about how to do most of what she talks about. Instead, she brings up what she believes is essential to know about each topic. You learn not only from her; she quotes several other independent authors directly as well as linking to websites and suggesting books to read. Each chapter ends with a set of questions to get you thinking about how the chapter topic relates to you and your writing.

The book has one major drawback that I found frustrating. There is no written or clickable table of contents. I did receive a review copy, so I double-checked at Amazon to see if that version had one. It did not. There is so much useful information here that I would like to be able to get back quickly to a particular topic when I have a question or want advice. Too, as a reader, I always go over the table of contents of a nonfiction book before I start to read it so I know what to look forward to. I feel like it helps me organize my mind so that I am better able to assimilate the knowledge in the book.

This book is chock-full of information and support that will help you if you choose to become an independent author.

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The asterisks (*) by the book title denote the source of the book copy.

One star = I received it as a free advance/review copy or directly from the author.

Two stars = I borrowed it through my Kindle Unlimited subscription.

Three stars = I purchased the book outright (sometimes for free).

The Amazon book links on this site are affiliate links, which means I make a tiny percentage if you choose to buy a book linked from this site.

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