I am reviewing this book as I go through it so I can be certain to be exact and brutal in my assessment of it. I don't know Dan personally. I am not a "fan" of his. I have read a few of his books and they are solid, but not earth-shattering. So I am hoping that what I find here will be. I promise I will be fair and honest. I hope this book does not disappoint . . .
Updates:
This book starts you right in the process of writing a great book. After a few standard introductory pages (title, copyright, colophon, ToC--and all of these are worth noting because they are the mark of a professionally published book; so feel free to use them in your own work)we get to "Write a page-turner."
It is important to note that self-help books need to be just as dynamic and attention grabbing/holding as fiction books. No one likes to read a stuffy old textbook. Dan shows you how to get your book started with punch and pop. He does this by telling you--even as he does it himself. This first page alone is worth the entire cost of the book. I have read hundreds of instructional books that put me to sleep several pages before they give me anything of value, or worse they hype me up with the author's story of how they were "just like me" (homeless broke, dying of cancer, it is all formula) and overcame their problems. Dan eschews that. He says "get to it" and he does it better than I have in this review.
His advice on interruptions is critical but I would preferred if he has advise you to toss your TV out the window, block Facebook from your computer, and make it so that if you wanted to check your email you have to leave the house and go to the library, or Starbucks--whichever closes earliest. As author of well over a dozen books myself I know from first-hand experience that distraction is the enemy. Commit and do. Nothing else will ever get that book written.
Next up: I like what Dan says about solutions. I was at a seminar many years ago and the speaker said that we no longer live in the information age, that we live in the solutions age. This only gets more true with time: people have enough information. In fact they have too much information, what they need are easy implementable solutions. Dan has written a book that is exactly that: concise and solves the problem of writing. The more I read this book the more I wish I had it 40 years ago. Personally I think he is crazy giving it away for less than $100. As a multi-published author who pays his way through life by writing I am dead-serious about this. This book is good stuff. It's not the normal fluff you get these days, and a LOT cheaper than a writing seminar.
Okay, this book reads in short bites but it is a LOT to chew on. It compresses information into solid chunks that may confuse the beginning writer, or anyone who has not bled ink for several years and had to promote their own work. I think I am liking this book much more than anything I have ever read by Dan. It is packed solid so far but I would advise you to take advantage of the ability to highlight sections and read it a few times to make sure it sticks. I suppose it would be nice if he went more in depth, as I am able to realize the value of what he has set down, but then again--if it can be said in ten words why use twenty? Dan really puts the onus on you (the reader) to take action and either find out more on what he is advising or simply take it on faith. If this is one of the first books you read on writing and marketing your book consider yourself lucky--even if you are a bit overwhelmed. It would have been nice if he had written this book first--but life experience doesn't work that way. This book is shaping up to be a masterpiece--but let me see if I still like it later.
This is not a complete book on writing (style, grammar, format, etc) but it does cover essentials beginners, and even seasoned pros like myself need to know or be reminded of. Dan covers first and second drafts, writing and rewriting, and how to find a designer and editor. This is all must-know information, especially as the publishing world changes around us every day. TRUST what he says about collaborations by the way. Your book is your baby. Would you leave your baby with a stranger?
Okay, now we get to the meat of it all. I have enjoyed the depth of his knowledge shared so freely here but the bottom line is that unlike several famous book authors and "book gurus" who I am sorely tempted to call out (you know these people--I promise) Dan does NOT advise you to find out what people want to know and then simply compile information or "interview experts" if you have no idea what you are talking about and simply slap your name on the cover. The world is full of poorly-written books that have been over-hyped or given away (as long as you pay the shipping and handling--which is almost always the cost of a book) that are suddenly "national best sellers." Dan does not advocate that here. In fact he is pretty adamant that you "write what you know." Period. I am so in agreement with that I may buy a few copies of this for those famous authors and gurus and hand them out.
Again, where was this book ten years ago?
I do have a few disagreements with the concept of writing out sales copy before you write your book. This is helpful to clarify what you will deliver but your book should inform and entertain, not simply be an extended brochure. Make sure you do not get caught up writing "for the money." Stay with what you know, not what you think people will buy.
Also, you do NOT need an agent to make money writing, or to get published, or to become a bestseller. If you want to find an agent great--but towards the end of the book Dan recommends that you find an agent or a publisher BEFORE you write your book. Here Dan and I part ways. Write your book. Write it and own it. If you find an agent great, but don't spend ten years shopping your book proposal instead of writing ten books. There are so many aspiring authors and so many free and 99-cent books available today that agents and publishers are swamped. Add to that the craze where publishers have been focusing on celebrities and their pets (Paris Hilton's dog wrote a book and got it published: yes, it is called "The Tinkerbell Hilton Diaries: My Life Tailing Paris Hilton") and you can only imagine how hard it is to get YOUR BOOK read from the slush pile. Forget getting it read by the entire board. Getting it read even once? If you like rejection letters great--submit to every agent in town--of course you want to research agents first: finding out which ones are even interested in your genre and are in fact accepting new submissions from first-time authors. Yes, having an agent is important, but nowhere near as important as it was fifty years ago, ten years ago, or even five years ago. I say "write, damn you!" Write and write some more. If you allow anything to stop you from writing--including a lack of agent or publishing contract you lose. So here is where I strongly disagree with Dan. Fortunately both Dan and I have made good money writing, so we are both "right." You need to do what is best for you, and time is not something you can buy back.
The book ends suddenly at the beginning of promotion. I will give this book five stars for "how to write" including editing, design, and motivation. I give it two stars for promotion and publishing. So I must say enjoy it for the process of writing and ignore it for promotion. Dan completely fails to cover how to get massive exposure on Amazon, Apple, how podcasts can take you to the top, blogs, social-networking, fan forums, author central, and so many other critical factors to a book's financial success. These are covered in other books by Judith Applebaum, Brent Sampson (must-read on Amazon), John Kremmer, Brian Judd, and Marilyin Ross.
-->These things matter more than ever<--even if you get signed by a major publisher. Do your homework.
But--as a book on writing I like this one so much I will buy several copies if it comes out in print. This goes on the desk--not the shelf.
Anyway, thanks for reading. I hope this helped.
