Customer Reviews

Damn! Why Didnt I Write That?: How Ordinary People are Raking in $100,000.00 or More Writing Nonfiction Books & How You Can Too!

5 star:		(53)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Many 'how-to-get-published' books are vague in the concept of writing, but strong on the proposal and submittal of manuscripts. Marc McCutcheon makes his book stand out with specifics for getting your writing noticed, published, and sold. His writing style is casual and humorous, yet professional. I found it to be easy to read, inspiring, and factual. He puts in print what I've been thinking for years as I browsed through the latest Thousands-of-Reasons-to-Make-Maccaroni-type titles: I could've written that...I'm not even a PhD and I could've done that, and so-on.

McCutcheon's tips on writing are very concise and motivating, with a fresh delivery of facts, not rehashing. The book also contains a thorough section of resources; from finding an expert on your nonfiction topic of choice, to a glossary of publishing terms for newbies. You'll find examples of query letters McCutcheon used himself to sell his books, as well as sample contracts with translations from legalese into normal language.

He lists several success stories of everyday people who sold blockbusters. Common obstacles are addressed such as not having a degree (he is a high-school dropout himself), whether your idea is promotable, contract negotiation, and how to research. You are shown that with the right tools and hard work, anyone can do it.

Once believing I might be able to write a non-fiction book and get it published, I now KNOW it. This is a must-read.

The common conception about writing as a career is that it is difficult to get into and produces many "starving" artists. While this may be true in many situations, Marc McCutcheon argues convincingly that it is not necessarily the case when it comes to nonfiction writing. According to the author over 50,000 new books are published each year, but only about 3,500 of them are fiction. As a result, most of the competition is in the fiction area. The nonfiction area is by far the easiest one in which to become published.

The author relates how even a beginning writer can learn to write nonfiction and start making a living as a writer much faster than commonly believed. The book is filled with the necessary details of not only writing a great nonfiction work but also how to handle contract negotiations, why you need (or don't need) an agent, writing proposals, marketing and just about any other subject that the writer may need to know.

Throughout the book, McCutcheon encourages the new writer and points out that many top selling titles were written by ordinary people without any special writing skills or training. A book that should be on the bookshelf of all writers, I can't recommend it highly enough.

I had an idea buzzing around for a non-fiction book, I wound up buying "Damn! Why Didn't I Write That?" as the title grabbed my interest and I needed more information on writing proposals.

I stayed up all night reading this engaging book. The next day I began hashing my proposal out, following the wisdom and guidance found in the book. Six months later and I've just been offered a contract from McGraw Hill! I think that speaks volumes!

This book will inspire you! Marc McCutcheon offers all the tools, motivation, and information needed to get started. It's no mystery that you have to add the "ideas",the writing talent, and the perserverance, but the rest of what you need, will be found in the pages of "Damn! Why Didn't I Write That?"

Thank you Marc McCutcheon for producing such a quality book!

Regards,
B.A.Webb
www.bawebb.com

In recent weeks I have searched Amazon.com for books on how to prepare a query letter and a book proposal. I have found numerous titles and purchased a couple. One of these was "Damn! Why Didn't I Write That?"

In reviewing Amazon.com and in reading the volumes I have purchased, I have noticed:
1) that for most of the titles I've seen on Amazon, the same group of (let's say) ten people are writing a majority of the reviews;
2) that all of these "majority reviewers" have books of their own about how to write a "non-fiction book" and get it published. (They use the vague term "non-fiction book" but what they really mean is "'how-to' book");
3) that none of these "majority author/reviewers" has ever written anything that might be deemed "popular" in the conventional sense;
4) that few of these "majority author/reviewers" have written anything other than "how-to" books.

It seems to me that there's a cadre of "how to get published" writers on Amazon who hype each others' works for the sole and specific purpose of encouraging sales of "how to get published" books. Like lawyers referring clients to each other, these guys know that "what goes around, comes around." They know that "how-to" book buyers usually buy more than one title, so that the author who hypes his colleague's book is indirectly selling his own.

Depending on your point of view, this scenario is called either a "network" or a "racket."

Marc McCutcheon's message in "Damn! Why Didn't I Write That?" boils down to "find a niche and milk it." Clearly, McCutcheon's niche is aspiring writers. I can testify to the effectiveness of McCutcheon's ideas not because I sold a book, but because I bought one - this one. So far, "Damn! Why Didn't I Write That?" has worked better on me than for me.

I do feel wiser about the publishing game than I did before I bought the book, if not for the reasons the author intended. And I'm sure McCutcheon is just a regular guy like me, trying to make a nice living doing something enjoyable and relatively easy. I can respect that. Perhaps jealousy is the only reason I felt a bit duped by this book. All I'm saying is that, if you buy this book, you may end up feeling duped, too.

Marc McCutcheon pulls out all stops from the get-go. Instead of implying that "you, too can make money writing books," he tells you the exact figures he has earned in advances and royalties for various titles he has published.

He gives sample query letters and proposals, including the one for the very book you're reading! McCutcheon explains how even a highschool dropout like himself can become an authority on various subjects as long as the author is willing to research and stick with their projects.

He covers marketing, publicity, agents and editors. The book is fairly brief considering the span of what is covered, yet it is very thorough and easy-to-read.

I have picked up a number of "how to get published" books, but they are all snore fests. They ramble on so much, it has been hard to pick out the lean meat from all the fat in the way. McCutcheon is to be applauded for delivering a straight how-to book on a seemingly overwhelming industry.

McCutcheon inspires the reader by making this industry approachable and makes attaining the hope of getting your book published attainable.

Sometimes a book is great because it's well-written, organized, clear, and/or comical. This book is all of the above. But in my opinion, what sets it apart from all the other good books on writing is Marc McCutcheon's personal touch.

This is one of those books where the author's personality really shines through. I loved it from the minute I skimmed through it in the bookstore, and straight through the 3 or 4 times I've gone back to it over the last few years. The reason that it's the only writing book I've bought instead of just borrowed from the library is simple: Marc McCutcheon has achieved the essence of what I would one day like to achieve for myself.

You might be wondering what that is, exactly. It's the freedom that comes from working for no one but yourself, and living your life in a constant state of creative expression. All you have to do to see that Marc McCutcheon has reached this point is read his dedication:

"To all the kids on Hamilton Street who have drawn me away from the confines of my office to play whiffleball, break up fights, shoot hoops, check out salamanders,...apply bandages, build snow forts,...and provide endless excuses not to work when I didn't want to anyway..."

This is the kind of life that being a successful writer can afford. There are many books that show you how to get there, but this is the only one that also reminds you why you're doing it in the first place. When you're swimming in rejection slips, uncertainty, and more than your fair share of disappointments, what you need most is NOT a how-to book, but something to remind you what you're working towards. This book is that something.

McCutcheon opens by claiming that "nonfiction books are the most likely to bring the largest rewards for the least amount of struggle and heartache." He then gives eighteen pages of book titles (far from boring to read!) - but why? As a selection of the hundreds of titles that have sold from 50,000 all the way up to 83,000,000 copies. And yes, CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL is on the list, but so are many titles that may surprise you.

This book got me excited. While reading it, I jotted ten nonfiction book ideas inside the front cover. The author has given the tools to take each of these ideas through the crucible and decide whether they're truly worth developing.

McCutcheon also tells you how and where to research your nonfiction projects and how to put rejection into perspective. He gives his own personable slant on those familiar big issues: how to write a query letter and a book proposal; how to negotiate for better royalties; understanding the author's bundle of rights.

Author of the classic best-seller ROGET'S SUPER THESAURUS and other nonfiction titles, McCutcheon is a high school dropout with the writer's lifestyle we all dream of. I guess that says it all about this book!

UPDATE 12/7/05 I wrote this review quite a while back. I've since turned two of my non-fiction ideas into e-books, BECOME A WORKSHOP PRESENTER and BUDGETING MADE SIMPLE. The first one won in the e-book section in the 2004 DIY Festival.

Although most writers dream of crafting the Great American Novel, there are many writers quietly making an excellent living with non-fiction books. Many of these books are perennial sellers that bring the authors residual income for many years after initial publication.

Marc McCutcheon has written the best book I've seen on writing and selling your non-fiction book. The success stories are inspiring. More importantly, he shares the nuts-and-bolts information you need to know to choose a subject, write your book, get it published, and promote it effectively. (Yes, authors have to promote their books. You can't rely on the publisher to do it.) My only quibble with the book is that I would have liked to see a chapter on when it is appropriate to consider self-publishing, a good option for some non-fiction authors. In fact, many of the success stories in the book are (or were initially) self-published.

It's difficult to choose a "most useful" part of this book. Each section is crammed with great insider information about writing and publishing. Both novice writers and those seeking to make writing a full-time career will find the help they need to become successful non-fiction authors.

If you have ever thought about writing a book, you need to read "Damn! Why Didn't I Write That?" Then, write your book--before someone else does!

Cathy Stucker
Special Interests Publishing

This book is absolutely wonderful regardless of what the negative spotlight review says. Quite frankly, I don't get it. Why degrade a reader for discovering something from a book? This is not "Non-Fiction Writing for the Completely Brain Dead." Furthermore, there are LOTS of things you can learn from a book that this one teaches you.

Like what?

Well, the research web links in Chapter 5 alone were worth the price of the book.

Chapter 6 asks, "Do you need an agent?" and provides tons of answers I didn't know I had questions for.

And then there are the pitfalls of contract negotiation, query letters, proposals and how to promote your work.

It's a great book. Buy it. You'll enjoy it while boosting your intelligence on the subject of writing your first book.

Most books on the topic of "earning a living as a writer" either avoid the income issue altogether, or make veilled references to the national average income ($6,000 per year) while waxing poetic over the many advantages of being your own boss and suggesting that starving isn't so bad, once you get used to it.

McCutcheon takes an entirely different approach. Drawing on his decades of experience as a writer, editor and agent, he tells you how to 'do it right', right from the start. By focussing on the perennial topics that sell, sell, and sell again, he gets you off on the right foot. You'll learn how to determine if your book idea will be attractive to a publisher... and how to modify it so that it will be. You'll find helpful information regarding agents, practical examples of cover letters, and a thorough book proposal. You'll learn how to research your topic efficiently and thoroughly, using both the time honoured public library system and the resources found on the internet. You'll learn the advantages of promoting your book, and how to do it effectively; you'll learn what works, and even more importantly, what doesn't. Sprinkled throughout the book are wonderful gems of information, including an indepth collection of web sites invaluable to any budding author.

This is a very focussed and practical book with a specific purpose: to show you how to earn a VERY comfortable living, by writing the specific books that book publishers want to buy. It accomplishes this goal through defining a specific methodology, and providing a set of tools that will allow any writer to apply the defined method. It will NOT show you how to 'trick' a publisher into purchasing your existing work, nor will it hold your hand and sympathise with you on how evil all book publishers and agents are. What it WILL do is show you how to find a topic that a Publisher will jump at... and how to write a book that will have the makings of a best seller.

There's very little to criticise in this book. About the only area that I could find fault with, is McCutcheons' failure to provide an email address, postal address or website where he might be contacted. In his business promotion section, McCutcheon suggests setting up a web site designed to promote his book... but then, he fails to do it himself. Odd.

An increasing number of new authors are self publishing their books. While McCutcheon mentions a few examples in passing, he doesn't deal specifically with the topic at all. If you wish to be educated on the advantages and pitfalls of self publishing (as opposed to vanity publishing) you'll want to check out Dan Poynter's highly regarded books, available through Amazon. (Unlike McCutcheon, Poynter has a website, and actually responds to email.)

But these are mere quibbles. This book covers a lot of territory, and distills decades of experience into a few hundred enthusiastic, easy to read pages. This book will provide any serious writer with a huge advantage... and if you follow the advice contained within, there's no reason why you cannot become a highly paid, successful writer yourself.

Always dreamed about a writing career? Give yourself a 20 year head start, and buy this book. Because McCutcheon knows what works...

And after you read this book, you'll know, too.