Customer Reviews

Spiritual Writing: From Inspiration To Publication

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Spiritual Writing is the clearest, most helpful book I've ever read about getting nonfiction books published. Despite the title, I think it's perfect for anyone who is trying to publish an unusual, personal book.

The authors talk about the special challenges we face when we tackle subjects close to our hearts -- how to self-edit and make our ideas marketable. They take readers all the way through the process: crafting the book, writing query letters, proposals, agents, publishers. They also include a helpful guide to the differences between major publishers and independent publishers -- from the author's perspective. The resource list in the back (spirit-friendly agents and publishers, online resources for writers, etc.) is great, too. I found the book straight-forward and encouraging.

As an author that is half-way through theprocess of having their 1st time book published I can say without qualification that THIS
is the book I'd wish I'd read before beginning the process. Not
only is it packed with invaluable information and guidance but also manages to help keep the new author in emotional and psychological balance with brilliant and insightful humor at the
crucial junctures. The resources cited within the book are also
essential material for anyone considering wandering down the rocky road that is getting your book published. After reading several other helpful books about getting one's book published
I am quite certain that I could have skipped all the rest and
read Spiritual Writing which would have saved considerable eye strain and, kept my spirits light at the same time. Highest kudos to Herman and Black on a super writing the tool for 1st time authors.

Deborah Levine Herman, with the help of Publisher Cynthia Black,
has created a book brimming with invaluable information for all writers. The first part of the book firmly guides us through the inner process of writing a spiritual book replete with inspiring examples and exercises to help us clarify our intention and progress along our path. Then we are inundated with clear, concise ways to maximize our chances of getting our work published. This includes how to organize one's vision, create marketable angles, query letters & proposals without sacrificing our message, and finally providing us with spirit friendly resources including agents and publishers. A must read!

Spiritual writers are drawn to the writing process by a sense of mission: Spiritual Writing gets down to the nuts and bolts of spiritual writing, showing writers how to combine their spiritual vision with the protocols of publishing. Writers will enjoy an exact guide which combines spiritual insights with how-to advice and practical applications.

Writers of spiritually-related subjects should celebrate: finally the link between right-brain writing and left-brain publishing has been met. As editor of OfSpirit.com, I have read shelves of books on both writing and publishing, but never has an author so brilliantly matched these two separate processes to authorship with a style and order that is practical, honest and useable.

I constantly hear the frustrations of OfSpirit.com's network of spiritual writers who are trying to pierce the publishing industry's requirements and protocol. Creative people sometimes lack the business know-how to translate their valuable messages into the proper format necessary to prove the marketability of their manuscripts. Like any business, publishers are as much concerned about how well their books will sell as they are about how well they are written, maybe more. Spiritual Writing teaches writers the realities of this business and how to package your book and yourself to increase your chances of success.

~ Bob Olson, OfSpirit.com Editor

A great resource book! Not only do Herman and Black help the writer along from inspiration, to perspiration, to publication and all the steps in between, they offer a great section of resources. This book is a must for the Spiritual Writer's library. Listed here are resources that are actually "Spirit-friendly." Nowhere else can such a listing be found! I highly recommended this book for all Spiritual writers!

The perfect book for authors who want to share a book that is spiritually guided. The book provides an abundant list of spiritually inclined agents and pubslishers. It is also provides the nuts and bolts of how to write an effective book proposal.

This book is written by people who have spent many hours at the writers desk confronting and overcoming the many obstacles that beset spiritual writers. Their experience spans from the writers notepad to the editors desk to getting published. Well done and thank you for this book.

Spiritual WRITING, From Inspiration to Publication - by Deborah Levine Herman
with Cynthia Black - is professional, comprehensive and informative. The
seven universal life lessons, which range from God-love to love of humanity.
open readers to spiritual balance. Practical advice on writing a query
letter and book proposal arm authors with a winning approach to publication.
The Spirit-Friendly Resources section targets both agents and publishers with
spiritual interests.

After seeing all the 5 star ratings for this book, I not only ordered it immediately, I paid more for it to be shipped than what it cost. For the purposes I was looking for, it was a disappointment. I am in the process of writing a book proposal and I got the impression from the reviews that there would be samples for me to look at, and there was very little. I needed to have examples. The book proposal section was skimpy and too general. It added nothing to what I already knew. It would have helped if I could have seen on the page more samples of what an overview looks like, or an outline. The first half of the book was good in that it talked about the spiritual aspects of being a writer. I enjoyed that. But the proposal part, which was what caused me to buy the book, was not what I was looking for.