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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Memorable Title & Solid Contents, October 3, 2006
Ok, I'll admit it. This guy had to take off the pink cover to read this book but I love the title and the design of the cover. Cathy Yardley has written an excellent book which covers a broad range of topics for anyone interested in writing Chick Lit. She defines the genre, then guides the reader through the details of writing the manuscript.
Finally Yardley provides seasoned and professional answers about navigating the business aspects of publishing covering topics such as query letters, synopsis, agents, networking and how to form a critique group. Her FAQ is valuable to answer common questions and even speculates about the future of the genre. The seven Appendixes contain valuable material such as a sample query letter to an agent, a sample query letter to an editor, a sample synopsis, a scene outline, current agent listings (and some of the authors these agents represent), publisher listings and even great websites to help the reader.
This well-written book is highly recommended to every writer--whether you plan to write a Chick Lit Novel or not.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Absolutely perfect guide to creating an absolutely perfect novel!, August 13, 2008
If you're even wondering if you should spend some of your hard-earned cash on this book, rest assured that the answer is yes, yes, yes!!
Will Write For Shoes is a valuable addition to your library, and thoroughly covers the details of the chick lit genre. Cathy Yardley defines it, gives a history of it and fills readers in on the new trends. Just when you are ready to get to working on your own manuscript, she fills you in on premise (what is "high concept," anyway?), characters, structure, outline and much more.
Of course, there are many books out there that give the basics of how to create fiction, but Will Write For Shoes is the perfect tool if you long to create the chick lit that you adore. It's not a simple concept, but if you follow this author's advice you'll be well on your way to creating a finished manuscript that avoids the cliches, yet gives publishers the idea that they have a solid winner that will strike a chord with readers.
Don't pass up the opportunity to read and own this book. I promise you will refer to Will Write for Shoes over and over again during your writing career!
Thank you, Cathy Yardley for an entertaining, educational keeper of a book!
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not the best resource if you've already started writing your novel..., February 6, 2008
This review is from: Will Write for Shoes: How to Write a Chick Lit Novel (Paperback)
Will Write for Shoes is a no-nonsense guide to writing, revising, and selling a chick lit novel. Many of the approaches listed in this book aren't specific to chick lit and can be helpful for any genre. Yardley gives a good description of the chick lit genre as it stands (or stood, since the book was published in 2006), the plot devices that are used and overused, what is generally expected of a novel that plans to call itself "chick lit," and a number of hints and suggestions to make your writing better, more fluid, and more publishable. In general, I liked it. But as someone about 35,000 words into my first novel, I have to say that Will Write for Shoes isn't really the book you want to buy when you've already started writing. This book is an excellent work for the planning stages. Yardley's description and suggestions for plotting, outlining, and writing synopses, agent letters, etc, is all excellent advice, but can only really be implemented at the very early stages or once you've finished your book. For someone who's already 1/3 of the way in, it's sort of "store this information for next time." And in fact, a lot of the comments she has on plotting, characterization, etc, come from other books that I did use as a resource before picking this one up, first and foremost the Weekend Novelist by Robert Ray. I enjoyed this book. I think it's a great resource for writers who want to know where to begin (in terms of outlining and structure) and those who are finished and want suggestions on where to sell their book, how to find an agent, and which publishers to approach. If you're between those two stages, I think you'd find more help elsewhere.
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