Most Helpful Customer Reviews
111 of 118 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
mr. poynter, this is unfortunate, February 23, 2006
I am a fan of Dan Poyter's, and I have learned a lot from this author's monumental work, "The Self-Publishing Manual". I thought this title, "Writing Nonfiction : Turning Thoughts into Books", is another one of such great works.
I was so disappointed while reading this book when I realized that it was nothing but a rehash of the original book. I just could not understand how a professional author could have the audacity to publish the same book under two different titles and sell both to the same audience. I don't know if you get, I just don't.
To make matters worse, this title is not as detailed as the original work. So, if you are interested in learning from this man, I suggest that you get a copy of "The Self-Publishing Manual", rather than this one.
I gave this book 1 star, not because it does not contain useful information, but because it contains nothing new from the author's previous publication. It is really unfortunate. I felt cheated.
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69 of 74 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Simple Approach to Writing and Publishing, October 30, 2003
Sitting down in front of a blank computer screen to write a book is intimidating. Where do you start? What should you say? How should you format your manuscript? Dan Poynter takes much of the pain out of writing, even if you are not experienced. His organization systems help you to pull together all the bits and pieces you will need to write your book. Not sure where to start? Dan suggests starting not with the first chapter, but with the one that will be shortest or easiest to write. (Good advice--it always works for me!) You may find it odd that he addresses creating a mock-up of your cover before you start writing. That not only makes good sense from an organizational perspective (after all, the book cover promises what you will deliver in the book), it also helps you to think of what you are writing as a "real" book. Once you complete the book you need to get it published. Dan helps you decide whether to self-publish or seek and agent and traditional publisher. Of course, Dan is "Mr. Self-Publishing," so if you decide to self-publish, be sure to get a copy of "The Self-Publishing Manual," his excellent resource for publishing and marketing your book. This is a user-friendly and approachable guide to writing a nonfiction book that can be followed by anyone who wants to be published. Cathy Stucker
Special Interests Publishing
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37 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Solid ideas about modern self-publishing, February 17, 2001
Dan Poynter's self-publishing manual has for years been the state of the art guide to getting one's book into self-publication from dealing with printers to getting marketing done. The world of self-publishing has undergone a sweeping change due to the internet and changes in printing technology. This book helps explore the changes, and how to use the changes to help get new self-published works to market. The book discusses how to use new technology such as print on demand. The book has a chapter on the e book. The book's style is light and easy to read, with quotes to leaven up the mix, but the book is not a mere "wouldn't it be a good idea to write your own book". Instead, the book has tons of tips, supported by URLs and e mail addresses of real-live people who have been doing what the author advocates. This book does not set out to be an encyclopedia of self-publishing, but instead is a good overview, which provides the reader with other resources, including the author's own materials available for purchase on individual topics, at the publisher's own website. Although we are going to see a lot more of this promotion of "for a fee" resources in modern books, I am not sure that this form of cross-marketing product is going to be the best sales device. To this reader, it is a dissonant note in the otherwise extremely helpful tone of the work. Indeed, more books would be sold if the majority of the information were free downloads rather than "for a fee" stuff. I don't want to overstress the point--you can read this work cover to cover and get enough tips, URLs and ideas to solidly launch into a self-publishing venture of your own. But the admittedly modest extent to which this book markets the author's "e info for a fee" service did not work for me. Still, this is a quibble. Money spent on this book is money well spent. The work is very readable, using play with fonts and inset to keep the reader hooked, without quite moving into that diagram and comic essay mode of, say, a Ten Speed Press book. I found myself so interested in this book that I read it cover to cover within two days--which is certainly different from the "resource to be read over time" way in which I view most books in this genre. This book is about non-fiction, but it could apply to fiction writers as well. Its advice is real-world, and geared to how for an investment of anywhere from several hundred dollars (the e book chapter) to a few tens of thousands (for a splashy full-print run work), one can literally compete in good order with the major publishing houses. The new printing technology, the internet and Amazon.com have killed the dragon of publishing houses, rejection letters from NYC agents, and books that cannot be distributed. Learn from this work how to put your book on the shelves.
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