Your Writing Coach: From Concept to Character, From Pitch to Publication [Paperback]

Jurgen Wolff (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 19, 2007

Your Writing Coach: From Concept to Character, From Pitch to Publication goes beyond other books that only discuss style or selling. Jurgen Wolff, a highly successful author with vast experience and credits from Hollywood to the BBC, shows aspiring writers how to overcome fear, get past excuses, and start writing! Featuring exercises and quotes for encouragement, Wolff explains how to hook readers and keep them engaged. He offers powerful tips on how to be productive while still being creative and how to transform your inner critic into a constructive guide to get past the dreaded writer's block. Finally, he offers advice on marketing yourself and your work and the tremendous opportunities offered by new media like the Internet and podcasts. More than just a how-to book, Your Writing Coach is a friendly companion and mentor, providing all the strategies needed to build a career as a full-time writer.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Coach is surprisingly thorough in covering a lot of ground, despite its short length and small size." -- The Writer magazine, July, 2008

A "simple, practical, encouraging handbook." -- Financial Times, January 19, 2008

This book is an antidote to the bad advice aspiring writers are often given. There are only two books on writing I recommend--Stephen King's and this one. -- William F. Owen, novelist

This book is the real deal--no fluff or padding, just concentrated insider knowledge. By far the best book on writing I have read. -- Rupert Widdicombe, writer and journalist

About the Author

Jurgen Wolff is a writer, teacher, and hypnotherapist. He is the author or co-author of five books, and the editor/publisher of BRAINSTORM, the creativity newsletter. In America, he was a Research Scientist for the American Institutes for Research, and a Senior Consultant to Learning Achievement Corporation.He has taught at the University of Southern California, been a Guest Lecturer at Le Conservatoire Europeen D'Ecriture Audiovisuelle, Paris, and a Tutor at the London School of Journalism. For more information, visit http://www.yourwritingcoach.com

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Nicholas Brealey Publishing (April 19, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1857883675
• ISBN-13: 978-1857883671
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 6.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #661,592 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Writing Book For All Seasons, August 6, 2007

By 

Scott A. Newton - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Your Writing Coach: From Concept to Character, From Pitch to Publication (Paperback)

This is a great book for aspiring writers as well as established writers looking to branch out into new areas. A lot of writing books seem to be by a novelist writing only about novels, by a screenwriter writing only about screenplays, etc., but Wolff explores both of those genres, as well as non-fiction books, magazine articles and more. He assumes you're serious, and while he doesn't fill you with delusions of grandeur, he doesn't insult you by selling some fantasy of instant riches, either. He makes it clear that writing for a living requires dedication and hard work, just like any other career, and then he shows you how to go about making it happen.

The title is important and telling - Wolff's tone is professional and authoritative, yet friendly and quite cordial, and you get enjoyable little glimpses into his own successful career and personality as he provides anecdotes from his own published/produced works in all the fields he discusses. It's obvious that he's speaking from his own experiences in all aspects of the business(es), not just the writing, but also the marketing, pitching, ethics, etc. In addition to drawing on his own background, he also brings in snippets and examples from lots of other writers and creative types, most of whom are very well-known.

Actually, there is a lot of good information in here for creative business people of all sorts, like copywriters, marketing staff, and even product development types, anybody who needs to manage time, inspire others, hatch ideas or promote a vision, all of which are facets of the writing business and life. The book and table of contents are nicely organized and detailed in such a way that you can easily cherry-pick the information you're looking for. Of course, if you're a "regular" writer you will want to read every page, but the organization makes it easy to revisit various topics without cluttering up the sturdy, finely printed book with unsightly Post-It Notes.

Finally, the thing I liked best about this book is that it's a lot more than just a book. Every chapter includes an access code you can enter at one of Wolff's websites, where you can view bonus content and video interviews with Wolff and many of the people he mentions in each chapter. Wolff even makes himself available via his website, like a true coach would, as a source of advice and inspiration. It's a brilliant blend of old and new media, and access to the website makes the book a real 2-for-1 bargain.

As you might guess, I'd highly recommend this book. I've got a copy of my own and bought another for a friend, because this is the kind of book that if you loan it out, you may not get it back!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Writing Coach Who Knows His Stuff, August 11, 2007

By 

C. Dunmire (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Your Writing Coach: From Concept to Character, From Pitch to Publication (Paperback)

"Your Writing Coach" is a 248-page book filled with a wealth of practical knowledge, industry insights, writing exercises, and coaching tips that will teach and encourage writers at all levels to write, persist, and sell better. It's smartly divided into four parts with 18 chapters that covers a remarkable range of issues and topics all writers face somewhere along the spectrum.

Despite Jurgen Wolff's successful career as a writer in the industry with a prolific list of impressive projects (including writing scripts for several popular TV shows), the tone of the book remains coach-friendly, helpful, and never condescending. Plus, the bonus material on his Web site and his personal invitation to contact him if you still have questions after reading the book make this one wonderful coaching tool I'm happy to promote to readers of the Creativity-[...]

Web site.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring stuff even for "serious" non-fiction writers, March 10, 2010

By 

Suzan St Maur "author of "How To Write Wi... (UK and Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Your Writing Coach: From Concept to Character, From Pitch to Publication (Paperback)

As a non-fiction author (including books on how to write non-fiction!) I think Jurgen's book can give even authors of business and academic books a great deal to think about. Dry, boring non-fiction is - thankfully - going out of fashion in favour of a much more creative, story-telling approach. Non-fiction today, even if it is very factual and information-based, has to be interesting and - dare I say it - even entertaining if it's going to hold readers' attention right to the end. And this is where Jurgen's advice and guidance is particularly valuable, no matter what type of writing you do. I recommend this book wholeheartedly.