These are past book reviews from archives of Grist for the Muse. The books are rated to the following scale:

About Ratings:

***** -- Well Worth it at Full Retail Price
**** -- Buy on Sale/Discounted
*** -- Buy Used
** -- Borrow It from the Library
* -- Waste of a Good Tree

The following books have been reviewed:

Agents, Editors and You: The Insider's Guide to Getting Your Book Published; Michelle Howry (Editor) (Reviewed: 01/2004)

The Freelance Success Book: Insider Secrets For Selling Every Word You Write; David Taylor (Reviewed: 02/2004)

Poemcrazy: freeing your life with words; Susan G. Wooldridge (Reviewed: 05/2004)

The Self-Publishing Manual; Dan Poynter (Reviewed: 06/2004)

The Well-Fed Writer: Back for Seconds A Second Helping Of "How-To" For Any Writer Dreaming of Great Bucks and Exceptional Quality of Life by Peter Bowerman
(Reviewed 01/2005)

Write More, Sell More by Robert Bly (Reviewed 02/2005)

 

The following e-newsletters and websites have been reviewed:

Flash Fiction Flash: The Newsletter for Flash Literature Writers is a monthly newsletter edited by Pamelyn Casto

Muse Reviews for Books

Agents, Editors and You: The Insider's Guide to Getting Your Book Published; Michelle Howry (Editor); Writer's Digest Books; 2002; Paperback; 260 pp; $17.99

This book is not for the beginning writer, but it does have some merit if you are about to embark on the arduous journey toward publication. This book interviews many agents and editors on what happens when you contact a literary agent, when your manuscript reaches the book publisher, and provides useful information on some of the specific issues that the publishing writer will need to know about (rights, contracts, book promotion and e-publishing). This book only focuses on novels, story collections, and book-length non-fiction.

Since 80% of the information is in a Q & A interview format with as many as three individuals at a time, each with differing opinions on the same subject, it gets confusing at times. When it is all said and done though, the book does give you good information on how to find and hire an agent, lists expectations to have of your agent, and even includes some behaviors or common issues to be aware of when submitting your work for publication.

If this book is guilty of anything, it is that it gives you a lot of general info, when what you might like to have is some specific in-depth more objective information from a writer who expands upon some of the tidbits generated by the interviews. Verdict: A good book to start with if you are looking for information about agents, and the book publishing business.

Rating: ** (Borrow it from the library)

The Freelance Success Book: Insider Secrets For Selling Every Word You Write; David Taylor; Peak Writing Press; 2002; Trade Paperback; 336 pp; $19.95

OK, this is one of those books that you pick-up, not believing the hype on the front and back cover pull quotes. Comments such as:

"I plan on giving a copy of this book to every freelance writer I work with."

"The most practical and entertaining book I've ever read on freelance writing."

"No other writing book is so crammed full of useful tips, shortcuts, and surefire strategies."

But Mr. Taylor delivers. He is an experienced writing teacher, as well as a seasoned freelancer. His voice and style in the book reflect warm concern for his students. He answers questions about the topics that seem to continually vex writers starting out. Questions such as: How do I write a good query letter? What is considered Fair Use is in a copyright? What do I need to know about writing contracts? How do I get the attention of an editor? When should I consider self-publishing a book? He also provides a boatload of online resources to supplement his information and provides sample forms that would be useful for any freelance writer.

The guide is organized into logical chapters and formatted in an easy-to-read manner through the use of bullet lists, subheadings and examples to back up the information he presents. He also delivers information on topics that are not covered often in other freelance writing books: How to write for the Web; E-rights; Setting project fees and rates; Negotiating with publishers; and more.

This book is packed with useful information and is written with wit and humor. Pick this one up for your library.

Rating: ***** (Well Worth it at Full Retail Price)

Poemcrazy: freeing your life with words; Susan G. Wooldridge; Three Rivers Press; 1997; 224 pp; $13.00

This book isn't just for poets, so don't let the title fool you. The book is geared toward people who write poetry, but any creative writer can benefit from Wooldridge's words and writing suggestions. This book has a very similar energy to it as Natalie Goldberg's Writing Down the Bones. Poemcrazy is one of these inspirational writing books that never fails to kick-start your writing productivity no matter how many times you have read it. Her anecdotal tales of her writing life are enjoyable, and it is fascinating to see how many different ways that she uses word tickets to spur her writing along throughout the book. Ms. Wooldridge is in love with language and creativity and it shows throughout the entire book. She encourages all writers to slow down and really see the world around them, to bring words to your feelings and abstractions in life, as well as embracing the language in the world around you. What are your favorite words? What words are fun to say? Explore them and connect language to you. Wooldridge wants you to have fun with your writing and provides you with many ideas on how to do this. This book is a must have for any writer's library.

Rating: ***** (Well Worth it at Full Retail Price)

The Self-Publishing Manual; Dan Poynter; Para Publishing; 2002; 430 pp; $19.95

Dan Poynter's book is the definitive book on self-publishing on the market today. He covers every aspect of the self-publishing world: writing, producing, announcing, promoting, marketing, distributing and fulfilling book orders. The only weakness of the book is that it doesn't provide enough information on e-publishing and print-on-demand, and how to use self-publishing techniques to help get your book out there in these new publishing formats. Who knows, maybe he'll cover this topic in greater detail in the 14th edition of the book. This book, at times, feels like it is just giving you the bare bones information about self-publishing, inviting you to go to his website to get additional information at http://parapublishing.com, and a lot of this information is at an additional cost, but some of this information is free and is quite helpful. The promotion and marketing information in the book is first rate though, and if you are looking for a good place to start educating yourself about the self-publishing process, The Self-Publishing Manual is the book for you. Even if you are not thinking of self-publishing your own book, this book provides detailed information about how the book business works.

Rating: **** (Buy on Sale/Discounted)

The Well-Fed Writer: Back for Seconds A Second Helping Of "How-To" For Any Writer Dreaming of Great Bucks and Exceptional Quality of Lifeby Peter Bowerman. Fanove Publishing, 288 pages. Paperback; $19.95, ISBN: 0967059852.

This is a book that I've been waiting for ever since Mr. Bowerman wrote his first book: The Well-Fed Writer: Financial Self-Sufficiency As a Freelance Writer in Six Months or Less and thankfully it focuses on the stuff that writers like me, have many questions about and are intimidated by: sales and marketing. Mr. Bowerman gets in-depth about how to build your business (through the techniques of cold calling, networking, and email and web marketing). Those looking for writing tips will not be disappointed. Peter gives us plenty of tips on how to write in Chapter 12, Write Better, Earn More, he discusses some of the keys to better writing, by losing weak words and tone, making every word pull its weight, and (my favorite) avoid $50 words. This chapter also includes a good section of tips on writing for the Web.

But the true strength of TWFW: Back For Seconds is the power of testimonials and profiles of other writers who have made the break from full-time indentured-servitude, to freelance business owner. He provides scenarios and anecdotes that support all kinds of different markets and situations: How to get started in smaller markets, competitive big cities, handling a part-time start-up, etc.

If you are considering making a break into the world of freelance business writing, you owe it to yourself to pick up a copy of TWFW: Back for Seconds for your bookshelf. It is an essential resource packed with examples and resources to launch your writing career into the success that you've always dreamed of.

Rating: ***** (Well Worth it at Full Retail Price)

Write More, Sell More by Robert Bly. Writers Digest Books, 245 pages. Hardcover; 1998; ISBN: 0-89879-816-7.

Robert Bly is the ultra-prolific guru of business copywriting, specifically in the realm of direct mail (You know, the piles and piles of junk mail you get each year? Someone has to write it.). He claims to earn a six-figure income every year, and I have no doubt about it. This book discusses the strategies and shortcuts that Bly uses to earn his income. He addresses the work habits, organizational techniques, and strategies to help you write faster, and make good money. He also covers some of the writing projects that you might not have thought of that are great for earning good income. Projects such as annual reports, sales letters, short articles, and little books, can help you make a lot of money with little effort.

I am a big fan of many of Bly's books. The Copywriters Handbook and Secrets of a Freelance Writer and the Elements of Copywriting are all on my permanent writing library bookshelf, and this book has a lot of information covering grounds that he hasn't covered in these books (well maybe he did cover some of these things in Secrets of a Freelance Writer and if you've read Selling Your Services, well you'll find a bit more overlap).

Primarily detailed information about marketing yourself, outsourcing tasks that are time wasters, and working with clients. In many places I wish that Mr. Bly would have dug into more details about the information he presents, and I feel that the book could be a little better organized between the two worlds of freelance writing: corporate writing and writing for publication. These two subjects seem to be interwoven in ways that are a bit confusing for someone new to the freelancing game. Still the book has a lot of good information, and shouldn't be overlooked.

Rating: *** (Buy Used)

Amazon

Virtual Bookworm

Barnes and Noble

Muse Reviews for Web Sites, Newsletters & E-Zines

Flash Fiction Flash: The Newsletter for Flash Literature Writers; Pamelyn Casto (Editor)

One thing that I like to do is to check out other writing newsletters so I get an idea of what is out there, how it is presented, and what I like and don't like about it.

Flash Fiction Flash: The Newsletter for Flash Literature Writers is a monthly newsletter edited by Pamelyn Casto, who is an expert in the field of flash fiction. She has written numerous articles about it and sponsors flash fiction workshops all of the time. This newsletter features in-depth information about markets that publish flash fiction, prose poetry, flash non-fiction, flash memoirs, and flash plays. Many of these markets are paying markets and this newsletter is a fantastic resource if you are out there trying to publish your flash fiction. This magazine also has news of interest to flash literature writers, as well as contest listings and announcements of writers who have successfully published their work.

To subscribe, send a completely blank email to FlashFictionFlash-Subscribe@yahoogroups.com