Ok, I have to be honest. I have not read this entire book and do not plan to; I was intrigued by the title “Write that Book Already!: The Tough Love You Need to Get Published Now.” How could you not stop and at least read the cover of a book yelling at you to write the book that is in you?
I flipped through the pages, and the information was pretty comprehensive with personal stories of other authors. The book is targeted more to people interested in traditional publishing versus self-publishing. The books outlines ways to get started writing, how to find an agent, and how the decision to sell books are made. They do touch upon self-publishing, but only for one chapter.
The authors, Sam Barry and Kathi Kamen Goldmark did an excellent job at capturing the reader’s attention with the title. They have a foreword by Dr. Maya Angelou, one of my sheros. The two chapters I appreciated most were marketing and publicity and the life cycle of a book. The authors gave a realistic preview of the process of book creation as well as how to get paid for your work. Trust me when I say that writing the book is the easy part. The real work begins during the editing process; marketing and promotion; and distribution.
If you are going through traditional channels, you have to find an agent to help get your book in the right hands at a publishing company. Your title may change; the angle of your story may change; and you will lose control of your project. Barry and Goldmark share all of this and more.
Although the book is packed with good stuff, I do think 197 pages is way too many pages to try to encourage anyone to write a book unless the reader uses it as a form of educational procrastination, which isn’t a totally bad thing. Anyway, if you need help tough love to kick start your book writing venture, “Write that Book Already!: The Tough Love You Need to Get Published Now” is definitely for you.
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Have you read this book? What did you think about it?