Wednesday 4 September 2013

Book review - Writing Tips From Authors by Patti Roberts

This little book is packed with useful tips from working writers, and should be on every new writer's bookshelf.

There are some wonderfully trenchant comments in particular from David Bishop and Donya Lynne on so-called "writer's block", and on writing in general. I can't resist quoting a couple:

"The most successful way to market your work is to write it exceedingly well." (David Bishop on marketing)

"You can't edit nothing, but you can always edit crap" (Donya Lynne on keeping at it)

"Turn it off" - Donya Lynne on Facebook when writing

"My plumber doesn't only fix my plumbing problems on mornings when it isn't raining and when the moon was full the night before." (David Bishop on writer's block)

Interestingly, I was very surprised to note how few of the featured authors had apparently chosen to have their contributions edited. As a working editor myself, I was especially narked that one writer who is my client did not ask me to cast an eye over it. But, edited or not, the many different viewpoints in this collection were refreshing and there is good advice there for everyone.

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