Review: Meh
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 02 18, 2013
This very short guide could have been good. That's what's so disappointing.The first alarm bell came when the author put a disclaimer in the first few pages saying that if you follow his advice, you do so at your own risk. I almost put the book down then, but decided to keep going.After the disheartening disclaimer, the author starts with some good advice: when you decide to buy a book or other item, stop and figure out what it is that makes you click the buy button. Good, solid advice.The next step, though, really rubs me the wrong way. The author recommends "swiping", or copying, text like "the simple <such and such method> that works!". While this may work for some non-fiction, it feels very much like turning your book into an infomercial. It may sell books, but it's not a method that screams "quality material". I'm also not convinced that it works for fiction, but there may be an angle I haven't figured out yet.While following this book's advice, consider what you really want: to sell books regardless of quality, or to produce content that people find valuable enough to share. If this book were rereleased with more substance (solid examples, solid advice), I'd feel more comfortable with recommending it, but at this point, I don't feel I can. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't great either.