Review: A book by writers for writers should at least edit their blurb
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 01 17, 2013
I bought this book on a day that it was free, and I intended to read it to see if they have anything useful to say. But, I was already suspicious when the blurb has spelling errors. If the authors didn't take the time to get their short blurb perfect, the one chance they have to impress prospective buyers, I worried about the quality of the rest of the book.The overview and first chapter read like the sales letter for one of those get rich schemes where they never tell you exactly what they are trying to sell you beyond dreams of getting rich; which you, in turn, are supposed to sell to some other sucker. That same kind of feeling continues through the book. I kept waiting to get to something concrete. There are teasers here and there with the comment that they will explain it later. There is so much cheerful "conversation" that any helpful information got lost in the words.I did like having additional information in PDFs online that you can download. What I didn't like was their information on finding a target audience. They ask you questions about your readers, like are they urban or country, their education level, etc. but they don't give you any suggestions on how to find that information. There is no "one" fan-type. People all read different things and no author can guess what kind of person will pick up their books. Since the rest of the book is based off the answers you have for these questions, if you can't answer them, the rest is really too vague to be of much use.The book wasn't especially helpful because there is little specific instruction or advice. You're asked to determine (though you're not told how) things about your imaginary biggest fan, like what kind of pet they have, what blogs they read, or what their hobbies are. Not only are these things impossible to discover, but they have little to do with whether or not a person would actually buy and read your book. I'd suggest passing on this book and finding something with more solid, helpful information and advice.