Shut up and write the book is a comprehensive breakdown on how to write a book. It covers everything from how to come up with ideas, worldbuilding, and character creation, through a full breakdown of the common story beats, and even how to approach self and professional edits.
It covers choosing tense and point of view, it addresses subplots and pacing, and all of it is written in Jenna's familiar and sassy tone that anyone who has seen her youtube videos would be familiar with.
And yet, I was left feeling… just a little despondent.
With the caveat that I don't read many non-fiction books, those I do pick up tend to be related to writing. I just don't know what I expected from this except… more.
And maybe this is on me. Maybe my expectations were too high. Maybe I was expecting some hidden secrets into the mind and world of a "bestselling author"...
Maybe I simply know more about how to write a book than I thought I did and need more confidence in my own skills, but while I found the book's voice clever and entertaining, its substance left me feeling like I'd read it all before with only a half decent internet search.
It left me feeling like this would be a great book for first-time writers. It gathers all the basic information together in one place and keeps it concise and easy to parse. The ARC copy I received had 216 pages of content covering twenty-six chapters, and every chapter came with a summary at the end, like a helpful reference sheet reminding you of what that chapter had just gone over.
It's short, and sweet, and would be a fantastic reference book for a writer just starting out on their journey.
Or one who doesn't want to do the research and reading required to figure out their craft.
This book puts all the basics together for you, it's a fantastic beginners' guide, but if you've been writing for a while, if you have a handful of years under your belt or know how to do your own research, then don't think that the accolade of 'bestselling author' means this book is going to give you any fresh, new insights.
Shut Up and Write The Book is available for Preorder
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First, I wanted to thank Jenna for giving me an E-ARC in return for an honest review. That being said, all thoughts and comments below are my honest opinions and I stand by them.
If I could give this book more than 5 stars I would. If you are a fan of Jenna's YouTube videos where she shares her thoughts and opinions on different writing topics with her own brand of snarky humor then you will love this book, if you are in the market for a nonfiction book about the writing process that is.
I have read many writing craft books over the years. Everything from Save the Cat and Save the Cat Writes a Novel to books like The 38 Most Common Fiction Writing Mistakes and How To Avoid them, and Shut Up and Write the Book is by far the best at explaining its message of the writing process.
Shut Up and Write the Book succeeds where other books of the genre fail, by simplifying an already overwhelming process by explaining things in a more conversational manner. I found with books like Save the Cat and its spiritual successors; the authors take a more academic or clinical approach when explaining the process. Jenna takes what can be a difficult and very overwhelming process and makes it easily digestible. I don't know about you, but for me back when I was in school like 100 years ago, I had a hard time understanding the "rules" of any course when they were explained academically. A lot of times it took the teacher breaking it down conversationally for me to grasp the concept at hand. That being said, I have a learning disability that affects the way I learn, even to this day.
In addition to breaking down the outlining process there are other helpful hints and tips throughout the book. Jenna breaks down the editing process, which is more prudent for those who are going the indie route. There's a whole chapter devoted to critique partners, beta readers, and sensitivity readers. A chapter all about titleing your book and so much more.
I am outlining (truly for the first time) my next book and Shut Up and Write the Book has already streamlined what I found to be an extremely daunting process. Besides that, at this moment in time, I am querying a book and some of the feedback has planted a seed that was fully sprouted by reading this book. So I am going to make those changes and then re-query my manuscript to see if that makes any difference for me.
If you are on the fence about yet another craft book thinking, you won't get anything new from it. I feel you should give it a read for yourself before passing your judgment. I found this book 100 times more helpful than most of the craft books I've read, including those more popular titles.
You can preorder Shut Up and Write the Book in ebook, paperback, and hardcover here. books2read.com/suawtb Your preorder comes with a free workbook.
