Thursday Review—Booklife, Strategies and Survival Tips for the 21st Century Writer

Today I'd like to welcome back regular guest blogger, Renee' Cassidy. She's found a new writing book to love and I just can't wait to share it with you.

Booklife, Strategies and Survival Tips for the 21^st Century Writer,

By Jeff Vandermeer

I couldn’t put this book down until every page was flipped!

This complete eco-system for authors brilliantly guides the reader through both the public and private lives of an author. A rare find, Booklife is an easy first time read and reference all in one.

 

The book is divided into two main parts—the private and public life.

Public Life

In this section structure and technology is unraveled into a clear concise manner. From goal setting to creating your platform, the how-to as well as the pros and cons about the myriad avenues for creating a public presence are made simple. Effective ways to get involved and manage that public life are also suggested.

The communications chapter is an indispensible read, providing everything from public relations and tools, to long term maintenance of your life as an author. The public relations opportunities and aspects were followed by even greater information. Long term insights were outlined in chapter three and provide the reader with marketing in terms of branding and perception. Positive survival skills are suggested at the end this book’s section.

The Gut-check

This section was a beautiful segue-way from the public to the private way of life. It challenges the reader to search for balance between hectic public demands and the quiet demands of creativity. The sounds of white and dark noise are highlighted in this section and suggestions for effective ways to manage multitasking skills are suggested,

Private Life

Back to basics

This section sums up the second part of Booklife, the private life. It is the summation of a writer’s education—from classes and conferences to writing books.  How to live your writer’s life effectively start with inspiration, mastery of the craft and ways to manage distraction.  How to retest your work and resources are available in this section. There were insightful tips within this section on how to schedule your time to handling rejection.  My favorite part of this section deals with the Permission to fail with a WOW factor line that hit home to me.

“ to be great, we must attempt so much that we not only are in danger of forever failing, but we do fail,  and in that failure create something greater than if we had set our sights lower." 

This book is for every writer who dares to build a successful career and covers every imaginable topic in a writer’s life from creating the project to promotions. It is a brilliant 300+ page navigation system that leads a writer through all of the faucets of a successful career of being an author-not just a writer. Jeff Vandermeer covers each topic in reader friendly language. He has the ability to organize his explanations in a way that helps the writer embrace technology—while keeping the basics of a writer’s craft.

Don't forget to join the conversation!

Blessings,

Renee

Renee Cassidy is an experienced freelance writer and photographer. In 2006 she won the Writer's Digest Short Story Contest and has gone on to write for multiple publications. With a degree in marketing she brings her varied experience to the benefit of her clients.

She has two grown children and currently lives with the two men in her life - Fritz, her German Shephered and Australian Cash, her quarter horse.