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5.0 out of 5 stars
Of Course, Scalzi Doesn't Drink Coffee, 14 Sep 2009
This review is from: You're Not Fooling Anyone When You Take Your Laptop to a Coffee Shop: Scalzi on Writing (Hardcover)
This is not a book of advice on how to write; rather it's a very personable look at the business of writing. The articles this book is composed of were taken from Scalzi's Whatever blog, spanning the years 2001-2006, and as such form an extended snapshot of his writing life and its progression through new forms of writing.
First a disclaimer: I'm one of those who reads Scalzi's blog on a near daily basis, and have been since mid-2006, as I find it to be both entertaining and informative on a much wider range of topics than just the writing business. Because of this, I had read a few of the articles of this book previously, and had a pretty good idea of most of the salient points that he raises within these pages. Which makes the accomplishments of this book even more impressive, as even with this prior knowledge I found myself very much absorbed, entertained, and informed by this material. Scalzi has a very easy, relaxed, and comprehensible style of writing, frequently leavened by touches of humor, that makes for very quick and easy reading, while still maintaining a very high level of information content.
The content here is good material for any aspiring or currently published writer, as Scalzi covers everything from why you really, really shouldn't tick off your editor to just how much money you can reasonably expect to make from various forms of writing. Writing to satisfy your inner muse versus managing your writing as a business, the benefits of publishing some material on-line, the real risk of piracy, what not to do in a cover letter, writing discipline (impressing the girls at the coffee shop with your laptop is not getting your novel written), contract and business writing, 'ghost' writing and the basic unfairness of the world where some people just seem to fall into riches without effort and what you, as a writer, should think and do about it, how to handle criticism and rejection letters, even the relative merits of 'genre' fiction versus that 'literary' stuff are all covered, often with some very sharp opinions.
Will this book turn you into a best-selling author? Nope. But it probably will give you a better perspective on just how to better manage your life as a writer, and that's no small thing.
--- Reviewed by Patrick Shepherd (hyperpat)
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Inside insight into working as a writer, 20 Aug 2008
This review is from: You're Not Fooling Anyone When You Take Your Laptop to a Coffee Shop: Scalzi on Writing (Hardcover)
An author known to some for his recent science fiction novels "Old Man's War" and "Ghost Brigades", Scalzi has collected a series of articles and posts from his blog on the business of and practice of writing for a living. Scalzi is far from a starry-eyed novelist. He's been employed professionally as a writer for since the early 90s and has been freelancing for a significant part of that. Scattered through fairly cynical views on writing as a career is some solid insight into why writing only some carefully chosen short fiction and your great first novel probably isn't a path to earning your food with your pen... unless you're Stephen King. Fascinating and recommended for people considering a writing career.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
a book about being a writer, not about writing, 3 Jan 2008
This review is from: You're Not Fooling Anyone When You Take Your Laptop to a Coffee Shop: Scalzi on Writing (Hardcover)
Taken from his blog, John Scalzi's collected thoughts on what being a writer is actually like. Invaluable insight into the life of a published writer. Full of wit and humour, each of the essays is a great read.
Highly recommended.
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