(73)How I Write by Janet Evanovich

How I Write: Secrets of a Bestselling Author

by Janet Evanovich with Ina Yalof

Publication Date: September 9, 2006

Pages: 264

Buy it Here!

For as long as I can remember I have wanted to be a writer.  And not just of a blog.  In the last few years I have gotten a little more serious about putting ideas onto paper.  I have a Google Documents Drive folder full of undeveloped ideas and partial chapters.   One of  my "action steps" into actually completing a project is to improve my writing (and grammar) by reading books about writing novels.   And that includes How I Write by one of the most famous novelists of all times.

Is now the time when I should say that I have never actually read a book by Janet Evanovich?  (true fact) I don't have to have read her books to know that they are bestsellers.  I worked in a bookstore for nearly five years.  I KNOW she has legions of devoted fans who will stand at the door waiting for bookstores to open on Evanovich Pub days.  

I ended up listening to this book through Overdrive and I want to say that it was really quite enjoyable.  Janet, Ina, and Janet's daughter Alex, wrote the book in a Q&A style.  So to listening to Janet's thick Jersey accent as she talks about the details of being a novelist really gave it a personal feel.  I felt as if she were talking directly to me.   She gives a lot of great advice, the most important being, (paraphrasing) JUST WRITE IT!  Getting caught up in the need for a perfect book while writing the first draft will likely ensure you never finish the first draft. (*gulp*)  But the fact that hit me like a ton of bricks is this, Janet Evanovich was FORTY-THREE when she published her first book. -- Sidenote: Doesn't she look GREAT for her age??  Forty-three is not old by anyone's standards, but it is a little late to launch a new career.  So to hear that your dreams CAN come true at any age has motivated me to march on and finish what I have started.

Bottom line, if anyone is looking for some basic advice from a bestselling author on what it takes to publish your novel, then grab this book.  BUT - do so realizing that this book was written six years ago.  Before e-books exploded onto the scene.  And we all know how e-books have changed the publishing world, for both readers and authors.   Having said that, this book is still full of great advice and a wonderful read for anyone trying to make their dreams come true.