AT A GLANCE:
Genre: Books for writers, Writing don’ts, humor
Length: 274 pages
Release: 3/17/2009
Cost for New Copy: $10.99 on Kindle, $9.10 paperback
How Not to Write a Novel: 200 Classic Mistakes and How to Avoid Them—A Misstep-by-Misstep Guide by Howard MittelmarkMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
A lot of what is covered in this book I already knew, but that doesn’t make this book redundant. Rather, this book is extremely effective if you do not enjoy reading indie writers or have never beta read for anyone. This book takes common problems that are frequently found in self-publishing or early drafts, gives examples, and explains what is wrong. A lot of these problems I’ve picked up on reading self-published books, but there were many examples I hadn’t run across. This truly is an excellent book on how not to write novels. If you want to skip beta/self-published reading or if you are looking for all the bad examples in one place, this book is for you. If you’re looking for how to write a good book, look elsewhere; this is, as stated, what not to do.