review: How to Write e-book

I’ve recently finished reading How to Write - Communicating Ideas and Information by Herbert E. and Jill M. Meyer.

Here’s my evaluation of the book in pros and cons:

PROS:
1. This book is great at breaking the task of writing into three distinct and easy-to-follow steps:

1] Organizing for the job.
2] Turning out a draft
3] Polishing the product.

2. Each of these steps is explained and illustrated with examples. No guessing - everything is clearly laid out.

3. This book is meant to not only be read but used - i.e. followed along - steps 1, 2, 3 etc., each time one has a writing project.

4. The book has wide appeal. It would be useful for home schoolers, bloggers, people whose work involves writing reports, recommendations etc., journalists, and many more.

5. It's slim – 110 pages.

6. It has amazing endorsements and comes highly recommended by people who should recognize good writing advice when they see it:

Reading How to Write is like discovering the trick behind a magic act. Once the act is understood, it isn't nearly as awesome as it had seemed. It becomes almost easy to learn and execute. How to Write can be read in less than an hour and should be kept thereafter between the dictionary and the thesaurus. - Harriet Gerard, Hearst Feature Service

CONS:
1. The main writing example in the book is the development of a trend report. It has as its subject, advances in telecommunications. We all know how rapidly that field is changing. Thus, the example already seems a little dated.

2. The method of writing explained is mainly applicable to the writing of nonfiction, i.e. writing about ideas and information. I am not sure it would be as useful to the writing of fiction.

Aside from those two minor matters, this book is definitely a keeper.

Which brings me to my last PRO -

It’s available as an E-book for a mere $1.99!

Buy it, it’s worth it - would be worth it at three times the price.

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Disclaimer:
The e-book How To Write was given to me as a gift from the publisher and Mind&Media for review purposes.