Thursday, April 26, 2012

You Are A Writer (An eBook Review)


Less than a year ago, I stumbled on a wonderful resource for writers and bloggers called GoinsWriter.com. At the time, I was a little hesitant to call myself a writer and also a little curious about how to be consistent in blogging.

The words on GoinsWriter.com were unlike anything I had found before about creativity and also the professional side of writing. Jeff Goins shares from his experience and also from a place of passion. He offers timely resources for those who are aspiring to turn a small inkling into a reality.

One of those resources is his latest e-Book titled You Are A Writer (So Start Acting Like One).


The first part of You Are A Writer was my favorite. Jeff encourages readers to stop asking for permission to create and start writing. Be your own boss and stop being afraid. Or you will only sabotage yourself. If you think you might want to be a writer “someday,” it’s time to step into who you are and call yourself one.

The author learned this from friends who urged him to do the same. He also discovered this way of living from professionals such as Steven Pressfield (author of The War of Art) and Michael Hyatt (former Chairman of Thomas Nelson).

In the next section of his e-book, Goins gives practical information about building a platform and getting your words out to readers. While this portion of the resource contains good information, I found it a bit overwhelming. It’s more factual than poetic so it might be good to read in several sittings in order to absorb the information and not feel overwhelmed.

It’s obvious Jeff writes from experience. He had an unsuccessful blog previously and so he tells how and why he made changes to his approach when he launched a new website. Establishing your own brand and a channel to send your work out to the world are necessary elements as well as making connections with people who will read and promote your content.

The final section in You Are A Writer offers insight into the publishing industry. Having been on both sides of publishing as a writer and an editor, I enjoyed the insight Jeff offers. Before you jump into writing a full book, he suggests submitting articles and guest posts on blogs to get your content out to readers. It will also help you establish relationships with publishing companies.

As an editor myself, I can tell you to follow Jeff’s instructions precisely. He knows what he’s talking about. As a writer, I can say you will need the thick skin he mentions because you will face the need for revisions or even rejection. I know this side too. I received an article rejection recently.

The last thing I want to mention is that Jeff Goins cares about writers and his own tribe of readers. I can attest to this. He has interacted with me on Twitter, via the comments section on his blog, and also through e-mail. I appreciate his heart for helping writers get started and also thrive.

I recommend this book if you're thinking of authoring a book of any kind or if you’ve ever said you'd like to get to writing one day. You will need to know all of this information before you rush into it and get discouraged. Goins makes you feel like you can do it. And you can.

You are a writer.

Update: You can order the eBook here.

2 comments:

Heather said...

Thanks for sharing! Sounds encouraging. It would be great to move from: "I am a writer? to, I mean, I am a writer!"

Becca said...

Heather - The exclamation mark v. the question mark really does make a difference!