There are a lot of books out there with a “call to action.” They want us to work harder or better, to be stronger, thinner, nicer, to learn how to cook vegan, under 500 calories, etc. This book says if you want to get published, you need to make a platform.
My idea of a good call to action book is, when I’m done with the book – even better when I’m in the midst of the book – I actually do something!
Sambuchino’s got it. Maybe it’s all the blogging under his belt but he knew how to write a book without a big fuss. This book has a distinctive feel to it. It seems to say, “Hey, I’m an expert, but not because I’m better than you, it’s because I jumped on the bandwagon before you. Let me give you a hand.”
That’s truly what I felt about Sambuchino’s style. He wanted to help me – which was great, because I need some help.
Let me get to the pick ups/put downs.
Pick it up for:
– The darn good sense
– Easy, understandable writing style
– Quick and informative read
– Unique ideas
– Multiple opinions giving support to the claims
Put it down if:
– you already have a platform
– you’re only planning on writing fiction
I’d say the Pick Ups are self explanatory. It’s a good book with expert opinions from agents and author interviews. I can’t argue with the logic they present – and I don’t think I should, either!
The Put Downs are really just time savers. I think anyone interested in writing should at least skim this – if only to get some motivation to plug out some more posts. As a fiction writer myself, I found the emphasis on non-fiction a bit tiresome. There’s a lot of talk of niche and in-depth topic research, which is very smart, but as an author who will cross many genres, I know I’ll need a different approach. It made parts of the book irrelevant for me. Also, I found it helpful because I currently have no platform to call my own. But if you already are pretty savvy in the traditional areas of Facebook, Twitter, and Blogging, you’ll probably find Sambuchino more of a cheerleader for you than a guru.
Overall rating: 4/5 stars
Recommendation: Pick it up!
The Roaming Reader 