Thanks, But This Isn't for Us

July 15, 2009
Morrell (writing, Evergreen State Coll.; "The Writer's I Ching") takes us through the school of hard knocks faced by writers who are struggling to get published. Without removing the creativity from creative writing, Morrell convincingly portrays the craft of writing for publication as no accident of fate by revealing the "trade secrets" of the publishing industry through the eyes of that all-important gatekeeper, the editor. Having seen too many writers making the same mistakes, Morrell examines what makes a book publishable and what makes a story suck. She goes over dozens of common writing mistakesfrom character, to plot, to dialogand helps the would-be author find the ways in which to fine-tune a manuscript to avoid another rejection letter. VERDICT From beginning to end, whether novel, short story, or memoir, each element of a narrative is reviewed, with each chapter ending with quick tips to improve one's writing. This is one to add to any library shelfit won't gather dust there.Ann Schade, Sun Prairie, WI

Copyright 2009 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.