2 Min Book Review: Why Will No-one Publish My Novel? by Fay Weldon

The good:

-Not just for writers who keep being rejected, but great for those who want to avoid it.

-Fay Weldon has decades of writing experience in many forms of writing including novels and screenplays. This has provided a wealth of knowledge- learned the hard way, tried and tested.

- Each section was straight to the point, eliminating the need to wade through other information to find the important bits.

-The Q & A section was particularly helpful and enjoyable with questions such as 'Why do I lose my way in the middle of a novel?' and 'It only took me three months to write my novel. Does this mean it's going to be bad?'

-Very encouraging, realistic and humorous. There were also some great tips for keeping things from sounding too old fashioned

-She perfectly explains the experience of writing: ‘When in the throes of invention, conscious and unconscious can become indistinguishable…Sometimes it even feels it’s all coming from some source other than you.’

-Weldon shares her writing sequences when beginning a novel.

-The passage about Chaucer makes modern writing seem so easy!

-I really want to reread this at least once. There are likely so many things I missed the first time.

The bad:

-The to-the-point nature of writing lent itself to sounding somewhat blunt.

-More examples in the first sections would have been great.

Interesting points/quotes:

- Don’t completely delete sections of writing you have decided not to use (at the moment).

- "The reader is a stranger whom you need to make your friend."

- Time is more valuable than money for your readers, so make their time reading your book be worth it.

- "Do nothing that is of no use" from Musashi, The Book of Five Rings, circa 1645.

3.5 stars

Published: 2018

Read: May 2019