2 Min Book Review: Why Will No-one Publish My Novel? by Fay Weldon
Updated: Jul 22, 2019
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