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Book Review: The Book Bible by Susan Shapiro | by

A compendium of how to write and sell any genre — Does it deliver on its promise?

She has published poetry, memoir, self-help, fiction, writing for young people, and essays

Her eclectic background is a blessing, because she can speak with authority about so many types of

She is also proof that you don’t have to stick with one genre to be successful

However, it does little more than prove that persistence and luck are huge aspects of success

Each of the first four sections starts out with an occasionally humorous list of how not to

Then it goes on to explain the genre in more detail, and list better ways to approach

Each section ends with “expert advice” from an author, editor, or agent

The book packs a surprising amount of information in its 214 pages

In the “adult fiction” section, there is a brief discussion of point of view with examples of

This is just scratching the surface of a very important aspect of craft

The genre fiction section is mostly a brief description of popular genres (mystery, sci-fi, etc

Her own stories of how she pivoted and changed genres for certain of her projects are illuminating;

Also, all of these topics are covered more thoroughly by entire books devoted to them

Once you have figured out your genre, you’ll want to read some of them to learn

If you went by this book alone and felt it told you all you needed, you’d

Which is great! Everyone needs to start somewhere, and if you are still figuring things out, this

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