Write Your Ebook or Other Short Book - Fast!

Of all the books I have read on writing anything, this book is by far one of the best. Judy's detailed how tos were exactly what I needed to outline and begin writing my series of eBooks. I highly recommend this book. It is well worth the price. And her information is priceless, especially when you consider how much time and effort this information can save you. My only criticism is that a final proofer was needed for some of the grammar, etc. But who cares when the information is this good?

I believe self-publishing is the greatest thing to happen to the book world since Guttenberg. Self-publishing has allowed thousands of talented writers to make their collective voices be heard. The reading public benefits in untold ways by having available countless books that would likely have not otherwise been published. How many great manuscripts lay buried in some old steamer trunk somewhere, never to be read again, and never to be shared with the world?

But self-publishing also brings with it a host of shortcomings. To this reader, a lack of professionalism being the most notable, and primarily that lack of professionalism shows itself in the editing. Now, for a self-published book on how to repair the plumbing in your home, I can overlook a lack of editing, but in a book about how to write a book, a lack of editing is inexcusable. Other than that, WRITE YOUR eBOOK OR OTHER SHORT BOOK - FAST, by Judy Cullins, is pretty good. You can't even make the argument that hiring an editor is too expensive. I edit raw manuscripts for $3 per page. I'm sure many summertime vacationing English teachers would be willing to do it for even less!

The information contained here is good, although somewhat of a sleight of hand. By that I mean, Cullins did something she teaches in the book, she took what should have been a forty-page pamphlet and turned it into a 130-page book. The problem is, she does so with redundancy and a good deal of white space. Every two or three paragraphs is a new subheading that takes a couple of inches out of print.

I did learn a few things here. As I said, the information is worth the price of the book, I just hold a book on writing to a higher standard. There is too much emphasis here on making the dollar and not nearly enough focus on the quality of the finished product.

When considering giving your money to Judy Cullins, first, consider the value of your time, and what you hope to gain from the time you'll spend (lose) with Judy's "Write Your e-Book...Fast" (in which Judy demonstrates how haste does make waste [evidenced by the great number of mistakes and inconsistencies throughout Judy's pages]). If you're entirely clueless about writing, you may find something of value in Judy's often condescending, self-aggrandizing presentation. If, however, you're looking for a substantive source on the subject, there must be better books on the subject (let's hope!).

Judy tells us in her book that she is an active self-marketer. So, don't be fooled by the reviews of praise Judy's book has received from her friends. Apparently, Judy has gained the endorsement of authors Dan Poynter and Marshall Masters through a "you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours" arrangement. (You'll find articles by these authors in the "bonus material" of Judy's book.)

Additional reasons to write-off Judy:

(1) Judy's advice is HOLLOW. She will tell you what to do (which is likely something anyone with a pinch of common sense will know to do), but offers no insight or recommendation for how best to do it.

(2) Judy will take pages to give you completely useless information. For example, the first two pages of her book ask you to consider a list of reasons for writing a book (something anyone who'd buy Judy's book would already have!!).

(3) Judy's redundancy-- throughout her book--struck me as an effort to just fill pages. The book could have easily been reduced from its 113 pages to 40 pages, tops.

(4) The "Bonus material" seemed more of a bonus for Judy than her readers.
The few additional pages seemed a primer to buy more of Judy's work or the work of those endorsing her book.

You're better off searching the Internet for free articles by other authors.

This was the exactly the book that I was looking for to get started. It explains clearly how to write and organize your book quickly. It includes information on getting your book on the net as well. It would have been nice to include a few technical items on how automatic downloads work but, overall, this was money well spent.

I gave this book four stars because it contains a lot of good information without the "filler". It is also, I think, an inspiring book.

However, be prepared for some sloppy editing. It appears the first draft of this book was reviewed by someone else, with no further editing after that. At least some of the reviewer's comments appear within the text, which I found to be somewhat disconcerting.

At the price, it is a good resource to have. I recommend it.