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Is there a book in you? | Alison Baverstock

Is there a book in you?

Alison Baverstock

A & C BlackClick for A & C Black Publishers Publishers References listing £8.99

Is there a book in you?

'Let’s face it, we all think we have a book in us.'

‘how much other people like reading what you write and how creative you are, as well as making you look at your support mechanisms.'

'Being realistic about the resources you will need... are what this immensely useful book is all about. It should be required reading for all writers who aren’t sure about their commitment to the craft.'

Alison Baverstock’s book has been a very good seller but it still seems worth reviewing it, even a year after publication, as it really is an extremely useful book which many writers may not have encountered as yet.

Let’s face it, we all think we have a book in us. But in this age of over-production when we can only get our work published with difficulty, just how many of us are sufficiently motivated and talented to make it? This is the question which Alison Baverstock addresses.

Writing a book may be the second most popular New Year’s resolution after losing weight, but it’s even more difficult to carry out. Alison Baverstock interviewed many authors to find out what it takes and the book includes contributions from P D James, Margaret Drabble and Jacqueline Wilson, amongst many others.

Baverstock forces you to consider just how much you want to see your book in print, dealing with questions such as how much other people like reading what you write and how creative you are, as well as making you look at your support mechanisms. She also gets you to consider how well-established your writing habit is and whether you have something to write about that others would like to read.

Through these and other difficult questions the author encourages you to take a realistic look at your writing and what you can achieve through it, emphasising above all that it is hard work and you will have to be very determined.

At the heart of the book is a really tough questionnaire, which forces you to discover whether or not there is a potential writer lurking in you, or whether you just like the idea but don’t really have what it takes to make it into print. Being realistic about the resources you will need, both personal and practical, are what this immensely useful book is all about. It should be required reading for all writers who aren’t sure about their commitment to the craft.

An excerpt from the book

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Reviewed by Chris HolifieldManaging director of WritersServices; spent working life in publishing,employed by everything from global corporations to start-ups; track record includes: editorial director of Sphere Books, publishing director of The Bodley Head, publishing director for start-up of upmarket book club, The Softback Preview, editorial director of Britain’s biggest book club group, BCA, and, most recently, deputy MD and publisher of Cassell & Co. She is also currently the Director of the Poetry Book Society; During all of this time aware of problems faced by writers, as publishing changed from idiosyncratic cottage industry, 'occupation for gentlemen', into corporate business of today. Writers encountered increasing difficulty in getting books edited or published. Authors create the books which are the raw material for the whole business. She believes it is time to bring them back to centre stage.

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Chris Holifield

Is there a book in you? | Reviews