Review by March Reviewer -- Book Blueprint by Jacqui Pretty

[March Reviewer]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Book Blueprint" by Jacqui Pretty.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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This book is titled Book Blueprint. It is written by Jacqui Pretty who is a professional editor and writer. She has worked with and coached countless entrepreneurs across a wide range of industries. She has even founded her own publishing company.

In this book Jacqui has specifically targeted entrepreneurs. As an entrepreneur how do you stand out from the crowd? One sure way is to stamp your author-ity by being a published author. How do you get to be a published author from just being a writer? This book tells you how. It will guide you along – step by step. It will provide encouragement as you go along.

Everyone is capable of writing a book and this book will explain why and how to go about doing it. Short of writing the book for you this guide book will prod you along, idea by idea and page by page until you have enough credible material to form at least a first draft. Act and don’t over think a situation. Remove your trepidations. Let the entrepreneurial spirit in you live on and stamp your authority above the rest of the crowd. If you have thought up countless excuses for not writing then this book is the antidote for you.

Writing experience is not a pre-requisite to writing a great book. If you are an entrepreneur, you already know that you don’t have much time for many things. You have so many commitments. So you end up thinking that you do not have the time and ability to write a book. Wrong! If you can religiously complete all the exercises suggested in this book you will have your own written book. The words on the pages will be yours, and in your voice, because it is based on your unique personal experience.

However, inspiration and willpower alone will not help you finish your book. You need to be systematic. The numerous techniques that the author shares are surprisingly easy and logical. This book teaches you the proper system to complete a book from start to finish, even if you are exceptionally busy. The author uses her extensive coaching experience to guide you. She knows what works and what does not. She shows you how to organize the knowledge that you have. It teaches you how to plan your book. Let your words live up to its cover design. Learn how to develop your ideas, structure and possible content.

There are 5 types of books that are suitable for entrepreneurs. Based on your experience and the message that you wish to convey, you choose the type that is most suitable for you. This book tells you how.
The author insists that if you have a clear structure to begin with you will have very little writing to do. This book teaches you how to develop that proper structure. Being a writer, you need to guide the readers along, step by step. Readers do not have the expertise and personal experience that you have. There are relevant questions that you need to ask as you develop each chapter. Structure is just one of the many writing elements that this book covers. Before you even begin to write make sure you have organised your thoughts. You can waste a lot of your valuable time if you just dive into the writing without following a well thought out structure. If your writing is not structured you may hit the target word count for your book but those words you have in there may not count! They don’t add to your argument. So, may you end up junking a lot of words during the editing process because they are just waffles.

This book also shows you how to decide on the ideal length for each chapter. Jacqui explains the pitfalls of chapters being either too long or too short. She points out some of the common mistakes that new authors make and shows how to avoid them.

This is an activity oriented book, so at the end of relevant chapters there is a section called “Action Time” where the reader is prompted to carryout actions, such as, along what line to think and how the writer can fill in the pages accordingly. The reader is gently guided on what questions to ask and how to expand upon his ideas to create an emotional connection with the readers.

Even though this book is specifically written for entrepreneurs I feel that it may also be useful for other nonfiction writers. The writing is crisp and I feel quite awake reading the whole book. The length of the chapters are just right. Key chapters are cleverly provided with worksheets which summarize key points in point form. For me as a casual reader, these worksheets seem to have provided welcome breaks from the monotony of reading a rather technical subject. It gives the impression that the writer is very thoughtful of the reader’s sanity. The well structured manner in which this book has been written is evidence that the author practices what she preaches.

On the downside I feel that there are not enough diagrams or charts to explain her concepts. The subject of writing a book can be a bit technical and dry. But, that is me. I feel the dramatic arc diagram on page 150 is well worth over a thousand words.

I spotted only 2 spelling errors. One on page 162, line 19: “While having correct spelling, grammar and punctuation are important” should be corrected to “While having correct spelling, grammar and punctuation is important” and another error on page 162, line 22: “spelling and grammar is” should be corrected to “spelling and grammar are.”

I rate this book with 3 out of 4 stars. This book is credible and coherent. It is fun to read. But I believe there are very minor touches that can still be incorporated that can make this an even greater read.

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Book Blueprint
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Like March Reviewer's review? Post a comment saying so!

[Izesicle]

One sure way is to stamp your author-ity by being a published author.

LOL my favorite part of this review. Thanks for stopping by my review.

[readandsmile]

This book catches my attention as I glance the title. It seems that this book is pretty nice. I like your review. I got some idea on your review. Thanks for writing a good review. Awesome!

[March Reviewer]

Overall, this is one of the better books on writing that I have read for quite awhile.