Hello there and welcome to The Turndog Review: the books I read, reviewed.

I aren’t a professional critic, instead all I offer is my honest opinion into everything I read. However, I do this with a difference, as I don’t only offer my personal views on the Writing, Plot, and Story, but also the Book Cover, Book Marketing, and Author Website.

We live in a modern world where being a writer is different to years gone by, and I feel the whole experience of the book matters. This covers everything from the initial find, the actual read, and everything that follows. Therefore I hope this review not only offers a great insight into the book and author, but also into my own mind and what makes me tick.

So without further ado let’s begin, and today I focus on You Are A Writer by Jeff Goins

 

Published: 2012

Read: June 2012

Discovered: After reading Jeff’s Blog

 

Overview:

Jeff Goins is someone I follow a great deal online. I love his Blog, and he’s always inspiring me to do some writing. When he released his new book, You Are A Writer, it was a no brainer. The only question was, when I’d get round to it.

Thankfully it wasn’t too long, and it became the first non-fiction book I’ve read in over a year. That’s quite a long time.

It’s all about manning (womanning?) up and admitting you’re a writer. It doesn’t stop there, though, as it shares tips on creating your own Author Platform (which is obviously something I’m interested in).

It’s a superb read. His writing is good, the flow is excellent, and the detail is superb (despite it being a shirt book…go figure). If you’re a writer of any kind, I happily recommend it. In fact, even if you’re not a writer, I feel it can help.

If you have ambition and fear, this is a book for you.

 

The Good:

The advice offered has to be the stand out feature. Jeff has been there and done it, but it didn’t come easy for him. He’s failed, felt the grim reality of the world, and grafted his way to where he is. He’s not at the top, but he’s someone edging ever closer all the time.

I also love the style of writing. It’s just like his Blog, which is good to see. Jeff’s voice is clearly his own. I find this reassuring, as someone still perfecting his own voice, and it kept me gripped the entire time.

 

The Bad:

Well, I didn’t agree with everything, but this is hardly a negative. I also felt like a little more detail could be had at times, but again, its short nature is one of the selling points. You could read it cover to cover in just a few hours, which if you ask me, is no bad thing.

As you can tell, I’m clutching at straws.

 

Book Cover:

I love this cover. At first I couldn’t quite see it, but after a few glances I saw the pens that surround the writing. A very nice touching, and fitting for Jeff’s Brand.

It’s very simple, which I like, and the title stands out, which is also good. I feel his name is fairly small, especially in Ebook mode, and considering his online fame is strong these days, an enlarged piece of text would have been good.

It’s a minor detail, but his name will help shift some copies. Will it have a large impact? Not huge, but nevertheless, every little helps.

 

Book Marketing:

Superb!

Jeff is a savvy marketer and brings modern day thinking to the author world. This is what I’m always preaching about. If you want to see a book that markets itself within, this is a good example.

It has all the links you would imagine (to his site, Twitter, etc), but it’s the community he’s created on the back of this book that gets me excited. He calls people to join (which hundreds did) and be part of an ongoing course that implements the things discussed in the book.

This engaging type of thinking is the future. It allows you to take the book to a new level, which not only opens up potential income for the book (via new editions, courses etc), but keeps his readers happy and engaged.

Oh, it also gives him an email, something a book bought on Amazon doesn’t. Very clever indeed 😉

 

Author Website & Engagement:

Considering this is where Jeff began his platform, it’s unsurprisingly good. It’s one of the better Blogs I’ve come across, in terms of engagement. There are always plenty of comments and conversations occurring, and Jeff does a great job at creating regular courses that people can get involved in.

Jeff loves his community and has a very good outlook on the modern world writer. I’d sing his praise some more, but I think you get the point.

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Overall, this is a great book for a writer, or anyone looking to take on a new project. We all have fear and anxieties, but this book can help. If you need help on learning the art of online marketing, well, Jeff can help this too.

For this, the Book gets…

                   5 Turndogs out of 5

 

Thanks for reading this version of The Turndog Review. I review every book I read, not only for the writing, but the marketing, website, and general communication from the author.

Turndog Millionaire – @turndog_million