In the age of indie-publishing, there’s a flood of information out there on the internet to help writers get started with publishing their work. But depending on your goals, the information out there isn’t always one-size-fits-all. Luckily, if your goal is writing non-fiction (including memoirs or reference books), then Dan Janal’s book—Write Your Book In A Flash—has enough information to help anyone at any level through the process.
Now technically, if you were looking for information on writing a fiction book, Writing Your Book In A Flash does have helpful information that is universal. But if you are writing fiction; there are more books out there tailored to just that. This book is more practical for those who’ve ever wanted to publish a book and add value to their personal brand as a result. Being that Dan Janal is a business editor and marketing expert himself, his advice will be best consumed by like-minded people, and business oriented people typically are interested in writing non-fiction to boost their authority in a specific field.
At the start of the book, Dan Janal speaks on the importance of everyone getting their book out to the world. In his introductory chapter, you really see how passionate Dan is about helping people publish their work; and this enthusiasm carries throughout the entire book.
Dan speaks on how writing books has changed his clients’ lives, and how these books help their readers. He then encourages the reader to answer the question: What is your story? – This is a question for those who are simply flirting with the idea of writing a book, but have no solid concept. If you’re one of those people, Write Your Book In A Flash will help you think about what your own book should focus on.
As someone who has written, I know that the psychological battle is the hardest to overcome when it comes to putting those words on the page. That’s why I have to give Dan his props on how he approached Chapter 6: “Your Write Frame of Mind“. In this chapter, Dan lists all the negative thoughts that stop people from writing, and applies logic that will help the reader overcome each of these mental roadblocks. For those with the “I don’t have time to write” excuse, Dan also has mini exercises that will help you discover perfect times to write that you never even knew you had.
This book is designed to walk you through every step of writing and formatting your book; with Section 1 and Section 2 heavily geared towards mentality, planning, outlining and writing words.
Section 3 is all about formatting and the technical aspects of writing that authors tend to shy away from. Dan clearly breaks down the process of editing, revising and formatting your manuscript in with easy-to-follow instructions. And if you still think formatting and book design is too steep an obstacle to overcome, he explains that it’s easy to give in and get help.
I’ve read a ton of books on writing (although the majority of them have been fiction based), but even so, I must say that Write Your Book In A Flash is the most concise—and easy to digest—guide to writing non-fiction.
If you’re at a more advanced level of writing and publishing, then you may not pick up too many new skills here, but if you’re the person who hasn’t written a word and wants to figure out how to get your book out into the wilds, this is the perfect starting point for you.
