by Katherine Swarts
Reviewed by Amber Ferguson
To order: e-mail Katherine Swarts
You know the drill. You have a new client, and he's excited. His masterpiece is going to change the world. He wants a critique or proofreading-maybe even copyediting-but his manuscript is a mess. It has stereotyped characters and a gimmicky plot, and every it's is spelled its. Even with line-by-line editing, the book is not publishable.
What if you could furnish him with a gift-a guide to the pitfalls facing not only wannabe writers but also competent authors who continue to receive rejection letters?
Authors blessed with a copy of the twelve-page e-booklet The Ten Deadly Attitudes have the rare opportunity to face their weaknesses in a concise format. No slogging through countless books, e-newsletters, and questionably accurate Web sites, then piecing together the bits of gleaned information. From Deadly Sloppiness (I'm guilty) to Deadly Gimmicks (guilty again) to Deadly Humility (ibid), expert editor Katherine Swarts has endured our weaknesses. She sums them up and takes no prisoners. In her unique blend of confrontation and encouragement, Katherine dares us to stop getting in our own way-to stop behaving like spoiled brats, to learn how to market our work, and to clean up our research.
I wish I'd read this book when I began writing. I wish I'd read this book a couple of months ago-the last of many times I gave in to the Deadly Attitude of Quitting.
