{"id":40631,"date":"2024-11-22T22:01:25","date_gmt":"2024-11-23T03:01:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=40631"},"modified":"2024-11-22T22:01:25","modified_gmt":"2024-11-23T03:01:25","slug":"review-of-chapter-after-chapter-by-heather-sellers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=40631","title":{"rendered":"Review of Chapter after Chapter, by Heather Sellers"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Chapter after Chapter<\/p>\n

Discover the Dedication & Focus You Need to Write the Book of your Dreams<\/em><\/p>\n

by Heather Sellers<\/p>\n

Writer\u2019s Digest Books, 2007. 242 pages.
\nReview written January 6, 2022, from my own copy.
\nStarred Review<\/p>\n

This is a book about writing a book. <\/p>\n

The chapters are short, good for a short burst of inspiration and thought. They include exercises, which I did not do (for the most part). I freely admit, I would have gotten more out of this book if I had done the exercises. Do the exercises!<\/p>\n

It also took me a very long time to read this book, but when I did pull it out and dip into it, it helped keep me on track and helped keep me going on writing a book. In fact, it helped me remember that I did want to write a book and to start a new project when the pandemic hit.<\/p>\n

There are 33 chapters, and I especially liked Chapter 26, \u201cJust Want to Be Done.\u201d I read it when I was on the brink of falling into the \u201cjust want to be done\u201d trap myself. At the end of 2021, I\u2019d been working on a book since the start of 2020. But it goes slowly when I only give it my spare time. I can finish this project, but I need to keep going. I\u2019ve still got another half a draft to go.<\/p>\n

This gives you a taste of Heather Sellers role as the voice of experienced reason:<\/p>\n

Every writer I know reaches this stage. \u201cJust-want-to-be-done-itis\u201d is a nasty little virus that typically strikes during the revision process. It\u2019s like a wart. You pick at it. You obsess about it. I have worked so hard on this book. I have worked harder on this than anything else. I just want to be done. I don\u2019t want to work any more.<\/em><\/p>\n

What is really happening is a giant fear attack. You wish you were done \u2013 that it was good just like it is. You are scared to look at it again deeply, because you are afraid you\u2019ll find hideous flaws, horrendous things you have said, idiotic sentences. You are afraid you won\u2019t know how to fix these things. You wish you didn\u2019t even know about the problem; you kind of close your eyes and tiptoe around.<\/p>\n

Of course there\u2019s always more work to do on any book, and at some point you have to let it go and call it Good Enough. But successful writers, published writers, continue to work on their books long after they first hear the \u201cI\u2019m done!\u201d chant\u2026.<\/p>\n

Writing this book will take a lot longer than you want it to take. Hasn\u2019t everything fabulous in your life taken more time than you thought it would?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

She tells you that the first few times you hear that voice, it\u2019s time to step back and see what you can do to make the book better. And it did me good to realize that voice coming too soon is a normal part of the process.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s lots more in this book. It\u2019s about the process of writing a book, from the beginning of having the idea to actually writing it to seeking a publisher and getting published. And it\u2019s very much about the mental process you go through along the way.<\/p>\n

Have you ever wanted to write a book? This book will help you do it.<\/p>\n

heathersellers.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Nonfiction\/chapter_after_chapter<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

What did you think of this book?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chapter after Chapter Discover the Dedication & Focus You Need to Write the Book of your Dreams by Heather Sellers Writer\u2019s Digest Books, 2007. 242 pages. Review written January 6, 2022, from my own copy. Starred Review This is a book about writing a book. The chapters are short, good for a short burst of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29,2,42,57],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40631","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-creativity","category-nonfiction-review","category-starred-review","category-writing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40631","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=40631"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40631\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44552,"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40631\/revisions\/44552"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=40631"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=40631"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=40631"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}