Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t (Steven Pressfield)

Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t
Steven Pressfield
Black Irish Entertainment LLC
Nonfiction, Writing
**** (Good)

DESCRIPTION: Be they screenwriters or novelists, poets or essayists, every writer loves their words and ideas and can't wait to share them with the world. All too often, the world couldn't care less. How can you make them care? A veteran writer offers advice in this collection of lessons culled from years in advertising, screenwriting, and more.

REVIEW: I grabbed this for my Kindle during a freebie promotional window, having only vaguely heard of the author and his works before. He doesn't mince words here, bluntly delivering facts that all writers in all media simply have to accept before they can begin grappling with them. After giving the bad news (nobody out there is watching the clock, waiting with bated breath for the moment your shining words appear in their lives), Pressfield offers solutions that address many of the major problems standing between the would-be writer (or speaker, or playwright, etc.) and the general public. Coming from an advertising and Hollywood background, he tends to be direct, without any college literature class puffery; when he talks about concept and theme, he's not talking about how to dissect Melville or Austen, but about how to make your message relatable and attractive to the customer, i.e. the buying public. Most of it's information that can be found elsewhere, but Pressfield offers it in a memorable, streamlined format, with short, clear chapters. I found it useful, especially considering the price.

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