About a month ago I wrote a review about a book called Easy Cash Writing. It’s a great book that taught me quite a bit so I decided to give another of Rob Parnell’s books a chance.
This time I read The Easy Way to Write a Novel That Sells. It’s as informative as his other book was.
I have read many books about writing, but this one was so simple and easy to understand. I feel like Parnell speaks to us on a level we understand.
Not that I am stupid and can’t figure things out. I would rather do things the easy way rather than make it harder than it needs to be. How about you?
Info about The Easy Way to Write a Novel That Sells
As I stated above, I have read many books about writing. From Cathy Yardley to K.M. Weiland, I have read some good books. However, I feel I got the most from Parnell’s book.
Parnell writes in an easy-to-understand way. He divides the book into three parts.
The first part is motivating you to get writing. Believe me I really need this. Life has happened, slamming me from left and right. Writing is the last thing I want to do.
I needed a kick in the pants, and Parnell does that with his encouragement in those first few chapters.
The second part is the meat of the book and the whole point of reading the book to begin with. Parnell calls this part Commercial Fiction 101, and it’s divided into 12 modules.
I have read and reread this section several times as I prepared for National Novel Writing Month. This part was well worth the price of the book.
Parnell takes you step by step from getting an idea, developing characters, creating an outline, writing the story, and finally publishing the novel. Each module focused on one aspect.
The third part is perfect for writing a novel in 30 days, like NaNoWriMo or any other time of the year you wish to do this. After I finish NaNo, I might give this a shot.
What’s helpful about this book?
Again, I can’t stress enough how simple it is to read and understand. I was mainly looking for a way to outline my novel for NaNo, and I found it with this book.
I had used Cathy Yardley’s Rock Your Plot for a previous novel. She is detailed and gives you a free workbook on her website, but I didn’t feel like I understood some of the plot points as much as I should have.
I was in the middle of K.M. Weiland’s Outlining Your Novel when I stumbled across Parnell’s book. Weiland’s book is great. Don’t get me wrong. But it’s too detailed for me.
I felt like I was writing my whole novel instead of outlining. I had trouble at times understanding what she meant.
The Easy Way to Write a Novel That Sells made it easy for me to go back and review the modules in the second part of the book as needed.
I was able to outline the third and final book of my trilogy in a rather quick manner for NaNoWriMo. I like an outline to know where my story is going, but it doesn’t need to be as detailed as the other authors suggest in their books.
Final Thoughts
I highly recommend Parnell’s The Easy Way to Write a Novel That Sells. This book is not just for a beginner. It could be used for authors who need a refresher or need new ideas for their novels.
According to Amazon, this book gets four and a half stars. I agree with that and will have no trouble posting a review there as well.
Do you outline your novels? What method do you use? Perhaps a book you have read?