This book does what it says on the cover: it offers a formula for writing, and talks a lot about getting 5-star reviews. So yes, it is prescriptive and formulaic, and yes, it is focused on getting others’ approval and making sales; I’m not going to lower its rating for that because it does exactly what it claims out to do.

I appreciate how practical and specific the book is. It has a lot of really good suggestions. I had heard most of the tips before, but it’s nice to have them all in one place, and it’s validating to hear I might be doing something right. I even learned a couple of new things, too! Though I didn’t care for the tone in a few parts of the book, it’s overall a very good resource, especially for newer writers.

A note: The eARC I received still needs some edits. It repeats some tips verbatim. Additionally, there’s a part that seems… off:
“Perfect! Here’s the fully polished and formatted closing section of your Bonus Chapter - bringing it home with clarity, motivation, and a practical recap for your readers.”
It seems to me like this was generated by AI or written by someone else. I hope my suspicions are incorrect, because it is unethical to make money off of something you didn’t write. Additionally, it baffles me when writers “feed the beast” of AI that has stolen from so many of us. If writers use AI or someone else’s work, they should at least give credit. But I recognize that 1) I received an unfinished eARC and some changes may still be made, and 2) I may be incorrect in my suspicion, so this did not impact my rating of the book.

My recommendation would depend on what your writing goals are and whether you've read other craft books before.
This is alright as an introduction, and it focuses mostly on writing a story that will be commercially successful.
It brought up a different interpretation of the Snowflake Method, and some of those concepts were interesting to me.
One thing I didn't love is that some segments were repeated pretty much word by word, but I guess that can work when it comes to non-fiction and a book with exercises like this one.
All in all, if you're new to writing craft (or know someone who is) and would like to have some exercises to help you write something that is appealing to readers, this is a good book for you :)

This book was a great overview of how to write a successful novel. It wasn't really at all about the details of sentence structure or grammar, but instead delved into format, structure, and POV. The author went over a format similar to the snowflake method and had daily step-by-step instructions for outlining a book. It then delved deeply into the different POVs, including first-person, third-person limited, and third-person omniscient, and also talked a little bit at the end about deep POV. A lot of it was stuff I'd heard before, but it all seemed like good advice. It did really inspire me to try to write a book again!

One thing I would say that I didn't necessarily love (although it wasn't wrong, just personal preference) is that this was very much aimed at people who want to write a popular book and make a lot of money. I would have preferred it to be less about making a successful book and more about making a meaningful, impactful, and beautiful book and letting the success come later. But...I also understand that people have to make money. So again, it's not wrong. It's just maybe not the focus I would've looked for it a book about writing. To be fair, this was very clear from the description and cover. Not a surprise at all.

Overall I think this is a good book for people who want to write books but don't know how to make books that people actually want to read. It went over outlining and POV, and I think really addressed the major points that writing authors generally make. It wasn't anything earthshaking or new, but it was a good overview and I would recommend it to others who want to learn how to write a successful book.

I read this book as an ARC on NetGalley.