Anne Janzer

No. This is an insulting book. There are far better writing books. You'll get more from reading the psychology and drawing your own conclusions. This is shallow and cursory. DNF at 15%, barely into part one.

Here is the paragraph that ejected me from this waste of time:

"Consider the tortured novelist, forever toiling in obscurity on a manuscript that never finds its way into readers’ hands. This writer lives almost solely in the domain of the Muse (the intuitive and impulsive), without the discipline of the Scribe."

Consider, author, that 'tortured' is a harmful cliché and you are an awful human for putting it here.

Consider that obscurity is not damming for many writers. MANY writers.

Consider that a if there's a manuscript, writing is happening, which means both your scribe and your muse 'characters' are at work BY YOUR OWN DEFINITIONS, thus contradicting the last sentence. Did you edit this at all? You conflated writing and being published. They are not simultaneous, nor are they at all the same thing, and here is where I will never read anything you write ever again.

The more I think about this, the angrier I get.… (more)

It makes happy when I read a book that is meant to teach you something and it does just that. No brain struggle, no confusion, nada. This is one of those books, which is a good sign considering it talks about writing. It is meant for those who need to write as a side task in their workplace or when more people is involved as part of the writing process. However, all kinds of writers can find equal amount of help from the methods, advice, examples and solutions given at every step throughout the book.

It starts by debunking the most common myths about types of writers and provides solutions to each of them as well as properly defines the role of the writer and importance of defining the reader. It continues by talking in detail about each step of the writing process as well as reviews, approvals and other aspects to consider when working in an organizational environment or as part of a team. The last section provides checklists and guides that help you stay organized throughout the different parts of the process.

Anyone who wants to improve their productivity and results when writing can benefit from the guidance provided by Anne Janzer. What I particularly liked was how easy to understand and practical it is. Also, the inclusion of cognitive concepts applicable for writers gives this book a unique an effective way to approach the (sometimes tedious) writing process in the workplace. The fact that she explains how your writing can create cognitive ease or strain for the reader (plus, how to fix that) AND the book itself is a successful example of it, priceless. I want more books like this.

I got my eARC from Netgalley… (more)

This is a great how-to book written in simple English with lots of super practical tips. I love the way Anne Janzer describes best practice processes for planning, writing, editing, delegating and other tasks and then quietly picks out common problems and offers solutions. If I’d read this twenty years ago, she would have saved me a lot of pain!

I’ve been a freelancer for decades and have been rethinking some of my processes recently in order to fit in with new markets. This was a very useful overview and it’s given me some good ideas for preventing problems.

The Workplace Writer’s Process by Anne Janzer is brilliant. I’d recommend it to anyone who wants to write: college students, managers, bloggers and fiction authors included.

I received this book from the publisher via Net Galley and am reviewing voluntarily… (more)