Hey, writers and readers!
It’s not a good month without an indie novel or two. Today I’ll be reviewing Landing Your First Publication by my dear friend, Mandy Wallace.
Check out the review below. I’ll be sharing some thoughts about what I love about this book and why it’s a good read for you.
Rating: 5 stars
Synopsis
As a writer, striving for publication can feel like playing a lottery that few people win. Yet, countless authors have followed a simple path to publication—using a strategy that forced luck to work for them instead of against them. This practical, stripped-down publication roadmap covers only the essentials you need to overcome the fear of rejection all writers face, finally beat advice overwhelm, and just get started.
Inside this book:
- The right psychological approach to render luck powerless + boost your writing productivity.
- Inspiration to keep your writing + motivation on track.
- Where to submit stories and how to find the reputable publications you haven’t heard of yet.
- Cover letter worksheet + template to remove the guesswork from what to say when you pitch your story.
- Writing prompts to inspire more than a year’s worth of story ideas.
- Submissions tracker to maximize your chances of getting published each time you hit submit.
No more wondering if you have what it takes to be a writer. With this proven publication strategy, finally seeing your name in print is just around the corner.
What I Enjoyed
The little bullet list in the synopsis doesn’t really do the book justice. Wallace has done everything she could to ensure this is the one-stop book you need to publish your work.
Landing Your First Publication explains Wallace’s philosophy on writing and publishing in a way that sounds like a good friend. Like, Wallace understands the frustrations and setbacks but doesn’t make it sound like you’re dumb for not getting published. Y’know what I mean? You essentially feel like you’re being taken under her wing without any patronizing “just do it my way” vibes.
The other thing I really enjoyed was the organization of all her prompts. And she has a TON of them. I liked that they were basically organized by genre so you can flip straight to the super hero prompts and skip over the horror ones if you want to stick with your preferred genre. Sometimes I think writing prompts are cheesy and just a reminder of what I DON’T want to write. But I felt like I wanted to write a dozen or so short stories just from these prompts alone.
Even if you aren’t here for the prompts and you want to get straight to the “so how do I get published?” part, Wallace provides lots of resources and explanation that will help anyone regardless of their writing expertise or experience.
My Final Thoughts
Landing Your First Publication, to me, is proof that the writing community thrives when we share our experience and strategies with others. If you feel alone in the community or you feel like you can’t take your writing dreams anywhere, I think you’ll get the encouragement and kick in the pants you need after reading this book.
Also, I know that this is focused more on short story writers but the principles apply to anyone regardless of genre. I’d recommend it to anyone looking to fine-tune their writing habits to reach their publishing goals.
I hope I shared enough to still pique your curiosity without
Do you have thoughts about this book? Share with me in the comments! You can also see all of my other book reviews by checking out the Book Reviews tab.