Author: Dr. Sherry L. Meinberg
Publisher: Balboa Press
ISBN: 978-1-4525-7166-9

“Hold good thoughts about your manuscript. Believe in yourself as a writer. You must think, speak, and act with confidence. Push and persist. Totally believe,” Dr. Sherry L. Meinberg encourages in her book, Breadcrumbs for Beginners: Following the Writing Trail.

Targeted toward young writers and those “young in heart, but slightly older in other places,” this thick paperback textbook is four hundred and fifty-nine pages. Starting with a five page table of contents, the reader is in for a treat of minute details of every aspect of writing a book. From the aliases to the special tools and rules to the rejection letters, there is a plethora of well-known author quotes mixed with her notes, tips, examples, sidebars and activities to push the reader onward. With the perfect font size for the visually challenged, the underlining, indenting and capitalization keeps the book in an organized, structured manner.

With Meinberg’s first tip that writing is just talking on paper, one should write the way he or she talks. Her second tip is to not talk to others, family and friends included, about wanting to be a writer. By erasing the word “can’t,” she simply inspires to start writing now, not tomorrow or the next day, about what one knows or cares about.

One’s writing needs a purpose and should not be judged by the author to maintain a healthy balance. Promoting once-a-week writer’s date excursions, scenes, places and people can be gleaned while clearing the mind at the same time.

Besides thoroughly discussing characters, dialogue, research, structure, mechanics, legality, and revision, she moves the reader to the publishing and promotion processes, ending the book with self-care and self-talk affirmations, mantras and declarations along with credits and a nine page reference index.

Not using an outline, Meinberg says the best vocabulary is the one that first comes to mind when writing. Proper spelling and correct use of the fourteen punctuation marks are necessary along with not plagiarizing supposedly any three words in a row.

Along with the constant break-out quotes and off-topic but interesting sidebars, it is easily to get sidetracked. But the interweaving of her personal writing story is often humorous, especially when she divulges a book signing incidence with a stalker.

This compilation of information writing a book is one more great tool to have in a writer’s library, especially if he or she needs encouragement and validation writing for the first time.

This book was furnished by the author for review purposes.


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