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Thank you to Brown Books Publishing for sending me a copy of Write Like You Mean It for review purposes. All opinions are my own.
If author Steve Gamel and I met, I feel like we’d instantly become friends. What would we talk about? Our conversation, peppered with laughter, would highlight the stories of our writing paths and the creative passion that fuels our journeys.
Instead of a chat over a cup of hot tea or coffee, however, what I have is a conversational style book that allows me a peek into Steve’s long and successful career as a writer. Filled with stories, lessons, strategies and tools, Write Like You Mean It is the perfect handbook for the beginner or the experienced writer.
Meet Steve Gamel
Steve entered college intent on receiving a degree in broadcast journalism. After a professor criticized an article he wrote, with the scathing words, “Have you ever read a newspaper before?”, Steve dedicated himself to mastering the craft of writing.
In the years after college, Steve regularly wrote for such publications as the Dallas Morning News, Allen Publishing, Murray Media Group and his local paper, the Denton Record-Chronicle. Steve continually honed his skills by reading EVERYTHING and writing outside of the sports news genre. If there was a story to tell, any kind of story, he told it. Along the way he collected national, state and local writing awards.
In 2014 Steve founded a writing and editing service called Edit This. With his debut book, Steve desires to connect with other writers and share what he’s learned. The conversations in the book revolve around writing, writers and how we can all master our passion for the written word.
“Write Like You Mean It means putting all your heart, soul, blood, sweat, and tears into your passion for writing. Our words are our stock in trade. We are craftsmen. We are artists. Furthermore, our audience deserves to see and feel each word we put on a page. I want writers to realize that whatever they’ve written deserves to see the light of day rather than being tucked away on a dusty bedroom shelf somewhere. They need to believe in themselves, and they need to believe in their writing. I think the tools, tips, life hacks, resources, and
examples in this book will help writers from all walks of life write like they mean it.” Steve Gamel
Write Like You Mean It author Steve Gamel
Mastering Your Passion for the Written Word
The book offers a wealth of information, tips and actionable steps, gathered from Steve’s years of experience as a writer. It’s broken into three sections.
Start Writing
This opening section begins at the beginning! With chapters on overcoming fear, developing a writer’s checklist, active voice, tools for the trade and writer’s block, Steve helps us get out of our own way by moving beyond the fear and into the mechanics.
Steve supplies examples of work, illustrating his points, and tips for improving skills. These are helpful for all writers.
Writing to a Purpose
The middle section moves deeper into the world of writing and includes chapters on active listening, research and organization, nonfiction, fiction, storytelling for all styles of writing and freelancing.
I learned early in my journey that purpose connects strongly to my writing. Without purpose, I flounder. This section in the book fired up my heart and challenged me to continue to develop my craft.
Write Like You Mean It to Be Read
The final section of the book includes the important editing process, how to market what you’ve poured your heart and soul into and the different ways of publishing work.
Steve concludes with the perfect list of takeaways from his book:
move beyond fears
master the active voice and basic mechanics of writing
recognize that writer’s block is a teacher
stay organized and keep your audience in mind
tell stories
stay open to feedback and develop a writing community
read, read, read
write each sentence better than yesterday
market yourself and your work
celebrate every opportunity for publishing work
Write Like You Mean It – my writing tools. I always have a stack of notebooks nearby.
My Thoughts on Write Like You Mean It
I deeply appreciate this book. Reading it reminded me of my own writing journey.
I knew by the age of eight that I wanted to write. My mom bought me a little typewriter and off I went, crafting stories. My path meandered through toying with a novel, writing children’s stories, creating homeschool curriculum to use with my kids and finally, blogging.
At the end of 2013, I connected a strong purpose to my desire to write…and created my blog, Going Beyond. See my first, makes-me-cringe-now post HERE.
During the last nine years I worked on finding my voice and narrowing my niche. I invested in myself and learned about SEO, finding my audience, improving my writing and marketing through social media. And I moved the blog to a site I can monetize and changed the name slightly. While I still have a toe in real estate…my heart and soul light up when I write. The passion to write burns within me and I not only welcome it, I fan it.
Write Like You Mean It empowers me to become the best writer possible and to focus, really focus, on the nonfiction book I’m “writing on the side”.
Write Like You Mean It – queen of my writing kingdom
Who Can Benefit from Write Like You Mean It?
Whatever your genre…fiction, poetry, a blog, magazine articles or nonfiction…this book is for you. Aspiring writers, struggling writers and professional writers all benefit from Steve’s expert knowledge, tips and practices.
Plus, he delivers the keys to success in a friendly, down-to-earth style that resonates with the writer within and encourages a higher level of skill.
When you finish the book, you too might feel like you’ve just enjoyed a lively and enlightening conversation with a friend, a writer friend, who wants the very best for you.
How does that sound to you?
Pick up your copy of Write Like You Mean It by clicking this Amazon LINK. Grab a cup of coffee or a hot tea, open the book, and join the conversation.
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