Great as supplemental text in a writing or composition course. Lots of great insight and advice no matter the level of the student. Easily accessible.

I loved this so much! The writing was phenomenal and very enjoyable to read. I would highly recommend it!

Thanks to NetGalley and to F&W Media for an advance copy of Writing Without Rules by Jeffrey Somers.
I don't know if it's just the proof copy or whether it's the electronic copy anyway, but the layout for this one was all over the place. Images were merged into the writing, with rogue page numbers appearing in the middle of sentences, notes popped up quite randomly, there were line breaks mid-sentence too, and sometimes the notes and the "unconventional tips" merged together too. This all made it quite difficult to read.
However, once over all of that, I did find this book to be amusing and interesting.
Basically, it advises readers to remember all of those "rules" we've been told are essential to our writing ... and then totally disregard them, especially if they're hindering the creative process.
The one big thing I learnt from this book was to *finish everything*. Even if (I think) it's rubbish or unpublishable or a waste of time, finish it. Then, if ever I find myself without any ideas in the future, I can always go back to this rubbish unpublishable waste of time and start to make it better.
The book seems to be made up of a series of individual articles that have then been put together into an anthology, but I actually believe the book was a separate but entire project in its own right. The writing is clever and witty, with the author, Somers, sharing many of his own goofs and anecdotes.
There aren't really any exercises here, but it's a good book to read, digest, maybe put into practise. I really enjoyed it and recommend it to anyone who likes to read this kind of motivational material.

It's informative but mostly with basic advice and useful tips. It's definitely an interesting enough read.

Catchy contents page that went nowhere information-wise. But all the best to the writer's career. Thanks for the ARC.

Thank you to Jeffrey Somers and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book. I thought that it was very helpful, as a writer. I'll be recommending it to friends.

I was intrigued by the idea of this book, after all a lot of books about writing say you "must" do certain things, and I like to do what works for me. Some of what the author said aligned with my own views, and it was nice to see someone standing up and declaring that certain, well-known "rules" are rubbish for a lot of people.
In the end, this book just didn't click with me. The first issue was the footnotes. An occasional footnote is fine, and used properly, they are great. This book is full of them, with something like 27 in the first chapter alone. Most were unnecessary, and it was really disruptive to the flow of the book.
The narrative feels messy, with frequent digressions (aided by the footnotes). It has a lot of autobiographical content, which is fine if you want to know about the writer, but much of what was in here had little to do with the business of writing, which is what most people would buy it for.
The author admits to disliking using beta readers, and doing revisions. Unfortunately this book would have been a lot better if he'd utilised them more.

There are plenty of books on how to write out there but if it helps you get through it while being entertained, then this book is for you! As always, I appreciate a nonfiction book with a table of contents, even in a writing manual that has nothing to do with the supernatural or anatomy but has the words "butt and vampire." This book is banter-filled and funny. It reminds me of the book, "Brooding YA Hero". by DiRisio minus the fictional narrator. So with that said, the audience for this kind of book will be on the younger side and an absolute beginner or perhaps an older adult with a penchant for being entertained before actually doing hard work. This book has plenty of tips that highlights the information and in an exercise of practice what you preach, the author does a fabulous job of creating a compelling manual for those reluctant writers.

This book was informative with lots of useful tips. He doesn’t give solid rules, just some basic advice. He shares a number of amusing stories from his own writing journey. There are numerous footnotes, and many are quite funny, but they get to be a bit overwhelming at times. In general, the book is far more lighthearted than other writing books I’ve read. Somers discusses the writing process, but he also gives advice on publishing and marketing. Some things aren’t necessarily new ideas, but they’re good reminders (such as the importance of writing and that rejections are part of the process). This book could be helpful to writers of various levels.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy from NetGalley, but I wasn’t required to leave a positive review.

Well written, informative book on how to write. I learned a lot of ,what I believe will be useful, information when I start to write.

Disclaimer: ARC provided by publisher on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Writing Without Rules reminds us that the most important step you can take towards being a writer is actually writing. It kinda reminded me of weight loss advice. We all know the only way to lose weight is to exercise more and eat less/ healthy, but the real challenge is following that advice.

In this book, the author offers tidbits of unconventional advice, urging writers to stick with whatever process works for them. I liked his focus on finishing books rather than following the perfect process. I could relate to a lot of that advice.

The grey boxes of unconventional wisdom included in every chapter alone are worth the price of this book. I recommend it to people who have trouble finishing manuscripts.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️


Pros:

- Cover (can we take a moment to admire that gorgeous cartoon-print?)
- Short and to-the-point
- Unconventional advice
- Covers all important aspects of a writer's life

Cons:

- Nothing really. This book might not be for everyone, especially more seasoned writers. Like I said, I recommend it to those people who have trouble finishing manuscripts.

What a fun read! I learned a lot, but more importantly I learned it with a smile on my face! LOL A lot of writing books are so dry and snooze inducing. That's why I really enjoyed this one.

Writing without rules might not be the great book on writing but is by far the funniest book about writing. Somers mixes personal anecdotes with myths about writing into one of the most compelling book of its kind. I bet the author had fun while writing it - it seeded this way from its pages!

Pretty much any book that dedicates itself to imparting knowledge about the craft of writing is one that will find its way into my library. Even if I nothing new is relayed, in these volumes, I will normally still find at least some inspiration inside its pages.

However, whilst this one did deliver what it set out to, the jovial tone used left me feeling less than inspired. This is no fault of the author, and merely my personal preference. I ordinarily stay away from humour in fiction and also prefer my non-fiction on the drier side. This is proof that you can't please every reader, as I am sure many will appreciate the informal tone, personal anecdotes, and approachable style of writing.

This sort of handbook to write and publish a book, is written in a funny way and it's full of tips and suggestions that can be taken seriously, or not. As a matter o fact it was an enjoyable reading but thing is that I am not sure I believe everything the author wrote, and maybe is the right thing to do, because as he said "Nothing that worked for me has to work for you also."

Questa specie di manuale per scrivere e pubblicare un libro é scritto in modo simpatico ed é pieno di suggerimenti e trucchetti che possono essere presi sul serio, oppure no. Nonostante io mi sia divertita parecchio a leggerlo infatti, non posso dire di credere a tutto quello che ha scritto l'autore, ma é anche vero che, come dice lui, "Non tutto quello che funziona per me, debba per forza funzionare anche per te."

THANKS NETGALLEY FOR THE PREVIEW!

Jeffrey Somers give a delightfully witty insight into the mind of a writer. Writing without Rules is an excellent book and a must read for anybody looking to make a career out of writing. Each page is littered with tiny gems and tips for getting your novel, not only written, but published too. For example, reading and writing are important, but surely not as important as finishing. A fantastic read that I highly recommend.

2.5 Stars. I started this short writing guide several times and kept closing it quickly, feeling exhausted from reading the scattered writing. I just didn’t identify with the personal antidotes, and don’t feel I was presented with anything that added to the information I have read in more formal writing books. The humor sometimes hit, and was funny, so I’m unsure if I liked it or not. I really liked the cover design and title.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy of this ebook in exchange for an unbiased review.

This is an easy to read book in an interesting and lively style. It is lighter than most books on the subject, and is quite quirky in places. It covers the writing itself but also up to date information on getting published and marketing your book. It provides good advice on making use of social media. I think it will be useful for all levels and would be especially good to dip into at times when your writing needs a bit of a boost or some extra encouragement, Thank you.

https://petewsutton.com/2018/04/30/writing-without-rules-a-review/

It’s interesting that I’ve never heard of Jeffrey Somers (sorry) or read any of his books – but now I’m tempted to do so after reading this book. Somers was asked to write this book after some successful lectures and articles for Writers Digest

As I have written (here) I have somewhat of a penchant for writing books and therefore it is no great chore for me to have to read one for review. I really enjoyed this one – it’s entertainingly written and is from a very similar place to how I approach writing. My first writing book was, like so many others, Stephen Kings’s On Writing and, well, I thought I’d been doing it wrong (I also did a couple of posts about doing it wrong – here & here and I may do more in the future) because he was a writing guru and what he was describing was ‘how you MUST write’ (it wasn’t but that’s how I read it). I wish I’d read this book first – it would have saved a bunch of heartache…

“There is no ‘right’ way. You have to do things the way you want to, learn your lessons, and take your wins… The fact is, there will be plenty of times when you feel like a fraud or an amateur, convinced that every other writer knows more than you do and is playing the game better. They don’t, and they aren’t. It just seems that way from the outside.”

Somers also introduced me (or re-introduced, although I do wonder if it was his article on Writers Digest I originally read) to Plantsing – Plotting and Pantsing using whatever works from both strategies.

So this is a great first writing book to grab as a starting out writer and reminds you as an experienced writer that there are no rules (I still get hung up on that occasionally) and I’d thoroughly recommend it – not least for the entertaining way it’s written, and the many, many amusing footnotes.

I think this book has a marketing problem. My dislike of the book may stem expecting a craft advice book and ending up with a writer's journey sort of book with advice garnish. Somers comes through clearly and may be amusing, but it was very talking and meandering, which can frustrate readers who are trying to learn more. Now, maybe I should have thought about what "Writing Without Rules" implied when I requested it.