Official Review: Agile Authors by Thomas P Wise

[CCtheBrave]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Agile Authors" by Thomas P Wise.]

---

3 out of 4 stars

---

Share This Review

---

When a lot of people think about what it takes to write and publish a book, they immediately become intimidated by the amount of time and work that it might take. They stop dead in their tracks as they realize they might not have the marketing, editing, artistic, or even research skills they’ll need to see their project through to the end. What they don’t realize, though, is that they don’t have to go through the writing process all alone. Instead, they can, and should, be tapping into the talents of their friends, family, and coworkers to ease the load. Because let’s face it, there are very few things in life that an individual truly does alone, and publishing a book doesn’t have to be one of them. Agile Authors, a non-fiction, instructional book by Thomas P. Wise, explains exactly this point as it walks authors through the ins-and-outs of writing and publishing a book.

To start, Agile Authors is a short read (87 pages) and consists of nine chapters. As you read through the book, though, it feels more like it’s separated into two very different parts. The first portion focuses more on management and communication skills that are necessary for success in any professional endeavor, such as understanding team and group dynamics, marketing, and communicating with your target audience. The second portion, though, is much more tailored to being an author, and it looks at how to build a writing space and set a daily routine, how to utilize the skills of people within your social network, and understanding the full scope of the publishing process.

As I read through this book, I felt like the content in first portion was a little too general and too business oriented, as opposed to being more focused on writers and/or publishing teams. While I do think the content is applicable to authors, I wish it was a little more tailored to the challenges of building a writing team, in particular. This issue didn’t last long, though, because the author did an exceptional job bringing the content back to authors in the second part of the book. In this section, Thomas P. Wise talks about looking critically at your workflow and writing process in order to figure out which areas you could ask other people for help with. Wise writes

Authors need to have allies, a network that is helping to communicate, write, and publish.

The author illustrates this point with several examples: if your sister loves reading and has time on her hands, she’d be a great person to ask to proofread your work. And if your friend is a great artist, it might beneficial to ask them to help you develop the cover of your book. Throughout Agile Authors, Wise emphasizes that we, as writers, should be reaching out to other people in their social or professional network in order to build the best possible product they can.

One of the great aspect of this book is its emphasis on the writing and editing process in the second part of the book. Wise uses several chapters to talk about the need understand your overall writing process, such as paying attention to the type of environment that’s most conducive to your creative process (time of day, location, lighting, etc.), putting in the time and energy necessary to create a professional product, and editing and proofing your work at every level. While some of these points may seem obvious at first, Wise does a great job breaking down each one into a series of questions and considerations that anyone who is contemplating becoming an author should seriously think about. These themes are made even clearer because of Wise’s impeccable writing. Agile Authors is very professionally written and is free of any distracting spelling and grammatical mistakes.

While reading Agile Authors, I only had a few small gripes about the book. To start, I feel like the length of the book is a little bit short, especially since the first few chapters seem too vague and centered on general business principles, instead of focusing on writing, specifically. I think the book would be much stronger if the author tailored the first few chapters to writing or publishing teams, as well as lengthened those chapters to include all the great details and lists that are found in the second part of the book. I also felt that the ending was too abrupt, as well. Even though the content of the last chapter is very engaging and helpful, I was surprised, and even a bit confused, when I realized that the book had ended. There didn’t seem to be any closing remarks or summary of the main points, which I think would have given the end of the book more finality and strength.

Overall, though, Agile Authors is a quick and informative read, and I rate it 3 out of 4 stars because I not only enjoyed reading it, but because it made me feel more prepared to tackle the publishing process, as well. Despite the short length and generic business principles in the beginning, the majority of the content was engaging and insightful. And after reading this book, I feel like I have a better idea of how to utilize my social and professional networks to make becoming an author seem less daunting. Anyone who is considering writing a book and isn’t sure of what that might entail will enjoy reading Agile Authors.

******
Agile Authors
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

Like CCtheBrave's review? Post a comment saying so!

[kimmyschemy06]

Sounds like a very interesting, informative and helpful books for aspiring writers. I would love to read it. Too bad about the flaws, though. Good job on the review!

[CCtheBrave]

it was definitely an interesting read! it was nice that the flaws weren't enough to keep me from continuing on in the book, though, I found a lot of the material in the second half to be useful, or at least thought provoking. thanks you!

[chytach18-]

I loved your review. It was very informative, well-written and even better structured. Regarding the book itself - it seems to me a little too formulaic. We are all different and have different writing habits (that is my remark on lighting, etc.). Also, I think that there were so many books already written on this topic; maybe too many books.

[CCtheBrave]

I hear what you're saying, there are a lot of books on this topic already. I think that's why I was pleasantly surprised to find that this book was informative.

It did feel formulaic in the beginning, but when I read the author bio, it was clear why: the author's other works are mainly focused on team and project management.

Thanks for your input, I always appreciate it!

[bookowlie]

Nice, balanced review with good constructive criticism! It sounds like the book could have been fleshed out more. Still, I am glad you enjoyed it.

[CCtheBrave]

Thank you @bookowlie, I worry sometimes that my reviews are getting more and more long-winded! I'll be working to shorten them up a bit in the future. I'm sure the author doesn't mind, though

[gij316]

CCtheBrave - Great review. Perhaps my academic side came through in the beginning. You are correct that, for nonfiction, I normally write for masters level university students and business people. A second edition seems in order here.

[bookowlie]

Thank you @bookowlie, I worry sometimes that my reviews are getting more and more long-winded! I'll be working to shorten them up a bit in the future. I'm sure the author doesn't mind, though

I didn't mind the long review. I think it gave me a better picture of the positives and negatives. Nice job!

[CCtheBrave]

thanks again! And I'm glad the author liked the review, too!