Committed

by Michael W. Griffith

Peter Taylor is running out of time. To keep his parents happy, he’s on the verge of taking a six-figure consulting job with his father’s firm even though he loathes the idea of a business career. And he’s on the path toward marriage with his girlfriend Ashley even though it’s clear she’s with him for the money and not for love. If he starts the job or marries Ashley, his secret dream of being a writer--and the better life that goes with it--will be gone forever. Backed into a moment of no return at his college graduation dinner, Peter finally tells his parents he wants to write novels for a living. His announcement sets in motion a battle with his parents bigger and more far-reaching than anything he could have imagined, with unforeseen consequences and irreversible outcomes for everyone involved. Committed is a thought-provoking novel that reminds us that sometimes true love finds us in the most unlikely places, and is worth waiting for…and examines what it takes to have the courage to fight for our dreams, rather than just taking the path of least resistance. Committed is also filled with real-life information about writing and publishing for those that “have always wanted to write a book,” but like Peter, don’t have any idea of how to get started.

342 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 6, 2015

Reviews

[Ember Shane · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're looking only for an inspirational story about living out your dreams and designing goals specifically tailored for yourself, then this story may be a little dry for you. Especially in the beginning, there's a lot of talk regarding the antagonist's business life. It's so far removed from what I normally read that I honestly don't know if I should rate it on story merit alone. So I won't.

However, if you're also looking for a pleasantly packaged way of understanding differences between traditional publishing and indie publishing... or if you're considering indie publishing and don't know where to start researching, this would make a lovely springboard. Griffith provides good reference links within the story for would-be authors to start researching how to go about it. He gives good information in simple terms so that even the newest of writers can understand.

[Sandra Lopez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peter was working hard on his manuscript and wonders what could be if he did what he wanted instead of what was expected of him—working alongside his father at his multi-million dollar company. Could he give up his writing dream at 24?

“I spent 4 years getting a degree for a career I don’t want.”

The story follows the struggles of a writer wanting to venture into the world of publishing. He thought the world of writing would be so easy (he’d write the books, the publisher prints them, and the bookseller sells them.) Yeah, right. If it was that easy, then everyone would do it. Actually, a lot of people are doing this with the breakthrough of indie publishing.

“If you don’t read and read a bunch, how can you tell the difference between good writing and bad?”

“I have a thing for good stories no matter which shelf they’re on.”

But Peter must prove to his arrogant and controlling father that he could make a successful living as a writer. Will Peter be able to prove his bullheaded father wrong, or will he fail and end up working the grind for the rest of his life? You can’t wait to find out what happens.

I shared his love for writing. Writing is vividly candid and easy-going. Book is a crash course on indie publishing, which many authors would find helpful. It combines a how-to manual format with a fictional story. A great read!

[Tara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Part of my two star rating may be the fact that I did not realize what I was getting into when I picked this book up (on Kindle...). I think the author was trying for a Jon Gordon style book that was a fictional story that was also a business parable. But Jon Gordon's books are more about the "heart" of business and this book was more about the "logistics" of business (the writing business specifically). It felt way too forced - dialogue and basic descriptions of what happened. I can't count the number of times Kindle or Amazon was mentioned - did they actually pay this guy to write this book? I guess the story was somewhat interesting, but the details about self-publishing seemed self aggrandizing. Unfortunately, that made it a miss for me.