Book Craft: The Art and Science of Writing Great Books

by Derek Murphy

This is not a book. It’s an initiation.

You’re here because you love the alchemical process where your creativity and inspiration bleed onto the page. You’ve tasted the power of using letters to communicate ideas and cast spells, bewitching readers and captivating them with the powers of your mind.
You’ve got a taste for it, but you want more. So you’ve sought me out, and here we are. This information took me decades to uncover, and I don’t reveal it lightly. Not every author is ready to hear the valuable lessons I’m about to share with you, but this book isn’t for them. It’s for you.
Who am I? We’ll get to that later. Right now, let’s talk about you and what’s holding you back. You’re determined to improve your writing, because you respect your audience enough to give them your best work. You’re excited about the story you’re drafting, but not sure if you have the right skills to do it justice. You want to sell more books, without selling your soul or giving up the reason you started writing in the first place: that magical feeling of discovery, when the pages come alive in unpredictable ways.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Reference

500 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 21, 2020

About the author

I wrote my MA thesis on Harry Potter and my PhD thesis on Paradise Lost. Now I write YA fantasy novels and design book covers. I blog about self-publishing, book design and book marketing, and was featured in CNN for renting castles.

www.urbanepics.com
www.theyashelf.com
www.creativindie.com
www.imlovingbooks.com

Reviews

[Dennis Mitton · Rating 3 out of 5]

It might be for you or might not. How's that for advice?

I'm a fan of Murphy and read his site regularly. This book, however, isn’t for me. I’ve written a couple of books and have been blogging for a decade, and I see the book aimed at a newer writer, consumed with an idea, with nary a clue as to how to get anything on paper.

I agree with other reviewers that much of the material is presented on his site, but so what? It’s nice to have a thing to hold in your hand instead of jumping from essay to essay. His voice here is little different than in his fiction works: with lots of descriptions and emotions, it can be tough to cut through the smoke. The reader will, at times, have to sift through this flotsam to get to the main point.

A good book overall for the beginner or for anyone who fears the blank page. Three stars.

[Marcy Kennedy · Rating 1 out of 5]

TLDR: Badly done. Don't waste your time or your money. Buy a book by Matt Bird, Janice Hardy, K. W. Wieland, James Scott Bell, or pretty much anyone else.

I was going to give this book 3 stars, but then I got further into it, and I just couldn't.

There's some good information in this book, but so often I just wanted the author to get to the point. He fluffed the word count out with completely useless stories, side tangents, poetry, word origins, crystal use, and stuff about witchcraft. Why? None of that helps me become a better writer. This was incredibly annoying and frustrating and makes this a book I can't recommend. It felt like he was wasting my time.

And the grammatical errors... The author says that writers should do their best to have a clean book, but he also says that no one cares (and those that do are too stuffy) and you can basically put commas wherever you want. And he did. He threw a lot of the rules/guidelines about punctuation and grammar out the window, and it was not a pleasant reading experience.

Still, had that been the extent of the problems, I think I might have still given it 3 stars. Or at least 2 stars. But then I got to the last appendix. He says, "Don't assume your sober writing is your best writing." He advocates, in detail, for writers using substances. And not just alcohol. He says you'll be more creative through substance use. What? I'm sorry. This isn't healthy or wise. Does he not realize how dangerous this advice is and how many writers in the past destroyed their lives (or killed themselves) because of their substance use/abuse? At the risk of sounding like my grandma, shame on him. So many successful authors are fighting this harmful stereotype about the writing life and advocating for healthy writing habits and are calling attention to how harmful substance use has historically been for writers that for Murphy to advocate for it instead and try to undo all that good work is irresponsible.

I'm going to delete this book from my Kindle now and hopefully never think about it again.

[N.A. Davenport · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this book can read a bit slowly at times, there are true gems of wisdom offered throughout. Derek takes two opposing philosophies of word art, working for the love of the craft vs striving for competent skill, and joins them in a harmonious way. If you’re looking for a quick how-to on writing better, or if you want to read an author commiserate with you about suffering for your art, this isn’t for you. But if you’re passionate about your writing and truly desire to develop your skills by changing the way you approach your craft, take some time to read this.

[Chris Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

I couldn't decide between 3 and 4 stars for this; in a better mood I might have given it 4. There are some real gems of writing wisdom in here, and some solid advice throughout. But there is also a slog through obnoxious metaphors about magic that are as exhausting as they are unnecessary. Put another way, this book could have been much shorter and less annoying while keeping the positive impact. Also, for a book on craft, there were a shocking number of mistakes - not just typos but wrong words, missing words, and outright error (e.g. calling Abraham's son Isaiah instead of Isaac). A couple of mistakes will slip into every book, but here there were a lot, and it was particularly egregious given the topic.

[Gracie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am beginning my research into becoming a published author sometime in the next few years and the author of this book seemed to be knowledgeable enough to put out a good craft book. I have a handful so far that I've read and a handful more to read through. This one was rough.
I will start off by saying that there are some nuggets of useful information. However, it's nothing new, and the reason I am giving it a one star is because the author takes fifty words to say what could be said in less than ten. There is so much unnecessary fluff and it's clear this is a self indulgent ego boost for him. Part of good writing is to be succinct, not meandering.
The author doesn't seem to understand the purpose of craft books is to help authors improve their craft and give them the information they want and need. Not create a time suck with endless stories that are just a not so humble brag.
He also claims that it's for a specific audience and only they will "get it" and understand it. Those of us who don't need unnecessary long winded stories, are not his audience and it's too challenging for us.
The author, because there are negative reviews, considers this a GREAT book. He doesn't understand what he did wrong, and how far he missed the market because of his lack of research and his ego, and seeks to blame the reader for not being smart enough for this "challenging" book with all the "big words."
---The point of craft books shouldn't be to waste as much of the readers time, but to be useful.--- That right there is why this book is a one star and not a five star.



Though the following didn't play a part in why it's only one star, it is rather off putting. The author wrote a long post about how this isn't a "good" book because more people would like it if it was. No, in his opinion it's a GREAT book which readers will love and hate so that's why it's not a solid five star read.

Quotes from his blog post:
"I didn’t write a “good” book that satisfies everyone; I wrote a challenging book that will upset some people"

"I wrote it for a specific audience, which means there are definitely people who will not have the patience of it. And it even may be tedious to my supporters; and that’s my fault – I may have been self-indulgent. I may have used all my fancy words, which I warn against. I may not have followed my own advice well enough, and been showing off my eruditeness and knowledge more than strictly necessary."

"But the thing is, a “good” book most people will find fine."
"A great book, people will either love or hate."

[Alina Leonova · Rating 5 out of 5]

I used this book to write and edit my current WIP. There is a lot of helpful, actionable advice. I didn't follow every rule / suggestion, but I found many of them useful. It helped me structure the writing process much better, so it took a shorter time. It also helped me see a lot of mistakes I made in my first book and avoid them in the current one, so I believe it's made me a better writer.

Now, there is a lot of fluff too. Some of it was entertaining and gave the book a unique flavor, other times I just wanted the author to get to the point instead of convincing me why I should do something that I'm already convinced of. But I get it — it comes from his experience of interacting with other writers and encountering their reluctance to do certain things.

In the end, the book was very valuable for me, and I'll return to it in the future.

[Gaby Halteren · Rating 5 out of 5]

In many books on writing craft you see that the author really, really tried to be entertaining—and failed. Derek Murphy doesn’t have to try, he always writes in a style that makes me shout ‘I want more’. There is a lot of solid, practical and viable information in this book. Its approach on how to share this information may be different, but it is different in a good way. I recommend it to everyone who is looking for a captivating read on the craft of writing and revising and tons of accessible and applicable advice.

[Fiona Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

Derek Murphy is such a compelling writer. This book is not only packed with sterling advice for writers, based on his own experience to PhD level, but it's full of interesting stories and intriguing details, and there's lovely imagery, too. I have "finished" reading it, but I keep going back to it for added learning when I stumble in my own process. Recommended reading for all writers, whatever stage you're at.

[Ari Carver · Rating 1 out of 5]

For a book that says "Cut the Fluff. Keep the Magic." on the cover, there's a lot of fluff going on. For every kernel of decent advice you have to slog through at least 10 pages of random anecdotes and awkward analogies.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Goodreads and Derek Murphy for allowing me to have this book. It's a great book for someone trying to write their own book. Many great ideas, written in a way that's easy to understand and follow.

[Mélanie Dufresne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very helpful

This is a treasure trove of ressources! I will need to go over it a second time, since I spent most of it going « ah ha! » on my current project. :)

[Michelle Stockard Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

A helpful and informative book. I will definitely be referring to it often. Being a witch, I appreciated the references to elements of witchcraft.

[Gayleen Greer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth The Time

Derek tells it like it is. He is generous with his knowledge and information. He lays it all out there. I appreciate it!

[Sami · Rating 5 out of 5]

An alchemist's guide to writing | Rich and full of wisdom

Warning: This isn't your typical writing book promising the formula to a best seller with content that might as well be three long essays connected by a case study or two. If you want a book that you can skim in an hour, this ain't it.

This is the writing book equivalent of being in a wizard's hut as he tells you his secrets. You either enjoy the ambiance or you don't. I fell under the spell.

This book feels unique in how it blends story/analog/prose and practical advice much like Stephen King's On Writing. This is a book about creating magic and reads like a grimoire. Its meant to be savored over time like a devotional to inspire the magician in us all.

Derek is like a mad book shaman wandering the earth but he knows whats up. I am biased towards him as he gave me a scholarship to his Guerrila Publishing course and writing retreat which launched my career. In 2020, I released 5 novels and earned over 20k in revenue. As my backlog has increased so has my profit margins and passive income on old books. His methods worked for me. Book Craft is his most dense and prose-like nonfiction so just check out his other stuff if you want less frills.


Note: my version must be different from the reviewers who got advanced copies from the publisher because I haven't found any typos. It also has a table of contents.

[Amber Christiansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Helpful

I usually wait until I'm done reading before leaving a review, but this book will take me longer to read than most, so I wanted to leave my thoughts as I go. Right now, I am only a couple chapters in, but I already know that this will prove to be an essential resource for me.

The narrative is a combination of nurturing and brutal honesty. The author has loads of helpful insights and also includes appropriate quotes from others that enhance the book rather than bog it down like some nonfiction books. There have already been a few places where what I read has made me look closely at my own mindset and beliefs. One thing is that I have to look at editing differently. I might not come to love it, but I won't be able to complain with my new mindset either.

The only thing I've noticed that I don't really like about this book is that the table of contents are not set up in a way to easily navigate to a specific section. The author explained the reason at the beginning and I understand, but this lack makes it necessary for me to leave bookmarks at the chapter titles so that I can reference specific parts in the future after my initial read-through.

[John Keillor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helped me write The McKinley Chronicles and re edit my back catalog.

[Bob Lankford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very, very helpful!