Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t

And Other Tough-Love Truths to Make You a Better Writer

By: Steven Pressfield

Narrated by: Steven Pressfield

There's a mantra real writers know but wannabe writers don’t. And the secret phrase is this: "Nobody wants to read your shit." Recognizing this painful truth is the first step in the writer's transformation from amateur to professional.

“When you understand that nobody wants to read your shit, you develop empathy. You acquire the skill that is indispensable to all artists and entrepreneurs - the ability to switch back and forth in your imagination from your own point of view as writer/painter/seller to the point of view of your reader/gallery-goer/customer. You learn to ask yourself with every sentence and every phrase: Is this interesting? Is it fun or challenging or inventive? Am I giving the reader enough? Is she bored? Is she following where I want to lead her?"

©2016 Black Irish Books, LLC (P)2018 Black Irish Books, LLC

Bit repetitive but good.

Book is a little repetitive but a solid listen for anyone who is a writer.

Great insights

love every second of this very insightful and helpful book. Got a lot out of it and will apply the lessons to copy AI write going forward Thanks!

Informative as heck! Beautiful flow.

Great writing concepts, well-delivered and well-ordered. Easy flow. Easy to follow. I
t is obvious that this author put a great deal of sweat equity into writing this book, with outstanding resuls. I write and edit non-fiction, and this was a major revelation to me that my writing also needs a story and a hero and an adventure, much like our ancestors passing along the culture while sitting around the fire spinning stories. I found it to be much easier to incorporate this concept into my writing than I originally thought. And it's fun! Update: Listening to this a second time, I caught something cool. While I was trying to put it all together and getting a bit bogged down in the details, he said three simple words that made the lights come on....."Trust the force." And he said them at the exact right time to generate a sort-of epiphany. Brilliant.

Honest Voice

There isn't any bullshit in this shit. Everyone who aspires to write should get this book.

Not a good audible book.

I love Steven Pressfield's work. I've read Gates of Fire 7 times (I read it annually). However, I wish I wouldn't have purchased the audible version of this book. The book itself is fantastic and a wealth of information. But it didn't work for me as an audio book. I should have spent the money on a paperback that would allow me to take my time, make notes, and have it on hand for reference. It's a solid book but I don't think an audio book is the right choice for this type of information.

Wake up Call

It’s a bit harder to apply this to non-fiction but my mind is spinning about coming up with ways to. He gives a lot more guidance on that toward the end. I will think about writing in a different way. I really enjoy Steven Pressfield’s “self help” books on audio. He reads them like a drama and it’s very gripping and never boring. There is never a lot of extra but just enough.

Inspirational and practical guide to writing

One of the best books on writing I have read. Thanks for the practical guidelines and inspiration. I am now ready to begin my next writing journey.

Useful lessons on each page

I love what Pressfield writes because he says what I know but cannot get out. The sentence ring true and I know the ideas but I never put them together. Brilliant and clear filling the reader with insights. The book rounds up the important items and allows the facts to operate like a check list good for various stages of a written project
For example if he had written about a car. He did not but if he did the book has insights that fall into a category like what follows for example.
Yes, I own the convertible. Yes I know to put the roof up in the rain. Yes I see the on coming traffic. Oh, yes I should pull over and put the roof up when on coming traffic has the wipers running.
The short book rounds up the facts and just states them. .

Storytelling is universal.

Pressfield lays out the universal principles of storytelling as they apply to virtually every aspect of our lives. This book is very useful for any creative person, and lays out important foundational principles clearly and concisely.

great advice

if you got to do any kind of writing that eventually plan on getting paid for you need to listen to this book