The Book

Thanks, But This Isn’t for Us: A (Sort of) Compassionate Guide to Why Your Writing is Being Rejected by Jessica Page Morrell is exactly what the title claims it is. In a blunt, sometimes sarcastic, manner, developmental editor Morrell takes you through the various aspects of a manuscript. From beginner faux pas like extraneous adjectives and adverbs to more subtle elements like creating suspense and using sensory details, she points out what sorts of things will get your manuscript tossed into the circular file and provides direction on how to fix these issues.

The Review

I’ve read a previous book by Jessica Page Morrell that is heavily sticky-noted and reread at least once every year. What I liked about that book is that Morrell went beyond the beginner level of writing and got into the more subtle elements of what makes writing good. Thanks, But This Isn’t for Us covers both beginner level issues and more subtle issues that might be keeping your manuscript from being published.

The tone is occasionally snarky and it’s no secret. Even the cover design is a bit snarky, suggesting that manuscripts are used as coasters. Chapter one begins like this:

Dear Wanna Be a Published Writer:

This isn’t a book about false promises or cheery rah-rahs. This book never claims that anyone can write a best seller or become a billionaire just by typing away, or even that writing is the greatest joy because, after all, we cannot forget about dancing, chocolate, and sex. Rather, it’s written by a Demon of Harsh Reality and meant as a hefty dose of reality along with encouragement to keep trying, to keep learning. Because writing is a craft, and it can be learned.” –pg 9

For the most part, the tone is blunt but helpful so the occasional snark isn’t hard to take (I have been known to be somewhat snarky myself so this sort of thing doesn’t bother me in the least, particularly when the advice is clearly good). If you survived Miss Snark‘s blog you’ll find that Morrell is much gentler overall, but equally informative.

The chapters cover beginnings, plot, structure, mood, dialogue, characters, scenes, and emotions. There are also chapters on memoirs, doing a final edit, and not driving your editor insane. As well as an index, the back of the book has two glossaries: fiction lingo and publishing lingo (which is nice, because sometimes it feels like everyone else knows these terms even if you don’t).

Each chapter is divided into chunks with headings and subheadings, which makes the book easy to scan to find what you are looking for. There are recurring elements in each chapter, like a reading list of books focused on a particular topic. I found that I often have at least one of the books listed in the reading list and since I’m happy with the ones I have, I’m inclined to check out some of the others on the list when I have time.

A ‘Quick & Dirty Tips’ list that summarizes what you need to take away from the chapter and apply to your writing is included at the end of each chapter. Since I use most writing books as reference books, I find that list helpful in refreshing my memory (it also lessens the need for me to take my own notes, which I inevitably lose). There is also a short ‘Try This’ exercise in each chapter that helps you address a particular problem. It’s one thing to know that you have a certain problem and quite another to figure where to start to fix it so the ‘Try This’ sections are particularly helpful because they give a place to start–even if it’s just taking a highlighter to your manuscript to see how often you use modifiers or sensory details to convince you that you do indeed have a problem (or reassure you that you don’t).

The Verdict

This one is a keeper. Jessica Page Morrell, as a developmental editor, helps authors polish their manuscripts for a living and it shows. If you need to polish your manuscript, going through this book will help you find your manuscript’s weaknesses and figure out what to do about it (assuming, of course, that you can acknowledge that your manuscript has weaknesses–if you can’t, then no book will help you).

You can find Thanks, But This Isn’t for Us: A (Sort of) Compassionate Guide to Why Your Writing is Being Rejected at amazon (US, Canada, & UK), as well as at other online and retail booksellers.

Jessica Page Morrell is an author and writing instructor. In Between the Lines she goes through what makes a story or novel extraordinary.

This is one writing book of mine that is heavily stickied (with Post-It flags). I reread it before I write a first draft of a novel or novella so that I have the concepts in mind, and then I consult it when I write the subsequent drafts to address the inevitable weaknesses in the first draft (also known as The Shitty First Draft).

Morrell’s writing is very readable. She uses examples from classics as well as contemporary bestsellers (Charles Dickens to Michael Crichton) to explain elements that take a work to the next level. This is one of my favourite writing books because it addresses the work as a whole and helps you get insight into how to fix or enhance that first draft (or write a better first draft to begin with).

She explains why as well as how for each of the elements that she covers with examples, tips, tricks, and guidelines. Common pitfalls for each element are also examined. Elements covered include (from the Table of Contents):

• Backstory
• Cliffhangers & Thrusters
• Epilogues
• Epiphanies & Revelations
• Flashbacks
• Foreshadowing
• Imagery & Other Charms
• Pacing
• Prologues
• Sense of Place
• Sensory Surround
• Subplots
• Subtlety
• Suspense
• Tension
• Theme & Premise
• Transitions

Very useful and worth every penny.