A Book is Born: 24 Authors Tell All

Nancy C. Cleary
Wyatt-Mackenzie Publishing (2007)
ISBN 9781932279504
Reviewed by Tyler R. Tichelaar for Reader Views (1/08)

“A Book is Born” follows 24 author-moms through the journey from getting their books published, through the marketing and publicity of their books. These authors give the writer setting out to publish some idea of what the journey might be like.

The strength of “A Book is Born” is the stories of the 24 female authors. Nancy Cleary has organized a group of women who are also mothers and authors, and these women tell their stories of getting published, their dreams, disappointments, and achievements along the road, and how they balanced their writing with motherhood. “A Book is Born” continually compares writing and publishing a book to giving birth and raising a child—something I think many women writers will relate to. However, I thought stories from three or four, rather than twenty-four female authors would have been more effective and focused. The authors did tell stories that I could relate to as a published author myself. I think if any woman wants to write and publish a book, she will find this book useful primarily in understanding the emotional journey—the joy and stress involved in the process. As a published author myself, I found I could relate to many of the writers, but as a man, I more stereotypically wanted to learn about the nuts and bolts rather than the emotional journey.

This book is not for the writer who wants to learn how to be published or self-published. As the 24 authors talked about their journeys, I found myself impatiently wanting to be told how to get an ISBN number, how to find a printer, how to create a press kit, how to develop a marketing plan. The book does have some “Tech Tips” sections, but these contain minimal information. If anyone wants to know how to get published, I don’t think this book will be much help. The most useful section, “The Secret and Science to Getting Your Book Published” was only about 20 pages long, and it mainly consists of a checklist for you to rate the energy you are willing to put into publishing and promoting your book so you can decide whether you should go with a print-on-demand publishing company, self-publish, look for an independent press, or seek an agent to sell a book to a major publisher. The real nuts and bolts of publishing were not covered—when the author mentioned press releases and media kits, she did not give any real pointers on how to write them, and the sample press releases and other materials in the book were printed so small they were not readable for use as examples. If you want to learn about publishing details, this book is not for you.

I recommend “A Book is Born” as a supplement to writers in helping them to decide if publication is right for them. While I felt the book could have been more focused, “A Book is Born” will tell you what the “How To” books do not—how it feels to be a published author.

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