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Rating: 
Summary: A must-have for the self-help writer
Review: As I set out to read this how-to book on how to write self-help and how-to books, I had high expectations. After all, if a writer decides to guide other writers on how to write such books, her own book should meet the same standards. After reading this amazing book - twice - I'm convinced Jean Marine Stine definitely knows what she's talking about. Her experience and knowledge shine through every word that she's written. It's evident that she's applied her own advice throughout the book, and has indeed written best-seller material. 'How to Write a Best-Selling Self-Help Book' is divided into seven distinct sections. These sections cover each and every aspect of writing a how-to or self-help book. From proposal writing to dealing with low sales-figures, she's managed to cover every single step of the way. In these sections, she has listed various mistakes that are to be avoided at all costs. The author takes special care not only to detail out the problem, but gives constructive solutions on how to work your way around them. Part one deals with the book proposal and how each and every element has it's own importance. Jean Marie Stine does a good job of showing how exactly each element fits into the picture and warns of the pitfalls and mistakes to avoid. The second part is an in-depth analysis of the preface. If you thought it was a one-page introduction, think again. The author shows you how to make this one-page introduction your sales page, and how it can lead to the difference between the bookstore, and the reader's bookshelf. The next four sections give priceless advice on how to write the book, what words and phrases to use, writing style, case studies, connecting with the reader and much more. Finally, she touches on the aspect of contacting publishers before writing your book, and gives facts and figures to illustrate her point. She not only tells you that it's possible but shows you exactly how to do it. The amount of information that the author has packed into this e-book is indeed fascinating. I couldn't think of any element that she may have left out. If you're thinking of writing a self-help or how-to book, this book is one of the most useful and informative resources you'll find. Solid, practical advice makes this book an absolutely essential element in not only the aspiring, but also the published author's library.
Rating: 
Summary: Repetitive, Repetitive, Repetitive
Review: I should begin by saying that this book does contain some useful information. However, I have three main gripes with the presentation: 1. The author repeats herself over and over again from one sub-chapter to the next. For every five pages of writing, there's one page of information that has been stated in 5 different ways. This makes for a very boring and often frustrating read. 2. The book attempts to capitalize on the specific genre of 'Self-Help & How-To' books. However, the advice is not at all specific to this genre. This is the same advice that is given in many other, and much more complete, nonfiction author guides that are available in the same price range as this book. The author attempts to make specific references to the 'Self-Help & How-To' markets. But one gets the impression that these references are thrown in just to keep the content somewhat true to the title - which one quickly comes to believe is a front to sell this book to a specialized target market. In reality, this book does very little to help the 'Self-Help & How-To' author specifically. 3. Much of the book focuses on how to write a book proposal. However, there are no full examples of book proposals to be found! At best, we get disconnected snipets taken from proposals which may or may not even be real because most come without references. So, this becomes a very bad 'How-To' book on how to write 'How-To' books. With that said, one has to question the validity of her advice since her own 'How-To' book is really not very good. In short, this is a condensed and content-lacking version of the more complete books on this subject by authors such as Snell, Herman, Lyon, etc. Again, I should say that there is some useful information to be found if you can dig between the lines of repetitive fluff. But, after you extract the few worthwhile tidbits, you are left with little more than a genre-specific title, and a space in your wallet where $16 used to be. My advice: Invest elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: Repetitive, Repetitive, Repetitive
Review: I should begin by saying that this book does contain some useful information. However, I have three main gripes with the presentation: 1. The author repeats herself over and over again from one sub-chapter to the next. For every five pages of writing, there's one page of information that has been stated in 5 different ways. This makes for a very boring and often frustrating read. 2. The book attempts to capitalize on the specific genre of 'Self-Help & How-To' books. However, the advice is not at all specific to this genre. This is the same advice that is given in many other, and much more complete, nonfiction author guides that are available in the same price range as this book. The author attempts to make specific references to the 'Self-Help & How-To' markets. But one gets the impression that these references are thrown in just to keep the content somewhat true to the title - which one quickly comes to believe is a front to sell this book to a specialized target market. In reality, this book does very little to help the 'Self-Help & How-To' author specifically. 3. Much of the book focuses on how to write a book proposal. However, there are no full examples of book proposals to be found! At best, we get disconnected snipets taken from proposals which may or may not even be real because most come without references. So, this becomes a very bad 'How-To' book on how to write 'How-To' books. With that said, one has to question the validity of her advice since her own 'How-To' book is really not very good. In short, this is a condensed and content-lacking version of the more complete books on this subject by authors such as Snell, Herman, Lyon, etc. Again, I should say that there is some useful information to be found if you can dig between the lines of repetitive fluff. But, after you extract the few worthwhile tidbits, you are left with little more than a genre-specific title, and a space in your wallet where $16 used to be. My advice: Invest elsewhere.
Rating: 
Summary: Shallow and repetitive
Review: Jean Marie Stine's book seemed very lazily thrown together. There were no samples of query letters, outlines, or book proposals included! There were only 3 pages discussing how to submit to an agent or publisher. I'm going to chuck this book and go back to "How to Write Attention-Grabbing Query and Cover Letters" by John Wood. There were no big big secrets revealed in Stine's book--the only good news is that it made me realize I already know what I have to do to publish my own self-help book, and I just have to go do it!
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing, Repetitive, Outdated
Review: Save time and money - read the Table of Contents then reshelf the book. The remainder of the text is am excruciatingly boring repeat of the TOC. In today's fast-paced, highly competitive market, readers expect concise facts and promises that deliver. In my opinion, Stine fails.
Rating: 
Summary: I read it, I used it, I got my book published.
Review: This is one book that I not only read but referred back to again and again. I have read this book over three or four times; I have marked up paragraphs and highlighted important passages. This book really crystallized my planning for a book I had in mind. In chapter 4: the author's five ways of structuring a How-to book gave me an idea for the overall structure (I chose method 4 the "component-based book"). Her extensive and helpful discussion of titles and subtitles and how and why to choose them (chapter 3) lead me to spend a great deal of time in considering this critical book element. Finally, the chapters about proposal writing for a How-To book were simply great. Several other books discuss proposals and give examples, but many are for fiction proposals which aren't close to what I was trying to do. The narrowing of focus to just How-To/Self-Help proposals was just what I needed. Highly recommended.
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