Called To Write Book Review

I just finished reading Called To Write by Dayna Mazzuca, one of the books that I bought at this year’s fall conference. I bought the book because I was fascinated by Dayna’s workshop called ‘Reach Your Reader’, which I already talked about in last month’s post, and which I have highlighted elsewhere on my website and on The Word Guild’s blog.

The book itself is divided into three sections: Embrace Creativity; Reach Your Reader, and Go to Market.  All three sections include reflective questions at the end of each chapter to help readers apply the principles in the book, as well as a handy checklist at the end of each section. I would say the book is geared toward writers at the beginning of their journey, or those unsure of their call, and most definitely it is for people who like to dig deep into their own motivation.

My favourite section was the middle part, which shed more light on the workshop I attended at conference and helped me understand more clearly the theory behind the different types of  readers. (And it also explained why I should care!) In summary, the five basic types of readers are:

1.     The fact finding scholar

2.     The social connector

3.     The active change agent

4.     The adventurous explorer

5.     The contemplative mystic

Each type of reader comes to any written work with their own set of needs and expectations. It certainly has helped me to understand my own responses to certain books and styles of writing and will hopefully help me to target my own audience in a more productive way. (I am most definitely NOT a scholar or a change agent, and although in my dreams I am much more contemplatively mystical, the reality is that I’m waffling somewhere between the adventurous explorer and the social connector.)

If your interest has been pricked, I recommend picking up your own copy of the book. Not only will you be supporting an InScribe author, but I guarantee a few ‘Ah ha!’ moments as well. As far as I can tell, the book is only available online through iBooks or directly from the author at daynawrites.comhttp://daynawrites.com/.

Review written by Tracy Krauss

Read any good books by InScribe authors? How about books on writing craft? The fifth of each month is set aside for book reviews and we are always looking for submissions! Submit your reviews to the blog moderator!