TL;DR
7/10. A broad anthology from the editors of Writer’s Digest gathering advice from many accomplished authors across the entire novel-writing and publishing process. A solid, useful survey valued for its range and professional perspectives, held from higher by the anthology form’s breadth-over-depth, uneven quality across contributors, and business material that dates.
The Complete Handbook of Novel Writing, from the editors of Writer’s Digest, is a thick anthology of craft advice covering every stage of writing and publishing a novel, drawing together guidance from many of the field’s accomplished authors and professionals. Instead of one author’s coherent method, it’s a collection, essays, interviews, and advice from many successful writers on everything from idea through draft through publication.
As a broad, multi-voice survey of the whole novel-writing process, it offers real range and the appeal of learning from many professionals at once. I’d take a roomful of working pros over one teacher’s pet system any day, even if a few of the pros phone it in. Every anthology drags that unevenness along, and this one is no exception.
The Writer’s Digest pedigree is the draw: the collection assembles advice from established, working authors, so a reader gets a spectrum of professional perspectives instead of a single teacher’s take. That pedigree counts for a lot with me. Advice from people who’ve sold novels beats advice from people who sell courses about selling novels.
Many voices, every stage
The book’s value is its breadth in both coverage and contributors. It spans the entire arc of writing a novel. Generating ideas. Developing character and plot. Drafting. Revising. The business of getting published. It does all of that through the voices of many accomplished writers, so a reader encounters many approaches and hears how different successful authors work.
For a developing novelist, that range is useful: it exposes them to multiple methods instead of a single prescribed system, and the chance to absorb hard-won advice from a roomful of professionals, including interviews with notable authors, is the particular appeal of a well-assembled craft anthology.
Keep reading
Writing a novel: guidance across the whole process: the full-arc coverage this handbook gathers, in the wider craft of the novel.
The value and the cost of the anthology form
The collection’s strength and its weakness are the same thing.
A multi-author anthology offers range and varied perspectives, and that’s valuable. It can’t offer the depth, coherence, or sustained through-line of a focused single-author book. The coverage is necessarily broad instead of deep, and the quality and usefulness vary from piece to piece. A reader gets a wide survey and many starting points instead of a thorough education in any one aspect. Some entries hit hard, and others are filler that should’ve been cut before the book went to print.
For an overview and a sampling of professional wisdom it works well; for deep instruction on a specific skill, a dedicated book serves better. The form gives breadth at the cost of depth.
Explore the hub
The Writing Hub: the whole novel-writing process, gathered in one place.
What are the weaknesses of The Complete Handbook Of Novel Writing?
A few honest notes. As a survey anthology it’s broad instead of deep, best used as an overview and a source of varied perspectives instead of as a complete course in any single area. The multi-author format means variable quality. And the publishing and business material in particular dates. This edition is from 2010, and taking 2010 publishing advice at face value today is a good way to get burned, so check that guidance against current sources. The craft fundamentals age fine.
These are the normal characteristics of a broad craft anthology instead of flaws, and they place it as a useful survey instead of a definitive single text.
Is The Complete Handbook Of Novel Writing worth reading?
It’s a solid, useful anthology of novel-writing advice, valuable for its broad coverage of the entire writing-and-publishing process and for assembling the perspectives of many accomplished authors in one volume, a real strength for a developing novelist wanting range and professional wisdom. It gets a fair rating, held from higher by the inherent trade-offs of the form: breadth instead of depth, uneven quality across many contributors, and business material that dates.
For a writer who wants a wide-ranging survey and a sampling of how many pros approach the work, it’s a good resource; for deep mastery of a specific skill, a focused book serves better. A sound, broad overview. Dip into it, take what works, and don’t feel guilty skipping the pieces that go nowhere.
Explore the hub
The Publishing & Marketing Hub: the path from finished novel to published book, gathered in one place.
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