Lerner gives a behind-the-scenes look at editing and publishing, and advice to writers.

I really enjoyed this book overall, though there is some profanity, including God's name used in vain. This is just unprofessional. Sex was also mentioned a ridiculous number of times, considering the book is about writing. Lerner claims "analogies between sex and writing are unavoidable." Are they really, though? I think not.

The author also states that writing is about saving your soul. I found this to be a bit dramatic, not to mention untrue. (Because only God can save one's soul.)

But it was really fun to see publishing through the lens of an editor-turned-agent, and reading this made me so happy to be a part of the book world!

It was also a fun surprise to learn that Lerner worked with [a:Lucy Grealy|57229|Lucy Grealy|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1383238381p2/57229.jpg] on her memoir [b:Autobiography of a Face|534255|Autobiography of a Face|Lucy Grealy|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386921470l/534255._SY75_.jpg|95778], a book I just finished earlier this month! ( )

Not bad. The thing I don't like about books like this is this: they tell us what it's like from start to finish, from inception of a book to it appearing on the market, when the vast majority of us will never even get a publisher to look at it, let alone decide to take it. It's sort of like telling what Heaven will be like, when we know our chances of being one of the "elect" are slim. ( )

Very enjoyable, a little dated but still relevant. ( )

The Forest for the Trees (An Editor’s Advice to Writers) by Betsy Lerner is a non-fiction title offering advice to writers.

The Cover: I love the cover to this book, it is simple yet creative, with a clean crisp look and clear text. This cover conveys the message that it is a non-fiction title for writers.

The Good Stuff: Hmm… Where do I start with this one? This book has numerous good-review snippets from respected sources on the front and back covers, and on the first page inside. It is well edited and the formatting makes good use of margins and spacing, making it easy to read and giving it a clean look inside. There is a nice little leaf icon for the page breaks and the version I have has used good quality paper that feels lovely on the fingers too. The writing style is easy to read, the words flow smoothly and it is entertaining.

The Bad Stuff: Okay, I’m going to put a caveat on this. I’m not sure I gave this book a fair chance. After the first few chapters I lost interest and really skimmed the rest of the content. I just felt very let down. It promised so much, yet as a self-published author, in my opinion it failed to provide much real advice at all. Maybe I missed it with my skimming, but it seemed to me to be more of an insight into the lives and types of writers, than an offer of advice.

Overall, I wanted to love this title. Everything about it drew me towards it with the promise of a good read. And it is well presented, well written, and entertaining. It just isn’t what I wanted it to be. I’m giving this one an ambivalent 2.5 out of 5 golden bookmarks because I’m having a strop.
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I loved this book. It's not a craft book, and I think that's what I like about it. It felt like listening to the stories of a wiser, more experienced writing buddy. Lerner has a way of writing that is casual and sympathetic but realistic. The only thing I found that I didn't like about it was the section on publication. I'm definitely not there, so I sort of skimmed it. But the anecdotes she tells about the experiences of famous writers are just so fascinating that I would stop and read those. Nevertheless, I highly recommend this book overall. ( )