Publishers Weekly
01/13/2025
This intermittently helpful guide from Mangum (After Hello), a YA novelist and editor at Shadow Mountain, breaks down how to write a novel from inception to publication. She distills advice from her experiences as an author, as when she encourages readers to overcome writer’s block by setting deadlines and recounts how rushing to finish the second novel in her Hourglass Door series in four months didn’t give her time to second-guess herself. The emphasis on rigid processes and requirements can make the early stages of writing feel like a box-checking exercise. For instance, the story “formula” suggests narratives should feature at least two characters who each have high-stakes goals, motivations “greater than whatever adversity they might encounter,” and a relationship with each other, and Mangum recommends diagramming characters’ relationships to determine likely points of conflict. This systematic approach is better suited to the editing and submission processes, for which she exhorts readers to check for pacing and flow by asking whether the main character moves the plot forward in each chapter, and to start a query letter with a simple “X + Y tagline” (Stephen King’s Cujo might be described as “Jaws with paws.”) Though the writing advice can feel reductive, this has enough nuggets of wisdom on editing and finding an agent to make it worth aspiring novelists’ time. (Nov.)
J. Scott Savage
There are great writers, great editors, and great teachers. Lisa Mangum is all three. Write Fearless. Edit Smart. Get Published. is a master class that could be taught only by someone with more than twenty years of experience in guiding countless authors through turning their stories into published works. Get. It. Now!
Joshua Essoe
With an openness and humility that will draw you in, Lisa takes us through the creation of a novel. But not just any novel—your novel. I’ll be recommending this book to all my authors before we start work together, especially the ‘Edit Smart’ section. This book
is freakin’ awesome, and if you want an inside perspective from a masterful editor with decades of XP on how to make a book work, you need to read it.
Lynnette Novak
Lisa Mangum’s Write Fearless. Edit Smart. Get Published. is an incredible tool that all unpublished authors should read! Not only does she get into the craft elements of writing, but she also digs deep and shares personal experiences that really make this book stand out!
Kevin Ikenberry
A worthy, must-have addition for any writer’s toolkit, Lisa Mangum’s Write Fearless. Edit Smart. Get Published. is more than a how-to book. Built for authors at all levels, this handbook delivers poignant personal experience from an author and editor about the necessary tools, mindset, and motivation for creatives to bring their ideas to the page. Lisa’s stories and examples hammer home the important information in a funny, engaging tone that will make your first read fast, but this is a book you’re going to want on that shelf next to your desk. It's a reference to treasure.
Angela Eschler
Be prepared to slay your inner demons, uplevel your next story, and launch your career! This book has the writing-success secrets you’ve been looking for. With her trademark heart and honesty, Mangum is a legend in this industry—and you don’t want to miss
her best advice!
Mia Kleve
Write Fearless. Edit Smart. Get Published. is a great guide for editors and writers alike. Lisa not only explains what you need to do to create a compelling and engaging story, but she gives examples from her own personal experience as a writer (and editor) and how she’s applied it to her own work. I recommend that any author (or editor) read Lisa’s book and keep it close by as a quick and easy reference.
Stacey Kondla
Craft books and books about publishing can often be dry reading, but Lisa Mangum’s Write Fearless. Edit Smart. Get Published. is highly readable, entertaining, and full of great information. It is perfect for aspiring authors, authors preparing to find agents, and established authors who will find valuable nuggets of wisdom to add to their toolbox. It is also a breath of fresh air to read a craft book that references works of genre fiction rather than stale literary classics. This is a book I will be recommending.
Jessica Day George
A wise and witty guide for writers at every stage, I wish I’d had this years ago! This is a fantastic book for writers, like having an expert take you gently by the hand and lead you through every stage of writing and publication!
Tricia Levenseller
Mangum’s craft book is filled with useful tips for the novice and more tried author alike, but what really stands out is the message of hope. Mangum’s words will encourage you to reach until you feel as though you can touch the sky.
Jennifer A. Nielsen
Lisa Mangum has managed to distill a lifetime of writing wisdom into these pages. Every writer, at any stage in their career, has something profound to learn from this book.
James A. Owen
"As an editor, the greatest skills Lisa brings to bear on a manuscript are a desire for clarity and the generosity of spirit needed to help the author achieve it. Both are present in abundance in this book."
Katie Cross
When I need inspiration to write, I go to Lisa Mangum. Whether I’m reading her fiction books or asking for advice on my own craft, she is the place to go. I'm ecstatic to put her in my pocket and take her everywhere!
