Given the age of the book, this has dated itself in a number of interesting ways. But not all of it! His title generating exercise, for example, remains quite relevant. ( )

I think if I had read this closer to the publication date, say 1980, then I would have given it 4 stars, but as it was, this book is incredibly dated. It might hold a few good points for basic craft, but the information and advice given here is no longer on the pulse point of genre fiction, which has changed drastically since this book was first published. Likewise, the information given for seeking an agent etc. may be generally ok as a very rough guide for people who want to go down the traditional publication route, however it is severely dated, e.g. typing your manuscript on carbon paper to ensure you keep a copy while you wrap the original in brown paper and twine to send to a publisher and hope the postal worker does not step on it.

I had hoped this would give more information to do with craft and how Dean Koontz has managed to be so successful over the years, however I was disappointed as it seemed bogged down with lengthy descriptions of each genre type and affectations of, as they existed in the 1970s. So it's not a bad book, just no longer relevant in my opinion. I wanted to stop reading it after the first 30 pages or so, but forced myself to read on just in case there were a few gems. Unfortunately I didn't find any for my purposes, but that's not to say other's won't.

Read if you are nostalgic or want to learn about the history of how to get published. ( )