The Literatus Book Club for Writers
Write Smart, Write Happy
Cheryl St. John
You have everything you need as a writer–it lies within, in the form of consistency and self-confidence. With Write Smart, Write Happy, best-selling author Cheryl St. John will help you unlock your skills, guiding you to overcome every hesitation, obstacle, form of writer’s block, and procrastination habit you have. […] will help you take an introspective look at your own writing habits and life.
- Writer's Digest Books
- February 1, 2018
- 272 pages (Paperback)
- Paperback, eBook
- 18.99
- 13.99
- Author Website
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products I enjoy, and by using the links, you support my work. Thank you!
Write Smart, Write Happy is an informative book for writers with a focus on mindset and re-framing how you approach writing in general. She says, “Many writers feel as though they are imposters.” And in this book she covers a wide range of strategies to help the writer focus, buckle down, and actually write.
Some of the topics covered include: setting and planning goals, maintaining discipline, dealing with procrastination, learning from mistakes, dealing with envy, creating positive moments, overcoming perfectionism and self-doubt, setting priorities, and sticking to a routine. She provides “grab your notebook” sections to help you journal through some of these topics and issues.
St. John has published over fifty novels, mostly contemporary and historical romance. While not very well known, they are highly rated for the amount of reviews. Her most popular novel on Amazon is His Secondhand Wife (the second in a series). She has written several other books for Writer’s Digest about the craft.
St. John provides a push toward doing the work while still maintaining that much of the “failure” rests on the writer. It is great for those with anxiety or who feel like they need motivation to get going. However, it’s all about discipline. The action steps are helpful with questions to get you thinking about the why of writing and how you can push yourself to do more.
A significant number of pages are dedicated to social media. The target audience for this book also heavily leans toward more experienced and published authors with an established audience. However, there is still a lot of helpful advice for those that don’t meet this criteria.
It is full of positive commentaries that encourage while providing good strategies to deal with staying inside your head. St. John is a life coach cheering you on, reminding you to look at the positive and just stick with it.
