This is pretty much a book for housewives who "just have that novel" kicking around in their heads that they've "been meaning to" write. Frey writes genre fiction (thrillers and mysteries), so this book really did nothing for me. His sense of humor is corny (middle-aged-style lameness) and the author tries a little too hard to be cute. In fact, most of this book is style and not substance: I took about 6 pages of notes on the whole thing. Maybe read my notes instead.

Also, Frey compares Kafka, Dostoevsky, Stephen King and Jaws. Actually, that's all he does. Has this guy only read 6 books? Also, don't read Stephen King or Jaws. They're headed for the dustbin; Kafka and Dostoevsky are legends.

So, if you are a lame middle-aged person who "thinks you have what it takes," then, by all means, read this book.

Full disclosure: I hate all writing-about-writing. If you want to know how to write, here's my method: 1) read the masters 2) write a lot. 3) repeat.