Despite the abundance of writing how-to books, unpublished writers seem to repeat the same mistakes again and again, from making their protagonists into cooler versions of themselves to describing a character preparing and eating breakfast—for 15 pages. Unlike most writing books, this is not a point-by-point plot formula for success. Instead, by using humor combined with straightforward advice, How Not to Write a Novel provides expert troubleshooting that can be immediately put into practice.

Authors Sandra Newman and Howard Mittelmark distill their 30 years of combined experience in teaching, editing, writing, and reviewing fiction to help readers get their manuscripts out of the slush pile and into bookstores.