SUCCESS… AND HOW TO AVOID IT

By Mat Coward

Cover Illustration by Edward Noon

Interior Illustrations by Rob Kirbyson

Reviewed by Lavie Tidhar

Success... And How To Avoid It should be required reading for creative writing classes and for aspiring writers everywhere. Much of Coward’s ire in this book is reserved for the large, profitable industry sprung up around people’s desire to be published: namely for those how-to books assuring the readers that they, too, could become successful authors if only they believed in themselves enough (and bought the right books).

Success... And How To Avoid It will not teach you how to write. It contains no secrets of the trade, does not reveal the secret handshake or offer handy tips on improving your dialogue. Instead, this part-memoir part-rant captures perfectly what it means to actually be a freelance writer. From chasing editors for money to fighting with the telephone company over bills, Coward gives a funny, occasionally bitter portrayal of a man one step away from the brink who would nevertheless never dream of changing professions. It can be read in one sitting, but the joy of the book is in the dipping: opening the book at random to come across Coward’s clear, passionate voice as he demolishes the myths surrounding writing as a job and provides concise, straight answers to everything from winning competitions – “it was only when I [...] started judging the occasional competition that I realised how easy it ought to be to win the first prize every time, given that almost all of the entries are, to use a technical term, utter snot” – to how to get a book published (answer: “forget it”).

At times the tone is almost vehement – Coward’s opinion of major publishers is a case in point, and his belief in the medium-small presses perhaps not entirely justified – but this is still the single best book on the reality of writing for a living published in a long time.

Buy it, read it, then read it again. If you think of chucking in your day job and becoming a writer, this book should make you think again, and if you are simply interested in this strange, twilight world of the freelancer this would be an eye-opener. Highly recommended, Mat Coward’s Success... And How To Avoid It is a cold reality check and a welcome, refreshing change in an industry where most people make more money talking about writing or teaching writing than from actually writing.

It is irreplaceable.

Success… And How To Avoid It by Mat Coward. Pb, 175pp, £10.00. Published by TTA Press, 5 Martins Lane, Witcham, Cambs, CB6 2LB, UK

Website: - www.ttapress.com