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  • Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t

  • And Other Tough-Love Truths to Make You a Better Writer
  • Written by: Steven Pressfield
  • Narrated by: Steven Pressfield
  • Length: 3 hrs and 15 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (119 ratings)

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Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t

Written by: Steven Pressfield
Narrated by: Steven Pressfield
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Publisher's Summary

There's a mantra real writers know but wannabe writers don’t. And the secret phrase is this: "Nobody wants to read your shit." Recognizing this painful truth is the first step in the writer's transformation from amateur to professional.  

“When you understand that nobody wants to read your shit, you develop empathy. You acquire the skill that is indispensable to all artists and entrepreneurs - the ability to switch back and forth in your imagination from your own point of view as writer/painter/seller to the point of view of your reader/gallery-goer/customer. You learn to ask yourself with every sentence and every phrase: Is this interesting? Is it fun or challenging or inventive? Am I giving the reader enough? Is she bored? Is she following where I want to lead her?"

©2016 Black Irish Books, LLC (P)2018 Black Irish Books, LLC

Featured Article: 10 Audiohacks that Will Teach You How to Write

The art of writing is both exciting and intimidating. While you may have a story to tell, knowing how to focus and begin telling that story is hard. Similarly, honing your writing and taking it from a first draft to an engaging narrative, and perhaps even best seller, is a different struggle again. Here we’ve compiled a list of ten audiobooks on writing well. Whether it's your first book, you're writing a memoir, a kids book, fiction or nonfiction, these titles will help you strengthen your skills and set yourself up for success.

What listeners say about Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t

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a must have for writers

So happy to have downloaded this, lots of great advice to truly hone in on your craft.

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2 people found this helpful

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Terrific

I felt like I was having lunch with an expert and they were providing advice in a clearly summarized way. Great story telling about story telling.

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Fighting the good fight

This guy is out there telling all us artists how it is and how to get through it. Like all of the books that came since the War Of Art it references
that book a little too much but the reminders are good. And they really work here.

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Listen first and read second, or reverse. Your choice. But do one or the other!

I am an auditory learner, and I love to read. I listened to Pressfield’s self narrated book and loved it. Now I will read it because I want to memorize some of his points and put them to work in my own life. He embodies the concept of telling the truth and that is a such a compelling story!

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  • Kat
  • 2022-12-16

I've learned a lot !

Many shortcuts and being the scene technics for better writing!

Minus 1* since there are over 100 chapters (all short) but no titles

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This is the best audiobook I've heard in awhile

It sounds like it's read by George Carlin if he was calmer. I know this isn't the book Pressfield is known for but it should be. You can apply these rules to anything you create.

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Learned a lot!

Great book, I learned a lot, I wish there was more on advertising and other shorter forms of story telling (like social media videos or captions) as the majority focuses on movies and novels. (Just because that’s more where my personal interests lie.)

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  • P
  • 2022-02-22

Short, Entertaining, and To The Point

More authors can learn from this guy. This audiobook wasn't overly long yet it still was still entertaining and provided very valuable advice. I've passed over many audiobooks, or just left them unfinished, because who the hell has 13 hrs to dedicate to each title? I initially bought this because of the short length but I ended up enjoying it because of the quality of the material.

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Practical advice and insight

Not even sure I am or ever will be a self-identified "Writer" but as a singer, musician, and evlolving-to-be self-identified "creative", I'm already a firm believer in the hard slog and pragmatic strategies that underpin all works of creativity. This book has that calming, grounding voice that inspires me. And the run-on, hyphenated, elipsis-heavy sentence is Job 1 of what I would need to fix to call myself a writer. :-D

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Court et ultra pratique

Ce petit livre est court mais intense et m'a vraiment donné des conseils ultra pratique, moi qui "essaye" d'écrire mon premier livre. Un must!!

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  • RICHARD
  • 2018-11-24

How to get over the mediocre part of yourself

This book is fantastic. It's the kind of book I return to hundreds of times until I'm a living example of the concepts in the book. even as a painter, I learned a LOT. Senor Pressfield DOES IT AGAIN!!!

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  • Syd Young
  • 2018-08-29

Listened Twice

So full of info, good writing info I’d not thought of before. I listened twice. I liked this better than the War of Art. Also a great little gem for sex scenes that I didn’t expect.

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  • Adrián
  • 2020-04-28

Not only for professional writers

This book goes so much beyond the profession of writing.
It has helped me greatly improve my daily comunnication skils (writing e-mails, website articles, phone conversations...) by understanding a truth that everyone agrees with but almost no one takes advantage of: nobody wants to read your sh*t.

By understanding that people are busy and their attention span shortened, you are better inclined to set your communication a lot more direct, specific and especially interesting for the reader/listener. Instead of communicating what you want to say, you concentrate on what the other party whats to read/listen about.

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  • Neil Wilkinson
  • 2019-08-18

A Theme? Imagine that; A Story Needs A Theme!

Hello Steven Pressfield:

Just checking in from HQ at Plain-as-the-Nose-on-My-Face, Ltd., located in the heart of the City of Dumbass, situated in the great and picturesque Commonwealth of Homer Simpson, because I'm compelled to and must report the sudden onset of a crimsoning and overheating face to the point that my eyebrows are sweating and there's enough egg dripping from it, my face that is, to make a nice custard and maybe a quiche, as well. Can I get an resounding and reverberating, "DOH!?" And in this case, "DOH!" says all that need be said. And here all this time I entertained a notion that I know what I am doing. For the record: That's a crock!

In further clarification, please let me state that I'm a complete imbecile, meaning that a) I don't now, and did not then, know what I am or was doing; and, b) I have all my appendages,accoutrements, education, training, practice, and so on signifying that, a) I am an imbecile, and b) nothing’s missing but some hair that likely knew and fled in humiliation and there's really not much of anything I need to finish up and get off this whirling blue rock.

Simply put: Anyone who fancies him or herself a writer, of anything, should get this and listen to it, a lot.

A theme? Well, I'll be damned.

Many thanks,

Neil

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  • Solowolf
  • 2021-08-09

read with urgency

i enjoy fast paced narrations as long as there's no sacrifice to content quality. Here Pressfield delivers. No chance to space out or day dream with the rapid fire chapters coming at you with writing tips galore. Plenty of humor dotted throughout. I've the feeling that this is one you'll love or hate for its unconvention. I loved it!

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  • DB
  • 2021-08-22

Straight to the point learning!

I like the style of Steven Pressfield, as he doesn't hold any punches and tells you what you need to hear. I like that style as it removes all the fluff and makes it clear.

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  • Bill
  • 2018-09-13

Pressfield another slam dunk ..

insights into his previous work and a new twist another Journey another adventure in artist way a call to create launch and create again

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  • Valerie Bonham Moon
  • 2022-03-28

Listen to the end. It’s worth it.

If I’m remembering correctly, the book started off a bit slowly. Of course, I was walking the dog at the time and he kept finding interesting things to do so my attention was split.

Still, as they say, I persisted. I was rewarded by the payoff at the end.

Keep going. It’s worth it.

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  • Barak
  • 2021-04-20

Bit repetitive but good.

Book is a little repetitive but a solid listen for anyone who is a writer.

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  • Amanda Steng
  • 2023-09-29

This Sh*t You’ll Want to Read!

Best book on writing ever! Pressfield’s other books on art and resistance are excellent too. I recommend them all.

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