Audiobook Review
As a freelance editor and writer of nonfiction myself, I'm always on the lookout for books that will help me with my writing or help me assist my clients with their writing. So when a book about writing shows up at one of my favorite book review sites, I snap it up. This one was actually an audiobook, read by the author. I've only just recently gotten into listening to audiobooks because one of my favorite book review sites just started offering them. I'm finding that I particularly like nonfiction books that are actually narrated by the author, as this one is. I have found that they are able to convey their love of their topic and their excitement for sharing it with you. And that was certainly true of the author/narrator of this book.

I am so glad I picked up this book. It will not only help my writing, but it will help me with my clients. I'll be able to give them much better direction—not that I was doing so poorly before as six of my authors have gotten number one bestsellers this year! The author has written nonfiction books herself, and she found herself asking certain questions about what makes a nonfiction book work—and what doesn't. She started doing research, re-reading and analyzing her favorite nonfiction books and reaching out to writers of nonfiction as well as other nonfiction readers, too, to ask their opinions. So while this book isn't scientifically researched, the author has put a fair amount of time into it. And it shows.

She broadly divides the book into three sections. The first section is all about the audience; I like that the author puts the emphasis on discussing the target audience first. So many people who start a nonfiction book—and I've seen this happen so many times—just think about getting their expertise out there without really thinking: what does the reader want to know, what do they already know, and why do they want to learn more? So, the very first section helps the would-be writer get into the reader's head and appreciate what they might want to know about this subject the author has knowledge about, a passion for, or expertise in..

The next section explores how to explain your subject well in ways that engage the reader, like telling stories, how to artfully incorporate data (if your subject lends to that), and other considerations. She doesn't go into chapter or blog post structure or analysis, which I would have liked to have seen because I’ve found that nonfiction writers or would-be authors struggle with that. But, of course, this book isn’t strictly about writing nonfiction books or blog posts; it’s more generally about nonfiction writing. She did discuss the balance needed between the different aspects of it, like stories, abstract sections, analogies, details, and data. I agree that balance is important.

The final section talks about how to make your writing less boring—and that is literally the title of the section, which I think is fun. In this section, she includes things like imagery, tone, humility, and humanity, finishing out the section with humor. I really like how she offers both what you should include in section two as well as ways to finesse it in section three. What I also liked, too, is that she openly admitted at the end of the book that she herself has learned much from writing this book by her deeper analysis of the books she likes as well as talking with other writers and readers about what works for them. How nice that she benefits from this book as well as we the reader do. I really like this book, and it certainly gives me more arrows in my quiver for myself as well as for my clients. In fact, the Kindle book is so reasonably priced that I think I will be folding it in with my nonfiction book mentoring/coaching price and have reading assignments for my authors as we work on developing their books. The book is that helpful. Highly recommended.

A nice book to take some advises about writing. Although I write mostly in other languague (Spanish), this book is not focused in grammar, so it can be use by authors from other languagues. Books like this one should be used like textbooks in many schools (including universities). I was also interesting in this title because it was almost the only audiobook that called my attention, and I wanted to try it. I like it, the quiality of the audio is good, even if you speed it up or speed it down.

I was completely unable to get into this audiobook. The author wasn't the right person to have as narrator. I was too distracted by her voice and intonation to take in what she was saying. I'm sorry, because I really liked what little I heard and could process.

What has curiosity got to do with writing? How can you turn a boring subject into a captivating one and keep the attention of your readers? How do you pursuade readers who have already made up their mind?

All these questions and more are answered in Anne Janzer's book Writing to be Understood.

Beginning non-fiction writer will find a lot to help them get off to a good start and more advanced writers will find a lot to help them bring their writings up a notch or two.

I liked that the author interviewed other writers for advice on types of writing she is not familiar with, and that she refers to the works of a lot of other writers to gain valuable insights.

It suddenly occurred to me while listening to a talk that all the tips given by Ms Janzer are applicable in all types of communications – not only in non-fiction writing, and not only for written communications. In fact, they will be useful for anyone who needs to communicate in whatever format, be it in a formal or informal setting.

The author did a good job narrating her own book, her narration is clear and smooth. I did find the occasional amused tone of voice rather distracting though.

A practical and excellent book for anyone who wants to communicate well so that people understand and keep on reading or listening to whatever you wanted to communicate. I will be sure to listen to this audiobook again.
Thank you Netgalley and Cuesta Park Consulting for this ARC. This is my honest opinion.

Just as there is a science to baking, there is somewhat of a science to writing non-fiction, to communicating ideas. This can help people who want to be able to narrow down their communication or have trouble communicating. A fascinating read for people who write non-fiction, but truly others looking to be understood would benefit from this as well.

(Please note that I received a free advance from NetGalley without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

2 Stars!! This was a bit boring. I fell asleep while listening to the author drone on and on. I didn’t learn anything new from this book and couldn’t keep my attention on listening.
*I received this book at no charge from the publisher and I voluntarily left a review.*

Writing to Be Understood
What Works and Why
by Anne Janzer
Narrated by Anne Janzer
Cuesta Park Consulting
Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Audiobooks
Nonfiction (Adult) | Professional & Technical | Reference
Pub Date 09 Aug 2019


I am reviewing a copy of Writing to Be Understood through Cuesta Park Consulting/Independent Book Publishers Association and Netgalley:



If you are interested in writing a nonfiction piece, but don’t know where to start Writing to Be Understood will help you with that. It will break down on ways to become successful as a writer of non fiction.



This book will help you figure out how to make your writing effective.




This book will break down strategies and messages, as well as writing tactics, ad well as how to use analogies and storytelling.



Writing to Be Understood uses science based insight as well as as advice from established writers to give you the tools of inspiration you need.



I give Writing to Be Understood five out of five stars!



Happy Reading!

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced audio book. All opinions are my own.

This was a solid read on nonfiction writing and how to share one's story or topic of interest. It gives great tips on using practices adopted by fiction storytellers.
Although I was expecting more information on how to write, this book proved to be very helpful and thought provoking. I would encourage this for those who enjoy reading about writing and those who fepl in love with Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott.

Writing is a long and effortfull process, especially when the book is of the genre of Non-Fiction. However, the process of writing is only a bridge between the author and reader. Therefore. this book discusses how the writing must be done effectively so the reader will remain engaged and learn in the process. Janzer makes a point of encouraging experimentation with language and style as the scientific material is not enough to make a book enjoyable to read. Nonetheless she explains that there is no One-size-fits-all approach to writing. Therefore, authors should not lose their individuality and creativity while trying to follow conventions.

I listened to the audiobook of this title. To be honest, at first, I didn´t like her voice (I´m sorry but it is true), but I´m so glad I didn´t stop listening because later, I enjoyed it, when you know it is the author it is better, they give the intonation when it is supposed to be. She is very interesting and I´m thankful about her teaching. Some chapters were very interesting, when they talk about the brain and how things are interesting to you, how to capture attention and all those details, I truly enjoyed them. The book is useful and interesting, some chapters more than others. It is full of ideas to implement when you write. I liked that it talks about non-fiction a lot, I really prefer to write nonfiction, then I found it useful. Most books about reading are about fiction, creating characters and things like that, that is the best about this one. 4 hours and 42 minutes well invested. I would like to add that I listened the audiobook, but I want to get the printed version to underline and take notes, I kind of like that. Can´t wait to implement what I learned.

I absolutely loved this book to the extent I actually bought the hard copy, as it wasn't one that worked well for me as an audio. There were too many things I wanted to refer back to.

This is basically the scientific approach to writing and to a certain extent reading, explaining using psychology and academic studies to explain how the brain reacts to certain types of writing, particular styles as well as idiomatic phrases.

This book would be an invaluable tool to any writer, especially those writing academic papers who want to explore less high brow audiences.

It is written in a down to earth manner with numerous references to other scholars' work and studies.

I wish I had read this book 10 years ago and saved myself a lot of hassle learning the process by trial and error.

As a writer and editor, I ended up devouring this book. In other words, I listened to it as soon as I received it and completed it within 24 hours. This book presents writing techniques, resources, and tools, and it treats writing as a science. Many people assume that writing boils down to picking up a pen or tapping their fingertips on the keyboard to produce few sentences and paragraphs that create content. However, they don't realize its effectiveness results from developing it as a skill, which means understanding writing rules and techniques.

I appreciate this book for its smart and fresh approach to the writing process. I have come across a few books about the writing process that are conversations about the author's writing habits with a few suggestions and nuggets of information about technique. In this book, the author gives away a writing technique right up front in the introduction. This action sets the direction as well as your expectations for the flow of information.

The author, Anne Janzer, begins the book by talking about, in my opinion, the most crucial aspect of writing: the audience. Time and time again, as a copy editor, I find that people write with no clue about the members of their audience. They often fill up their writing with jargon and acronyms. I love how the author reinforces the fact that simplicity can show the writer's knowledge, and when introducing a new or complex concept you need to provide an explanation.

In this book, the reader learns topics not often discussed in writing books, such as the importance of expressing empathy to understand the perspective of the audience and the foundations of moral feeling and thought.

Janzer not only conducted research but also studied nonfiction writing to discover how to weave specific writing methods throughout a story. I like that I can walk away with information that I can exercise and implement in my work today. I plan to listen to this book a few more times to reinforce the techniques and concepts so I can enhance my writing.

I would recommend this book to high school teachers and college educators who teach English and Journalism. Janzer's approach encouraged me to look up other books she's written and her author page. I would love to read more from this author and see how she addresses other writing topics, such as the editing process.

I truly enjoyed this book and think it's an excellent read for people attempting to improve their writing skills.

This audiobook has full of useful and great ideas on how non-fiction writers can improve their communication with their readers. I am not planning of writing a non-fiction book for now but as a reader, I found great ways on how to look at the books I love reading.

I like that the author read this book since her ideas literally come out from her voice.

I would probably read the ebook version of this audiobook soon.

Writing to be Understood is a solid collection of writing advice. I write science for general audiences, and I also write fiction. I heard a lot of applicable advice about communication from this book. As a how-to kind of book, it doesn't make for the most captivating audiobook, but the author did a decent job narrating.

A very informative book that discusses how to write non-fiction in a way that you would be understood, especially if you're an expert in your field.
I don't write non-fiction, I write fiction, but I found some of the pointers in this book quite useful for my own work. If you are a writer, this is a book that you might be interested in checking out.

Writing to Be Understood: What Works and Why by Anne Janzer is a great guide for those looking to strengthen their skills in nonfiction writing. Janzer does a great job of providing examples of how to engage the reader, with practical steps and advice. Whether you're writing academically or working on a blog or a book, this book will help you communicate more effectively through your writing and is definitely worth checking out.

I listened to the audiobook version narrated by Anne Janzer and thought she did a great job of relaying the information and making it engaging.

Many thanks to Cuesta Park Consulting and NetGalley for the ALC.

I expected something new from this book, but it didn’t have anything fresh that I haven’t heard before. It’s okay, it’s probably going to be useful to anyone who hasn’t read on the subject before, but as a writer, it was too basic.

The narration was mostly good, but the occasional laughter from the author was offputting and seemed out of place.