Successful author Gene Grossman admits to having made almost every mistake possible during his writing career, and wants this book to help new writers from following in his mis-footsteps when trying to write their first novel. He discusses the benefits that new technology offers, and his 20 chapters contain much valuable information on writing/publishing/distribution tips and advice about agents, Amazon, the Internet, POD, author/internet scams, cover and interior design, character arcs, tense shifts and much more. This is the perfect book for anyone who has ever thought about writing a novel. It tells you how to start, and how to finish, and covers all the things a beginning writer should avoid - from crooked agents, non-publishers, phony writing contests, to horror stories that other authors and publishers have encountered. This book will help you avoid the problems and bad practices that it took him years learn about the hard way, and will save you years of aggravation and thousands of dollars.