Dictate Your Book: How to Write Your Book Faster, Better, and Smarter

Growth Hacking for Storytellers

By: Monica Leonelle

Narrated by: Cindy Piller

Length: 1 hr and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

Ready to get on board with dictation (finally)?

Like many tools that have come before it, dictation is a new and exciting opportunity to write better, faster, and smarter. But many writers still believe it's not for them. Perhaps they've tried it in the past and it hasn't worked. Or perhaps this new technology is confusing, expensive, or frustrating, and that's held them back from taking advantage of it.

If you're ready to take the next step and learn a new skill set that will give you a huge advantage over what other authors are doing today, listen to Dictate Your Book and start working through the challenges that are holding you back from reaping the benefits of dictation.

It includes:

• Why you need to get started with dictation, even if you tried it before and hated it
• All of Monica's best tips for making dictation work for you, whether you write fiction or nonfiction
• Every piece of equipment Monica recommends, plus half a dozen ways to test dictation before you buy
• Monica's full setup for her innovative Walk 'n Talks, which helped her hit 4,000+ words per hour

For authors who are ready to take their productivity to the next level, this short guide will help you get started!

©2015 Spaulding House (P)2015 Spaulding House

Everything you need to know

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would definetly recommend "Dictate Your Book" to any writer who is looking to dramatically increase their word count. Monica takes you from start to finish. She lays it all out and lets you learn from her mistakes. She knows that as a newbie you can get discouraged easy with this new technology and addresses every issue you can think of to keep you on the right track. She also gives great recommendations on equipment and even suggests free software to get started.

Excellent and Actionable

I've had Dragon for a while, but I've had difficulty making it work for me. This audiobook helped me figure out several of the reasons why I've been having difficulty, all of which are quite fixable. I'm looking forward to putting the author's excellent suggestions into action possibly as early as tomorrow. A big part of what made the audiobook enjoyable was the narration. The reader's performance was excellent, clear, well-enunciated, well-paced, and presented in a smooth, enjoyable tone.

A great starter for a new author

very informative!!! very helpful to a new author. I'm glad I found this review, now I feel more confident going forward. I will most certainly pass this information on to others.

Just what I wanted

This is quick motivational introduction to dictating as an author. It is just what I wanted. Its easy yey specific.

Nothing Left Behind! A Full Disclosure

Everything you could want to know about the subject of Audio dictation w detailed specifics that are greatly appreciated.
The author consistently ties-in her other niche writing titles & provides many opportunities for personalized follow-up via her website ProseOnFire.com

Basic "How To" information

Would you listen to Dictate Your Book: How to Write Your Book Faster, Better, and Smarter again? Why?

Yes, as I start using Dragon software

Would you be willing to try another book from Monica Leonelle? Why or why not?

Sure. She seems to be good at laying out things in a practical and not rigid manner.

What does Cindy Piller bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Her voice worked with the subject matter just fine. This is, essentially, a text book so inflection is less important.

What insight do you think you’ll apply from Dictate Your Book: How to Write Your Book Faster, Better, and Smarter?

To start with, I will be looking at my hardware such a microphone and other tools.

Any additional comments?

This is a basic primer for using, primarily, Dragon voice to text software. With some handy general "how to" and "don't do that" advice.

Dictate 101

Where does Dictate Your Book: How to Write Your Book Faster, Better, and Smarter rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This one ranks high among 'how to' books.

What other book might you compare Dictate Your Book: How to Write Your Book Faster, Better, and Smarter to and why?

Monica Leonelle gives a complete roadmap on how to write faster, better, and smarter using an innovative technique.

Which scene was your favorite?

My favorite part is how easy it is.

What’s an idea from the book that you will remember?

An idea from the book that I remember is taken step by step dictating a book is doable.

Any additional comments?

Give it a try!

Well-informed but short on detai

This book is a good overview of the technology but lacks much depth. Some specific examples of dictation, setting up for dictation, and approach to keeping it flowing would be great additions to the next edition. This is a good read for someone new to dictation or someone trying to decide wjether or not to make the jump.

Puts the WOW in "HOW" to. You WILL be dictating...

What did you love best about Dictate Your Book: How to Write Your Book Faster, Better, and Smarter?

Someone said once (I think it was James Altucher) that the best advice is always autobiographical and this book positively oozes with hours and hours spent with a microphone, perfecting a process. There is no pretense in any of it. The advice is NEVER theoretical. It always comes with the feeling it was hard earned...

Who was your favorite character and why?

A strange question for this type of book. As there is only one character... this gives me time for a quick side bar: I read somewhere that if a reviewer mentions the Author of a book by name that you should discount the review...it suggests perhaps that the reviewer knows the author or something. I take issue to that because I think part of the reason that MONICA is so great at this productivity series is that she writes in a style that connects her to the reader...she becomes your bud...your mentor...she's been where you are and there is an ease in which she passes on the information that makes it easy to digest. At the end you feel like you are taking a class with a contemporary.

Have you listened to any of Cindy Piller’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Cindy Piller is amazing as always. She has a voice that pleasing and clear...great breath control and diction. And let me tell you, narrating a book about dictation can't be an easy task. I've now completed the Monica SAGA with this book and feel like Cindy is so good at nailing the tone of Monica's writing and humor that I will more than likely find it odd the next time I hear Monica's real voice.

What insight do you think you’ll apply from Dictate Your Book: How to Write Your Book Faster, Better, and Smarter?

Chapter Four: Dictation Tips and Tricks is really useful. I went from Zero to kinda sorta DOING the thing in a very short time. Check out sections C (commands) and D (Frustrations) for a lot of really simple, sage tips. And honestly, the "Answering to Toby" trick (even I though I'm sad to say I didn't get the Friends reference) is worth the price of the book alone. Seriously...anyone who's ever wanted to throw his/her smartphone across the room because of an auto-correct issue, will LOVE this trick.

Any additional comments?

I was (and still am) a Luddite and if it weren't for that dreaded beast, Carpal Tunnel, I wouldn't even consider dictation regardless of how much EVERY AUTHOR WHO CHURNS OUT A LOT OF WORKS SAYS THEY USE IT. So trust me, I went into this looking for a reason that I couldn't do it. This must be a common refrain because there's an entire chapter dedicated to just that. and I went from "please validate why I shouldn't try" to actually dictating something of substance. It works. It. WORKS. give it a shot.

Tech information is a bit dated

The author focuses a lot on the technology aspect and from what I can tell this was published in 2015, when Dragon Dictate was a leading program for dictation. It’s 2023 now almost 2024. Dragon has ruined their reputation and only raving fans use them now. Also most computers, cellphones, and tablets have great microphones now. I was kind of expecting a bit more about actual writing help. There’s a little bit but not much. And there are hyperlinks, which is so annoying in audiobook format.