Reading Selfishly: A Craft Journal for Writers

A guide to reading, reflecting, and analyzing fiction writing of any genre for authors and aspiring authors.

Authors are often told that in order to write, we have to read — many people (mis)interpret that to mean reading by evaluating books or composing book reviews. This journal is intended for authors to aid in reading and reflecting on what you’ve read to inform your own craft. 

Instead of reading critically, read expansively but selfishly. 

Expansive reading includes reading broadly within a genre, broadly across genre, and deeply within a genre. Selfish reading means reading with direct application to your own work, always with the question, Through what lens am I reading this book and what am I examining it for? 

The purpose of this journal is to give you space to examine any piece of writing for some of its components and to relate those components to your own work. What did that work teach you about your craft as an author—through what it did and didn’t do well?

The journal contains:

• An introduction that discusses the intention behind this kind of reading and reflecting.

• A how-to guide with examples. 

• Pages for recording notes and analysis about each book you’ve read and how that applies to your own craft. 

• Pages for analyzing multiple books across the same genre for their essential components. 

• Pages for recording your writing goals and other resources you’ve engaged with as a writer.