One of the first books in my writer’s journey, and (maybe) still worth a look.
| Title | The Writer’s Survival Guide |
| Authors | Dr. Jean Rosenbaum and Dr. Veryl Rosenbaum |
| Publisher | Writer’s Digest Books |
| Published | 1982 |
| Pages | 238 |
| Original Price | $12.95 (hardcover) |
| Availability | Out of print; used copies available |
| ISBN | 0898790565 |
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Bottom line: A therapist-penned look at the psychological traps writers set for themselves. Dated in spots, sharp where it counts, and more useful than most craft books for anyone who has ever let fear, ego, or rejection stop them cold. Which, if you’re a writer, is most Tuesdays.
Scribbright rating: 4.2 out of 5
Browse used copies on Amazon →
The Short Version
Years ago, I subscribed to the Writer’s Digest “Writer’s Guide” series — one of those mail-order book programs designed to ensure you never ran out of things to feel guilty about not reading. The Writer’s Survival Guide was one of them. I read it close to publication, and I still think about it. Make of that what you will.
What It Is
The Writer’s Survival Guide by Drs. Jean and Veryl Rosenbaum carries a subtitle that does most of the heavy lifting: How to Cope With Rejection, Success, and 99 Other Hang-ups of the Writing Life. The authors are therapists, not editors, which should tell you something about where the real problems live. This isn’t a craft book. It’s a psychology book wearing a writer’s hat, and frankly, the fit is pretty good.
The Rosenbaums walk through the internal machinery that makes writers their own worst enemies: perfectionism, fear of success, procrastination dressed up as research. They identify the patterns clearly and offer practical ways out. It’s a more useful service than most craft books manage, because it targets the person holding the pen rather than the pen itself.
What Works
The diagnostic lens is the book’s real value. Most writing advice tells you what to do, operating on the generous assumption that you’ll actually do it. The Rosenbaums spend their time on why you won’t — which is, for most writers, the considerably harder problem. If you’ve ever finished a solid draft and then sat on it for six months waiting for it to somehow get worse, this book gets you.
For writers who want to dig deeper into the psychology of the craft, resources like Reedsy’s blog on writer’s block and Psychology Today’s writing and creativity content cover similar ground with more recent research.
What Doesn’t
The case studies are anonymous — no names, no identifying details. The authors were protecting their patients, which is professionally correct and narratively deflating. The examples read as composite and clinical rather than lived-in, which undercuts precisely the kind of emotional recognition the book is trying to generate.
A therapist’s discretion and a good book’s credibility are, it turns out, in some opposition.
Worth Finding?
Out of print, but available used — a few dollars on Amazon if you’re not picky about spine condition. And as we get older, who could be? rimshot
If the psychology of why writers sabotage themselves interests you more than, say, semicolon placement, the Rosenbaums made something worth your afternoon. Just don’t expect it to read like a memoir. Or to cure anything.
Browse available used editions of The Writer’s Survival Guide →
Michael Semer is a writer and editor who has been working through the psychological hang-ups of the writing life for longer than he cares to admit.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is The Writer’s Survival Guide about? It’s a psychology-focused book about the internal obstacles writers create for themselves: perfectionism, procrastination, fear of rejection, fear of success, and self-sabotage. Written by two therapists, it focuses on the mental and emotional side of the writing life rather than craft or technique.
Who wrote The Writer’s Survival Guide? Dr. Jean Rosenbaum and Dr. Veryl Rosenbaum, both therapists. The book was published by Writer’s Digest Books in 1982.
Is The Writer’s Survival Guide still relevant? Mostly yes. The psychological patterns it describes — avoidance, perfectionism, ego interference — haven’t changed. Some of the cultural framing is dated, and the clinical case studies feel anonymous, which undercuts their emotional impact, but the core diagnosis remains accurate.
How does The Writer’s Survival Guide compare to The War of Art or Bird by Bird? All three address the psychological side of creative work rather than craft technique. Steven Pressfield’s The War of Art is more polemical and energizing; Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird is warmer and more personal, IMHO. The Rosenbaum book is the most clinical of the three, which makes it more systematic but less readable. If you’ve read the other two and want something that approaches the problem from a therapist’s framework, this is the one.
Where can I buy The Writer’s Survival Guide? It’s out of print. Used copies are available on Amazon, usually for a few dollars. Condition varies; worth checking the seller notes if you care about the physical copy.
Is The Writer’s Survival Guide good for beginners? It’s useful at any stage, but probably most valuable once you’ve been writing long enough to recognize your own patterns of self-sabotage. A complete beginner might get more immediate value from a craft-focused book first.
Curious? Browse available used editions of The Writer’s Survival Guide.