"'Since moving to New York in 1981 at age 20, Shapiro has realized her dream: she has written articles for the New York Times, Washington Post, Salon.com and Glamour, and three memoirs. In this lively, inspiring and dishy memoir/advice book, she shares the secrets of her success, some learned the hard way, others gleaned from her stellar array of mentors, including Ian Frazier and Howard Fast (who was married to her mother's cousin). Fast's wife, Bette, also provided young Susan with advice: 'get your own career and money, so the men can't control you.... But cooking and wearing a dress won't make you a Barbie doll.' Fast himself cautioned her against self-indulgence: 'just get to work. Remember, a plumber never gets plumber's block.' Shapiro made other connections on her own as a grad student at NYU, which led to a job as a researcher at the New Yorker, which led to more connections. Not everybody's going to have a bestselling relative, but everybody has a high school English teacher — that was Shapiro's first guru — and she makes it clear that she learned as much from him as she did from her high-profile mentors.' Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Both wise and witty, "Only As Good As Your Word" is a memoir of writing and friendship. Sue Shapiro imparts important lessons about what to do (and what not to do) while on the road to becoming a writer. "Only As Good As Your Word" is also a thoughtful tribute to her many writing mentors, as well as revealing the experience of being a mentor, the writing process itself and what makes a good writer. An acclaimed author, Media Bistro regular, and NYU and the New School teacher, Sue Shapiro is one of the most self-revealing contemporary writers. She’ s also one of the most wickedly funny, compulsively readable, authentic, warm, and thankfully, most self-aware, her style is no-holds-barred honest, edgy, and bracingly refreshing.