Would you rather be smart or fun? Why not both?
|

Would you rather be smart or fun? Why not both?

A small crowd of authors and prospective authors recently connected with me on LinkedIn. Based on their comments, apparently a highly respected publishing industry expert had mentioned me as a qualified nonfiction book expert during a workshop she gave and prompted them to connect with me. That’s very nice, and a gratifying reflection on my…

Why I often say yes — and sometimes no — to people who want to meet with me virtually

Why I often say yes — and sometimes no — to people who want to meet with me virtually

I’m in an unusual situation. I have a lot of accumulated knowledge, especially about books and publishing. I have plenty of work to do, but my time is mostly flexible; I’m not meeting people all day long. And I’m extremely curious about just about everything. This means that if you ask to meet with me,…

Election as gaming; Artificial dumbness; writing as a discipline: Newsletter 16 October 2024
| | |

Election as gaming; Artificial dumbness; writing as a discipline: Newsletter 16 October 2024

Newsletter 66: Why polls captivate us; AI fails at reasoning; the valued discipline of writing, plus three people to follow, three books to read, and a free report on how business books generate revenue and profit. About that presidential horse race Why are we so fascinated with polls? Well, put that aside for a minute….

What I believe

What I believe

I have to continually remind myself that the rest of the world doesn’t operate on the same principles that I do. My principles are so entwined with who I am that I’ve internalized them. It’s “the curse of knowledge” but for business philosophy. So it’s a worthwhile exercise to write them down. My principles Do…

I contributed to book projects that generated over $20 million for their authors. How is that even possible?
|

I contributed to book projects that generated over $20 million for their authors. How is that even possible?

The second line in my bio is this: “He has contributed to more than 50 book projects that have generated over $20 million for their authors.” A recent reader of this blog seemed skeptical of whether such a statement could possibly be true. Given all the exaggerated claims out there from people about their supposed…

The end of the chase
|

The end of the chase

Every company must balance its efforts between creating useful products or services and promoting and marketing those offerings. The same is true for individuals like me (consultants, authors, influencers, “thought leaders”). We can spend time building and stoking our audience, or we can spend time developing insights and serving customers with them. Having published a…