Is your book topical or evergreen? Timely or timeless?

Is your book topical or evergreen? Timely or timeless?

There are two basic ways to approach the content that goes into a book. You are creating topical content that’s relevant based on current trends and events. Or you are creating evergreen content that will have value for many years to come. If I can shamelessly steal terminology from Scott Monty’s estimable podcast and Substack,…

Authors: proper planning is not procrastinating

Authors: proper planning is not procrastinating

I got some interesting responses to yesterday’s list of what tasks to do for your book and in what order. One editor’s response on LinkedIn was typical: I’m fascinated by this list. It seems incredibly counterintuitive to me. Spending time on a title, subtitle, marketing copy, and worrying about who your editor might be before…

To avoid waste (or disaster), do your book tasks in the right sequence
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To avoid waste (or disaster), do your book tasks in the right sequence

So often, authors waste time early in the process of creating a nonfiction book. It breaks my heart to see people writing extensive material that will almost certainly be useless, or trying to line up an agent without a solid idea. At best, such tasks are an inefficient way to make progress. At worst, they’ll…

Good clients

Good clients

Here’s what a good author client looks like to me: You want to help people. You know the specific type or group of people you want to help. You know what you are talking about; you have experience. What you know is bigger than could fit into a few pages. You have new insights, not…

Who makes the first move when negotiating with a publisher?

Who makes the first move when negotiating with a publisher?

I recently wrote about how to negotiate with your publisher. But the publisher-author dance is remarkably subtle, and if you don’t know the steps, you might inadvertently make the relationship awkward. The key for authors is to know when to go first . . . and when to expect the publisher to go first. The…

Newsletter 15 November 2023: Text is best; Amazon’s predation; robot acquisitions editors
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Newsletter 15 November 2023: Text is best; Amazon’s predation; robot acquisitions editors

Why I love text more than other medium, how Amazon prices, a machine reads your book pitch, plus three people to follow, three books to read, and witty link. Why text is good and books are best There’s an explosion in content. Blogs, Substacks, Medium posts, Threads, Podcasts, vlogs, you name it. Which format is…

“How big is your advance?” and other nosy discovery questions I ask to help with your book

“How big is your advance?” and other nosy discovery questions I ask to help with your book

If you’re going to hire me (or anyone else) to help you writing or editing your book, I’m going to ask a bunch of seemingly invasive questions. There are good reasons for those uncomfortable questions. In fact, I’ll go further: if you’re working with a writer, editor, or coach who doesn’t ask these sorts of…