Infographic: how to structure a business book
Here’s a wall-chart. Download or print out to remind yourself how to structure your book. Feel free to share. PDF version is available here.
-
-
Tips for business ghostwriters: Wed 16 August, 12 noon ET
Join me for a free “Brown Bag Lunch” discussion hosted by Gotham Ghostwriters, tomorrow (Wednesday, 16 August) at 12 noon Eastern Time. I’ll be joined by one of my favorite people, veteran ghostwriter Toni Robino. If you’re pursuing a freelance career that includes ghostwriting business books, we’ll try to answer all your questions. I look…
-
Every business book ghostwriting project should begin with an in-person kickoff
I do almost everything on the internet these days, including meeting with clients, coaching, editing, researching, and reviewing drafts. Every meeting is a Zoom meeting. But I’ve learned the hard way that it’s best to kick off each ghostwriting project with an in-person meeting of at least half a day. There are four types of…
-
What to expect from your publisher’s marketing and publicity teams
If you signed a deal with a publisher — traditional or hybrid — they probably made you promises about all the great work their marketing teams can do for you. But the rosy picture you have in your mind about their book publicity probably doesn’t match what they actually can do. Less than half of…
-
Newsletter 9 August 2023: Passion distraction; Banned books spread; AI spawns travel drivel.
How to grow a great career by not following your passion, private equity and AI roil publishing, plus 3 people to follow, 3 great reads, and plug nuts Don’t follow your passion “Follow your passion” is terrible advice. Your career develops over years and decades. As you live through it, you have to make a living. People…
-
Why the best writers get the most out of developmental editors
For anyone who hasn’t used a developmental editor, it may be hard to understand what a developmental editor does. Put simply, a developmental editor reads a manuscript and makes suggestions intended to help that manuscript accomplish the author’s ultimate goal of communicating meaning. For example: Standing in for the reader Because of the kind of…
-
How to get everything done (including your book)
I really like finishing things. (Most people do.) As a result, if I have a few minutes free, I read some emails and respond. If I have half an hour free, I complete a task I can do in half an hour, like reviewing a document or drafting a blog post. If I have an…
-
From mess to book: fast, good, or cheap, pick (at most) one
I’ve seen a lot of messes that were supposed to become books. I learned that fixing messes is neither cheap nor fast, and the results are rarely great. A mess before you start writing is manageable; afterwards, not so much. What is a mess? Authors that build books haphazardly create messes. What is a mess?…
-
The Business Idea Store: a new retail concept
Could there be a place in every big city dedicated to the latest thinking on business ideas, a place where serious business thinkers would love to hang out? Consider what follows my business plan. What got me thinking about this was a Ben Cohen article in the Wall Street Journal titled “That Cool New Bookstore?…
