A taxonomy of blurbers

A taxonomy of blurbers

If you’re seeking people to provide quote endorsements for your book — blurbs — the biggest mistake you can make is treating them all alike. Each type of blurber requires a different approach. Before approaching these targets, you need to prepare a short description of the book as well as a PDF copy of the…

Changes
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Changes

This post is about the changes in my work and this blog starting in 2022, including two new books. Time to reexamine my work Historically, I’ve remade my career every seven to ten years. Things change in your life and your work; it’s best to be thinking about it before it gets stale. I’ve remade…

Mel Brooks’ “All About Me!” is a triumph — especially as an audiobook

Mel Brooks’ “All About Me!” is a triumph — especially as an audiobook

If you love Mel Brooks, you’ll love his new autobiography All About Me!: My Remarkable Life in Show Business. If you don’t love Mel Brooks, forget it, you’ll hate it. Here’s the deal with this book. Mel Brooks is an egomaniac. Mel Brooks thinks Mel Brooks is the greatest thing ever. Yes, it’s a joke…

Each book chapter should answer a question. Which kind of questions are best?

Each book chapter should answer a question. Which kind of questions are best?

I’ve written about the reader question method of organizing a nonfiction book, with one question for each chapter. Now let’s go deeper. Which questions make for the best chapters? A recap of the reader question method As I describe in an earlier post, the reader question method is ideal for an advice or how-to book….

How long does it take to write a book? A detailed analysis of author hours.

How long does it take to write a book? A detailed analysis of author hours.

“I want to write a book,” you say. “That’s a huge undertaking,” your author friend responds. But how big is “huge?” Here’s a detailed way to think about the time it will take. How to use this planning tool To make your planning more effective, I have created a publicly available spreadsheet showing book tasks…

Social media doesn’t sell books. It lights sparks.

Social media doesn’t sell books. It lights sparks.

When it comes to book sales, does a social media following guarantee sales? Of course not. That’s what’s behind the New York Times piece, “Millions of Followers? For Book Sales, ‘It’s Unreliable.’ ,” a naive and oversimplified take on what it takes to sell books. How books sell In the olden days — before COVID…

“Miracle and Wonder” audiobook reveals the true Paul Simon — plus a few secrets about Malcolm Gladwell

“Miracle and Wonder” audiobook reveals the true Paul Simon — plus a few secrets about Malcolm Gladwell

I listened to Malcolm Gladwell and Paul Headlam’s new five-hour audiobook Miracle and Wonder: Conversations with Paul Simon. It fascinated, entertained, and touched me — even though it had a little more Gladwell in it than we really needed. This is an audiobook unlike any other If you’re interested in “Miracle and Wonder,” you need…