I love audiobooks. Here are a few thoughts about consuming them, and creating them. Audio occupies the mind when the body is doing something else I don’t listen to music much. (Yeah, I know, that makes me a psycho.) I’ve listened to business books, light nonfiction, heavy analytical nonfiction, and fiction books. I’m listening to…
Even if you hire a ghostwriter to write a book for you, you’ll still need to put in plenty of time on the book. You can outsource the writing, but it’s still a collaboration. And your involvement, more than anything else, determines the speed of the project. I have ghostwritten two books. The cost was…
I’ve ghostwritten text for a diverse group of people: Voices I don’t change my writing style that much when writing in the voices of these people. Why? Because of what I’m writing. I’m writing about business strategy or personal productivity, in general. That requires an authoritative tone. Anyone can take on an authoritative tone. It…
I cannot remember any nonfiction book that gave me more sheer enjoyment than Mitch Lowe’s just-published autobiography, Watch and Learn: How I Turned Hollywood Upside Down with Netflix, Redbox, and Moviepass — Lessons in Disruption. Get a copy and hang onto your movie seat, because you’re in for a hell of a ride. Mitch Lowe…
If your friend just published a book, what can you do to help? You can say “congratulations,” which is nice, but what your friend actually needs is for as many people as possible to hear about the book, consider the book, buy the book, read about the book, and talk about the book. This is…
We authors need support from others. It can be a lonely job, and one that’s subject to occasional self-doubt. If your friend is an author, here’s what you can say and do to help during the writing process. Providing emotional support Asking an author how things are going can sometimes feel like asking a friend…
A nonfiction book is a huge undertaking. But writing a book is easier than you fear. Here’s how. A book is an idea Start with a differentiated idea that’s relevant for your audience. No idea, no book. If you know something few other people know, that’s your idea. If you have no idea, don’t write…
As an editor, I frequently have to critique the work of others. Recently, the tables were turned and I received a critique of my positioning document from someone I trusted. Both experiences have made me consider what makes criticism effective, as compared to when it is painful or useless. How to receive criticism Here’s how…
There’s nothing wrong with dramatic nonfiction prose. But you don’t create it by SHOUTING. When novice nonfiction writers want to show how excited they are, they write prose that baldly and obviously declares its excitement. For example, their text is littered with: The more you write stuff like this, the more the reader resists. The…