There are two kinds of authors. Planners meticulously plan what they’re going to research and write before they start writing. Pantsers (think “seat-of-the-pants” writers) start writing and see where things go. While these terms come from fiction, they also apply to nonfiction writers. It’s tempting to start writing by, well, writing. But setting out to…
I’ve been writing professionally for 40 years. You can’t write the same way in your sixties as you did in your twenties. But you can take steps to maintain that the quality of what you write and the enjoyment you get from doing it. In this post, I’ll break down the elements of the writing…
When it’s time to promote your book, one strategy is obvious: write articles about it and post them online. But what should you write and where should you place it? Here’s a quick guide. Where to place articles The simplest location to post articles about your book is in places you control: your blog, your…
You wrote a book. It got published. Does that make you an author? Oh sure, technically, you can say you’re an author. But when you file your taxes, under occupation, do you write “Author?” I do. And when I meet somebody new and they ask my occupation, I say “author” then, too. To do that,…
If you’re lucky enough to get several agents interested in your proposal, how should you pick? Surprisingly enough, the answer is not “Pick the agent who swings the biggest deals.” You can pitch multiple literary agents On a recent project, I was helping an author who had some very good connections. He had recommendations on…
I’m astounded by readers’ very small responses to very big problems — at least as manifested by how they respond to my blog. Readers have a responsibility to think bigger than that. For example, if I write a post called “Why Mark Zuckerberg doesn’t realize Facebook is evil,” people respond “I quit Facebook.” As if…
At my last company, the job of “editor” was sort of a big deal. The editor was typically the supervisor of the analyst writing the research reports. That meant the editor had two jobs: First, to provide content and language guidance to the analyst. And second, to cajole and nag the analyst into producing something…
Why won’t they publish your book? Since agents and publishers rarely take the time to respond to authors they won’t be working with, you may never know. But I know. Here, in order of frequency, are the reasons you may be getting rejected — or just getting ghosted — by agents and publishers you’ve contacted….
Honestly, I’m in favor of the absolute truth in nearly all things. However, when it comes to a book proposal that you send to publishers and agents, you are describing a book that likely doesn’t yet exist. (You didn’t make the rookie mistake of writing the whole book before pitching it, did you?) You are…