Yesterday I told you to make sure your book is about one idea. If you have multiple ideas, how should you choose? Here are some criteria on which you can evaluate your ideas. Making a decision After evaluating these criteria, figure out what book best balances the effort you’ll put in and the benefits you’ll…
Special note: All of us are in a very raw state because of the devastating events taking place abroad. Business as usual is anything but usual right now. If reading about business books takes your mind off of things for a moment, I offer these insights for you. If not, I’ll catch you later. Newsletter…
This article was originally published in Ragan’s PR Daily. Will AI tools like ChatGPT write your copy and take your job? Or will they just make you more productive? I recently tapped social media to connect with some of the world’s most effective business writers: authors of successful business books. They shared tips on how…
What format to publish your book is an essential decision to keep in mind as you choose publishing options. Your decision will depend on two things: impression and price/profit. Hardbacks connote significance, paperbacks connote practicality A hardback tells the reader “This is an important book.” Hardbacks are appropriate for serious topics where you want to…
Newsletter Week 12: Delving into the “content” debate, the record spread of book banning, plus 3 people to follow, 3 books to read, and plugging yourself in. The difference between creative work and “content” There is none. OK. Put down the pitchforks, people. You and I work in the content industry, whether we admit it…
Hack writers will be replaced by AI. If your ideas are pedestrian and your writing is boring, you may as well give up. All the more reason to stand out. Bold authors get noticed. Timid, workaday writers don’t. And if you don’t get noticed as a writer, you won’t accomplish your goals. There are basically…
Meetings and travel impair productivity. Writing, editing, revising, and research are all activities better conducted solo. The presence of others is a detriment. Tools like Google Sheets, Google Docs, and Microsoft Word Track Changes make it possible to collaborate virtually and asynchronously. It’s a good idea to meet regularly with clients to discuss your work,…
Books are higher quality writing than random crap on the Internet. So it’s not surprising that AI developers find books to be an attractive resource for training tools like ChatGPT and Meta’s LLaMa. Of course, the problem is that most recent books are copyrighted, and therefore it’s not easy to find their text online, at…
Week 11: publishers vs. authors on marketing; book advance gender differences; Scribe rises from the dead; plus 3 people to follow, 3 books to read, and the bullplug. Your publisher focuses on bookstore marketing. That’s not what you need. I’ve worked with dozens of traditionally published authors. Nearly all were disappointed in the work of…