Bill Belichick, the 72-year-old former longtime head coach of the New England Patriots and winner of a record six Super Bowls as head coach, just accepted a role as head coach of the football program of the University of North Carolina. Everyone seems to think that, by choosing a college role instead of another NFL…
Newsletter 72. Integrity is a pain in the ass, but the only long-term way to live with yourself. Plus, AI grannybots to annoy spammers, a ghostwriting compensation study, three people to follow, three books to read, and my self-serving holiday gift recommendations. The price of integrity A few years ago, I was given the opportunity…
Everyone is creative. The value of experience is the application of experience in the right place. The newbie cook applies his creativity to understanding the instructions in the recipe, figuring out how to slice the tomatoes, finding the right knife, determining if the meat is fully cooked. The experienced chef does all that by habit…
A small crowd of authors and prospective authors recently connected with me on LinkedIn. Based on their comments, apparently a highly respected publishing industry expert had mentioned me as a qualified nonfiction book expert during a workshop she gave and prompted them to connect with me. That’s very nice, and a gratifying reflection on my…
I’m going to let somebody down this week. I have to choose one of the following options: Something’s gotta give My simple philosophy on working with clients is: start strong, continue strong, finish strong. My objective is that at any given time, anyone who contacts the client about me will hear, “Yes, he’s excellent to…
At least twice in my career I got offered lots of money to do something I didn’t believe in. I refused both times. And I have never regretted it. Just starting out In 1983 I was making $25,000 as a technical writer. I had started working for a software company part-time, then they plucked me…
I’m finishing a project and recruiting new clients right now. That means meetings. Meetings to discuss their book projects, and meetings to develop their ideas or critique what they’ve written. But when they ask what times I’m free, I lie about how busy I am. Here’s why. I’m busier than I appear After nine-plus years…
Honest-to-freaking-God, I don’t want to stop working. There’s no reason to retire. Working is rewarding, and I’m still capable of being creative and useful. Why would I let all that experience and creativity go to waste? I’ll tell you what I’m letting go of. Multitasking. My workload now is set up so that I can…
Dear medical office: I’d like to thank you for sending me a survey about my recent experience at your medical office. You are extremely consistent. Every time I visit a doctor or interact with anyone at your office or any other, I get a survey. I’m sure you’re using those surveys to learn ways you…