My writer friends tell me they’re suffering from writer’s block. They’re not. Oh, sure, they’re unable to write anything useful, but “writer’s block” conjures up an inability to write for unknowable reasons. In fact, I know exactly why they can’t write. If you’re suffering from writer’s block, allow me to help diagnose your problem —…
A fellow nonfiction author recently shared that he’d written 18 drafts of his book. That’s probably too many. But how many is the right number? I’ll answer that question, but first, let’s talk about what a draft is. You have a chapter written. You go through and make a change. You save it under a…
Is there anything you hate more than businesspeople who “ghost” you? In case you’re not up on the slang, “ghosting” is ending a relationship by just disappearing and failing to respond to all forms of communication (social media, texting, or email, for example). In a personal relationship, that’s cowardly. In a professional relationship, it’s very…
The wonderful thing about editing is that every day you discover a new pet peeve. My latest are the Latin-derived etc., i.e., and e.g. They annoy readers, they’re lazy, and you don’t need them. What they all have in common is that, since they’re Latin, they’re supposed to make the writer sound more sophisticated, but…
Here’s the misleading headline and opening from Dan Reilly’s article about movies in Fortune magazine: Netflix’s ‘Murder Mystery’ Would’ve Killed With a $120 Million Opening Weekend—If the Adam Sandler Comedy Ran in Theaters If Adam Sandler’s new Netflix movie Murder Mystery drew the same U.S. box office numbers as it did via streaming, it would have made…
The Atlantic has a fascinating piece by Arthur C. Brooks called “Your Professional Decline Is Coming (Much) Sooner Than You Think.” It forces you to face the inevitable: you won’t always be as good as you are now, and no, you won’t keep getting better. Here’s what to do about it. As Brooks, president of…
Your editor makes a comment or suggestion you don’t like and don’t agree with. What do you do now? There is one wrong answer to this question, and three right answers. The wrong answer is to argue with the editor. Why? Convincing the editor that she is wrong is of no value to you. Who…
Your writer is stuck. The piece seems hopeless. How can you get them unstuck? Probably by asking a question. It’s best to ask these questions in a conversation, in person or on the phone, rather than in editorial comments. That leads to a dialogue. It makes the writer think. And that leads to solutions to…
Every nonfiction author feels it. That moment when you think “I can’t do this. I am not an author. I am helpless. I can’t move forward.” That’s crippling self-doubt. It’s so common, it deserves an acronym. CSD. Do you suffer from CSD? Please have hope. I’m here to help. First, here’s what doesn’t help This…