Imagine your retirement. What are you doing? Traveling around and hanging out with grandchildren? Sounds boring to me. Sure, after the end of a frenetic work life, it sounds attractive to have few actual responsibilities. You can think of it as a longer vacation. But people who are active workers, thinkers, and problem-solvers aren’t likely…
Newsletter 24. Essay only for the holiday. The biggest thing that divides people making decisions is not liberal vs. conservative, young vs. old, family vs. career, or eastern vs. western. It’s long-term vs. short term. For every decision you make — every one — this comes into play. Should I send my kids to the…
If you think writing happens when you’re at the keyboard, you’re not thinking big enough. Writing is problem-solving. A nonfiction writer has to solve problems like these: Only the last two items work best at a keyboard. The rest of these problems are potentially solved best when you’re doing something else — walking, cooking, socializing,…
Newsletter 21: Challenges beat bribes to get problems solved, cheaper audiobooks, Michael Lewis’ antiheroes, woman of the year, plus three people to follow, three books to read, and a holiday discount on the top manual for authors. How to motivate smart people I love to solve problems. I have always loved to solve problems. I’m…
So often, authors waste time early in the process of creating a nonfiction book. It breaks my heart to see people writing extensive material that will almost certainly be useless, or trying to line up an agent without a solid idea. At best, such tasks are an inefficient way to make progress. At worst, they’ll…
When I make a referral, I don’t usually have to think about it very much. I know who does a good job and whom I can depend on. If you need a hybrid publisher, I’m going to send you to Amplify. They’re not the only good choice. I’ve worked with Wonderwell, Ideapress, and PageTwo and…
What would you do if you got laid off tomorrow? What would you do if your company offered you a promotion tomorrow? If a friend recommended you for a job in another company? If a former colleague asked to be your partner in a startup? If you were offered a consulting gig somewhere that you…
Writers often complain about the painful process of drafting substantial content, like reports, white papers, or book chapters. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Your could be creating great content rapidly and enjoying every moment of it. You just need two things: Planning. And writing time. Writing in flow versus endlessly struggling, typing,…
As I’ve written, the advantage that human writers have over AI is wit. Ergo, if you want to continue to make a career of writing, you must develop your wit. Is that even possible? Yes. I’ll explain. What is wit? Wit is the ability, not just to inform, but to delight readers with your writing….