If you’re trying to get a book contract, publishing may seem like a monolith. But it’s not. The typical quest of a nonfiction author seeking a publisher is filled with rejection. You connect through friends of friends, send in your query or proposal, and then mostly hear nothing or curt rejections. But you’ll also hear…
If you are angry as hell about the actions that Elon Musk has taken in his protean role in the Trump administration, this post is for you. (If you are are a supporter of Musk and his activities, this post is not for you, go read something else.) It’s natural that people project their anger…
If you ask my doctors what is important about me, they are likely to say something like this: Josh is an obese 66-year-old man with essential hypertension, sleep apnea, vitreous detachment in both eyes, and history of prostate cancer. Why so negative? If you ask anybody else I interact with, they start with the positive….
Newsletter 84. Why well-told case study stories are here to stay, another Gathering of the Ghosts, a section 230 podcast, plus three people to follow and three books to read. About those case study stories . . . “Tell me a story, Daddy . . .” My kids are well into their twenties now, but…
Bear with me for a little thought experiment. When a script in Hollywood appears to be lacking something crucial and the existing writers have exhausted all their creative solutions, the producer or director will sometimes bring in a “script doctor.” The script doctor is a writer who parachutes in and, based on their expert knowledge…
The relationship between an author and their collaborator — editor or ghostwriter — can be challenging at first. The author is putting their creative vision in the hands of a stranger who is unfamiliar with their content and then asking for criticism. This is a very vulnerable position to be in. There’s risk for the…
Here’s what to do. It’s easy. Walk down the street. Go to the corner store, the one that’s not part of a chain. You can drive if you want. Buy something. Smile. Say hi. Pay cash. Don’t shop at Amazon, Wal-Mart, Target, Whole Foods, or fast food restaurants today, in person or online. Don’t buy…
Books are team efforts. People involved in your book project, like editors and publishers, have vested interests in doing things a certain way. There’s nothing malign about that, but as you work with these professionals, it can be helpful to know what motivates their decisions. How the people on your book team are biased (and…
Newsletter 83: The coming backlash against Trump, deep research for 20 bucks a month, Amazon restricts downloads, plus three people to follow and three books to read. The silent resistance I’m not a politician, a political commentator, or a historian. I’m a business book writer and editor. Business books aren’t about politics, they’re about success….