There are a lot of ways to write a book chapter. Most of them are wrong. I can already hear the villagers gathering with torches and pitchforks, so before you start storming my castle, let me explain. A well-written book chapter has these qualities: It is entertaining from beginning to end. It makes a point…
The self-publishing platform Spines announced cheap packages that will use AI to rapidly edit, design, and publish 8000 books next year. Or perhaps I should use scare quotes around “edit” and “design,” because with AI doing the work, these are only simulacra of actual human creative activities. If you care about your reputation, you must…
I like to believe I am really good at what I do. Perhaps, but I am also very lucky. Thanksgiving seems like the right moment to look back at all the ways fate dealt me a favorable hand. I was lucky to have been born to loving and intelligent parents. My father, raised in a…
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…
Publishers nearly always disappoint authors. Sometimes, that’s because authors — especially rookies — have naive expectations. Other times, it’s because the publishers failed to do the basics of their jobs. If you’re an author, you need to know the difference, because railing against the way the publishing industry traditionally works is futile. So here’s a…
I may or may not have struck out on my current ghostwriting project. We’re in the early stages, and it’s not yet committed. And so far, the client has suggested some very challenging objectives for the writing, and rejected significant elements of the tone I’ve been using. When problems arise in any freelance project, it’s…
Books take a while to write and publish. Technology changes quickly. You can still publish a book-length perspective on fast-changing technology, but you’ll need to make wise choices about your publishing model — and should consider an annually updated edition. This topic is top-of-mind now as many business authors are writing about artificial intelligence, a…
You’ve probably heard that the real money from publishing a business book comes from sources other than the book: speaking, consulting, workshops, courses, and sales for your organization. Now that we have completed the Business Book ROI Study, I thought I’d see whether the survey data backed that up. What it shows is that the…
Newsletter 71. Why technology’s long-term impact is unknowable, HarperCollins pays you to train AI on your books, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s imaginary world, plus three people to follow and three books to read. Everyone predicting the AI future is wrong I spent last Friday at MIT, attending a conference called “BIG.AI@MIT” (Business Implications of Generative…