Newsletter 78: How to be nice to yourself while writing a book, un-weaponizing free speech; book sales creep upward, plus three people to follow and three books to read. When it comes to books, concentration matters from start to finish The best part of writing books, for most people, is the writing. When they’re writing,…
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…
There are two kinds of authors. Planners meticulously plan what they’re going to research and write before they start writing. Pantsers (think “seat-of-the-pants” writers) start writing and see where things go. While these terms come from fiction, they also apply to nonfiction writers. It’s tempting to start writing by, well, writing. But setting out to…