Do you know everything there is to know about the topic you’re writing about? If not, you’re not trying hard enough. I want you to be obsessed. This is not a recommendation to acquire a mental illness. Obsession is a strategy, and I want you to apply it strategically. Here’s how it works. You think…
In the monumental effort of writing a book, the biggest milestone is handing in your finished manuscript. Whew, that felt good. You’ve done 95% of the work. But you’re not done. Unless you prepare for the rest of the work, your book won’t be as good as it ought to be — and it might…
The most fundamental principle in writing is actually . . . version control? It’s an unwritten rule. Like changing your underwear every day. And if you violate it, you are a barbarian. This is the least sexy writing advice ever. But if you and your collaborators don’t share a common understanding of version control, you’re…
If you’re working on an advice book, here’s a way to get a lot of people to hear about it. I call it the hero crew. Do this, right now — before writing (if you haven’t started yet), before you do anything else. Nail down your audience. It might be women entrepreneurs, CIOs embracing the…
I help authors. They’re all over the map. Some are experiencing the earliest glimmerings of author ambitions, while others have written hundreds of pages (possibly in a productive way, possibly not). By the time they get to me, I become their therapist. It’s my job to figure out their problems and recommend the best course…
Why should older white men get all the respect? I’ve been talking to a diverse collection of executives, thinkers, and authors: men and women; old and young; white, black, Hispanic, and Asian; North American, European, Asian, and Australian. Here’s a shocker: if you’re seeking attention for your ideas, it’s easier if you’re an older, white,…
A veteran author knows the 12 stages. Rookies often don’t. But if you’re an author, you’ll inevitably experience them, regardless of whether you’re ready. So get ready. 1 Idle flirtation “That’s a cool idea.” “That could be a book.” “I think I could write about that.” Like all flirtations, this one is titillating and intriguing…
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…
“I wrote a whole bunch of meaty blog posts. Could I make a book out of them?” That’s the seductive reasoning I hear from many clients. So let’s talk about what it takes to turn a blog into a book. Here’s a comment that appeared on my author survey yesterday: I write a blog, to…