I work with authors. That means my clients are idea people . . . and boy do they have a lot of ideas. I take it as my sacred duty to give honest feedback on those ideas. I am the author’s first sounding board. I can keep them from wasting time on a dumb idea,…
When two or more people collaborate on a book, there’s often a primary writer and a primary idea person. There are lots of ways that collaboration can work, but it pays to think about it before you get started, and adjust it while you’re working together. And it’s also important to for all the collaborators…
Are you contemplating starting the journey to writing a new book? It’s intimidating, I know. If you have some idea of what you want to write, here are five steps you can take to move that idea forward. 1 Talk to smart people Who do you know that’s knowledgeable about your topic? If you’re writing…
Did you try to start writing your book on page 1 of chapter 1? Wondering why you’ve got reams of repetitive material that doesn’t fit together? Of course you’re stuck. You started out without a plan! If you are going on a trip, you don’t start by just walking out the front door and seeing…
In the past month, I helped four diverse authors to develop ideas and titles for their books. They varied in age, gender, topic, and type of book. But they had one thing in common: I had to annoy and frustrate them to get to the core of their book ideas. How idea development works When…
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…
Summer is slower for many businesses. If you’re considering writing a book, this is a good time to start planning it. And I’m about to give you a good reason to start now. Summer is slower for me, too. That means I have excess capacity. And that means I can help you. And to get…
People sometimes come to me with a manuscript of their nonfiction book and ask, “Can you help?” Often, this is the most frustrating conversation I ever have. Please don’t start by writing a book. Start differently. Start first by asking if there is something you know that will change people. It doesn’t have to be…
It’s easy to tell people “I have a book idea.” But before you invest your time in writing, you need to make sure that idea is powerful enough to build a book on. Here are 11 questions to ask yourself before you exert significant effort towards becoming a nonfiction author. If you can’t answer these…