Newsletter 85: Questions to ask when you treat your book as a startup venture. Plus paperbacks in decline, authors reveal their secrets, three people to follow, and three books to read. A book is a startup venture I help authors with nonfiction books. I’ve also been studying the principles and culture of startups of late….
Blab, a livestreaming startup with 3.9 million users, just shut down abruptly. Founder Shaan Puri’s message to the world is crystal clear. Unfortunately, he also treats his users like any other resource — they were useful for a while, but now he’s discarding them like an obsolete iPhone. Blab had a good run. In addition to its…
Bullshit gathers where lawyers and human resource people meet. But as Henry Ward, CEO of startup eShares, shows with the company’s offer letters, it doesn’t have to. Using the power of clarity, simplicity, and graphics — eShares is welcoming new hires — and it’s probably getting a lot more of them to say “Yes.” Ward published a sample…