Week 11: publishers vs. authors on marketing; book advance gender differences; Scribe rises from the dead; plus 3 people to follow, 3 books to read, and the bullplug. Your publisher focuses on bookstore marketing. That’s not what you need. I’ve worked with dozens of traditionally published authors. Nearly all were disappointed in the work of…
Week 10: writers, authors, and credit; top AI tool tips; poorly written book ban undone, plus 3 people to follow, 3 books to read, and plugcasting. Let’s stop pretending that writing books is a solitary activity The actress Millie Bobby Brown has written a book, Nineteen Steps, based on her family’s experience during World War II. She…
Week 5: Why books are worth doing, Canadian social media sites eschew news, the revenge of copyright, plus 3 people to follow, 3 great reads, and how to ghostwrite a business book. Work on a project with heft: a book, for example Some people dream of singing on stage or teaching in a classroom —…
Publishers know all about publishing. Authors know less. This asymmetry means that authors are often at a disadvantage when negotiating with publishers — everything from advances to rights to manuscript edits to marketing. I’d like to fix that. If you’re negotiating with a traditional publisher, here are some tips on what you can reasonably negotiate…
Authors have questions. Once they start working on a book, the same things seem to come up over and over. So let’s get you some answers. Is my idea worth writing a book about? An idea worthy of a whole book should be big enough to have a set of nonobvious consequences. You should have…
If you’re considering writing a nonfiction book, go ahead and get my comprehensive book on the topic now. It’s got everything you need to know, and it’s no longer a pre-order — you can get your copy now. (The full table of contents is at the end of this post.) There are three ways to…
When we learned that Scribe Media, one of the largest publishing services companies, had laid off most of its staff, I figured we’d get the straight story in a few days. Nope. Two weeks later, we’ve heard mostly bullshit. The dishonest and unprofessional way in which this company has abused its authors, staff, and freelancers…
Nonfiction books are about ideas. If you’re considering writing a book, you must make sure your idea has four key qualities: it must be simple, big, new, and right. Let’s look at a popular recent book, Atomic Habits: Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results by James Clear, and show how it satisfies all four qualities. Book ideas…
Josh Bernoff has written a supremely practical and well-thought out book for anyone looking to write a business book. From the use of storytelling to working with a coauthor to essential tips in writing, the advice here is invaluable.