3 Reasons Now May Be the Best Time to Work for Yourself
I won’t lie to you or sugarcoat things. Working for yourself can be a bear at times. Now that I’m a full-time blogger and coach, I have the pressure of generating enough revenue for my family to live on. That can be tough, especially considering how much my soon-to-be 13-year-old son eats! ? In all […]
24 Surprising Benefits of a Book Proposal
The most obvious benefit of writing a nonfiction book proposal is it could lead to a book contract. But several other benefits are less obvious; the purpose of this article is to share what they are. Ready? Here we go! Writing a book proposal . . . Gives you space to dream. Think of your […]
See How Quickly You Can Structure Your Book This Way
Not long ago I was in a video call with a coaching client who was struggling with how to structure her book. She has a brilliant concept. Her book meets a real need real people have in a unique way. But her first draft of the contents page did not deliver on the promise of […]
3 Simple but Powerful Takeaways for Writers from The Alchemist
Every once in a while a book captures a truth so well it changes everything. That book for me is The Alchemist by Brazilian-born author Paulo Coelho. Coelho wrote it in his native Portuguese, and the English version reads a little clunkily in my opinion. It’s a bit disjointed and herky-jerky. But the book still gets […]
How to Write a Nonfiction Book Proposal + Free Template
“It all starts with a book proposal.” That’s inevitably what I end up saying to a writer who asks me about publishing. As a 20-year publishing professional who has reviewed thousands of book proposals, I’m regularly asked for advice on how to get published. And that’s my answer: it all starts with a book proposal. […]
How Much Money You Can Expect to Make from Your First Book Contract
Books require a lot of time and energy to write. It is natural, not greedy, to wonder whether it’s all going to be worth it in the end. Good work is its own reward, yes, and it’s hard to put a price tag on the feeling of getting your book into the world, knowing it […]
How to Format a Book Proposal
The moment arrived. I had wanted to meet with this particular author for a long time. (I’ll keep the author anonymous to protect her privacy, but she’s well known in some circles.) The door opened, she greeted me, and I handed her two loaves of bread. “You never get a second chance to make a […]
How to Make Sure Your Self-Talk Is Helping (Not Hurting) You
He looks like a baby hippopotamus.” That’s what I overheard my fifth-grade teacher say when I tried out for hurdles before our one-day track-and-field competition. That I remember this comment some thirty-five years later says something about how much it stung. Fast-forward to about three weeks ago, when I’m training for my first triathlon. I’m […]
How to Describe Your Book to Agents and Publishers
It’s one thing to write your book; it’s another to write about your book. They’re very different types of writing. For one thing the audience is sometimes completely different. When you’re writing your book, you’re writing for readers. When you’re writing about your book, particularly before it’s published, you’re probably writing a book proposal for […]
3 Ways to Make Sure Your Book Proposal Will Get Noticed
You’ve probably heard about the editor whose privacy was interrupted by a book proposal sliding under a restroom stall door at a writer’s conference. Suffice to say there are good ways and bad ways to get attention. Yet, if you want to get your book published, attracting an agent and publisher is vital. My old […]