Editing is a tricky business. What I want more than anything is for your book to hum. I want it to be such an engrossing experience that a reader would sooner take a bus than drive, just for a few more moments in your book. Legendary editor Sol Stein says the writer’s job is to […]
Later today I’ll be discussing about fifteen book proposals with my editorial colleagues. We’ll review them with an eye toward deciding which ones should move on to our publishing board (where publishing decisions are made) and which ones should be declined. The reality is only a small number will move on. Imagine your book proposal […]
The key to getting a book contract is looking way beyond the book contract to when your book hits shelves. The key to getting a book contract is pairing a great idea with a significant platform and compelling writing. The key to getting a book contract is, in a word, hustle. Every publisher loves to […]
Jonathan Milligan is a professional blogger, entrepreneur, speaker, life coach, social media expert, and all around great guy! I met him via Michael Hyatt’s Platform University in the forum there. He threw out an invitation to join a mastermind group, and I jumped. So glad I did. Jonathan was in the “head hunter” recruitment world when […]
I’ve just returned home from the ReWrite writers conference in Austin. It was a great time of listening to and connecting with numerous talented and passionate writers. I thoroughly enjoyed it. But I can’t help thinking about the fact that a lot of the people who attended are going to experience some level of rejection […]
I recently returned from a wonderful in-person meet-up with my mastermind group, which is comprised of Jonathan Milligan, Dennis McIntee, Rebecca Livermore, Dale Callahan, Jackie Ulmer, Fokke Kooistra, and Michael Nichols. I am beyond grateful to be in a group with these people! We were together one full day and two nights. During the day […]
Chasing a dream can be tough. It takes perseverance–sometimes more perseverance than we’ve ever had to muster in the past. Chasing a dream stretches us in ways we’ve never been stretched. I tend to think we actually become different people when we pursue a goal to which we feel deeply called. Watch this video to […]
We all know we have a lot to offer the world—if we could just get a break, if we could just get out of our own way, if we could just be who we are deep down. But then life happens and we happen, then more of life and more of us. Things get complicated. […]
We were all excited. An author we had just published was going to be on Oprah, and the subject of our author’s book would be front and center during the interview. We shipped thousands of books to make sure our accounts had plenty of inventory. The day came, and Oprah set her up beautifully. The author did a […]
The more I work with successful people and observe how they become successful, I’m convinced: success is not the result of some magic key. It doesn’t happen to people who are smarter or prettier or more talented than everybody else, or at least that’s not how it happens most of the time. It’s much simpler […]
