6 Takeaways for Writers from the #1 New York Times Bestseller *Originals*

Strategies to Help You Truly Stand Out and Make Your Mark Forever

As I’ve gone about my travels recently, one book has stood out to me again and again. For one thing the cover is irresistibly head-turning; the promise of the title is also compelling. I’m referring to Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World, the #1 New York Times bestseller from respected Wharton business school professor Adam Grant. I […]

Veteran Book Publicist Reveals How to Attract Media Attention

An Interview with Heather Adams, Cofounder of Choice Media and Communications 

Book publishers often think of publicity as the Holy Grail of marketing and for good reason: Media attention has the potential to skyrocket sales. So how does it all work and what do writers need to know about attracting media attention? To find out I turned to 20-year book publicist Heather Adams of Choice Media […]

5 Scientifically Verified Reasons You’ll Hate Yourself if You Stop Writing

The Surprising Health Benefits of Continuing in the Craft

So much of winning at the writing game can be summarized succinctly by the immemorial words of Dory in Finding Nemo: Just keep swimming. Easier said than done, for sure. But it’s important because really the only way to lose is to stop writing. To give up. To abandon your dream of that book or that […]

See How Easily You Can Structure Your Book with This Method

One Question Will Reveal How to Organize Your Content

While it’s true a thousand-mile journey begins with a single step, this is also true: If that first step is in the wrong direction, you’ll end up in the wrong place! Like this Air Asia flight, you could end up in Melbourne instead of Malaysia! When it comes to structuring a book, writers can go […]

This One Decision Will Release Your Extraordinary and Unique Creativity

At my local YMCA, the gym where I’m a member, you go one direction to lift weights or use machines. You go the other direction to attend one of the group fitness classes. Earlier this week I decided, for the first time since joining a couple of months ago, to go the group fitness direction. […]

How a Writer Self-Published a High-Quality Book That Now Generates a Passive Income

And You Can Do the Same . . .

Anyone looking at my resume would probably not consider me employable. And yet every job I’ve worked has informed what I do now in my life as a solopreneur. Once I finally decided what I wanted to be when I grew up (at 50), I decided to publish a book. The book had been inside […]

Why Missing Your Goals Can Be a Good Thing . . . Really!

Key Points to Remember about Setting and Achieving Your Goals

As we barrel toward the end of this year, I’ve been thinking a lot about my 2016 goals. It looks like my success rate in 2016 will be 40 percent. When I first noticed this, I was disappointed. I was even tempted to think horrible things about myself: “I’m a loser! I’m no good!” But […]

My Problem with “Platform”

3 Reasons the Term Needs Nuance

Publishing professionals have been using the term “platform” for a long time. And once my friend and Baker author Michael Hyatt wrote his New York Times bestseller Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World, the term became ensconced forever in publishing parlance. These days we can’t review a book proposal without using the term multiple […]

3 Ways to an Acquisitions Editor’s Heart

What I've Learned from Up-and-Coming Authors

I recently had conversations with two first-time authors, and I feel very hopeful about both of them. Whether the publisher I work for pursues them or some other publisher, I’m quite certain these authors will be offered contracts. And as long as the publisher doesn’t overpay, chances are good these books will be successful for […]