AJ Harper’s book is generous. But on her way to providing what many writers likely want—a thoroughgoing step-by-step guide to writing a truly great book—she has to do some disabusing first. In this market space of writing and publishing and book-marketing, a lot of experts talk about how easy and quick it can be to […]
Running is a great metaphor for a lot of things, especially writing. As a writing coach who’s training for my first marathon (Chicago Marathon 2022, baby!), I see parallels all over the place. Often it can be helpful to get a fresh perspective on our writing lives, and I think running offers some really helpful […]
Blogging is a great way for writers to build an audience, but how do you get people to pay attention to your posts? There’s nothing more demoralizing than working for hours on a post only to hear crickets after hitting “publish.” Having blogged professionally for five years now, I’d like to offer my top seven […]
Recently I heard from a writer who said, “I feel like I get so bogged down with building a platform, I don’t have time to write!” That’s the cry of so many writers I’ve worked with. Here’s another one: “I feel like I’m just spinning my wheels. I forget why I got into this in […]
I could simply give you a list of my favorite books on writing, but where’s the fun in that?! I thought it would be more fun to guide you to the one that is most likely to help you based on what you’re looking for. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to what is likely the first […]
Writing a book proposal and landing a book deal is hard work, but it can be done. I recently sat down for a video call with writer, spiritual director, and speaker Brian Plachta about his journey from a small platform to a landing a book deal. We talked about: how Brian pushed through his fear […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
About a year ago I packed up my office at Baker Books and “went out on my own,” as they say. I’m pleased to say I’m still self-employed, although that’s a bit of a misnomer for reasons I’ll get to shortly. This is a significant milestone and bears reflection on what I’ve learned along the […]
