I would have slammed into her if I hadn’t been looking. Luckily, at that particular moment anyway, I was, and so stopped within a few feet of her flashing hazards. The silver 1990s Corolla was bunching up the morning commute, and clearly the car was going nowhere. On another morning, a more hectic morning, no […]
A group of friends got together to ask some questions. They ended up changing the world. In 1727 Benjamin Franklin started a group of about twelve souls whose purpose was individual and community improvement. The “Junto,” as Franklin called it, met on Friday nights and went through a list of questions including: What new story have you […]
Several years back a colleague recommended Chris Guillebeau’s The Art of Nonconformity, which was a real eye-opener to me. The book challenges readers to think about unconventional ways of doing life and making a living, and honestly I’ve never been the same. I can draw a straight line from his book to the creation of Book Proposal Academy, […]
As editorial director for a major trade publisher, I regularly receive questions like the following: How big a platform is big enough? Am I out of luck if I don’t have much of a platform? What should I do if my platform is still smallish? Do I really have to be a superstar to get […]
Recently our family was getting settled around the dinner table when our seven-year-old son halted all his usual bounciness and pointed. “What’s that?” he asked, staring out the back door. We all looked to discover a young hawk perched on one of our deck chairs. I grabbed my phone and snapped this picture: We were floored. What was […]
In Memory of Robin Williams As we entered his classroom, Professor Whipp grinned at us. Just as we finished settling in, placing our backpacks on the floor, our notebooks on our desks, he beckoned us to leave. “Come,” he said, “Follow me.” And out we went onto the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s wide campus one pleasant […]
It was a lot of fun being interviewed by my friend Dale Callahan on his “Company of One” Podcast. We talked about how publishers make publishing decisions, how to decide whether to publish or self-publish, and how books are like small businesses. I think you’ll enjoy it!
| Date: | July 15, 2014 |
|---|---|
| Time: | Available now |
| Appearance: | Dale Callahan’s “Company of One” Podcast |
| Outlet: | Link |
| Format: | Podcast |
I saw the film Her weeks ago, and one element of the movie still haunts me. Set in futuristic LA, it’s about a man named Theodore Twombly (played by Joachin Phoenix) who ends up dating his artificially intelligent operating system. Far-fetched, perhaps, but I enjoyed this quirky cinematic excursion. The way Theodore communicates with his […]
I was honored to be interviewed on Tammy Helfrich’s “Right Where You Are” Podcast. Click here to listen.
| Date: | May 30, 2014 |
|---|---|
| Time: | Available now |
| Appearance: | Tammy Helfrich’s “Right Where You Are” Podcast. |
| Outlet: | Link |
| Format: | Podcast |
We can do it for the money or the prestige or freedom. We can do it because we have a message we want to send into the world. Why do we, why do you, do this creative work? In this video I tell a story about (who else?) my mom that illustrates one of the best motivations […]
