How to Craft a Table of Contents for Your Book

I’ve learned over many years of business travel to appreciate a tool that is often overlooked but absolutely essential: the airport directory/map. I’ve made a habit of finding one after arriving at unfamiliar airports to assess the layout, the best restaurants, any artistic/historical attractions, nearest bathroom, shoeshine stands (if my shoes are scruffy), and of […]

How to Describe Your Book to a Publisher

Down through the dusty annals of antiquity comes the whisper of wisdom to any writer bold enough to listen: “Without vision, the people perish.” Or, as I like to say, “Without vision, publishers will run for the hills.” You’ve come up with a concept, crafted a bio, and developed a working title and subtitle. Now […]

Heartfelt Thanks and the Big Reveal

This is so hard! I received over twenty submissions for book proposal coaching, and picking just one to work on is killing me. What’s even more intense is that I find myself really connecting with all the yearning these submissions reflect. You all have such great stories and aspirations. What I hate—what I really cannot […]

Book Proposal Coaching Update

Just a quick update on the book proposal coaching opportunity. (If you have no idea what this about, click here.) I have received about 20 entries so far, and several come in each day. It is such a blast learning about you and what you want to write books on. This is already the coolest thing I’ve done […]

How to Come Up with a Great Book Concept

A Simple Two-Step Process

Let me start with three reasons working on a book with a lousy concept is a bad idea: Beautiful, compelling writing is terribly important to publishers, but if your beautiful writing is in the service of a concept that no one will buy, publishers will have a hard time getting excited. A far-reaching platform is […]