I had just done my best to present a proposed book, and now I was sweating it. This has to be one of the most nerve-wracking duties of an acquisitions editor—presenting book projects to pub board and then responding to colleagues’ onslaught of comments and questions. All fifteen or so people in the room understand […]
About a year ago I read a book that had a massive impact on the way I do life. It’s called The Accidental Creative (AL) by Todd Henry, and if you’re a friend who sees me regularly, you’re sick of hearing me talk about it. Among the practices Todd commends in the book is that of weekly, […]
Traditional publishers should welcome self-published ebooks for the same reason major league baseball clubs are grateful for good farm teams. Fact is, traditional publishers have large infrastructures that require the books we publish to perform at a certain level. If every book we publish sells 300 copies, we’ll be out of business in a year. […]
It was my son’s first day of kindergarten, and to be honest my wife and I were a wreck. He’s our first child, and while I think we knew deep down he was ready, was he really? Could he do this? Could we? I picked him up, held him. Trying to steady my voice I […]
Your bio. I want to know who you are. I want to know what your networks and affiliations are, where you’re from, how broad your platform is, what you’ve accomplished, what you’re passionate about. I want to know where you’re from and hear something about your family. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in this […]
First, consider your context. Fast food chains promote vigorously, as do soda companies, porn vendors, alcohol labels, and your local casino or lotto. And you’re perplexed about promoting something that might actually help someone? Then consider the amount of work you’ve invested in this thing. Hours, right? Hours upon hours. If you’re going to spend […]
A few days back a colleague asked me how I started my blog. That’s funny because it feels like my blog is all of three days old. I’m a baby in this thing. But then I thought it might be useful to capture what I did while it’s still fresh. I wish I had been […]
In high school, it was the designation we drama nerds longed for: Triple Threat. If you could not only act or sing or dance but do all three, you were that much more likely to get the part. Janey Sommers, our fearless teacher, made it clear that in the real world, if you wanted work, […]
When I was ten or eleven, my mom asked me to deliver a message to my sister. Mom and I were in a hair salon where she was getting her hair done, and my sister was across the street taking a guitar lesson. To this day none of us is sure what happened on my […]
Here’s the thing about a table of contents: it’s a marketing device. Yes, it serves the practical function of letting readers know what’s in your book. But it is also one of the first pieces after the cover and back cover that readers peruse before either making a purchase or walking away. That means it’s […]
