When you start reading a book or a blog post, you face an immediate choice: Do you continue reading, or put it aside? As writers, we dance a tango with the reader’s attention and interest. A couple weeks ago I wrote about connecting with the reader’s curiosity (What makes you curious?) But once you have […]
Digging Into an Abundance of Ideas
If you’re one of those writers who waits until a great idea strikes to write, then you may find yourself running low on fodder. For many of us, the act of writing itself primes the mind to identify insights and create something new. This is yet another chicken-and-egg writing situation (like writing and outlining). You […]
What Makes You Curious?
If you’re a nonfiction writer, as I am, then you must recognize that the entire world does not share your deep interest in your topic. The audience of people actively looking to read about obscure topics may be quite small. How can you reach a wider audience, or get the one you’ve got interested in […]
The Best Book Marketing Advice I Ever Got
The best book marketing advice I ever got came from Guy Kawasaki — not in person, but in his book APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur. Reading that book before setting out on my own publisher adventure, I encountered his analogy about bakers: “There are two kinds of people: eaters and bakers. Eaters think the world is a zero-sum […]
A Book Marketing Strategy for Any Budget
New authors are confronted with book marketing advice everywhere they look. This person sold 10,000 copies in three months following a system that they’re selling, while that one got on a major television show by sending a video to a Hollywood star. Some of these tactics work may work for you, but others won’t. Navigating this advice can be […]
Chickens, Eggs, and Outlines
Steven Pressfield, author of The War of Art, shares occasional “reports from the trenches” on his weekly writing blog, describing the state of his current writing project. So I thought I’d try something similar. It may look like I’m cranking out books seamlessly, but most of you see only the finished work, not the process […]