A Book Review Short Version If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on My Face? by Alan Alda is a terrific addition to your writer’s bookshelf. Although the book focuses on scientific communication, it holds valuable lessons for all nonfiction writers about effective communication. Oh, and it’s fun to read as well. Long Version […]
How to Write Stuff People Want to Read
Finding the Sweet Spot for your Next Nonfiction Writing Project As a thought exercise, take a current writing project you have in front of you – whether that’s a blog post, an article, a book, a memo. It could be nearly anything. Make a list of all the things you want to get across in […]
Running Down a Dream by Tim Grahl [Review]
Short Version In this generous and courageous book, Tim Grahl demonstrates why being creative is much more than simply corralling good ideas and how to prevent the corrosive effects of fear and resistance. Long Version In case you’re not familiar with him, Tim Grahl is book marketing expert. I’ve followed him for some time, having […]
Preparing for the Podcast (Part Two of the Author’s Guide)
This is the second in a three-part series of posts about being a podcast guest. Read the first one here. Congratulations! You’ve landed a podcast interview to talk about the subject of your book. What do you do next? Prepare. Here’s my personal preparation time line. Immediately I like to take notes and assemble my […]
Better than the Last One
When is something truly finished? You’ve written a blog post, or an article. How good does it have to be before you hit the publish or send button? Do you get stuck in revision, polishing the words or rethinking your approach? Doubting yourself? Putting your words out into the world can be frightening. Perfectionism makes […]
An Author’s Guide to Being a Good Podcast Guest
Part One: Planning Being a podcast guest has turned out to be one of the unexpected pleasures of publishing a book. Through showing up on podcasts, I’ve made new friends with podcast hosts. Recently, I even connected with a second cousin, who listened to a podcast I did! But aside from being fun, chatting about […]