Every year, around this time, I struggle with that age-old problem: shopping. What should I get family members who are distributed around the country? (My own needs are quite simple: books, chocolate, and tea, in case anyone asks…) I spend a fair amount of time thinking and talking about subscription businesses – I even wrote […]
Books for the Writers in Your Life
One of the greatest gifts you can offer someone is a book that changes their life or shifts their perspective in a meaningful way. The challenge, of course, is matching the book to the recipient. Of the millions of volumes to choose from, which ones will speak directly to the people that you care about? […]
Mind Your Tone of Voice
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 […]