The Writing Edge for Business Writers: 6/23/17

Jun 23, 2017 | Resource Lists

You’re a businessperson. You may not think of yourself as a writer, but you know that writing well can boost your results and your career. Naturally, you want to do better. Every week I point you to articles and blog posts that I think will teach you something or spark an idea or two. Some weeks there are more pointers than others.

This week I’m pointing you to pieces on author collaborations, selling more books with less marketing, and getting the most out of MS Word.

From Joanna Penn: 5 Critical Mistakes of Author Collaborations and How to Avoid Them

“I’ve learned so much from collaborating with other authors, and I am now incorporating co-writing with different people into my author business. In today’s article, J. Thorn goes through some of the mistakes of author collaborations and how to avoid them.”

Wally’s Comment: As a ghostwriter/writing partner, collaboration is what I do, but it wasn’t always so. I discovered the power and the joys of collaboration when Jeff Senne and I wrote two books together.

From Frances Caballo: Sell More Books with Less Marketing

“I really believe that most authors, no matter how many books they have published, can reach maximum success with a very basic marketing plan to sell more books and build raving fans. That plan needs to be customized to their own skills, time, budget, resources, and size of backlist. And, most important, it is based on timeless best practices of how to sell.”

From Debbie Young: Top tips on using Word for indie authors

“Although many indie authors use Scrivener and other specialist software for writers, many have an abiding affection for MS Word for Windows, whether using it to draft, edit or format books for self-publishing on various platforms.”

Sources I Check Regularly

I find the posts and articles that I share with you on The Writing Edge in many places. But there are a few that provide insightful pieces again and again. Here they are.

Frances Caballo

Jane Friedman

jeffbullas.com

Jerry Jenkins

Joel Friedlander

Joanna Penn

Melissa G. Wilson

Men with Pens

Merce Cardus

Problogger

Becky Robinson’s Weaving Influence