
How to Write a Book Introduction that Engages the Reader
It’s been a long day, but now dinner is done, and Dave sinks into his favorite chair. He reaches over and picks up a copy of your book for the first time since he bought it. He opens it and begins to read. In the next six minutes, something very important will happen....

4 Ways to Make Progress on Your Book Every Day
Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer studied the inner work life of 238 people by analyzing more than 12,000 daily work diary entries. That research resulted in what they call “The Progress Principle.” Here it is from their book with that name. “Of all the positive events...

4 Kinds of Business Books and How to Make Them Great
When clients come to me for the first time, they usually have a pretty good idea of what they want to write about. Normally, they haven’t done much to plan their book. That starts with deciding what kind of book they choose to write. There are, conservatively...

Yes, you’re creative! Now what?
You’re creative. It doesn’t matter what your mother said. It doesn’t matter what some art teacher told you. It doesn’t matter what you think. You’re creative. Human beings are creative. That’s the way God made us. You can’t help yourself. As you go through your day,...

How short should your book be?
That’s not a typo. I know that when most people talk or think about a “standard business book,” they ask how long it should be. And, in that case, the answer is usually at least a couple of hundred pages. But your book doesn’t have to be that long. There are many...

Write drunk. Edit Sober.
“Write drunk. Edit sober.” Whether Ernest Hemingway ever said those words or not, there’s wisdom in that quote. It just doesn’t have anything to do with pharmacology. Try this on for size. Write passionately. Edit dispassionately. Write passionately Your best writing...

How to Build an Author Platform from Scratch
Lynn McGinnis helps self-published authors build and grow their platforms, gain visibility, and reach their unique author marketing goals through coaching, consulting, and done-for-you marketing services. I asked her to write this post because I get lots of questions...

The Lifelong Impact of a Book
Books change lives. This is the story of one book and how it changed my life. I was a 19-year-old Marine when I responded to an ad offering three books for $1 from the Walter J Black Classics Club. One of the club’s selections was The Autobiography of Benjamin...

3 Ways Keeping a Journal Will Help You Write Better
Call it a journal, a writer’s notebook, or an idea file. It doesn’t matter what you call it. Keep it on a computer, loose sheets of paper, or in a bound notebook. That doesn’t matter either. What does matter is that journaling is a practice. It’s not simply writing...

How to Get the Most from Your Writing Talent
In 1989, Daniel Chambliss wrote about the making of Olympic swimmers. He coined the phrase “The mundanity of excellence” to describe how the best swimmers get that way. Sure, they have natural talent. Yes, they have a great work ethic. But there’s more. The very best...