Quoth Nobel Laureate Richard Feynman: “The first principle is that you must not fool yourself – and you are the easiest person to fool.” What did Richard Feynman mean by that? We judge ourselves by our intentions instead of by our actions. It’s kind of a personal “Halo Effect.” So we maintain an inaccurate » Read More
Category: Writing A Book
Three Things that Support Book Writing Momentum
If writing isn’t your day job, you have a special challenge with maintaining momentum. You may schedule your writing sessions several days apart. That, alone, makes it hard to maintain momentum. But you’ve also got a whole life to live besides your writing. You’ve got family obligations and a full social » Read More
Writing a Book: Not All Feedback is Created Equal
When you’re writing a book, you’ll get feedback whether you want it or not. Well-meaning friends and relatives will offer comments that they intend to be helpful. Remember this, though. All feedback is a gift. Some is useful. Because all feedback is a gift, be sure to say, “Thank you.” Then, because only some is » Read More
Writing a Book: Keep Good Going
I don’t know exactly how many people start a book but don’t finish it, but I bet it’s a big number. If you don’t want to fall by the wayside, here are some ideas about how you can keep good work going. Two Big Challenges Most of my clients are mid-career professionals. They face two big challenges. They’re » Read More
What are the odds of writing a bestseller?
“Can you help me write a bestseller?” Not every prospective client asks me that out loud. But anyone who writes a book wants it to be a bestseller. What are the odds? Not very good. Depending on who’s counting there are 600,000 to 1,000,000 books published in the US in a year. Only a vanishingly small fraction makes » Read More