How Vox’s whining about author self-promotion misses the point

How Vox’s whining about author self-promotion misses the point

In her article “Everyone’s a sellout now,” Vox’s Rebecca Jennings laments the poor, sad situation of authors who’ve found that only by selling out and promoting themselves can they generate books sales. Some notable excerpts: The internet has made it so that no matter who you are or what you do — from nine-to-five middle…

How to write a book for multiple reviewers without going bonkers

How to write a book for multiple reviewers without going bonkers

If you are writing a nonfiction book in a corporate setting, it’s likely you’ll have multiple reviewers for everything you write. This applies regardless of whether you’re the author or a ghost writer. And if it’s not managed carefully, this situation has the potential to significantly multiply the workload, reduce your final quality, and blow…

To avoid waste (or disaster), do your book tasks in the right sequence
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To avoid waste (or disaster), do your book tasks in the right sequence

So often, authors waste time early in the process of creating a nonfiction book. It breaks my heart to see people writing extensive material that will almost certainly be useless, or trying to line up an agent without a solid idea. At best, such tasks are an inefficient way to make progress. At worst, they’ll…

Who makes the first move when negotiating with a publisher?

Who makes the first move when negotiating with a publisher?

I recently wrote about how to negotiate with your publisher. But the publisher-author dance is remarkably subtle, and if you don’t know the steps, you might inadvertently make the relationship awkward. The key for authors is to know when to go first . . . and when to expect the publisher to go first. The…

Newsletter 11 October 2023: Just one idea; Robert Caro’s notes; an X-cess of fakery
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Newsletter 11 October 2023: Just one idea; Robert Caro’s notes; an X-cess of fakery

Special note: All of us are in a very raw state because of the devastating events taking place abroad. Business as usual is anything but usual right now. If reading about business books takes your mind off of things for a moment, I offer these insights for you. If not, I’ll catch you later. Newsletter…

Read Phil Simon’s “The Nine: The Tectonic Forces Reshaping the Workplace” for an intriguing peek at the future of work

Read Phil Simon’s “The Nine: The Tectonic Forces Reshaping the Workplace” for an intriguing peek at the future of work

Technology is redefining work. With the help of Phil Simon, now you have a chance to see around corners. His new book is The Nine: The Tectonic Forces Reshaping the Workplace. Phil produces valuable books at a breakneck pace. After documenting the most influential major tools defining the future of work with Slack for Dummies…