How to Win Book Awards (and Write an Award Winning Book!)
When Alice McDowell wrote to tell me that her book, Hidden Treasure: How to Break Free of 5 Patterns that Hide Your True Self had won a fifth award, I wrote back to suggest I interview her about how to win book awards. Perhaps Alice’s insights (and resources) will help you write an award winning book! Micaela Karlsen, Bring Your Book to Life® Program graduate and author of A Plant Based Life, first introducted me to Alice McDowell to help her with the book she was writing, a book that distilled almost four decades of work in the realms of personal… Read more
7 Benefits to Growing Author Platform Before You Write Your Book
I am a book proposal nerd. I just love sitting out on my deck and digging in, occasionally looking up to see a monarch butterfly or two glide along the wind currents, or a hawk circle above. I love reading about book ideas, feeling the author’s passion for her or his subject and especially adding new creative ideas to help them make the book even more resonant for their readers and more attractive to publishers. The biggest flaw I see in most proposals is that the author’s platform isn’t quite there yet. Often, I can suggest a few ideas specific… Read more
Are You an Expert or an Authority? An Interview with Author Rusty Shelton
Are You an Authority? Last November, during a conversation over lunch during Harvard Medical School’s leadership course for women in healthcare, my long-time friend and colleague–and my publicist of over a dozen years–shared ideas with me about what it means to be an authority in one’s field. And why it matters. This is the subject of his Rusty’s latest book, Authority Marketing, co-authored with Adam Witty and with a foreword by Steve Forbes. We continued the conversation over email that I might share his insights with readers of this blog, published and aspiring nonfiction authors. Lisa: What’s the distinction between… Read more
A Cure for Most Writing Ills? Tell a Story
Can you tell a story? I recently read a book proposal for a client’s book that’s been a couple of years in the making. I’m so proud of him. He had the right instinct for his overview—telling a compelling story from the get-go. Yet, it started out dry, clinical, like many proposals I read on the first pass. I knew he could do better. I waved my magic wand on a description of his son’s remarks and—ta da—a generic description became dialogue—four simple words in double quotes. Another wave of the wand and—ta da da—the dialogue floats from the end… Read more
Special Sales: Think Creatively and Sell Your Book in Bulk!
“I think this book is a great idea—a fun idea. I can already imagine which publishers would respond to it.” My morning began on a conference call with my client and a literary agent who has sold several of my clients’ books to publishers, a colleague from Harvard Medical School’s publishing course. The high-powered agent shared her vision for the book and we loved her ideas. They expanded the potential audience and built upon the fun-factor. And I especially liked that she nudged my client in an area of great potential—special sales. Special Sales, Think Creatively One of the agent’s… Read more
4 Quick Summer Writing Tips
Looking for a few summer writing tips? If you’re anything like me, you’re spending time outdoors – reading a juicy novel in a hammock while the birds chirp around you, tching up with friends on a walk around the neighborhood, dancing under the stars. Summer is such a glorious time of year. So, how do you make it work for you when it comes to your writing? Schedule your summer writing time. It’s easy for summer to roll on by rather quickly. As I mentioned last week, when you schedule the writing time–and keep it sacred–you’ll be sure to… Read more
How Do I Finish My Book? 7 Writing Productivity Tips
Susan MacDonald had already written and published one book when she emailed me for support to answer the question, “How do I finish my book?” Susan needed to complete her second book by the December deadline set by her publisher, Gryphon House (an imprint of Kaplan), which had published her first book, Inspiring Early Childhood Leadership, which she had worked on in my Bring Your Book to Life(R) Program. Beyond “How do I finish my book?” Susan wanted help with strategies, to “create a clear focused plan to get the writing done by December.” She knew that she tends to “dive into the… Read more
“Struggling: Should I Work with an Agent? Pitch Publishers? Do I Write the Whole Book First?”
Are you struggling with questions like, “Should I work with an agent or contact publishers directly?” and, “Do I write the whole book first?” I recently received an email from Sue, who felt stuck, partly due to these looming questions. With these questions answered, she expected a breakthrough, and she’s likely correct. Not knowing what steps to take can feel overwhelming. Clarifying direction and steps can be just the thing to open the door to the muse. Since Sue’s questions are fairly common, I figured I’d share my answers with you, too. In addition, I unfortunately seem to have accidentally… Read more
Ghostwriting Advice: What to charge?
This is an updated version of a 2009 post, with updated pricing/fees and other advice. I’m happy to add to the post, so send your feedback and ask more questions! In a comment responding to one of last week’s posts, Jeannie asked several questions that I thought might be of interest to many followers of this blog: 1. I’ve been asked to ghostwrite a memoir. How much can I reasonably ask to be paid? 2. Can I expect royalties if the book is made into a movie (the author is already in talks with a producer) 3. Would you advise… Read more
Advice from Literary Agents and Publishers
It’s become a tradition that I publish a post about the advice from literary agents and acquisitions editors, shared at Harvard Medical School’s CME Publishing Course each year. I could apologize for how long it languished in my drafts folder, but instead I’ll turn it into a teaching moment. By giving the post some time to stew, I realized I could add some examples to make it even more useful. You may find that with your writing as well. If it’s not jelling, let it go and return to it later. And, without further ado, here’s the post inspired by… Read more
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