12 Meaningful Holiday Gifts for Writers
I love buying gifts for writers. It’s like shopping for myself–with no guilt! How about you? Any writers on your Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanza list? I’m a little on the late side for Hanukkah, but lucky for me it’s an eight day holiday! Okay, here are a few great books—for pleasure or success as a writer—and some other unique finds I’ve purchased over the years as gifts for friends and colleagues and for myself as well! That’s right, don’t forget a little something for the writer in you. Everyone loves a gift and your inner muse may just light up… Read more
7 Crucial Things to Know Before You Start Writing a Book
Before you start writing a book, let me tell you about Joyce (an alias). Joyce became an award-winning published author a decade ago. She went on to write a book that people often found on the internet and read in one sitting. Many signed up for her in-depth, week-long training program and others contacted her to find a certified image consultant trained in her methods. She regularly received emails from people in England, Australia, Eastern Europe and her home country, the US. Let’s ride the “Back to the Future” car, though, to several years before that. Joyce came to me… Read more
Writing from Your Heart
I was recently interviewed by Dawn Montefusco for her Writing from the Heart series. Not surprisingly, we found ourselves talking about writing from the head vs. the heart. Sitting here at my computer, staring at my screen, it’s easy to drop into “head” mode. I started this blog post about writing from your heart and then realized I needed to bring more heart into it! Am I practicing what I preach? Here are a few of my musings about writing from your heart and some tips for getting in touch with that. There’s a Little Poet in All of Us… Read more
What I Learned About Leadership from Two Seventh Graders
Last night, Quest Montessori School offered a peace and nonviolence training put on by the middle school students. The group of parents and younger students broke up into three groups and my son asked to switch to the “What is Violence?” workshop as his closest friend headed there. It wasn’t the workshop I would have chosen or the one suggested as our first “stop” in our handout. I followed his lead. Two seventh grade girls led the workshop, their third partner home sick and unable to join. Let’s call them Jane and Maria. Jane and Maria handed out orange stickies… Read more
How To Write a Book after Signing a Contract with a Publisher
When I emailed, “What do you want to discuss on our call?” all my client wrote was, “How to write a book.” Dr. James Zender had just signed a book contract with a publisher and, not surprisingly, self doubt reared its ugly head. Can I really write a book? Step 1: Address self-doubt. Perhaps you’ve experienced similar doubts: “Can I write a good enough book?” “Will I be able to write a book within the schedule that I just agreed to?” “Will anyone want to read it?” “How can I do it right?” Before we could move on to other… Read more
Get Thyself on Podcasts: Reach Readers & Sell More Books!
Earlier this year, I asked Rusty Shelton about the PR activities that most often resulted in book sales and learned that being interviewed on podcasts is one of the top things you can do to sell more books. Why? Because podcasts tend to be very targeted, you can reach the exact audience who is the core market for your book—the people who most want and need what you have to offer. What are Podcasts? If you know what podcasts are, just skip this brief paragraph. A podcast is a regularly produced “program” by audio or video that people can subscribe… Read more
How to Get a Book Deal: 7 Qualities to Cultivate
Have you ever wondered how to get a book deal in this increasingly competitive environment? Certainly, there are the actual steps to take, including writing a top notch book proposal and growing your author platform. Yet, there’s another side to getting a book deal—and that’s the grit. How do you stick with it? How do you complete all the steps to get there—sometimes in the face of disappointment, rejection and even what seems like failure? Thursday’s Happy Book Deal Story I received an email last week from a client sharing his good news: he’d just heard from his literary agent… Read more
The Power of Community in Writing, Publishing and Promoting a Book
This week, I’ve seen the power of community in action as Leena St. Michael reached out to her community and over 200 Activists and people-who-love-Leena signed up to be part of her launch team. The result is that Leena’s book, The Happy Activist, has hit several bestseller lists on Amazon. It reminded me how powerful it is to do things in community. While writing itself can be a solitary sport (and maybe even not that when we consider the divine guidance that often comes through to help us), so much of the act of creating and sharing a book comes… Read more
The Library: “A Vessel of our Shared Culture..a Meetingplace…a Refuge”
We have a little treasure in our neighborhood, sitting atop the hill. It’s the smallest library in the smallest state, Willett Free Library. I so enjoyed our librarian Kathy Fitzgerald’s letter that I’m sharing it here with Kathy’s permission. I hope it inspires you as much as it did me! From Willett’s “Ferry Whistle” : Autumn is our unacknowledged season of preparation. Thoreau conveys the spirit when he writes about his time at Walden Pond, “In October . . . I collected a small store of wild apples for coddling . . . When chestnuts were ripe I laid up… Read more
When You Commit To Writing a Book, Other Projects Will Call: How Will You Answer?
Commit to Writing a Book! You commit to writing a book. You feel jazzed. You’re inspired. The birds seem to sing a little sweeter. There’s a lift in your step. And then… Soon, you’re tested. Suddenly, new and exciting opportunities come knocking at your door. And you may want to answer, but don’t jump in too quickly. Remind yourself that you committed to writing your book. Ask yourself, “If I say yes to this, what does it mean for my book?” And then decide. Perhaps there’s a way to put the new opportunity off for a few months, or to… Read more
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