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
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
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