When I speak with potential clients or colleagues interested in writing a book, I often find they have several ideas and don’t know which book to write. I sometimes offer strategic advice with my business hat planted firmly on my head. Which idea aligns with your long-term goals? What topic does your client base ask […]
Strategy
Print vs Digital: Three Strategic Reasons to Publish Paper Books
I love books. I have shelves and shelves of books in the basement—not to mention assorted “pretty” books on display in the living room and stacks and stacks of to-be-read books in my office. Sometimes I wonder if it would be easier to get rid of them and read everything on Kindle. And then I […]
Opportunity Cost: What’s the Trade-off for Your Book?
“You have one dollar,” our teacher said. “You can spend it on a comic book or on candy—but not both.” She let us think about our choice. “If you choose candy, you can’t have the comic book. And if you choose the comic book, no candy. Whichever item you don’t choose is your ‘opportunity cost.’” […]
How to Generate and Organize Ideas with Affinity Mapping
So you have an idea for a book. You can see your title and your first paragraph AND NOTHING ELSE. The rest is an uncooperative snarl of shifting concepts that refuse to jump onto the screen and fall into a neat outline so you can begin. Enter affinity mapping, a quick way to brainstorm, categorize, […]
Lessons from a Poetry Submissions Party
This past Saturday, I spent the afternoon with my writing group submitting poetry to literary magazines. While many of us poets publish at least some work on our personal blogs, literary journals are the best way to increase the visibility of our poems and, of course, to build credentials toward one day publishing a “real” […]