If you secure an agent, it’s exciting. Really exciting. But expect discomfort to pinprick your excitement. Until now, you’ve shared your book with people you know but now, your book has started its journey into the world. Strangers will have opinions. You’re going to feel judged. That is scary. Can you remember, it’s the book […]
It’s scary, putting your book out there. Read More »
‘If I didn’t make my deadline, my confidence in my writing would be decimated. ‘I had been struggling to figure out what I needed to do on my own.’ ‘You got my head to the right thinking space and my heart on the change that’s needed to move my book forward.’ ‘You challenged and encouraged
What does it SOUND like, to hire a book coach? Read More »
‘I feel really uncomfortable at the idea of marketing my book.’ Let me suggest a different way to think about this. Picture the one person who needs your book. Work out how to reach them. Then do it. That’s all the marketing you need to do.
Think differently about marketing Read More »
We write a sentence. We look at it. And think, ‘It doesn’t look smart. The reader will have guessed our meaning, way ahead. They’ll judge us pedantic.’ So, we Trim. Elide. Remove redundancy – not of words but of meaning. And the Reader sees a gap between Print (on the page) and Intention (in the
It’s all in the mind. Some of it stays there. Read More »
I’m reading the letters of John Le Carré. It’s a doorstopper. As thick as all Roman history. Or ‘SPQR’. Almost as thick as the Oxford Dictionary. He wrote a lot of letters. And some emails. No-one will treasure my emails. Le Carré is more famous than me but it’s not just that. An email lacks…
The humanity of Letters Read More »
When you’re writing a book, there’s something gets in the way, often overlooked. Which is strange. It could be the single biggest obstacle to realising your dream. Easy to think of other obstacles. Time. Energy. Money. But if you’re stuck, is fear of judgement holding you back? ‘Terrible writing.’ ‘It’s a lousy book.’ You fear putting your book
Your book is more important than your fear Read More »
There is a separate system of numbers in Gaelic to describe teams. I’m reading Sea Room by Adam Nicholson (great book for lovers of the Hebrides) and he talks of the need for co-operation to survive. There’s a proverb: ‘No-one is strong without a threesome and with a foursome at best, they’ll be limping.’ A boat needs five to row and
No Man is an Island Read More »
The cursor blinks. The blank page looks blankly back. What stops us from writing? An uncomfortable chair. A cold room. An early start, wrenched from a warm bed in January when our primitive brain grunts, ‘I should be hibernating! Or near as.’ A lack of a door to protect our space. A lack of a
Confidence comes from Clarity Read More »
It’s 7 days into the new year. Have you made all the resolutions you can bear? I have. I want to share with you just one word that has floated to the top every time I stir the planning pot. Perseverance If it resonates with you, keep it close to your heart. Sssh – don’t declare
One word to hold close this year Read More »
First things first: on the last day of this old year, I’d like to thank you for sticking with me. Let’s celebrate all the positive things we’ve achieved, together and individually. On every December 31, I like to look back. The Romans knew a thing or two by honouring Janus. The past is certain. Think about how
The past is certain Read More »