You’ve written your book. A publisher wants to buy it. The most important question to ask is the one everyone forgets. More important than ‘How much marketing will you do?’ It should even come before, ‘How much will you pay me?’ It’s this: ‘When can I have my publishing rights back?’ Rights reversion is IMPORTANT. […]
The most important Q to ask your publisher? Read More »
Last month, on a whale-watching boat in the Santa Barbara channel, California: ~ Stranger, warmly, ‘I’m a great fan of your work!’ ~ Me, all British politeness, ‘Oh, thank you. I am so glad.’ If only I’d asked ‘Which is your favourite?’ to get us on the same wavelength. I’ve been mistaken for Olivia Coleman
Olivia Coleman, the whales and me Read More »
Structuring a nonfiction book is an art form. Simple to structure a How-To book about a process. Beginning. Middle. End. Done. A history of transportation: a chapter per theme, Speed, Access, Fuel, etc – creating a structure like the spokes of a wheel. A biography about… who? Oh, let’s make it up: a 30-year-old CEO
Cyberscams and Structure Read More »
The nonfiction publisher wants a proposal. They want an audience analysis, a synopsis, and a marketing plan. They want an Author Bio, Manuscript Specifications, an Annotated Table of Contents. It’s a business case. It’s heart-breaking to hear that rejections have stacked up because the writer is unprepared. When I work with a nonfiction writer, I
The Book Proposal comes before the Manuscript Read More »
If you write a book without thinking about who’s going to want to read it, maybe no-one will. It takes two to make a book work: the Writer and the Reader. Writing a book without thinking about the Reader is a bit like sewing a dress or a jacket, without reference to the human form.
Tailor your writing 🧵🪡 Read More »
Publishers don’t provide equal marketing support to every book. As proved in the publishing law trial of the year, when the US Department of Justice tried to block Penguin Random House’s purchase of Simon & Schuster. Therefore, as an author, you need to be marketing savvy. This isn’t about making you squirm at the thought
Plant one seed at a time 🌱 Read More »
Molly Peacock’s Paper Garden is ‘about’ Mary Delaney. Or is it? 18th century London: at 8, she watched Handel play her spinet. At 17, Lord Baltimore nearly proposed. At 40, she married Jonathan Swift’s friend. 25 years later, he died, and she fell into depression. A falling, scarlet geranium petal caught her interest. At 72,
Kings, scissors and paper Read More »
Someone says to me, I want to write this book. My name’s on the cover. Which I’ve designed. But the writing? I’m stuck. I ask, what’s holding you back? I hear of kids. Parents needing care. I hear of spreadsheets and redrafts and multiple Chapter 1s. I’m sad. They’re in pain, yearning to write their
What’s holding you back? Read More »
So, you’ve had the spark of an idea for a great book. How’s it going? It’s a long haul, writing a book. You don’t sit down and write until you get to the end. We write, each day and every day when we are clear about what we are doing. When we are confused, we
Confusion will harm your book Read More »
“My biggest fear is that I will go on saying I want to write a book, forever,” said a client, this week. “I have so many book ideas, I’m afraid I will keep starting over and never complete one. And I will get to the end of my life and never have written my book.”
Jumpstart your book Read More »