As the lines continue to blur between writing skills and business skills, so to do the pretexts of creating a book. The classic pretext for creating a book was, of course, to express a novel idea or story. In contrast, the classic pretext of starting a business was to harness an economic advantage to generate…Read More

I remember when my favorite sound was squeaky shoes on freshly mopped parquet. Or wait, maybe it was the loud reverberating slap of an off-hand punctuating a defensive rebound. No, I know. The most delightful sound to me, if I can describe it correctly, was the sound of utter perfection. Thwup. Frip. KUNH. CHOONK. A…Read More

If you were an author 50, 25, even 10 years ago, you’d clamor for the opportunity to sign with a traditional publisher. Landing such a book deal meant an advance, access to professional talent like editors, and distribution. Those were the solutions authors sought because the problems they solved were the most obstructive. But are…Read More

Have you ever met that person who says she dreads having to write anything? This person will sit at the computer and panic. She will start to write, and stop, get up for a cup of coffee, get distracted, and move on to another task. This is the same person who, when having a conversation,…Read More

“I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.” — Mark Twain Every writer, from experienced authors to fresh bloggers, has to contend with editing. Editing is an invaluable and inseparable element of writing; it cannot be overlooked. And most writers don’t write for a large publishing house…Read More

The publishing industry is in a state of tremendous flux. The traditional model where publishers act as gatekeepers to talent is under siege from ebooks and self-publishing. Authors today don’t have to bang on the doors of the “Big Six” publishers like Random House to get their books published; they can leverage existing platforms like…Read More