As an aspiring author, there is (no joke) so much you could be doing at any given moment. But perhaps nothing is as freaky-scary-frustrating to new authors as the concept of building a platform. Your “platform” is the audience that’s ready and waiting to buy your book when it hits the shelf. Publishers want you … Read more
Not long ago a friend told me she had someone she wanted to introduce me to. Let’s call this person Cathy. Cathy, my friend told me, had just published a book! As an editor, I’m intimately aware of how much time, effort and energy it takes to cross the threshold from “writer” to “author.” Anybody … Read more
This weekend, we in North America are celebrating Mother’s Day. I think it’s a fairly normal thing to have complicated feels toward our mamas. We love them with all we have, but they are human, too. It’s a part of life. But the mother-child relationship can be especially flummoxing for those of us who write memoir. Because many of … Read more
There are a thousand different reasons to write a book: You might be writing it for your heart—because you just have to. You might be writing it for your art—creative expression in action. You might be writing it for your clients—so you can hand them all your wisdom in one nifty package. And you might … Read more
When I used to sit at editorial meetings, presenting possible books to the team, I always wanted to be able to say one thing. “This author has a big idea.” A big idea, in this environment, was gold. It’s one of the things agents and editors are always looking for, because it so often translates … Read more
A couple months after my book published, I learned Hay House was putting the eBook on sale for the “low, low price” of $1.99. I was psyched. Why? Because as someone in the book biz, I know that making an eBook super cheap also makes it super easy for readers to say YES. Marking down … Read more
It’s the second to last week of my book launch and I’m about to transition from preparing for this moment, to enjoying this moment! Yeah!! Part of the enjoyment is connecting with my gratitude for everyone who has helped me and this book along the path. On my to-do list for this week is sending copies of my book to … Read more
Remember the days when we learned to type in school? “Remember, kids, the way you break up a sentence when you type is by putting two spaces after a period. Got it?” Those days are over. Today, every major style guide, including The Modern Language Association Style Manual, the Oxford Style Manual and the Chicago Manual of … Read more
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