Three of My Books Should Not Exist
Not because they were badly made. Because the reason for making them was wrong, and no amount of craft fixes that.
Category: Writing (Page 18)
Behind the BookDave Could See That Jim Was Hurt. What Does That Even Mean?
She was happy. He was terrified. The hotel was romantic. Every one of those is the author reaching a conclusion the reader was supposed to reach.
Book MarketingOne Book Answers a Question. A Series Answers the Next One.
A reader who finishes a book you wrote has just told you something. A series is the only format that responds to it.
Behind the BookBefore 2014 I Spent a Thousand Hours a Year Watching Other People’s Work
They say they are too busy to exercise, too tired to cook, too overwhelmed to read, and too stressed to see friends. Then they watch Netflix for four hours.
GhostwritingFinishing Is a Separate Skill From Writing
Almost nobody stops writing a book because they cannot write. They stop at one of three predictable places.
GhostwritingWhy Cheap Ghostwriting Is the Expensive Mistake
Cheap ghostwriting is expensive. Content mills produce books that look like books and fail at the one thing a book is for: building authority.
BusinessI Will Tell You When Your Book Idea Is Bad
Most people in this trade will not tell you your idea is weak. They will take the deposit and find out with you.
WritingWriting Poetry: The Craft Beneath the Inspiration
Writing poetry well is a craft with real technique underneath the inspiration. Image, sound, compression, and line breaks are tools a poet learns to control.
GhostwritingWill I Lose Control of My Own Book?
The fear that hiring help means surrendering the wheel: the writer's structure, the writer's ideas, your name on someone else's book. The actual control map of a professional engagement.
CybersecurityThe People Getting Attacked Are the Ones Nobody Writes For
There is a great deal of security writing and almost none of it is addressed to the people losing money.
GhostwritingWhat Skills Does a Good Ghostwriter Need?
Writing well is the smallest part of the job. Interviewing, structure, voice, discretion, knowing when to push back, project management, fact-checking and emotional steadiness decide whether a ghostwritten book works. Here's each skill in practice, and how to test for…
GhostwritingWhat Is a Ghostwriter? A Plain Definition From Both Sides
A ghostwriter writes a book, article, or speech published under someone else's name. The client supplies the authority; the ghostwriter supplies the craft.