One of the things I learned to do last year was to ask for endorsements. Sounds so simple, doesn’t it? In fact, it IS very simple. But it’s also very hard if you’re terribly, terribly British. My instinct when someone says something nice about me is to laugh nervously, flap a hand as though fanning […]
Continue readingThe 10-day business book proposal challenge is nearly over – today is Day 9 and we’re talking about features and benefits and back cover copy. Writing your own book’s back cover copy has got to be one of the highlights of this challenge – while most of the proposal document is aimed at convincing the […]
Continue readingToday’s blog is a guest post over at BookMachine, on building the platform before writing the book, with observations from both author (Kelly Pietrangeli) and publisher (Adrian Zackheim). While you’re there, why not take a moment to cast your vote in their blogging award?
Continue readingToday is Blue Monday, the most depressing day of the year, allegedly. Not on this site. Today we’re celebrating two brilliant new books officially published by Practical Inspiration Publishing. The first is by Maria Hocking, a transformational coach with an incredible personal story. Here’s what readers are saying about Strip Naked and Re-Dress with Happiness: How […]
Continue readingApropos of absolutely nothing, I thought I’d share with you a bit of my son’s unique philosophy. He turned 9 this week. He: Being 9 feels very different to being 8. Me: How is it different? He, loftily: I feel wiser. Me: Really? What do you know now you’re 9 that you didn’t know when […]
Continue readingWe’re talking about titles and subtitles today in the 10-day Business Book Proposal Challenge: it’s a hair-standing-up-on-the-back-of-the-neck moment for some challengers who have absolutely nailed it, others know they’re getting close but it’s not quite there yet. They have a working title, and at this stage, that’s good enough. Titles are funny things. I had […]
Continue readingDay 3 is probably the hardest day of the entire 10-day Business Book Proposal Challenge. I ask challengers to distil their complex, nuanced book idea down into a single sentence or two, the summary. I’m not a monster, I give them a process to help them do it, but process or no process it’s a […]
Continue readingDay 2 of the 10-day business book proposal challenge is all about the target market. It’s a tough task, probably one of the toughest (along with tomorrow’s, but shhhh, I don’t have the heart to tell them that right now), but definitely one of the most valuable. It’s all about getting really clear on who […]
Continue readingCommunity, that is. It’s Day 1 of the 10-day Business Book Proposal Challenge and one of the first tasks – an ease-you-in-gently sort of a task – is to introduce yourself, your business and your book idea in the group. I’ve spent much of the day responding to each one, but then after a few […]
Continue readingToday’s blog is a guest post over at Birds on the Blog: http://birdsontheblog.co.uk/writing-book-first-build-platform/. ‘…a book is part of your bigger platform, not a standalone. To get readers, let alone publishers, interested in your book to the point where they’re willing to spend time and money on it, you have to secure their attention and trust. And […]
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