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Set Your Masterpiece Free
What do you see? My favorite book in high school—by far—was The Agony and the Ecstasy, the biographical novel by Irving Stone. I’ve always been a fan of history and classical art. Irving brought the two together as he recounted the life of Michelangelo Buonarroti. The...
How You Can Make A Difference with Your Book
We were seated at The Tattered Cover bookstore, here in the Denver area. Kristen Krueger, a Columbine High School shooting survivor, was hosting a book launch party for her Illumify release, Healing the Invisible Wounds of Trauma. In it, she tells her story of...
Seven Quick Social Media Posts for Authors (Part 1)
“What do I do now?” Authors ask me this question all the time (and that’s not an exaggeration). They ask me this question after their manuscript goes to copyediting, when it goes into typesetting, and after we release their traditional-quality book. My answer, at...
The Rocket Fuel That Powers Your Manuscript
Imagine yourself sitting on a NASA strategic planning team. Your group is tasked with organizing the launch of the next spacecraft. Then the subject turns to how the module will be powered into orbit. “Okay,” the voice at the head of the table begins. “This probably...
He Said, She Said: The Most Overlooked Hook in Your Manuscript
Don't Overlook the Hook So the other day, I was talking to a friend who told me that when he was in his early twenties, he got into a fight with his girlfriend. In the heat of the moment, she stormed out of the apartment and killed herself. My friend wept as he...
Two English Language Rules You Probably Didn’t Know (But Need To!)
Ever wondered why we say “Ding Dong” or “Ping Pong” but not “Dong Ding” or “Pong Ping”? Sometimes phrases just sound wrong, but we can’t explain why. At least not me. Earlier this week, I ran across an online article and thought I’d share the gist of it. It’s all...
Author Branding: Three Questions You Need to Answer
What's Your Brand? Thanks to the internet, cell phone texts and notifications, social media, email marketing and more, people are exposed to an insane amount of messaging “noise” on a daily—even hourly!—basis. That means If someone can’t quickly identity what you are...
A Simple Fix to Make Your Book More Readable
You Know What's Missing??? You know the SNL skit—Will Ferrell and Christopher Walken “re-enact” the recording of “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” by Blue Öyster Cult. With each successive take, Christopher Walken’s character, music producer “The Bruce Dickinson”, comments...
The Inside Scoop about Publishing
What’s the Best Publishing Fit for You? “I think I want to try the traditional publishing route before going with you.” It’s a common refrain authors confess to me time and time again. Months later, they come back to me battered and bruised, and deeply discouraged....
Why You Want to Make Friends with Amazon
When I think about Amazon, one of my favorite U2 songs comes to mind: With or without you With or without you I can't live, with or without you Since its inception in 1994, Amazon has become the dominant retailer in the western world. Every month, 206 million people...
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Set Your Masterpiece Free
What do you see? My favorite book in high school—by far—was The Agony and the Ecstasy, the biographical novel by Irving Stone. I’ve always been a fan of history and classical art. Irving brought the two together as he recounted the life of Michelangelo Buonarroti. The...
How You Can Make A Difference with Your Book
We were seated at The Tattered Cover bookstore, here in the Denver area. Kristen Krueger, a Columbine High School shooting survivor, was hosting a book launch party for her Illumify release, Healing the Invisible Wounds of Trauma. In it, she tells her story of...
Seven Quick Social Media Posts for Authors (Part 1)
“What do I do now?” Authors ask me this question all the time (and that’s not an exaggeration). They ask me this question after their manuscript goes to copyediting, when it goes into typesetting, and after we release their traditional-quality book. My answer, at...
The Rocket Fuel That Powers Your Manuscript
Imagine yourself sitting on a NASA strategic planning team. Your group is tasked with organizing the launch of the next spacecraft. Then the subject turns to how the module will be powered into orbit. “Okay,” the voice at the head of the table begins. “This probably...
He Said, She Said: The Most Overlooked Hook in Your Manuscript
Don't Overlook the Hook So the other day, I was talking to a friend who told me that when he was in his early twenties, he got into a fight with his girlfriend. In the heat of the moment, she stormed out of the apartment and killed herself. My friend wept as he...
Two English Language Rules You Probably Didn’t Know (But Need To!)
Ever wondered why we say “Ding Dong” or “Ping Pong” but not “Dong Ding” or “Pong Ping”? Sometimes phrases just sound wrong, but we can’t explain why. At least not me. Earlier this week, I ran across an online article and thought I’d share the gist of it. It’s all...
Author Branding: Three Questions You Need to Answer
What's Your Brand? Thanks to the internet, cell phone texts and notifications, social media, email marketing and more, people are exposed to an insane amount of messaging “noise” on a daily—even hourly!—basis. That means If someone can’t quickly identity what you are...
A Simple Fix to Make Your Book More Readable
You Know What's Missing??? You know the SNL skit—Will Ferrell and Christopher Walken “re-enact” the recording of “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” by Blue Öyster Cult. With each successive take, Christopher Walken’s character, music producer “The Bruce Dickinson”, comments...
The Inside Scoop about Publishing
What’s the Best Publishing Fit for You? “I think I want to try the traditional publishing route before going with you.” It’s a common refrain authors confess to me time and time again. Months later, they come back to me battered and bruised, and deeply discouraged....
Why You Want to Make Friends with Amazon
When I think about Amazon, one of my favorite U2 songs comes to mind: With or without you With or without you I can't live, with or without you Since its inception in 1994, Amazon has become the dominant retailer in the western world. Every month, 206 million people...
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