The Art of Saying Thank You: Writing the Acknowledgements Page of Your Book

My mother taught me that when you receive a gift, you must write a thank you note. In fact, I was not being allowed to play or even leave the writing table until my thank you notes were written. Mother’s advice still holds true: it’s important to say “thank you,” especially once your book is written. You needed the help …

#WritingCommunity

Writing can be an extremely solitary activity. Yet, I believe that the most successful authors work in community with others in order to achieve their results. Clients. Author first get ideas for their first or next book from clients who have problems or challenges that can’t be solved conventionally. As clients ask questions, authors gain insights into what still needs …

Writing: Love You, Love You Not

I have a love-hate relationship with writing. I’m sure that might seem odd coming from someone who has written ten books and works as a book coach. But it’s true. I hate to write. Yet, I love what writing does for me and my readers. I hate the agonizing time searching for the right model, the correct analogy or metaphor, …

Is it time for a Book Reboot? What do to when life gets in the way of your book

You know that writing your book could open doors for speaking assignments, would give you added visibility and credibility, and would allow you to become the authority—the author who quite literally wrote the book on your area of expertise. But life gets in the way. I’ve seen this time and time again. Maybe it looks like this: Since the pandemic …

Work Exhibit Halls for Writing (and other) Leads

Now that conventions and conferences are scheduling in-person meetings, you may have some unique opportunities to position yourself as a speaker and author! Have you considered all the opportunities you might find in working the exhibit halls to find publications that would value your posts and articles? When I first began my career as a Human Resources consultant and speaker, …

Setting the Stage for Your Readers

As a book coach working with nonfiction authors, I find that many of my clients know their subject so well that they forget to “set the stage” for their readers, leaving their readers feeling lost or disconnected from the content. What do your readers need to know so that they will feel welcomed, included, engaged, and valued as they read …

Gift-ology for Authors

When my friend Jeff recommends a book, I usually run right out and buy it. So when he mentioned Gift-ology, I placed my Amazon order. Gift-ology, by John Ruhlin is about the art and science of using gifts to cut through the noise, increase referrals, and strengthen retention. It made me think about what we as authors need to do …

The Dump

You’ve got lots of ideas to include in your book. So how do you not lose good ideas while sorting through all the juicy tidbits you’d like to share? In one of my group coaching calls, this was the question asked by a client. And, while each author on the call shared our own ideas, one of the best was …

How does a hermit promote a book?

This isn’t a rhetorical question, but rather, one posed to me by Karen P. Fredette, the author of several works of fiction covering the topic of solitude and life as a hermit. I suggested that she consider current events, and connect her book’s topic to what is happening in the world today. I recommended that blog posts and social media …