I’ve learned over many years of business travel to appreciate a tool that is often overlooked but absolutely essential: the airport directory/map. I’ve made a habit of finding one after arriving at unfamiliar airports to assess the layout, the best restaurants, any artistic/historical attractions, nearest bathroom, shoeshine stands (if my
“Let us develop a kind of dangerous unselfishness.” –Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Recently I was in Memphis and visited the place where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. If you’re ever in Memphis, go. It’s a powerful experience. King was in Memphis to lead a demonstration and protest march
Down through the dusty annals of antiquity comes the whisper of wisdom to any writer bold enough to listen: “Without vision, the people perish.” Or, as I like to say, “Without vision, publishers will run for the hills.” You’ve come up with a concept, crafted a bio, and developed a
When my wife and I started dating, we were caught in the magnetic chemistry of young love. It was roses and smiles and sighs and bliss. Then I messed up. I asked her out to a restaurant where I had a coupon from a previous girlfriend. That was bad enough,
Lack of platform (which here can be defined as your ability to help a publisher promote your book) is the number 1 reason we turn books down at Baker, and I’m sure we’re not alone. It’s simply easier to come across solid concepts and great writing than it is to
Growing up, my family had a running joke. Whenever someone asked for a tissue, invariably the response came back: “Tissue? I don’t even know you!” Publishers invest a lot more than a tissue’s worth in the books they publish, so it’s important for them to know who they’re working with.
A little while back blogger and fellow ReWrite Conference (@ReWriteConf) attendee Savanna Hartman asked me to do a guest post for her. She asked for a piece on how younger folks (think Millennials) can discern their vocation. Here’s how the piece begins: Despite all beliefs to the contrary, God has
This is so hard! I received over twenty submissions for book proposal coaching, and picking just one to work on is killing me. What’s even more intense is that I find myself really connecting with all the yearning these submissions reflect. You all have such great stories and aspirations. What
I started this blog back in mid-August, 2012. I had been thinking about blogging for a while, and then these three books pushed me over the edge (I highly recommend all three; these images are attached to affiliate links): My idea was to write about writing, publishing,
Just a quick update on the book proposal coaching opportunity. (If you have no idea what this about, click here.) I have received about 20 entries so far, and several come in each day. It is such a blast learning about you and what you want to write books on. This
I have a nineteen-month-old daughter who decided she didn’t want to sit in her high chair for dinner last night. She threw a fit. My Australian friends refer to this as “chucking a wobbly,” and somehow that seems a better description. I forced her body, which she had stiffened straight
I have decided to switch things up for the remainder of this series on how to write a book proposal. A number of you have encouraged me to use specific examples of things to do or not do in a book proposal. I would like to do this, and I