By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD On a weekend trip my wife and I found ourselves at a fast-food restaurant for breakfast. “I’ll have a number 10,” I decisively told the perky teenage girl at the counter. She acknowledged my request and smiled pleasantly. This encouraged me to make small talk while my wife contemplated her […]
Focus on the intersection of what we want to write with what we can sell The goal of every writer is to make money with his or her art. I’m sure some of you are shaking your heads over this statement. You insist you don’t care if you make money or not. You just want […]
Authors advised to format web addresses to ensure readability and usability When a book includes a web address, either in the text, a footnote, or in the front and back material, how it is formatted is important. There are two considerations: readability and usability. Readability When a reader comes across a web address (sometimes called […]
Our writing style will help us find work, sell our writing, and grow an audience. When people hire me they often say “I like your writing style” or share some similar sentiment. (I do content marketing, ghostwriting, commercial freelance work, and whatnot.) I’m glad they appreciate how I write. It helps us start our working […]
Author discusses possible ways to measure publishing success As an author how do you measure success? Here are eight possible ways: 1) Number of Books Published: What do you think when you read an author bio and learn they’ve written over one hundred books? You may think they’re successful. I wonder if they do. How […]
The labels writers use about themselves reveal much about them—& their future I cringe every time someone says, “I’m an aspiring writer.” The phrase is an oxymoron: either you’re a writer or you’re not. It makes as much sense as the claims of “somewhat unique” or a “little pregnant.” There are no degrees of uniqueness […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD Do you set annual goals for yourself or your business? I think everyone should. I don’t mean the New Year’s resolution type of wishful thinking, but a strategic plan for the upcoming year. When you set goals for your answering service for the next twelve months, what do they look […]
There is no single path to becoming a better writer. Instead, we have a myriad of options before us. Here are some of the opportunities I encountered on my writing journey: Write Columns Early on I contributed articles to a small newsletter (back when newsletters were still mailed). Having a deadline to hit each month […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD As we make the transition from one year to the next, we typically take time to reflect and project – that is, to look at the past and anticipate the future. In embarking on this task, it is not my intent to recap the past year. Nor is it my […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD My wife ordered a coat online from a well-known regional chain for a Christmas present. She has a history of positive shopping experiences at the chain’s physical stores and assumed their virtual store would be no different. The coat went on sale the week before Black Friday, and when combined […]