(NaNoWriMo) November is National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWriMo for short. The goal is to write the first draft of a novel (or at least the first 50,000 words of a novel) during the month of November. The rules are simple: Though no prizes are awarded, everyone who completes the 50,000-word goal is a winner. […]
The August issue of Book Business had an interesting piece about the textbook industry. The article, “Combating the Higher-Ed Used Book Market,” said that of the $8 billion higher-ed textbook industry, roughly two-thirds of the dollars spent is for used books. That’s bad news for the publishers and authors, as neither makes any money when […]
As writers, we write alone. Even if we compose our words with people around us—such as at a coffee shop or the kitchen table—writing is a solitary effort. Often we must isolate ourselves for progress to occur; we say “no” to social activities in order to move our work forward or meet a deadline. Our […]
Last weekend I was at the Breathe Christian Writers Conference. It was my fifth year attending and my third as a speaker. (I shared tips on getting started as a writer and how to use WordPress.) Breathe is simply the finest writers conference I’ve ever attended. And this year it was the biggest one yet […]
By Peter LyleDeHaan, PhD The majority of family businesses aren’t successfully transferred to the second generation, and only about 15 percent make it to the third. There are many theories why. A likely factor is that the second generation, who didn’t sacrifice to launch the business and see it through the lean, early years, lacks […]
We wrap up this series of posts about beta readers by answering the essential question of where to find a beta reader. I’ve used the first three items and am open to the fourth while finding a beta reader on Goodreads is the most intriguing idea.
As writers, we’re encouraged to blog. Our blog should be a platform-building, audience-enhancing tool. The rub is the time we spend blogging is a time not spent on our book. Is there a way to do both at once? Can We Blog Our Book? Assume we’ve written our book. We have a publishing deal and […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, Ph.D. Email is a cost-effective way to reach customers and patients. But just because it’s cheap and easy doesn’t mean it’s always a good idea. When done incorrectly, email messages can alienate the very audience we’re trying to cultivate. Send Only Useful Messages: I once had the grand idea of using […]
In this series on beta readers, let’s shift our focus from beta readers to ourselves. Quite simply, are we ready for beta reader feedback? Here are some underlying questions to ask ourselves before we seek beta readers: Once we honestly answer these questions and have our book in the best possible shape, then we’re ready […]
Each week I write five blog posts. Each month I write one magazine article, three newsletter articles, two more blog posts, and usually one press release. That’s a lot of writing, requiring a lot of ideas. Yet I never have writer’s block. Why is that? Because I’ve cultivated a method to discover and develop content […]