A friend, who is also a prolific reader, once shocked me. Talking about nonfiction books, he said: “I only read the first chapter. Then I page through the rest and stop to read anything that’s interesting.” My incredulous look encouraged him to explain. “Most nonfiction books pack their entire message into the first chapter. The […]
Tag: book quality
Having our book rejected stings. Here are seven common reasons why this happens. 1) The Writing Isn’t Ready: Everyone is a new writer at some point. It takes time for our writing to mature, our voice to emerge, and our style to become consistent. Some say this takes 10,000 hours or requires 1,000,000 words before […]
If you are a consultant, service provider, or business professional, having a book can become your best form of promotion. A book provides instant credibility, elevating you above the competition who has no book. It becomes a calling card, opening doors and providing opportunities you would otherwise miss. Your book is the ultimate business card. […]
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 […]
Most writers, myself included, would prefer just to write. We don’t want to pitch, sell, or market our book or ourselves. Some may not even want to blog, develop a social media following, or build a platform. Yet, the reality is writers need a platform, a vantage from which to gain a following and move […]
When I read a book and catch an error or spot something questionable in the layout, I generally overlook it—the first time. When I catch a second oops, I turn to the front matter and see who published the book. If produced by a traditional publisher, my tendency is to overlook the errors. After all, […]
In my work, I sometimes receive emails from people for whom English is a secondary language. Although they write using words I know, they often string them together in confusing ways. Sometimes I end up on their website, trying to gain perspective. Confusing emails are bad enough, but I’m decidedly less tolerant of websites spouting […]