Writing and publishing articles by author Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD
I didn’t know what I was doing for the first book I ghostwrote and charged in the mid-four figures. But it was an easy project, so my compensation worked out okay. My second ghostwriting experience was much more involved, and I charged twice as much. The fees for that book turned out okay, as well. […]
Discover What Type of Writer You Are and Then Embrace It There are different types of writers. They have different motivations, are at different places in their writing journey, and have different goals. Here’s how the different types of writers break down: 1. The Aspiring Writer I’ve heard many people refer to themselves as aspiring […]
What works for one writer may not work for other writers and that’s okay Every writer has a different method of writing. I know that because many of you tell me. Schedule Some write every day (like me) and others do not. Motivation Others wait for inspiration and some sit down and write regardless of […]
I was reading one of those college textbooks that send you to the dictionary every other paragraph. Progress was tedious. Most of the words I needed help with weren’t in the dictionaries I consulted, so I’d google the word, hoping to figure it out through context. Sometimes I’d stumble upon a cogent explanation, but often […]
Avoid using “it was,” “that was,” and “this was”—among other things I hired a developmental editor to give me big-picture feedback on my novel. Though her comments overall encouraged me, I have several things to work on and fix. One was that I used the innocuous phrase “it was” too often. How often? It popped […]
In Guy Kawasaki’s new book, APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur-How to Publish a Book, he advances the term “artisanal publishing” as a new way of looking at self-publishing. The vanity publishing of yesteryear can be smartly rejuvenated with a fresh perspective of artistry, hence the concept of artisanal book publishing. As the distinction between traditional publishing […]
How authors can resume writing without losing time or momentum When I started writing, it always took me several writing sessions to finish anything. I fell into a bad habit. When I would resume writing (even after taking a short break) I would re-read everything I had written so far, editing along the way. Then […]
Some authors write too much and need to delete; others don’t write enough and must add Do you write long or short? Some writers produce long first drafts and then shorten them—sometimes a great deal—as they edit. Others write shorter first drafts and then add to them—sometimes a lot—as they work on revisions. Which camp […]
I’ve listened to the Writing Excuses podcast for years. In the first nine seasons they would sometimes give writing prompts. In season ten they started giving homework at the end of each episode. I’ve gone back to year ten and am going through the homework. Though the assignments are most annoying, they’re even more beneficial. […]
In the book From No Plot? No Problem!, Chris Baty (founder of NaNoWriMo), talks about constructing our Manga Carta 1 and Manga Carta 2. What does he mean by that? Manga Carta 1 is a list of what we like in the novels we read. Manga Carta 2 is a list of what we dislike […]