I used to read Travel & Leisure, Conde Nast Traveler, and other travel magazines every month. This was old-school reading: there were actual magazines that came in the mail to my house each month.
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Greetings, friends and readers! I’d like to welcome you to my new blog and online home. Over the past few months, I’ve been working on an all-new layout and structure for the blog. I wanted to make these changes for two reasons. 1. It’s always good to change it up. Never rest on your laurels!…
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Those who are familiar with my favorite novelist may already know this story, but it’s fun to see it in visual form.
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You don’t write a book because it’s a good thing to write a book. You don’t write a book to “build your platform.” You write a book because you can’t bear not writing a book. You have something to say and you’re willing to put in the effort, day after day, to craft that message in the best possible manner.
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Happy 2014 to all! If you haven’t set goals or a theme for the year yet, it’s not too late. Habits do not create themselves. If you get off track in a habit you’ve committed to, you have to make adjustments to ensure you course correct. Over here I’m getting back to my writing routine,…
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Greetings, fellow introverts. (Is that not you? Then you can safely skip this post. Everyone else, keep reading.) At every meetup I host, and most of the events I’m invited to speak at, I always mention that I’m a natural introvert. I know that there are likely many other shy, quiet, or introverted people in…
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Amy wrote in and said she was struggling with writing her book. “I know I have something good to share with people!” she said. “But I’m having a hard time just getting started.” I’ve written about working through process a few times before—see how to make decisions, starting a business, and how to finish, for…
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I've said before that writing a book isn't difficult when you break it down into 1,000 words a day. In fact, if you write 1,000 words a day fairly consistently, you can write more than one book a year.
A few smart readers have pointed out that the writing is the easiest part. Truly crafting something worthwhile requires much more work in the editing or revision phase. It's one thing to get 50,000 words on the page, and it's another to turn them into something that other people want to read. I still maintain that it's more important for most of us to focus on forward motion, on making choices that allow for consistent, daily effort. Most people remain stuck at the beginning, unable to envision a reality of themselves actually writing a book or creating another big project. Nevertheless, the comments that revision is more difficult and more important are true. First you create, then you revise. The essence of the process is revision. 49,000 Words and Miles to Go Read More
Dear Reader,
I found these letters in a beautiful book based off this website. There are a variety of stories expressed in the letters, some hopeful and some painful. I thought I'd share a few with you ...
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Most important: to write a good book, you need a good idea. No one wants to read a book without an idea, no matter how well written it may be. Always start with something to say.
But let's look at the practical aspect—how do you actually write a book?
It turns out it's not that difficult. You basically work with the time-and-money concept, where you break down exactly what you need to accomplish the desired goal. How much is required?
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More than two years ago, I wrote a free manifesto on becoming a professional writer in less than a year. It was called 279 Days to Overnight Success, and the purpose was to outline the roadmap I had followed in crafting a new career after moving back to the U.S. from overseas and finishing grad school. Somewhere around 15% of the total AONC readership can be traced to the worldwide interest in this manifesto, so I thought I'd take a quick look back at the lessons from it.
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Today is the launch of our long-awaited Unconventional Guide to Publishing, a comprehensive resource to help those who want to write, sell, and publish a book. Here's the link for those who are interested: --> Monster publishing guide—get it now, rah-rah, etc.
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A while back I was sitting in a room with Jonathan Fields, a fellow author and good friend. At the front of the staging area, a publishing executive was talking about the state of the industry.
Does anyone have any questions?
Someone had a question, and a good one: "If I want to write a book, what's the first thing I should do?"
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Greetings, friends and readers. I'm on the road as usual, and today I'm also excited to announce the release of a new manifesto, The Tower. As with my two earlier works, A Brief Guide to World Domination and 279 Days to Overnight Success, this report is completely free, with nothing for sale and no email opt-in required.
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For the past three years, I've written at least 300,000 words for publication. It's not that difficult, and you can do it too—it mostly requires an ability to focus. If you don't have this ability at first, fear not: it's a learned process.
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