Writing a 1000 word chapter is easy, right?

While it’s not that many words, finding and honing the right words for your message can be a daunting task. Read about Alicia’s experience in putting together her contribution for an anthology. This experience was an awakening for me.  After tons, and I do mean tons of research, it felt like I was writing a thesis and I couldn’t write …

Are you cut out to be a consultant?

In my years working with consultants (I now have more than 25 years under my belt), I’ve found that there are definite signs as to whether you are consultant material or not. I truly believe that some folks are cut out for consulting and others just aren’t. Take this unscientific quiz and determine if you think and act like a …

Tell Me a Story by Guest Blogger Jamie Morris

Why are memoirs so compelling? They’re authentic—and they’re stories! Also, the best memoir writers use fiction-writing techniques to “show” readers their experiences, filling scenes with sensory detail—the faded reds of an heirloom quilt, for instance, or the bloom of gray lichen on a gravestone—thus, creating immediacy and reader sympathy. As non-narrative nonfiction writers—business writers, thought leaders, journalists, scientists, scholars—seeking to …

Productive Procrastination, or, “The Dog Ate My Homework”?

You’ve been there. You’ve met that demon. And its name is “Productive Procrastination.” As I work with coaching clients, I realize that there comes a point in every engagement when my coaching clients try to explain why they didn’t do what they said they would do. And often, these reasons seem highly plausible if not downright rational. My question, though, …

How to Find the Right Editor for YOUR Book by Barbara McNichol

Finding the right editor for your manuscript helps you feeling confident you’ve got a good match and comfortable that your editor understands what you want to accomplish. How do you start this match-making process? By first seeking a reputable editor who understands the type of book you have written. If your book is business or self-help, for example, choose an …

Getting Unstuck

There will be times in your writing where you’ll be a little stuck. Maybe your outline is perfectly fine, but there’s a little catch in it somewhere where you just can’t express the idea correctly. You’re sitting there, mouth half-open, and you’re staring at the screen, waiting for your fingers to move, and they’re not moving. This is Writer’s Block, …

How to Juggle Your Dissertation (or your book) and Everything Else in Your Life – With Guest Blogger Donna Goodin, Ph.D., C.M.C.

Guest Blogger Donna Goodin regularly works with dissertation candidates, helping them get their dissertations finished, and she’s shared her comments here which are equally applicable for book authors. For those with responsibilities beyond the dissertation, some amount of juggling is inevitable. The key to success is developing habits and attitudes that allow you to manage your juggling act so that …

Celebrating Victories Large and Small

It’s easy to finish something, put it down, and then jump straight to the next chapter, the next blank page—but that’s such a disheartening way to work. It can make you feel almost like you did nothing at all, like you didn’t actually accomplish any of what you just finished. Good leaders reward you, they pat you on the back …

Why Write?

Getting clear on the purpose for your writing is one of the significant hurdles to getting your book completed. If you don’t know how you’ll use your book in your business, you may miss the mark or fail to leverage the full value of your authorship. By being clear on how your book will benefit you and your business, you’ll …