Category: Publishing

Play to Win: Authors, Empires & Why Amazon is Killing NYC Publishing

Amazon Publishing

Play to win. For me, this is a tough phrase. Maybe it’s culture or society or sunspots, but ‘winning’ feels like a suit cut for someone else. No, worse. Playing to win feels more like the pants I once wore to a conference. Even though they were too tight, I wore them anyway believing they’d …

Continue reading

Drudgery: What Separates Those Who Dream From Those Who DO

drudgery, atomic Habits, James Cleary, Atomic Habits James Cleary, boredom, success, Kristen Lamb

Drudgery—enduring the tired, tedious and unremarkable chores—is what makes the difference between those who dream and those who do. Why am I talking about this? Because recently I saw some quote scroll past on social media. It was something (of course) posted by one of those super happy ‘life coach’ people. Though I’m certain the …

Continue reading

Promotion is NOT Platform & Ads are NOT a Brand: Know the Difference

Often, when I mention brand and platform, writers assume I am talking about promotion and marketing (ads). That is not only a false assumption, it can be a fatal one. When we (regular people) hop onto Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook or whatever social site, only to get barraged with book spam, a big reason it …

Continue reading

New Year’s Resolutions: The Hardest Question You MUST Answer

It’s time for the New Year’s Resolutions. Countless people all over the world use this last part of December to declare how 2019 will be different. They will write lists, declare all the changes they’ll make, then ride the high for as long as it lasts. Most New Year’s Resolutions last six months at best… …

Continue reading

Revising a Novel: The Five Stages of Death, Dying & Drama

Today we’re going to talk about revising a novel. It’s a highly emotional and arduous task, but vital. Revising a novel is more than mind-bending work at a computer (or with a red pen for the retro crowd). It’s a tough emotional experience that can blindside us and land us in the mire if we …

Continue reading