We all have our talents, and there's nothing more gratifying than using them to help others. So I was thrilled when my friend Rodney Cook, CFP asked me to polish a piece he had written in response to the events that kicked off the Black Lives Matter movement. The...
If you're writing your very first book, congratulations. I'm proud of you. Now let's be sure you don't make the top ten rookie writer mistakes that can undermine all that effort: Thinking that your rough or first draft is your final draft. I love and actively promote...
If there is any chance at all that your book will get reviewed or covered by the press, you’ll want to invest the time and money into creating a professional media kit. That’s what I did just as soon as I had completed my piece of the editing process for Busting the...
What a couple of months! There’s nothing that quite compares with having to rewrite a 10-year-old manuscript, update it with new research and then line edit it (twice) in just four weeks. A brief respite, defined by playing catch-up on all the other aspects of my life...
If you've never heard of sensitivity readers, you're not alone. Until recently, I had no idea they existed. But I'm delighted and relieved that they do. I'm the first one to admit that today's bent toward political correctness can be taken way too far. On the other...
"Are you talking about writing a novel? You sound like two friends gossiping," my host Joan exclaimed when I emerged from my vintage RV following a phone session with one of my writing coach clients about her latest book. "We are in a way," I replied. "She's still...
1. The Inner Critic Writers seem to excel in self-flagellation. "Who am I kidding," you may say to yourself when you re-read a paragraph or a chapter. "I'm not a writer." That's not you talking. That's your inner critic. You're going to need that inner critic once you...
Ziggy should have died at least six times before he finally expired last Friday at the age of 13 ½. And those are just the times I know about. While his early years remain a mystery, there were enough clues to ascertain that they were not good. I don’t know why or how...
If you're beginning to understand why dogs get so excited about a person on the sidewalk or a squirrel in the backyard, perhaps it's time to think about jumping into the kind of project you usually don't have time for. If you've been writing a blog for a number of...
Florida mortgage broker Matt Huffman started working on his book Don't Take No for an Answer: Can't Get a Mortgage? Think Again last May. He wrote like he was being chased by a bull in Pamplona that was closing in fast. I've never experienced anything like it,...
