Industry Related

I Sacrificed to Build My Author Platform. I Hope You Didn’t

Social media is an ever-changing beast. But for writers, one narrative has persisted about it for years -- you need to build a platform to be successful as an author, if only because social media...

The Most Expensive Book in the World

What's the most you'd pay for a book? $50? $100? Most books are between $1 to $30, depending on format, genre, etc. But that pales in comparison to the most expensive set of volumes ever...

What Writers Sacrifice When They Follow Trends

I've noticed something over the years about some of the writers who get a lot of reads: They find a topic they can spin from a lot of angles as small new developments continue to...

The Way We Teach Writing Is Bad

You probably remember it. Your English teacher carefully goes through how to write a formal essay, do an outline, and so on. You spend a ton of time on figuring out how to do citations....

Why Brands Are Reevaluating Influencers

Writers and other creatives can benefit significantly from brand partnerships. But brands have tended to work only with social media influencers with big follower counts. It's a catch-22, because you can't grow without the brands...

The Problem with Low-Content Books

You might have noticed that people have figured it out. If you publish a super short book or a book that has almost no words, you still can put it up for sale on sites...

To the People Practicing Exploitation of Ghostwriters

I have a message for the people on YouTube bragging about how they hire ghostwriters to make cheap books for a few hundred bucks and then turn them for five figures or more. Hint: It's...

Small Press Distribution Is Gone, But You Still Have Options

Small Press Distribution got thousands of books into readers' hands. Now that they've shuttered, we writers can't quit. I'm sharing this list of indie presses from Electric Literature hoping to lend a hand. Let's check...

Writing Takes a Ton of Time. Be Realistic About It

In this video, I share my thoughts about why writing is hard. It's not so much about the craft, but rather about being realistic about the time necessary to make both the writing and other...

Can You Make a Living as a Writer?

Earlier today, I came across an article in Forbes by MeiMei Fox that highlighted opinions on writing from four professionals in the industry. The question at hand: Can you make a living as a writer?...