How the Economy Affects Trends in Self-Help Books
I’ve been ghostwriting and editing non-fiction books and novels since late 2007. As you’ll recall, that was the beginning of the Great Recession. It lingered for years, wreaking havoc on our national economy and way of life. The US gross … Continue reading
The Peculiar Freedom of the Ghostwriter
While I write fiction under my own name, I make a living as a ghostwriter. I get paid to write books for my valued clients. All kinds of books: novels and non-fiction topics including self-help, business, healthcare, nutrition, and public … Continue reading
Every Novel Needs a Dynamic Opening
If you read “how to” guides on writing novels, they all agree that your story should open with some sort of action that represents a change for your protagonist. The scene should be dynamic, not static. There should be a … Continue reading
Editing Fiction and Non-Fiction: Two Different Approaches
In my nearly two decades of professional book editing, I’ve had the pleasure to serve hundreds of authors of non-fiction (self-help, business, health) and fiction (novels). I’ve found that the two genres of authors have very different expectations, greatly affecting … Continue reading
How Long Should Your Book Be?
Many of my valued clients ask me, “How long should my book be?” My answer is, “Your book is like your legs. Your legs should be long enough to reach the ground. Your book is no different.” They think for … Continue reading
Your 3 Choices: Self-Publish, Subsidy Publisher, or Book Deal
When I work with a client as their ghostwriter or book developer, one of the first questions they ask me is how they should publish and market their book. I explain to them that many artists and creators, including musicians, … Continue reading
What Does It Mean to Be “Happy”? Hedonism vs Eudaimonism
People talk a lot about happiness. It’s even enshrined in the United States Constitution: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among … Continue reading
Should You End a Sentence With a Preposition?
In English grammar, a preposition is a word that typically comes before a noun or pronoun and expresses a relationship between that noun/pronoun and another word in the sentence. Prepositions indicate location, time, direction, manner, or other relationships. Here are … Continue reading
Do You Write for Yourself or Your Reader?
If you’re a writer, or indeed any type of artist, who are you working for? Yourself or your audience? There are many people who assert that every artist—writer, musician, painter, filmmaker—should follow their own muse and create what’s meaningful to … Continue reading
The Truth About “Show, Don’t Tell”
I don’t know who thought up the writing axiom “Show, don’t tell,” but I believe it causes endless confusion and misery for writers who already suffer from poor self-esteem and are ready to bow their heads to an imagined High … Continue reading