In the past year, I’ve collaborated on three nonfiction book proposals. All three have been picked up by leading literary agents within a...

As a rule, if there’s one thing most publishers and literary agents really hate to see, it’s a manuscript. You’re probably surprised by...

If you want to land a publishing deal for your memoir, there is one thing you need: a standout book proposal to submit to literary agents...

When a reader picks up a nonfiction book, they expect to get something out of it—a solution to a problem, a way to improve their life, or...

What IS a message (AKA proposition) for your book? And how the heck do you come up with one? I like the way industry guru Jane Friedman...

In my last post, I talked about defining your target reader—who they are, what you know about their interests, their age, and other...

You might be wondering why you need to be so specific about your target readers. Narrowing down your focus to a specific group will allow...

Writing a book is like any other large endeavor. Having goals gives you long-term vision and short-term motivation. It helps you organize...

Over the next few weeks I'll be blogging tips and ideas from my new online course, How to Write a Successful Nonfiction Book. Along with...

Nine times out of ten, I see authors making one catastrophic error in their book proposals. After your cover page and list of contents,...

Just imagine it. You get to step away from your day-to-day grind—the tedious meetings, the ache in your lower back, your cousin's...

Wouldn’t it be great to feel confident in your ideas and your ability to reach your reader when you sit down to write? Wouldn’t you love...

If you want to land a publishing deal for your memoir, there is one thing you need: a standout book proposal to submit to literary agents...

It’s not often the writing community gets to hear from a senior editor in one of the major New York publishing houses. We make a lot of...

The talk soon leads to doom and gloom when authors discuss how hard it is to land a deal with a major publisher. Much of the doom talk is...

There’s an excellent guest post by novelist and editor Kim Catanzarite on Jane Friedman’s blog this month, titled 11 Signs You’re Ready...

Dreaming of a book deal with Penguin Random House, Macmillan, or HarperCollins? You’re not alone. SO not alone. Before you join that long...

The word on the street is that in these pandemic times, literary agents have more time to consider new projects, so now is a great time...

Elite athletes know all about their competition. They are acutely aware of the 800-meter runner who took out the last world championship...

“It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him.” —JRR Tolkien, The Hobbit Honestly? I’m not even...