Be. Here. Now.

When I was a kid, we’d sit as a family at the dining room table for Thanksgiving and my heart would sink at the sight of the kitchen I’d be expected to clean. Potatoes dripping from the mixer blades onto the floor; the cast iron skillet on the stove top, both of them...

Writing talent will only get you so far

While I was in the States last fall, I had dinner with my buddy Tim Vandehey, a ghostwriter who lives in Kansas City. I often refer to Tim those folks who’d like to have a book, but aren’t the least bit interested in doing the associated work. Tim knows the...

I’m a disaster at cocktail parties

Here’s the question I get all the time, the minute I identify myself as a book coach. (Not that there aren’t, like, 1,634 definitions of that job title alone. Me, I’m what you’d call a developmental editor.) Can a person write a book in a weekend?...

Present Tense vs. Past Tense

Lately, I’ve been having the same conversation with my coaching clients, which makes me think I should share this lesson with you nice people, too. (If you’re not a writer, start paying attention to this stuff I’m going to share as a reader.  It will...