by AnnSheybani | Aug 11, 2024 | Writing
I broke my ankle a number of years ago. I ended up in the gym after six weeks of going crazy at home, which is precisely what happens when I don’t run. I don’t tend to watch TV or music videos, but I happened to be on the stair-master one morning when this video...
by AnnSheybani | Jul 29, 2024 | Writing
If you want to write a book but hesitate because you don’t consider yourself a gifted writer, you may be suffering under The Curse Of The Natural. You assume that if you’re not great at something straight out of the gate, you should set it aside because...
by AnnSheybani | Jul 21, 2024 | Reading, Writing
In 2016, Steven Pressfield published his book Nobody one Wants to Read Your Sh*t. It scared a lot of would-be authors who want to contribute to the world, not burden it with garbage. What must you do to create a book worth reading? Let me answer that from the...
by AnnSheybani | Jul 6, 2024 | Reading, Writing, writing lessons
Given my profession, I’m often asked about my favorite books on writing. Before I answer, I tend to want to know WHY someone wants this information, mostly because I’ve noticed the tendency to read extensively on the topic, as opposed to doing the...
by AnnSheybani | Jul 1, 2024 | Writing, writing lessons
Our job as writers, particularly prescriptive nonfiction writers, is to take our readers on a journey. A very specific, personal journey that takes us from Pain Island to Pleasure Island, as Vrinda Norman puts it. Pain island represents failure, pain, and frustration....
by AnnSheybani | Jun 16, 2024 | Writing, writing lessons
Remember when I said that your book title has two jobs and two jobs only: 1. To sell your book 2. To help your book get discovered through search engines Well, it’s time to talk about those search engines for a hot minute. You have hundreds and thousands of books to...
