Writing Tips

Writing your first book is one of the most rewarding things you can do — and one of the most humbling. Most first-time authors make the same handful of mistakes, not because they aren’t smart or capable, but because nobody told them what to watch out for. Here are the four most common ones, and…

Most first-time nonfiction authors make one of two mistakes when choosing their topic: they pick something too broad (“I want to write about health”) or too narrow (“I want to write about the benefits of cold-water swimming for women over 50 in the Pacific Northwest”). Neither extreme serves your reader — or your book’s reach.…

One of the first questions aspiring authors ask is: “How long is this going to take?” The honest answer is: it depends. But that’s not very helpful, so let’s break it down. The short answer Most nonfiction books take between 6 months and 2 years to write, from first draft to finished manuscript. The wide…