If you’ve ever wondered what actually happens when working with a ghostwriter—what you’re paying for, who owns the words when it’s done, why some quotes should make you run—I just did the most thorough breakdown of that process I’ve ever put on record. Andy Sanders…
I spent the last three months hanging out with the good folks at Indie Author Training, talking about one of my favorite things: how to write nonfiction that people actually can’t put down. When I pitched IAT’s training host Karen Guyler about doing a webinar…
The front door lurks in a recess. Its ancient black paintwork is spattered with road splash, and the shallow pane of glass above its jamb betrays no light within. An empty milk bottle has stood in its shadow so long, city lichen has bonded it…
(Or, how marketers and nonfiction authors can use the curiosity gap to hook readers and draw them into your world.) I recently critiqued the first twenty-ish pages of a new writer’s thriller. The character intrigued me. The setup was solid. The premise was compelling. But…
Welcome to How to Cowrite Nonfiction, with Matty Dalrymple and Michael La Ronn! Before I cowrote my first book with a friend, I assumed that writing half the book meant doing half the work. Boy, was I wrong. I had so many misconceptions about what it would…
Last week, I ran a webinar for Indie Author Training called What’s Your Book’s Job? Writing Nonfiction as a Tool to Grow Your Business. (You can watch that replay for free here.) It’s part of an ongoing series of webinars I’m doing for them, specifically…
My husband and I were wandering around New York City for ThrillerFest—and we were starving. We’d been meandering through the streets for hours, as we tend to do in cities, and we hadn’t brought any snacks. We were in luck, though—because if you throw a…
I spent three days in Boise at Kit’s Craft + Commerce conference, which was everything I hoped it would be! Sunshine, good food, new friends, and tons of inspiration. Here’s what I’m taking home. The big theme: dream big and shoot your shot Nearly every…
I joined host Dave Miller and fellow Portland author Tracy Hoagland on Oregon Public Broadcasting’s Think Out Loud talk show last Friday. We were discussing how creative writers are using AI tools. Listen to the conversation here. The conversation was short (about 15 minutes) but…
When you’re writing nonfiction, your book is making a promise. It has a job to do. And when I say your book has a job to do, I want to be really clear about what I mean. I’m not saying you have to write some…
A few weeks ago, I wrote about how to outline your nonfiction book. Today, I want to go deeper into the idea of mind-mapping, because it’s legit one of my favorite parts of the writing process. I guess I just love sticky notes. :) (Rainbow…
I just added a new page alongside my website’s Terms, Accessibility Guidelines, and other legal pages—but I wanted to highlight it here as well. AI is a flashpoint topic in publishing and among authors, with people making strong stands and valid points on both sides…
A guide for nonfiction authors, coaches, speakers, and entrepreneurs—featuring Narrator Todd Eflin. Audiobooks are becoming wildly popular, particularly for readers of non-fiction. And while fiction audiobook listeners tend to prefer the dulcet tones of trained narrators, non-fiction readers love to hear the book spoken in…
A few months ago at the gym, my weight lifting trainer asked me what I was up to that weekend. I told her I was teaching at a writing conference, and that I was worried about a presentation I’m supposed to give on how to…
Writing customer stories was my bread and butter for many years as a freelance copywriter. They’re super popular in B2B (business-to-business) marketing because B2B buyers are looking for a product’s tangible value—they want to see exactly how you solved similar problems for someone else, and…
My client Erin Weed is a master of collecting stories that drive her point home. She’s got this great one in her TEDx Talk, “Dare to be authentic,” about being dressed as Wonder Woman to cheer up a friend going through chemo, and being unexpectedly…
Whenever I’m ghostwriting a nonfiction book for a client (or working with a book coaching client), I always push for them to add more stories. Some of my authors are natural storytellers, and they have tons of examples in mind. Some would rather just talk…
A lot of people come to me knowing they want help with their book, but not always knowing what kind of help they actually need. They know the book matters. They know they have something worth saying. They know what kinds of doors this book…
What does it take to write a book? What’s it like to work with a ghostwriter—and why would you consider hiring one in the first place? My amazing client, Erin Weed, sat down with me to share her answers to those questions. I worked with…
Or, how to always have a story idea at your fingertips so you never have to face the blank page alone again. This post was originally published as a series about finding stories on Substack. You sit down to write a newsletter or social media…
In college, I minored in theater, specializing in the technical side of things—set design, construction, stage management, etc. I worked in theater for a few years after graduation; for a hot minute, I considered becoming a technical director. Mostly because my absolute favorite class was…
My husband and I are pretty handy. We’ve replaced our garbage disposal and multiple alternators. We built a Murphy bed. And, that first COVID summer, we tackled our biggest project yet: remodeling our back patio so we could have friends over safely outdoors. We taught…
After last week’s deep dive on outlining, somebody emailed back with a question. They wanted to know what to do when it felt like the book was tugging them off course from the outline that they had set. They asked: “Is it okay to go…
I’m helping a book coaching client outline her nonfiction book this week (we’re smack in the middle of the Story Map Intensive part of the book coaching engagement), so my mind is buzzing with ways to organize a book. I’ll be doing a deep dive…
Why write a nonfiction book? It’s a question only you can answer. “I basically have two books I want to write,” a prospect said last week on a call. I already knew what he was going to say next. “There’s the book I should write—the…
Or, how to build fanatical customer loyalty when you listen to your customers When I was blinded, something fundamental shifted inside of me. I couldn’t put a finger on it then, but I knew almost immediately that there was no going back to the Jessie…
The basics of Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey framework, and how to use it for your own Signature Story. I was a certified mythology nerd in middle school and high school, so when I came across a battered copy of Joseph Campbell’s The Power of Myth…
After almost every storytelling workshop I teach, someone asks a version of the same question: “That’s all great, but… how much of my story am I supposed to share?” There are usually a few reasons that people ask this question. Any of those reasons are…
Want to learn how to write fast? Like, write 2000 words an hour fast? This article will teach you how. And if you want to go deeper, check out my Dictation for Thought Leaders course. It’s short, efficient, and will get you rolling on learning…
Hunger lured me out of the safety of the bus. We were on hour two of a twenty-two hour bus ride, and I even though the driver hadn’t said a word when he pulled over on the side of the road and walked out the…
(These examples of how to tell your signature story in one line come from my presentation at the Scalable SheEO Summit earlier this week. If you didn’t get a chance to see my talk live, I believe the replay is still available for free—and you…
Or, how to set creative goals for the new year that you’ll actually keep. I’m always happy to hit a new year, but I’m not gonna lie. I’m happier than normal to put last year behind me. When last year dawned all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed,…
A Three-Phase Process that Actually Works (So You Don’t Get Stuck in the Creative Chaos) Our bedroom was filled with scrap fabric. Our kitchen table was covered with sketches. My dress form stood in the living room, more pincushion than outfit—and time was running out.…
“Bad Blood” is one of my favorite X-Files episodes. If you haven’t seen it, it’s a bit of a departure from the usual deep-conspiracy “I want to believe” storyline—and even from the creepy and often disturbing “monster of the week” episodes. The tone is a…
Earlier this month, I attended one of the biggest indie author conferences in the world. While this conference was geared toward authors and book-based storytellers, there were a ton of high-level takeaways about the future of storytelling for anyone who’s trying to tell their story…
I just used Spoken.press to create a nonfiction audiobook with AI, using my own AI-cloned voice—and the process was surprisingly easy. So here I am to share it with you! If you want a visual, here’s my video walkthrough on YouTube. If you’ve written a…
A lot of people like to say that they don’t believe in writer’s block—but I absolutely do. That isn’t to say that I believe writer’s block should stop you. I’m not saying you need to wait until conditions are perfectly right before you can sit…
Writing a book is a creative act. It’s a powerful way to share your vision and message with the world. It’s the work of your heart. And, if your goal is to use a book to further the impact of your business, you have to…
“I can’t tell you which direction to turn, or where you’ll find success. But I can tell you that your path will require pivots and quick thinking, and a lot of grace and adaptability. It will be messy and incomprehensible and incredibly rewarding. Some days…
My friend Curtis C. Chen had a short sci-fi story published in Playboy Magazine a few years ago. This came up recently when he and a few other writer friends were over, and I ran upstairs to grab my prized signed copy. The next morning,…
When I was in college, I was driving back to my parents’ house in central Washington State. I was only a few miles from home when I saw a couple standing beside their car on the side of the road. The hood was up. They…
Whenever I’m ghostwriting a nonfiction book for a client, I always push for them to add more stories. Some of my authors are natural storytellers, and they have tons of examples in mind. Some would rather just talk about the meat of the content, and…
Today we’re going to be talking about how to create a quarterly content calendar as part of your content marketing plan—in other words, a content calendar to guide your business over the next three months. What I’m about to tell you might sound like a…
Yesterday, my husband and I had friends over for brunch. After a few hours of chatting together, the boys retired out to the backyard to talk about manly things (RC cars and bicycles, I assume?) while my friend and I stayed inside to talk about…
I’ve been spending a ton of time doing research on social media lately, and I’ve noticed something. Everyone says storytelling sells, but nobody’s explaining how to actually write a good story. To be fair, it’s not easy to teach the art of telling a good…
Recently, I was trying to help a friend define the origin story of her business. She’s a coach, and she described how she guides women through periods of change. Career change, leaving a relationship, loss—basically any time in a woman’s life where she’s stepping through…