Damp garbage and the writing process
John Steinbeck, in Writers at Work, recounts a fictional dialog with a publisher, illustrating the gauntlet of publishing a book.…
Latest Blog Posts
How To Write A Good Bio
Many good people write bad bios for themselves. Anyone asking you for a bio, or reading it, wants you…
How to get from an idea to a book
Success in the majority of circumstances depends on knowing how long it takes to succeed. » Montesquieu I’m sure…
Next book to be published by Wiley / Jossey-Bass (with FAQ)
My upcoming book on my year at WordPress.com will be published with Jossey-Bass. I signed with agent David Fugate, who helped…
Quote of the month: Steinbeck on writing
Steinbeck on writing: Writing is a very silly business at best. There is a certain ridiculousness about putting down…
Steinbeck’s advice on getting started
When I’m supposed to be writing but don’t quite have the nerve, I read. I have a special stack…
The truth about choosing book titles
I’ve published six successful books and in the years it took to write each one I’ve heard every range of…
Extreme Makeover: Bad Marketing Email
In response to my claim Jargon Feeds on Lazy Minds, my friend Kav sent me one of the worst marketing…
How To Find Your Voice
You have to play a long time to be able to play like yourself – Miles Davis There is a…
How to make a good book from a blog
RR from the Reluctant Runner blog read my post on how to turn a blog into a book and…
Researching and writing the next book
As mentioned before, the next book is about my experience working at WordPress.com. Something I do while working on…
Lessons learned from my bad habits
Since leaving WordPress.com to return to writing full time, a surprise has been the decline in my writing habits.…
Jonah Lehrer and the facts
Recently Jonah Lehrer, a rising star science writer, resigned his post at the New Yorker. A journalist named Michael…
The hard way is the easy way
Sometimes the hard way to do something is the easy way. I am a bad guitar player. But I’m…
On Writing vs. Speaking
Paul Graham wrote recently on his perspectives on the written vs. spoken word. Graham admits he’s more confident as…
Is speaking easier than writing? Some advice
I get many emails asking about writing, in response to the popular posts I’ve written about writing. Recently Shawnee M.…
On Insecurity and Writing
A good friend mentioned he’d write more often if he dealt with his insecurities about writing. I look at…
Self-publishing vs. working with O’Reilly Media
I met Joe Wikert, GM at O’Reilly Media, in 2008, while negotiating terms for Confessions of a Public Speaker.…
Amazing list of what people want me to write
At the book launch party for Mindfire: Big Ideas for Curious Minds last month, Much fun took place. (Photos by…
The secret life of blurbs
Blurbs, the quotes from famous people that appear on books, are curious things. They’ve been around forever, and show…