Criticism and feedback can feel like eating kiwi fruit with the skin on: uncomfortable, even painful, leading to shortness of breath.
But only for a few minutes. Maximum 7 minutes. Then I have to pull myself together and crack on.
Just Getting Started?
These articles are all about what to do if you're just starting out on your Author Adventure: planning, preparation, and dealing with your Inner Dickhead.
You are not your business
You are not your business. You are not your art.
Take the criticism. Allow the reaction. Then examine it carefully.
Is there a lesson you can learn and use to improve? Take it.
How Gluttony Could Derail Your Book
Too much of anything is a bad thing – and that goes for writing, too. Gluttony can squash your book. Don’t let it…
Lusty Books: The 7 Deadly Sins of Writing a Book
Michael Stipe was right, eh?
Oof. What a few days, eh?
It’s the end of the world as we know it.
Time Travel & Proof that Humans Don’t Change
There are some people who do not have a fear response. In the face of danger, they laugh and run towards it (literally).
Back in the 80s Without the Shoulder Pads
If you make a mistake, people will forgive you, especially if you put it right. If you make a mistake and then disappear, you’ll be considered a douchecanoe.
Representation Matters and So Does Your Story
Representation matters and our stories matter, not only because our stories help other people like us to feel seen and understood, but because they improve people’s wellbeing and literally save lives.
That escalated fast…
Well, that escalated fast.
Honestly, I’ve been thinking and mulling over and wondering what to write (and resisting the urge to make terrible jokes because too soon?).
So today I’m going to share what I’m doing while the world goes into lockdown.
Harness Your Inner Toddler + Start Asking WHY
I’m not gonna throw a bunch of time-saving, productivity, hustle-butt, “I DID THIS SO YOU CAN TOO” hacks at your face because frankly, the internet has enough of that shit floating around.
Did you go to finishing school?
I have a quick tip for you: remember that writing a book is like falling in love.
Just be yourself okay?
Our brains are wired that way, to always see the bad – the problem – rather than the good. It used to keep us alive back when we lived in caves.
Writing Advice from Neil Gaiman
Every now and then I like to grab a favourite writer of mine (metaphorically speaking I do not assault authors) and share some writing advice I love.
This week: Neil Gaiman!
Proud of Yourself? The 7 Deadly Sins of Writing a Book
If we’re not telling the truth, there’s no point in writing… don’t let pride get in the way of your truth.
? long train journeys are the best
The thing about tiny beetle steps is, eventually they add up to great big leaps.
We get hung up on the great big leaps. We strive for massive improvements, to become an overnight success, and wish for miracles to happen fast.
15 Reasons to Write a Book
Ever thought about writing a book but never quite got started? You’re not alone.
Here are 15 reasons why I think you should write a book in 2020…
The morning monster cure
If you want to write your book, you need to build a good writing habit or you’ll never manage it.
What are you struggling with? What feels horrible?
What if, instead of saying you’ll write 500 words a morning, all you have to do is make a cup of tea, open your document, and scribble down what you’re going to do next?
Make it easy and make it attractive.
Smooshing the propaganda machine
Words in print have a weight and a resonance that words spoken out loud lack…
Your Nonfiction Book Table of Contents—Burlesque Style
Ever seen a burlesque show?
Burlesque is all about the tease: fun, dancing, a little bit naughty…
Think of your Table of Contents like a burlesque dancer. Stick with me, I promise I’ll make this metaphor make sense…
Your Pencils Could Always Be Sharper
Perfectionism keeps us all stuck, and it may well drive us into an early grave.
One 3-star review ⭐⭐⭐
Our brains are wired that way, to always see the bad – the problem – rather than the good. It used to keep us alive back when we lived in caves.
What Does a Book Coach Actually DO Tho?
People worry a lot about writing a boring-ass book.
And when I say people, I mean me. I worry. About everything, all the time—but specifically, right now, about writing a basic-bitch book.
Check out these 8 mistakes to avoid…
Writing Advice from Professor Sir Terry Pratchett
10 pieces of writing advice from my favourite author. Don’t be put off by his fiction status; this is relevant to all writers everywhere.
100 lbs lost – real self found
Whatever you want to achieve, it’s what you do every single day that counts, not the one-off grand gestures.
On Keeping a Notebook
This is a sonnet to laziness, idleness, loafing—a spirited rejection of the Puritan Work Ethic and all it implies. Read on and discover why idleness should be part of YOUR life.
Deeper not wider
It’s incredibly tempting to throw everything you have at your courses and products and articles… but how about, instead, you go deeper and narrower?
Asking The Right Questions
Knowing what questions to ask when you start to write your book is the hardest part… We spend so much time looking for answers, we rarely stop to think if we’re asking the right questions. And sometimes we don’t know which questions to ask at all…
Getting mad at your future self
We’re basically a bundle of habits, good and bad.
Which means every single action we take is a vote for the person we want to be.
Write Your Book’s Introduction In 3 Simple Steps
Think of your introduction as a sales letter for the rest of your book. Your reader is thinking, subconsciously, “What’s in it for me? Why should I give up my valuable time to read this book?” You need to convey that in your introduction. Here’s how…
Throwing Grammar in the Bin?
This is a sonnet to laziness, idleness, loafing—a spirited rejection of the Puritan Work Ethic and all it implies. Read on and discover why idleness should be part of YOUR life.
Are you a shenanigator?
Seth Godin calls it making a ruckus. Which I like.
But I call it being a shenanigator.
Don’t rely on your friends
It’s up to us to persuade the right people that our books are worth investing in.
Nobody else is going to do it for us – and that’s a really cool position to be in because it means we’re in charge of our own destiny. We get to make our own successes (and failures) without relying on (or blaming) others.
?Do you have a reader magnet? ?
Your book is just the beginning…
It’s not enough to have a book out there (although that is AWESOME obviously) – it needs to work for you.
The 67,000 mile-an-hour Book
We all have the same amount of time in the days, weeks, months, years.
So why do some people get tons of writing done, and others struggle to make any progress at all?
“I’m the kind of person who…”
The reason we fail to make the changes we want and achieve the results we desire isn’t willpower or laziness or lack of ability; it’s because what we’re trying to do is at odds with who we believe we really are.
Commit no nuisance
Our whole society is geared to keeping us quiet, keeping us in line, and not making a fuss.
? ? ? Tell me about yourself
“Tell me about yourself”
Four little words guaranteed to strike terror into most people’s hearts, especially if we’re standing in front of a roomful of people.
Why the World Needs Your Book
Photo by Tom Podmore on UnsplashIf you’re considering not writing your book this year, think again. If you’re tempted to put it off for any reason—please think again. The world needs your story. If you are any kind of a misfit—if you don’t fit into the straight, white, male, cis-het, neurotypical, elite world, or if you have a message and
Why do I always procrastinate?
Are we asking the right questions?
I don’t always ask good questions. I ask obvious ones.
Like, “Why do I always procrastinate?”
Maybe Your Imposter Syndrome is Right
This is a sonnet to laziness, idleness, loafing—a spirited rejection of the Puritan Work Ethic and all it implies. Read on and discover why idleness should be part of YOUR life.
Stop Trying to Find Your Voice
We want to be good writers, right? *Great* writers? Entertaining writers? Writers that move people? Then write.
You already have a voice, and the only way to find it is to use it.
Living with purpose
My purpose is to write. To share my stories and other people’s stories – especially those people whose voices are muffled and marginalised. People who stand up for humanity and thoughtfulness and against oppression and cruelty and blind adherence to a doctrine that makes no sense.
Will Writing A Business Book Make You Rich?
Occasionally, business owners tell me they’re secretly dreaming of rolling around naked in piles of cash like Scrooge McDuck. Perhaps you think a book could make you filthy rich…
The Magical Shitty First Draft
It’s a magical talisman, the first draft. It allows us to let go of our self-consciousness, let go of expectations, and play. And from it, we can make the thing we want to make.
Turn Off Your Reader
If you’re suffering from a writer’s block, could it be your inner reader? Let’s find out…
Daffodils aren’t supposed to be anxious
Writing is a source of great anxiety to a lot of people – including me, sometimes. Just because I’m a writer doesn’t mean I have all my shit together.
Your body is incredible
Be grateful for what you can do.
Your body and mind (which are inextricably linked) are incredible. What you can do with them is wondrous.
Never has pain felt so exquisite
Yesterday morning, I rigged my shiny new trapeze – the birthday gift my wonderful husband gave me back at the end of March, 4,380 years ago – and hung upside down from my feet.
The Splendour Of Hard Things
We think that unless we can make giant leaps forward and see enormous and sudden improvements in what we’re doing, we’re not doing anything.
It’s hard to keep going when keeping going is hard (and boring).
You are not a sofa
Stop. Breathe. Listen.
Then pick a thing and do it.
A Nice Cup of Tea
What do you want your new world to be like?
Your life? Your business? Your relationships?
You’re So Vain, I Bet You Published Your Book Yourself
“You’re an author? That’s *so cool*!”
“I self-published it, it’s not in Waterstones or anything,” I said.
This was a conversation I had—paraphrased, natch—a few years ago, just after I wrote my first book. I felt uncomfortable with the praise, like publishing my book myself was pure vanity. I’d forgotten about this conversation.
Are We Sleepwalking Through Life?
Just because I got elbowed in the face once in Primark doesn’t mean everyone who shops in Primark is an arse. Just because I got elbowed in the face once in Primark doesn’t mean everyone who shops in Primark is an arse. Repeat until I believe it.
Do you know how I rationalised that ugly little belief? By telling myself I don’t shop in Primark because it’s unethical and because I want my clothes to last for more than two washes. (Both those things are also true, it’s just not the true reason I don’t like Primark.)
What you’re feeling is normal
I wanted to share a few things that might help you navigate what you’re feeling right now, including some of the ways I’m feeling
Why your projects are always late…
Whether your project is a giant railway infrastructure, a cottage renovation, or writing your book, it will inevitably take way too long and cost much more than you budget. It’s because you suffer from the planning fallacy — with a healthy dose of optimism bias and overconfidence thrown in.
But WHY are You Writing this Book?
Why are you writing your book?
Is your Big Idea for your book setting your heart on fire? Do you feel butterflies when you think about creating it?
I’m asking because your WHY is important.
On Finding Mudita
Of all the negative emotions, after shame, I think envy takes the biscuit: it seeps into everything we look at and it keeps us stuck.
Sloth: Every Day Is Like Sunday
Michael Stipe was right, eh?
Oof. What a few days, eh?
It’s the end of the world as we know it.
5 good minutes is enough ⏲️
I don’t know about you, but my days are incredibly full.
Choking the onions
I’ve put off weeding that veg bed for a bunch of reasons, none of them good. And so I’ve wasted more time worrying about the onions than it took me to just do the bloody weeding.
? Dead before you even start
Attitude is everything. Everything I do happens inside my head before it happens outside: and that goes for business and life.
Start Writing Your Book Today
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