Many of my valued clients ask me, “How long should my book be?” My answer is, “Your book is like your legs. Your legs should be long enough to reach the ground. Your book is no different.” They think for moment, then reply, “Don’t be a wise guy. How long should my book be?” Then I ask them to sit back, get comfortable, and I’ll explain it to them. The basic rule is this: Your book should be the exact length needed to tell your reader everything they need to know, or are capable of knowing, about your chosen subject. This means that book length depends upon three factors. 1. Your reader. You sh ..read more

When I work with a client as their ghostwriter or book developer, one of the first questions they ask me is how they should publish and market their book. I explain to them that many artists and creators, including musicians, filmmakers, and writers, have faced this question. The fact is that creating a work of art—a book, a record album, a film—takes time and money. After you’ve created your work, if you want to reach a wide audience, you need to invest in marketing and distribution. It’s not unlike launching a small business! The job of marketing the product can often be bigger than making i ..read more

People talk a lot about happiness. It’s even enshrined in the United States Constitution: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” But what do we mean when we say we’re happy? Is it laughing at a joke? Getting your dream job? Finding the love of your life? Beating your friend at a game of tennis? Writing a bestselling book? Not everyone agrees on what should make you happy. Some people have unusual or even repellent ideas of ..read more

In English grammar, a preposition is a word that typically comes before a noun or pronoun and expresses a relationship between that noun/pronoun and another word in the sentence. Prepositions indicate location, time, direction, manner, or other relationships. Here are some examples of prepositions: In: She lives in New York. On: The book is on the table. Under: The cat is under the bed. At: We will meet at the park. By: I traveled by train. For: This gift is for you. With: He went with his friends. To: She went to the store. From: I received a letter from him. Between: The sandwich is between ..read more

Here’s a bit of trivia that may interest you. From 1962 until 1970—a period of eight years—the Beatles collectively composed and released about 200 original songs. Various experts have estimated that the average Beatles song has about 200 words. Some have more and some have fewer, but that’s the average. As a songwriter myself, this sounds about right. So that means the four moptops—mostly John and Paul, but also George and Ringo—produced about 40,000 words in eight years. (As a side note, the emergence of rap music in the 1980s exploded this formula. Rap songs can have hundreds of words! The ..read more

I don’t know who thought up the writing axiom “Show, don’t tell,” but I believe it causes endless confusion and misery for writers who already suffer from poor self-esteem and are ready to bow their heads to an imagined High Priest of Letters. In case you don’t know, “Show, don’t tell” is meant to encourage the author to allow the reader to experience the story through actions that are visible on the surface, as if you were watching a movie, rather than through the author’s exposition, summarization, or description. For example, let’s say the protagonists in your novel, Jim and Fred, are havin ..read more

I may be wading into treacherous waters here, but in my humble opinion too many literary novels that are highly praised by critics are in fact nearly incomprehensible to the average adult reader; and I get the feeling that too often, a certain level of opacity is actually seen as a desired feature rather than a defect. The more challenging the prose, the better. The higher the self-imposed degree of difficulty, the more likely the judges are to hold up the paddle that says “10.” Here’s an example. I recently bought a literary novel by a New York Times best-selling author. The work of domestic ..read more

There seems to be a lot of interest in ghostwriters these days, perhaps spurred by the recent “Gathering of the Ghosts,” a one-day convocation in New York of around 140 successful ghostwriters. They came together, it seems, mostly to complain about not being paid enough. But that’s okay—who wouldn’t want to make more money? Since I’ve been a professional, full-time ghostwriter, editor, and book developer for over fifteen years, I thought it might be worthwhile if I put in my two cents. Here are just a few of my observations on the subject, including a personal reflection. 1. As a matter of bac ..read more

In storytelling and novel writing, there is a big difference between what is objectively real and what is believable. This is the two-part rule: 1. Nothing in your story needs to be real. 2. Everything in your story must be believable. What do I mean by “real?” As a former philosophy major in college, I can tell you that since the days of Socrates, this has been a topic of vigorous debate! People argue endlessly about what is real. Some insist that ghosts are real. Others say that Covid-19 is not real. And you only need to turn on Fox News to get a big dose of “facts” that seem far from real ..read more

We live and work in a business environment that is intensely competitive. Top-tier business schools churn out thousands of new graduates every year, all looking to make their mark in the corporate world. New hires fight their way up the ladder to become managers. Managers compete for the few available roles as directors or vice presidents. As you near the pinnacle, the rivalries become more intense. And even if you snare the top prize as CEO or president, you know that the wolves are nipping at your heels, looking for a sign of weakness. If you’re a consultant or solo entrepreneur, the pressur ..read more