There's a myth among nonfiction authors that the only path to publicity is with a publicist. Back in the day, that was true. But things have changed. Just like the publishing industry has been disrupted by different paths to publication, authors have more options now....

The other day this question popped into my head and when I shared it on social media several folks said it stopped their scroll.

“What if you focused on actions rather than outcome?”

Makes you think, right? I mean so much of the way we are conditioned to be productive and look at progress is focused on outcomes.

Now of course we want positive outcomes to arise from our actions. But it’s focusing on actions that creates that possibility.

  A few years ago I had the absolute joy of attending an author reading in Chicago with the incredible Anne Lamott. That evening she told the crowd gathered that as a writing teacher her students ranged in age from 25 to 75. And then she said something that has...

I was being interviewed for an upcoming summit for authors yesterday and I was asked a question about something on my website. A sort of mathematical formula: Integrity + Publicity = Influence. It seems math was never my strong point. You see, I realized that the...

I was sitting in the control room of national talk show one day several years ago with a baffled expression on my face. I wasn't the only one. Finally one of the dozen or so people in the control room said what we were all thinking, "What in the world is she talking...

You know what TV producers wish you - as a nonfiction author - knew? That they need you as much as you need them. Well that was a short post! I didn’t, as we say in the TV biz, “bury the lead. I put it out there right away because it’s so important that you understand...

I once saw an Instagram video with an author who was almost inconsolable. Her book launch had not gone to plan and she was devastated because she was running out of time to make the bestseller lists. Oh, and by the way, she was wrong. Utterly and completely wrong. She...

If you live in the U.S. and watch television morning shows like The Today Show or Good Morning America, or you read any news sites online, it’s easy to think you can’t get media attention for your book or message right now. But actually you can. And if you’ve got a...

I was nervous the day I showed up for my big interview on a New York City talk show. I looked for reassurance at my then teen-aged son who was standing in the back of the studio. He had accompanied me on our trip to the Big Apple from Chicago. I took a deep breath...