A book is more than a collection of useful ideas. It's a journey from a low point of understanding to a higher one. Your role as author is to guide readers to where you want them to be. You can only do that if you know where they are when they begin, what is missing from their paradigm, and the...
When you look at other books like yours, can you easily determine what is unique about them? Can you tell what the experience of reading them is going to be like and what kind of information you will receive? How do the title, subtitle, cover, description, and author photo and bio accomplish this?
Amazon uses an internal ranking system to determine which of its roughly 12 million e-books published for Kindle are performing the best, according to metrics it has specified and weighted by its own proprietary values. Every e-book is ranked with a number value known as the Amazon Best Seller Rank (ABSR) number. ABSR numbers are constantly in...
Identity Publications founder Gregory V. Diehl delves into the intricate process of crafting a compelling nonfiction book. From the tangible representation of ideas in physical books to the strategic limitations that define a successful work, we explore the nuances of this art form. We discuss the importance of clearly defined boundary conditions,...
Many books have been independently birthed into the world since self-publishing became feasible. Most of these books never sell well. This has never been truer than now, as the number of wannabe authors seems to increase exponentially faster than the number of people who want to read their work. Supply still greatly outpaces demand. There is a...
Think of the areas of life in which you would like people's respect. On what topics do you wish people would listen to your opinion? Better yet, why does it matter to you that the world takes you seriously here? Influence is power. If you care about something, you should seek influence around it. Your place in society should be...
The mass publishing of printed books in America began in 1638 when a printing press was imported to Cambridge, Massachusetts from England. Since then, it has grown to over 2,500 publishing houses and billions of dollars in revenue each year. Benjamin Franklin maintained a print shop in Philadelphia, authoring and publishing countless books. By the...
In 1686, at the insistence and expense of his friend, astronomer Edmund Halley, physicist Isaac Newton agreed to write and publish his three-book series, Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica (which, in English, translates to "mathematical principles of natural philosophy"). Newton's work began simply as a discussion with Halley about the...
Some authors want to write. They are addicted to putting words down on paper. It is cathartic and entertaining. They love the social identity that comes with the territory of being "a writer." Such people define themselves by their struggle as bleeding artists for a noble cause that few others can understand. Talking about the book they are working...
After a much older personal mentor died a few years after I met him, I was left to reflect on how our relatively brief interactions had affected my paradigm and personal development. As the years went on, I often wished I could hear what he would say about certain issues I was dealing with or just experience his personality and perspective again....
