Most creativity experts today agree that creativity is not something you’re born with; it’s something you do. Anybody can be creative. This is a pleasant, inspiring, modern and democratic view – but it flies in the face of nearly 3000 years of scholarly study of creativity, psychology and human nature. In this post I’m...
I’ve been thinking about writing this post for awhile, but just saw this letter on NYMag’s Dear Polly section from a middle aged author struggling with her declining career, and the response is basically the world’s worst advice to writers. Even worse, it’s exactly what all authors and writers keep repeating and telling...
I started listening to positive affirmations/motivational mp3s and recordings years ago; my favorites are Kelly Howell and David McGraw. But I wanted something that was just for authors and writers, so I made my own. I made this first video to help authors struggling with finding time for their writing. Sometimes subconscious fears are the...
UPDATE: After months of work, we’ve just launched the coolest online 3D book cover creator in the world. It’s amazing, and totally free. Go check it out! My graphic design skills give me a huge advantage for book marketing. It’s almost unfair. That’s why for years I’ve wanted some free online tools you can use...
I got sucked into a novel yesterday, which I rarely do. The writing is great. Opening sentence: “In strewn banners that lay like streamers from a longago parade the sun’s fading seraphim rays gleamed onto the hood of the old Ford and ribboned the steel with the meek orange of a June tomato straining at The 3 secrets to book...
Most of the people I know who are working online are selling hot air. In other words, they fill people with hope, motivation and inspiration. They get them charged up and excited. They tell them “You can do anything you want, if you just BELIEVE in it!” They say, “Just follow your passion and the The 3 secrets to book...
Psychologist Angela Duckworth is making news by claiming “Grit” is as important to success as background, education or IQ. The funny thing about Grit is that it’s a personality trait, and not likely to be something you just picked up along the way. Grit is something you’re born with. If you need to take a The 3...
According to Createspace’s submission requirements, To calculate the spine width of your book, White paper: multiply page count by 0.002252 Cream paper: multiply page count by 0.0025 So, for the 230 page cream book I’m working on, my calculator says the spine width should be 0.575″. That’s also what Createspace is...
I had no idea what Black Box was about when I started watching, but was soon delighted with it – a brain scientist with psychological issues recounts her last near death manic episode to her psychologist. While I’m writing about drugs and creativity, she makes the opposite point – sometimes we normalize our episodes with...
When I was younger and doing gallery exhibitions, I never wanted to explain my art. I don’t want to sully the viewer experience by telling them what it meant to me. “What does it mean to you?” I asked. The problem with that is, viewers don’t know whether or not something is important unless you The 3 secrets to book...
I’ve been semi-curious about audiobooks for some time. Do people really listen to them? Will they help your print and ebook sales? Will you make any extra money? But I’ve been too busy to give them much attention. Recently however, Matt Stone (of archangel ink) offered to help me out and make one for Book The 3 secrets to book...
I started this post a few years ago when I was working on a book project called “The Creative Brain on Drugs.” I’ve left some of the original content down below – but more recently I’ve been focused on writing faster and boosting word count: when I searched for “best smart drugs for writers” Google...
