Essays on Writing Craft and Mindset
by Maggie Frank-Hsu
Reader question! How do I incorporate feedback on my writing?
She asks: “How do you deal with negative feedback that requests improvement, but perhaps isn't specific on how to improve?”
Find the time to write.
A couple of posts ago, I wrote: I’m always going on about the things you need for a book project—mindset, good ideas, structure—but I’m realizing I never mention the elephant in the room: You need time.
The One Thing You Need to Write Your Book On Your Own
Why do people decide to work with a ghostwriter instead of writing their book on their own? I gave a talk last week where I answered this question. I get it a lot and I’ve answered it in print before, too. There’s one glaringly obvious reason I didn’t explore in that article: People hire us because they don’t have time to write their book.
Is my book idea any good?
A book is the telling of a sequence of events that together describe a meaningful transformation. An idea doesn’t have to do any of that. So that’s the gap you need to bridge.
'I want to write a book.': It can be a wish or a plan.
A lot of people have said, “I want to write a book someday.” They’ve repeated it in their own heads. Out loud. To me. To their dog. “I want to write a book someday.” It can be a wish or it can be a plan. Fellow writer and business buddy Zita Christian said to me, “Writing your first book is like cooking a whole Thanksgiving turkey.
What Is a Ghostwriter and Why Do You Need One?
What do you think it takes to write a book? I used to think it took genius ideas and a healthy dose of commitment. Then I became a ghostwriter. And now I can tell you, while you need them, genius ideas and commitment are not enough to get your book done. Especially if you run a business and/or have a thriving career and a life outside of work.
It's a very very
… mad world. 30 minutes after I sent my weekly letter on Januar 13, I watched an attempted coup live at the Capitol. Today I’m working on my weekly letter and I’ve got an impeachment vote livestream open in another browser. … And still we get up in the morning, do our thing.
That time of year
I get a lot of ads for Masterclass around the winter holidays. It’s become an annual tradition. ? A lot of the ads are for the classes taught by pro writers. They all introduce their Masterclass on video while interstitial string music plays, saying mostly useless things about writing that sound profound.
The sting is a sting.
Heya, My business coach wrote this nice thing about me on LinkedIn. She is not a client (full disclosure), but she wanted to give me a little love and of course I appreciated it! I am sharing it with you because of the sentence near the bottom.
M.J.
Hi, I’ve been watching The Last Dance on Netflix. It has been A TRIP down 1990s memory lane for this almost 40-year-old. (I turn 40 in January.) It has the music. It has Carmen Electra (and Madonna!) … because it has Dennis Rodman in those baggy plaid pajama pants and multi-colored hair.