Latest news with #writing
Fast Company
2 days ago
- Business
- Fast Company
17 expert tips for writing a self-help book
The self-help genre is full of big promises, but when writing for business professionals, inspiration alone won't cut it. These readers are often looking for practical insights they can apply quickly, with little patience for fluff or vague advice. That means authors need to bring clarity, credibility, and purpose to every page. To help aspiring writers approach the process with intention, 17 Fast Company Executive Board members share what to consider before diving in. Follow their recommendations to craft a book that truly helps readers help themselves. 1. DETERMINE THE PROBLEM YOU'RE TRYING TO SOLVE. Before writing or marketing a self-help book for business professionals, be crystal clear about the specific problem you're solving. General inspiration isn't enough—identify a real challenge your target audience faces daily, then offer actionable frameworks. Books that succeed in this niche don't just motivate—they provide tools that can be immediately applied. – Boris Dzhingarov, ESBO ltd 2. AVOID WRITING WITH AI. Resist the temptation to let AI write your book. Too many do—and end up with something that reads just like everything else. If you want to stand out, use AI to research, uncover patterns, and challenge assumptions. Let your voice do the writing. That's what makes it worth reading. – Alex Goryachev 3. KEEP THE JARGON OUT. Keep it short and sweet, and write in plain English. Avoid acronyms and industry jargon. Often, we are tempted to use ten-dollar words either because we are used to talking that way in our industry or because we simply think it will help us sound more intelligent. It fails every time. The best way to help someone help themselves is to be efficient in the use of your ideas and words. – John William Patton, ProVention Health Foundation 4. MAKE TIME TO WRITE DAILY. Create a strong outline and try to write every single day. I was able to write my first book in 40 days because I wrote 1,000 words per day. Have an accountability partner to share progress and results. – Jo Ann Herold Herold Growth Consulting 5. PROVIDE MORE THAN INSPIRATION. Know exactly who you're speaking to and what shift you're helping them make. Business professionals don't just want inspirational stories—they want clarity, action, and proof that it works. Your message has to cut through the noise with real value, not just good, inspirational vibes. – Kristin Marquet, Marquet Media, LLC 6. FOCUS ON VALUE, NOT WORD COUNT. Rethink the standard 60,000-word, 240-page convention. People want big, new ideas. But what they want more is time to execute—and to live. Consider a shorter format. Think 20,000 to 30,000 words. Remember that business readers aren't paying for pages; they're paying for ideas. Give them something valuable that shifts their perspective, then give them back the time to implement it. – Jonathan Fields, Spark Endeavors | Good Life Project® 7. SHARE YOUR LIVED EXPERIENCES. Write for someone, not at them. The best self-help books start with a clear, specific reader in mind and offer lived insight, not just advice. At our marketing agency, we help founders clarify their message daily, and the most impactful stories always come from personal truth paired with practical value. – Sharon Lee Thony, SLT Consulting 8. FIND—AND FOCUS ON—YOUR VALUE PROPOSITION. Identify a clear, unique value proposition—what insight or solution are you offering that others aren't? Business professionals want actionable strategies, not fluff. Focus on results-driven content and build credibility through personal experience, case studies, or proven frameworks. – Stephen Nalley, Black Briar Advisors 9. REFLECT VIVIDLY TO RELATE TO YOUR AUDIENCE. Sharing your journey through writing reveals where you are now, but your audience must grow and relate to you through every step of the reflection. Use lessons learned, vivid anecdotes, and behind-the-scenes revelations that not only show your expertise but also build a bridge. This demonstrates that you understand where they are and are committed to guiding them with authority and compassion. – Larry Brinker Jr., BRINKER 10. DON'T SHY AWAY FROM VULNERABILITY. Embrace vulnerability as a secret weapon. Readers crave authenticity over perfection. Share failures, awkward moments, and the messy journey to success. This raw honesty fosters connection and trust, making your message resonate more with your audience. By revealing your true self, you invite readers into a shared experience, transforming them from mere consumers into passionate advocates. – Shawn Galloway, ProAct Safety, Inc. 11. ENSURE YOUR ADVICE IS SOUND. Make sure your advice is practical beyond your own story. If the strategies haven't been tested by others you've helped, you're just writing a diary. People looking for a self-help book for answers want clear, repeatable solutions, not just what worked for you once. – Travis Schreiber, 12. MAKE YOUR BOOK READABLE. Before writing, ask yourself if your reader would actually finish the book. Business professionals are short on time and long on information. Structure matters. Keep chapters tight, give them natural stopping points, and make it easy to return without losing the thread. A helpful book is one that people actually read. – Gianluca Ferruggia, DesignRush 13. FIND YOUR NICHE. There is literally no new advice since 'Self-Help' was published in 1859 by Samuel Smiles. This is all true data. Therefore, you have no new ideas. Don't be sad; no one does. Sam covered it all. However, there is an opportunity for you to position your ideas in a niche way that will resonate more deeply with your audience. That's the opportunity. – Andrea Lechner-Becker, GNW Consulting 14. HELP READERS SEE THEMSELVES IN YOUR STORY. Don't call it 'self-help.' Business professionals tend to run from 'self-help.' Build credibility with practicality over inspiration. Creating mirror moments, where individuals see themselves, is invaluable for unlocking deeper struggles and growth opportunities. – Dr. Camille Preston, AIM Leadership, LLC 15. FOCUS ON AUTHENTICITY AND ACTIONABLE INSIGHTS. Business professionals are busy and results-driven—they want practical advice backed by real-world experience, not just theory. Share personal stories, offer clear takeaways, and ensure your marketing highlights how the book can help solve a specific problem or challenge they face. – Maria Alonso, Fortune 206 16. ENSURE YOUR BOOK HAS FUTURE RELEVANCY. Center the book on an evolving, future-forward challenge—such as navigating AI-driven change, leading hybrid teams, or developing human skills in an increasingly automated world—and position your insights as practical tools for resilience and reinvention. It positions your book not just as a read but as a resource in a moment of rapid reinvention. – Britton Bloch, Navy Federal Credit Union
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Did you solve it? Ambigrams – you won't believe these flipping words!
Earlier today I wrote about ambigrams, a type of writing that is designed to be read in more than one way. Typically, an ambigram is a word or phrase that has left-right mirror symmetry, or reads the same upside down. (To read the article click here.) I set the following challenge – scroll down to see designs by ambigram author (and public intellectual) Douglas Hofstadter and by readers of this column. Flipping words Design an ambigram for the following words: 1. DAVE 2. OHIO 3. UTAH 4. RED 5. Your own name First, here are Hofstadter's designs, taken from his latest book, Ambigrammia. 1. And another Dave: 2. 3. above the headline, and here is his name: Thanks to all the readers who sent it examples. Here are my favourites: Ambigrammia by Douglas Hofstadter, with an introduction by Scott Kim, is out now on Yale University Press. I've been setting a puzzle here on alternate Mondays since 2015. I'm always on the look-out for great puzzles. If you would like to suggest one, email me.
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘I've seen tough, rugby-playing men cowering': how we made theatre horror The Woman in Black
When my first daughter was five, I asked a friend's daughter, who was a medical student, to look after her in the summer holiday so I might get something written. I had limited time before my daughter went back to school and having that deadline was a very good thing. I'd always liked ghost stories – MR James and so on – but they were always short. Many are unsatisfactory because they have a buildup, then scramble to an end, and that's it. I thought there ought to be more than that. But it is hard to sustain tension and fear over a longer book. You can't just have somebody being terrified every chapter. I made a list of the essential ingredients, beginning with a ghost. I remember writing down 'weather': I loved reading ghost stories that began in foggy conditions. The setting then had to be isolated, a place where nobody would talk about this thing – a conspiracy of silence. I always write by hand. The medical student said: 'My sister's doing a typing course and is looking for things to type.' I sent her the first few chapters but she came back saying her sister couldn't read my handwriting. She suggested a Dictaphone so I bought a cheapo recorder and read into that. Then she came back and said: 'My sister says it's going to be a bit slow because she is too frightened to do it when she is alone in the house.' That sister was Jane Tranter, who went on to be controller of drama commissioning at the BBC. She still remembers it. She said: 'I could not listen to it because your voice got very sinister when it was reading certain bits.' The book was published in 1983 and the play opened four years later in Scarborough, where I was born and brought up. The adaptation complemented the book: in a small theatre, it's like you are the reader alone in the house. I've occasionally sat at the back of the theatre at a matinee and watched these inner-London boys of 16 with a look on their faces that says: 'Go on then – frighten me.' It takes about 10 minutes and then they all start clutching each other. They change completely. In the late summer of 1987, I was working at the Stephen Joseph theatre in Scarborough while Alan Ayckbourn was away at the National. I got to the end of my second year and found I had £5,000 of the budget left. I thought I'd do an extra show over Christmas and figured a ghost story might be a good idea. We had enough money for four actors and we could do it in the bar, where you can get 70 seats Mallatratt, the resident playwright, wasn't terribly impressed by my idea but he came back a few days later and said: 'Have you read The Woman in Black?' I'm a wimp as far as horror is concerned, but this was a human story about a woman who was forced to give up her baby. I was blown away by it, but it had 15 characters. 'You haven't been listening, Stephen!' I told him. He said: 'I've had an idea about that. I might even be able to give you some change.' He proceeded to write an adaptation for three actors: Jon Strickland, Dominic Letts and Lesley Meade. The designer, Michael Holt, came up with the idea of using gauze: if you light it from one side you can't see through it, but from the other, it's transparent. It gave us one of the first rough-magic tools. It's embarrassingly simple. You can do an extraordinary amount with very little. I commandeered the bar's kitchens for my five Revox reel-to-reel tape machines, so we could do the sound without hearing 'clunk, click'. We sold out almost immediately. I put in extra midnight performances and there was quite a buzz about it. It's rare to really frighten a theatre audience, so it surprised us in Scarborough when people said: 'I didn't sleep for three nights after seeing your show.' A year to the day after opening in Scarborough, we had the read-through for the first London production, which opened at the Lyric Hammersmith in January 1989. Had I had a decent budget, instead of mopping up £5,000's worth of local authority grant, I could have done a super production, but it wouldn't have engaged the imagination and wouldn't have run at the Fortune theatre in London for 33 years. Since then, it has starred actors including Frank Finlay, Edward Petherbridge, Joseph Fiennes and Martin Freeman and I've seen tough rugby-playing men cowering amid the screams in the auditorium. The Woman in Black is touring from 24 September to 18 April, beginning at Storyhouse, Chester
Associated Press
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
Author Ann Hood joins Todos Santos Writers Workshop faculty for 2026 Baja creative writing retreat
TODOS SANTOS, Baja California Sur, Mexico, Aug. 4, 2025 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Bestselling author Ann Hood has joined the faculty of the Todos Santos Writers Workshop (TSWW) for the 13th annual Winter Session, January 31 – February 7, 2026. Hood's international bestsellers include 'The Knitting Circle,' 'The Obituary Writer,' and 'The Book That Matters Most.' Her most recent book is the novel 'The Stolen Child.' Hood joins Christopher Merrill (poetry), Karen Karbo (memoir), Jeanne McCulloch (memoir), and Rex Weiner (storytelling strategies) to lead the fiction class in the acclaimed Baja creative writing retreat's 2026 teaching lineup. 'I have always been a huge fan of Ann's singular narrative finesse,' says TSWW co-founder and co-director Jeanne McCulloch, 'Her work is a clarion call, delivered in finely chiseled, unforgettable prose, teaching us about love, courage, and the will to overcome unparalleled grief – a celebration of life in all of its quirky, mysterious forms. Her students over the years have been blessed by her care, contagious good humor, and the many lessons she has to teach. She is a truly special addition to TSWW, and we are delighted to welcome her and her husband, the celebrated writer Michaell Ruhlman, to our workshop family.' 'I'm so excited to be part of the Todos Santos Writers Workshop faculty with the ever-fabulous Jeanne McCulloch, Christopher Merrill, Karen Karbo, and Rex Weiner. Looking forward to meeting our writers in this magical place and sharing time together.' About Ann Hood: Author of over a dozen novels, Hood has also written five memoirs, including 'Fly Girl,' about her days as a TWA flight attendant in the 1970s and 80s; and 'Comfort: A Journey Through Grief,' the story of her five-year-old daughter Grace's sudden death from a virulent form of strep in 2002, a NYT Editors' Choice and one of Entertainment Weekly's 2008 top ten non-fiction books. She is the winner of two Pushcart Prizes, two Best American Food Writing awards, a Best American Travel Writing award, and a Best American Spiritual Writing award. Her essays and short stories have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, Food and Wine, Traveler, National Geographic Traveler, The Paris Review, The Atlantic, and many more. More info: About Todos Santos Writers Workshop: The Todos Santos Writers Workshop, founded in 2014, is a center for creative writing based in the historic pueblo mágico of Todos Santos, Baja California Sur, Mexico. TSWW's annual winter session offers workshops for writers at all levels in fiction, memoir, poetry, and storytelling strategies. Classes are limited to eight participants to ensure maximum individual attention. Todos Paris, the annual spring session in Paris, France, focuses on memoir and fiction writing. More info: Winter Session Information: RELATED LINKS: MUILTIMEDIA: Photo link for media: Photo caption: Bestselling Author Ann Hood. NEWS SOURCE: Todos Santos Writers Workshop Keywords: Creative Writing and Poetry, Bestselling author Ann Hood, Todos Santos Writers Workshop TSWW, Baja creative writing retreat, literary, educational, arts, political, creative writing, creative writing workshop, creative writing retreat, fiction, author, TODOS SANTOS, Baja California Sur, Mexico This press release was issued on behalf of the news source (Todos Santos Writers Workshop) who is solely responsibile for its accuracy, by Send2Press® Newswire. Information is believed accurate but not guaranteed. Story ID: S2P128198 APNF0325A To view the original version, visit: © 2025 Send2Press® Newswire, a press release distribution service, Calif., USA. RIGHTS GRANTED FOR REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART BY ANY LEGITIMATE MEDIA OUTLET - SUCH AS NEWSPAPER, BROADCAST OR TRADE PERIODICAL. MAY NOT BE USED ON ANY NON-MEDIA WEBSITE PROMOTING PR OR MARKETING SERVICES OR CONTENT DEVELOPMENT. Disclaimer: This press release content was not created by nor issued by the Associated Press (AP). Content below is unrelated to this news story.
CBC
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- CBC
Cambridge author Melanie Stevenson talks about blending faith and fiction in her writing
Cambridge author Melanie Stevenson published her first book, One More Tomorrow, in September 2019 after years of writing just for herself. The book garnered praise and earned multiple awards, including best new Canadian author at the 2020 Word Guild Awards. Here most recent work is a novella that appeared in a Christmas story collection last all fall. While she's known for romance, Stevenson also writes devotional books, non-fiction, poetry and articles. Stevenson spoke with CBC Kitchener-Waterloo's Josette Lafleur on The Morning Edition about the process of switching between genres and how faith plays a role in her writing. Audio of this interview appears at the bottom of this page. The interview has been edited for length and clarity. Josette Lafleur: So your most recent story is Where My Heart Belongs. It's in a Christmas collection called I'll Be Home. Tell us about that story. Melanie Stevenson: That story follows Christmas with Portia Ivy, who is actually trying to avoid Christmas. She's in Quebec City over the holidays. She's giving a keynote address, which she thinks has failed miserably and is leaving on a train to go back to Toronto to escape Christmas in the Bahamas. But an ice storm comes in and she actually gets stranded. It shows the story of her actually meeting this bell ringing Santa on the streets while she's slipping around in her high heels. He actually ends up being the one who quasi-rescues her for Christmas and brings her back to his family home and she ends up having to face Christmas and all that it entails. Josette Lafleur: This is written in first person, which is a little different. Why did you decide to do that? Melanie Stevenson: Well, it was the first crack I actually did at first person. I actually took a real risk in talking directly to the reader on several occasions throughout the book. So you kind of are right beside her, kind of hand holding her and she's talking to you as though you're becoming friends a bit. So it's a bit of a different approach. It takes a moment to get used to, but it's quirky. It's a romantic comedy. It's kind of a laugh out loud romp. It's a lot of fun, a nice light read. Josette Lafleur: You've also written One More Tomorrow, which is a novel. What's that one about? Melanie Stevenson: That one was actually my first book. I wrote that at the age of 31 when my kids were little and then waited to publish it. It follows about a 10-year span in the life of Katie Banks. She's an aspiring artist and we see her first at her first year of university. She has basically put up walls. She's been hurt and she said, you know, I'm not letting love in. So she's keeping her distance. Justin Burke comes into the picture and sort of knocks at her defences and she ends up leaving for Paris to study abroad and places some much needed distance. She ends up returning to Cambridge and she reunites with her first love. A bit of tragedy happens in that part of the story. In about a 10-year span we see her as an established artist and we find out who she ends up with. Josette Lafleur: You also have a book that's very different called Soul Focus, which is a devotional book. Can you explain what that book is about and how people can use it? Melanie Stevenson: It's sort of 31 days of daily readings that will help you. It's catered to if you're struggling or you're going through a hard time. These are daily encouragements that you would read. It has a verse and then a little blessing at the end to sort of uplift you for the day if you're struggling through certain things. Josette Lafleur: Your books are all published by a Christian publisher. What role does faith play in your writing? Melanie Stevenson: It threads throughout all of my writing. I write a blog and I also write magazine articles and all of them have a faith element to encourage you in your walk with God. One More Tomorrow is a bit more overt and Where My Heart Belongs is a little lighter. She's not a believer until a certain portion in the book. Soul Focus is definitely to encourage you and your faith. Josette Lafleur: What happens in your brain when you're writing all of these different things? Melanie Stevenson: I find that writing articles, the blogs and the devotionals are very short. So what it does is it makes you tighten up your writing. Even in a book you're still always like, is this driving the plot? Is this moving along? Is this on the topic that I'm dealing with in this chapter? So it all kind of overlaps and helps each other. Josette Lafleur: You also write poetry, but you haven't published it. What pushes you to write so much? Melanie Stevenson: I started writing when I was young. I spent copious amounts of time in my room doing all the arts. So I just naturally started writing poems, especially throughout high school and university. I have binders of poetry. It's just the beauty of words, especially poetry. I find that you have to choose the exact word and just the beauty and succinctness that poetry offers. It translates into my fiction because I find that as you write sentences it can be really quite literary and poetic, depending on what you're writing. Josette Lafleur: Are there plans to publish a poetry book? Melanie Stevenson: Not at this point. Sometimes I'll take a photo and put the poetry to it online. That's as far as I've gone with that. Josette Lafleur: Most people might see writing as a pretty solitary experience, but you actually have a group of author friends and you guys all support each other. Tell me about what it means to have that kind of a connection with other authors? Melanie Stevenson: It's massive. The actual act of writing is very solitary. I have this group, we call ourselves the Fab Four, and we get together several times a year. We'll go to a cottage retreat and we'll just write, we'll share our work and we'll brainstorm. This has been invaluable for me. These relationships are incredible. We actually wrote I'll Be Home. We're actually going to do another one this Christmas. Josette Lafleur: What is next for you aside from the Christmas release? Melanie Stevenson: I have two novels that I've written that are waiting in the wings. One is a lovely British romantic comedy that follows a fuddy duddy fellow called Oxford Dunnigan. The other is a real departure. It's telling the story of a girl who is trafficked. I have a marriage book that I'm working on. It's kind of like Soul Focus, daily readings to enrich your marriage. Soul Focus is meant to be a series. The first one was on trials, but I'll also cover forgiveness, humility and releasing control, stuff like that. All to encourage you in the difficulties or things that we struggle with in life.
