You were wondering why we read your stuff? This is one of the few places to read and enjoy high quality writing coming from a human mind and not an AI algorithm. Seriously, your words and phrases are like a dance, like a drink of water in a dry land.
I would love insights on how to get into ghostwriting books. I have been a professional writer for almost 20 years, and have ghostwritten well over 500 articles, some eBooks, white papers, etc, but I have not had much luck breaking into ghostwriting book manuscripts. I have excellent client references. I guess I am confused as to whether I should be trying to connect with agents, publishers, authors... or confusingly, all of the above? I do not really use social media, besides Substack, and the few people I have asked said "you need a social media presence." But... I want to be a ghostwriter, so as a ghost, I do not really want a platform or a face for myself. Thoughts, ideas, insights. I appreciate your books, your writing, and your perspective.
Love this, Jeff. I've been following you for ten-ish years, and it's intriguing to see how you've made many small pivots as you've found your space and your audience as well as some major pivots that have shifted your POV more significantly. It seems like you're experiencing more freedom to do what you want, try new things, incorporate different styles and types of content, like poetry. I love that and it vibes with what I want to do, but haven't figured out how it would actually work to reach an audience.
I'm curious about how, if you were starting everything from scratch today, you would go about curating your content. How do you balance the desire to share things effectively with the desire to be authentic and not play the algorithm game?
Do you ever wish social media would just go away? Is it ever too much, too time-consuming, too draining to worry about likes and followers and subscribers, and all that? I seriously wonder how people climbing the social media fan mountain ever find peace. I pretty much quit for the last two years but I'm planning to put a few toes in the water soon, just to stay in touch a bit more, but very little. It's been good for me, I have to say.
I think there's a price to pay for all that split-attention and trying to appeal to so many people while taking time and energy away from those who need us most. I honestly don't understand how so many people are consumed with it all, and actually have lives and families and real friends. Don't know. I sure didn't until I backed off.
I wish you the best, Jeff. I believe you are a sincere guy trying to make a difference. Me too.
Jeff, as a former student of yours and watching your shift away from teaching how to write a bestseller and moving from Medium to Substack I have 2 questions: #1: What brings you the most joy-- Writing your own pieces/books or connecting with an audience and why? And #2: In your best seller course you mentioned that it is important to be interesting and that picking a fight is one way to arouse interest. I write mostly non-fiction (Self-Help, Recovery, Inspirational memoir), and have years of wisdom and experience in sales, recovery,and marekting to draw from. However, I am feeling a pull to write more about spirtuality including my own experiences with it and to openly share my opinions about how it can be helpful and harmful to myself or others. I do not want to tarnish reputation nor alienate my budding audience. Should I temper my opinions and not rock the boat or go for it and pick a fight?
Hi Jeff! I'm writing my first book; it's a memoir about how, over the years, my rage and grief have fueled me to do some pretty courageous things for myself, more recently reporting my abuser to a mega church. Anyway, my question is, when writing something psychologically taxing, what do you do to take care of yourself? Or do you have things you remind yourself during a tough write? Thanks!
Can we ask more than one question? (Please don't count that as my question.)
The first thing that popped into my mind is: How do you think about regret? When you look back over your own life, your spiritual life, your communal life (friendships/marriages), and your professional life, do you have regrets? And if so, how do you view them now? [I have no real idea why I'm asking you, in particular, to answer this. It is just one area that I think it would be interesting to get your take on.]
Second thing that popped into my mind is: As a fellow Substack writer, I'm curious how you actually "do" Substack. Do you try to hold yourself to a regular writing/publishing schedule? Do you take advantage of all the extra things that Substack keeps adding (Notes, podcasts, etc.) in order to try to extend your reach? Any tips and tricks you'd offer to your fellow Substackers trying to build something of their own here?
Third and last question: What is your relationship to social media these days, as it relates to your writing career? Do you need those promotional platforms (Facebook, Instagram, X) to survive as a writer? I feel like I've tried so hard with social but I just seem to have plateaued. I even tried some small paid campaigns and it was just crickets. Has the Meta algorithm just boxed me out? Does social not matter anymore? Appreciate any thoughts you may have.
I'll try to limit it to one question per person, but I'll do my best to answer the ones I think are most interesting and relevant and try to tie it all together in something cogent and hopefully compelling. It's a fun challenge to work with.
Jeff, I have read your books and been a subscriber for eight or more years. You've been a coach along my writing journey. Here's my question: how do I choose between the many "courses" that all say they'll make me a better writer, marketer, book seller, etc. Are there two to three tips to help me judge the value of their offer against my immediate needs?
I'm a bit in the weeds with my first book. It's a "how-to" book. It's covering why most people's brains are not functioning at their highest level, the various reasons, and what are the first steps to improve in each of these various 10 different areas. Because every person is different in their habits and dysfunctions and needs, I don't want to leave out some of these areas, because it's actually all very helpful to most, and new to most. I am providing just a few of the ways to start making changes to enhance their brain function in ways not already well know, yet effective. I also give references to a few books on each area to go into greater depth on each topic. I'm including a few stories so it's engaging, but my concern is that it's not one topic in depth, though it is one overarching idea of what it takes to get to a certain place in improved brain function. Where I'm having difficulty is making choices of how much to write on each topic in terms of solutions. I don't want to write too little, because I'm thinking to use this book in conjunction with an online course. But then if I put "everything" in the book, they won't need to purchase the course. Where is my Goldilocks spot? Any rules of thumb I can use to figure this out? And, would it make sense to turn this into a "list" type of book? Thanks Jeff.
Do you believe in the afterlife? Do you believe we go to Heaven or Hell? Why or why not? Do you believe in soulmates, or “predestined” lovers? Do you believe in destiny at all?
It has never been made clear how you’d present an illustrated children’s manuscript to a publisher, if you are not the illustrator.( That is -you are hoping the publishing house will provide one and get how you’d like it Laos out?)
I am retired and doing various things. I used to feel more inspired to write regularly, but I just can’t seem to get motivated anymore. I want to write, especially as I have the free time, but I lack motivation and inspiration. What should I do to light a fire under me?
how has your favorite fiction book or non fiction book impacted your life or your writing? Or has it impacted it at all? And what was your favorite fiction as a kid? has it changed? I'm not entirely certain, but I think the different things we read over time influences how we write and I really enjoye the tone of the ghost newsletter. you're right yo umake no promises about writing, but the writing itself is really a joy to read. thank you for sharing
You were wondering why we read your stuff? This is one of the few places to read and enjoy high quality writing coming from a human mind and not an AI algorithm. Seriously, your words and phrases are like a dance, like a drink of water in a dry land.
I would love insights on how to get into ghostwriting books. I have been a professional writer for almost 20 years, and have ghostwritten well over 500 articles, some eBooks, white papers, etc, but I have not had much luck breaking into ghostwriting book manuscripts. I have excellent client references. I guess I am confused as to whether I should be trying to connect with agents, publishers, authors... or confusingly, all of the above? I do not really use social media, besides Substack, and the few people I have asked said "you need a social media presence." But... I want to be a ghostwriter, so as a ghost, I do not really want a platform or a face for myself. Thoughts, ideas, insights. I appreciate your books, your writing, and your perspective.
Love this, Jeff. I've been following you for ten-ish years, and it's intriguing to see how you've made many small pivots as you've found your space and your audience as well as some major pivots that have shifted your POV more significantly. It seems like you're experiencing more freedom to do what you want, try new things, incorporate different styles and types of content, like poetry. I love that and it vibes with what I want to do, but haven't figured out how it would actually work to reach an audience.
I'm curious about how, if you were starting everything from scratch today, you would go about curating your content. How do you balance the desire to share things effectively with the desire to be authentic and not play the algorithm game?
Do you ever wish social media would just go away? Is it ever too much, too time-consuming, too draining to worry about likes and followers and subscribers, and all that? I seriously wonder how people climbing the social media fan mountain ever find peace. I pretty much quit for the last two years but I'm planning to put a few toes in the water soon, just to stay in touch a bit more, but very little. It's been good for me, I have to say.
I think there's a price to pay for all that split-attention and trying to appeal to so many people while taking time and energy away from those who need us most. I honestly don't understand how so many people are consumed with it all, and actually have lives and families and real friends. Don't know. I sure didn't until I backed off.
I wish you the best, Jeff. I believe you are a sincere guy trying to make a difference. Me too.
Jeff, as a former student of yours and watching your shift away from teaching how to write a bestseller and moving from Medium to Substack I have 2 questions: #1: What brings you the most joy-- Writing your own pieces/books or connecting with an audience and why? And #2: In your best seller course you mentioned that it is important to be interesting and that picking a fight is one way to arouse interest. I write mostly non-fiction (Self-Help, Recovery, Inspirational memoir), and have years of wisdom and experience in sales, recovery,and marekting to draw from. However, I am feeling a pull to write more about spirtuality including my own experiences with it and to openly share my opinions about how it can be helpful and harmful to myself or others. I do not want to tarnish reputation nor alienate my budding audience. Should I temper my opinions and not rock the boat or go for it and pick a fight?
Love this question, Shawn!
How can I make a living off of substack? Or as a writer in general?
Hi Jeff! I'm writing my first book; it's a memoir about how, over the years, my rage and grief have fueled me to do some pretty courageous things for myself, more recently reporting my abuser to a mega church. Anyway, my question is, when writing something psychologically taxing, what do you do to take care of yourself? Or do you have things you remind yourself during a tough write? Thanks!
Can we ask more than one question? (Please don't count that as my question.)
The first thing that popped into my mind is: How do you think about regret? When you look back over your own life, your spiritual life, your communal life (friendships/marriages), and your professional life, do you have regrets? And if so, how do you view them now? [I have no real idea why I'm asking you, in particular, to answer this. It is just one area that I think it would be interesting to get your take on.]
Second thing that popped into my mind is: As a fellow Substack writer, I'm curious how you actually "do" Substack. Do you try to hold yourself to a regular writing/publishing schedule? Do you take advantage of all the extra things that Substack keeps adding (Notes, podcasts, etc.) in order to try to extend your reach? Any tips and tricks you'd offer to your fellow Substackers trying to build something of their own here?
Third and last question: What is your relationship to social media these days, as it relates to your writing career? Do you need those promotional platforms (Facebook, Instagram, X) to survive as a writer? I feel like I've tried so hard with social but I just seem to have plateaued. I even tried some small paid campaigns and it was just crickets. Has the Meta algorithm just boxed me out? Does social not matter anymore? Appreciate any thoughts you may have.
I'll try to limit it to one question per person, but I'll do my best to answer the ones I think are most interesting and relevant and try to tie it all together in something cogent and hopefully compelling. It's a fun challenge to work with.
Jeff, I have read your books and been a subscriber for eight or more years. You've been a coach along my writing journey. Here's my question: how do I choose between the many "courses" that all say they'll make me a better writer, marketer, book seller, etc. Are there two to three tips to help me judge the value of their offer against my immediate needs?
When will inflation go down? Will Eve catch Villanelle or will she be killed?
Just kidding. Thanks for brightening our inboxes.
I'm a bit in the weeds with my first book. It's a "how-to" book. It's covering why most people's brains are not functioning at their highest level, the various reasons, and what are the first steps to improve in each of these various 10 different areas. Because every person is different in their habits and dysfunctions and needs, I don't want to leave out some of these areas, because it's actually all very helpful to most, and new to most. I am providing just a few of the ways to start making changes to enhance their brain function in ways not already well know, yet effective. I also give references to a few books on each area to go into greater depth on each topic. I'm including a few stories so it's engaging, but my concern is that it's not one topic in depth, though it is one overarching idea of what it takes to get to a certain place in improved brain function. Where I'm having difficulty is making choices of how much to write on each topic in terms of solutions. I don't want to write too little, because I'm thinking to use this book in conjunction with an online course. But then if I put "everything" in the book, they won't need to purchase the course. Where is my Goldilocks spot? Any rules of thumb I can use to figure this out? And, would it make sense to turn this into a "list" type of book? Thanks Jeff.
Do you believe in the afterlife? Do you believe we go to Heaven or Hell? Why or why not? Do you believe in soulmates, or “predestined” lovers? Do you believe in destiny at all?
It has never been made clear how you’d present an illustrated children’s manuscript to a publisher, if you are not the illustrator.( That is -you are hoping the publishing house will provide one and get how you’d like it Laos out?)
Thanks Jeff! Who are the best publishers to approach with poetry. Does it matter on the type or niche?
I am retired and doing various things. I used to feel more inspired to write regularly, but I just can’t seem to get motivated anymore. I want to write, especially as I have the free time, but I lack motivation and inspiration. What should I do to light a fire under me?
how has your favorite fiction book or non fiction book impacted your life or your writing? Or has it impacted it at all? And what was your favorite fiction as a kid? has it changed? I'm not entirely certain, but I think the different things we read over time influences how we write and I really enjoye the tone of the ghost newsletter. you're right yo umake no promises about writing, but the writing itself is really a joy to read. thank you for sharing