Hush, Hush, Sweet Ghostwriter!

I have in the past written and spoken about what I believe are the keys to being an effective collaborative writer, aka a “ghostwriter.” They include crafting the client writing voice; building trust within the collaborative relationship; knowing how to ask, when to...

Book Promotion Interviews

Book promotion is relentlessly exhausting. It requires constant attention, patience, and tons of industry. The challenge is especially exacting if you embark on a campaign of radio interviews and podcasts. Whether they are worth the time and effort is open to debate,...

Memoir vs. Fiction

When it comes to personal legacy, it is said so often in so many ways it could easily become trite were it not so universally true: everyone has a story tell. Many of us want to leave our imprint and be remembered. We want to make a difference, however that is...

The Book Award(s)

The prevailing thinking in the book industry—like most market segments—is that awards matter. Most publicists will tell you that book awards can sell books and also yield other opportunities like speaking engagements and even film scripts and the like. They can have...

The Memoir Client

As I found my way as a novice attorney, I developed a personal mantra that became the cornerstone of my legal career: “Every client is the only client.” Despite the glamor and intellectual challenge of the work, especially within the theatrical ambiance of court...

Voice Purification and The Birth of Literary Segregation

Dateline: January 31, 2022 On December 31, 2021, the big five book publishers, Penguin Random House, Hachette, Harper Collins, Simon and Schuster, and Macmillan, announced the formation of a trade association dubbed the Literary Voice Association of America (LVA). The...

Measuring Coaching Success

Since retiring as a high school coach after 24 years, I muse from time to time about how to measure my coaching performance. The bottom line question is: was I successful? People consistently tell me I was and maybe, from their vantage point, that is so. But I am...

High School Athletics and the Job Market Advantage

When I set out to write The Other Classroom: The Essential Importance of High School Athletics, I was focused on how the high school athletic experience contributes to personal development in various ways. I had in mind skills like self-advocacy, conquering comfort...

Call to Arms

My next book, The Other Classroom: The Essential Importance of High School Athletics (Rowman & Littlefield), gets released today. On a personal level, pondering the task of writing book first required a deep look in the mirror to see the ways I and my coaching...

Squeaky Wheels and High School Athletics

When I was a young hoopster in the Bronx, I read a comment by legendary Oscar Robertson that stayed with me forever. A reporter asked the Big O why he was always chatting up officials. His pithy response was an American proverb: “The squeaky wheel gets the grease.” I...