Editor Michelle MacAleese has long worked with LifeTree Media on books such as Discipline Without Damage, Pathways to Pregnancy, and Growing Strong Girls. Now we are thrilled to announce that Mich... keep reading
Venkat Venkatraman sets out new rulebook for business transformation in The Digital Matrix
Professor Venkat N. Venkatraman has built a 30-year career on helping businesses adapt to technological change. A management professor and department chair at the Boston University Questrom School of Business, he is a top-cited researcher at the crossroads of strategy and information technology and was twice awarded an IBM fellowship for his work focusing on business challenges in the network era. In addition to his academic work, Venkatraman consults with companies such as IBM, Microsoft, Ericsson, Zurich Financial, ... keep reading
Resolve: an Interview with Negotiation Expert and Psychologist Hal Movius
If you dread conflict, you’re not alone.
Research suggests that interpersonal conflict is the biggest daily stressor we face. Whether you experience it when buying a car, asking for a raise, haggling on Craigslist, or even deciding who’s going to take out the trash, our lives are steeped in uncomfortable conflicts, and it often feels like the only way to avoid that discomfort is to avoid the conflicts entirely.
But Hal Movius, PhD, knows that conflicts are an unavoidable part of life, and that there is a better wa... keep reading
We’re hiring a senior editor
LifeTree Media is seeking a senior editor to join our virtual team on a part-time basis starting January 2017.
We are intensely passionate about purpose. That’s why we specialize in non-fiction books that help, heal and inspire. Our company was founded on the principle that every human being has an essential contribution to make to the human race, and that our most significant contributions are intimately tied to our personal satis... keep reading
Vaporized author Robert Tercek wins prestigious award at Frankfurt Book Fair
Writing a book and becoming a published author is one of the very best ways for an accomplished expert to accelerate their business and raise the value of their brand. But book sales are just the beginning. The real fun begins when awards and accolades start rolling in.
Robert Tercek, author of Vaporized: Solid Strategies for Success in a Dematerialized World, was with me in Frankfurt this week to accept the getAbstra... keep reading
Three Essential Questions to Ask a Hybrid Publisher
What the heck is a hybrid publisher, anyway? And how do you know if you’ve found a good one?
At its best, hybrid publishing offers many of the benefits of being published by a traditional publisher — including access to market (i.e. brick-and-mortar bookstores), high quality editing and design — as well as the benefits of self-publishing, such as higher royalties, ownership of rights and creative control. I founded LifeTree on this model ... keep reading
What makes a great book cover?
Before a single word of your book is consumed, readers will form an impression of it through its cover. A book with an amateurish, confusing or dull jacket design sends a subliminal signal to the reader that the book itself may have been poorly thought out or carelessly put together. But a smart, attractive design conveys a sense of excellence and seriousness, as well as telling the reader something about the subject matter inside.
“A successful book cover is both an advertisement for the book and a beautiful object all its own,” says book designer and art director Peter... keep reading
Split Decision: How we split-tested a book cover
There are a lot of decisions to make in publishing. Some of them, like whether or not you need an author platform, are easy to make (the answer is yes, by the way). But sometimes we get stumped. We ran into this problem when one of our upcoming titles, Resolve by Hal Movius, was back from the designers with not one, but three great covers. We’ll call them Orange, White and Blue.
... keep reading
Is LifeTree the Only Publisher that Builds Author Platforms?
“Industry analyst Mike Shatzkin said that authors have long been recognized as the consumer-facing brand that most matters (to publishers and readers), and that today every author can build some kind of digital presence. However, he said, while a few authors do that very well, most do it badly.” This is publishing expert Jane Friedman, who recently shared an keep reading
Escape the Deadly Writing Trap that the Smartest Authors Fall into
I was working with an author last week who was struggling to find his way with his manuscript. “When I talk about these ideas, I’m succinct, relaxed, sometimes even funny. But when I sit down to write, the words come out all formal and stiff. Why can’t I be myself in my writing?”
Sure enough, his chapter draft was dry, stuffed with extraneous details, and weighed down by industry jargon. I knew him to be a lively, quick-witted person of passion and deep empat... keep reading