An Editor Stumbles into a Writing Workshop

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Nine a.m. on a Sunday morning and I rolled into the conference hall.

I’d had a long week and was looking forward to sitting in back row of some interesting talks that I had no responsibility to develop, edit, or promote, until the caffeine from my large cup of tea kicked in. It was this editor’s day off! Little did I know I was about to discover something unexpected inside myself and to glimpse that spark that draws me to my vocation in the first place.

I set out to attend Limmud, an all-day festival of Jewish learning in down... keep reading

LifeTree Media to Publish Self-Help Book for Type-A Professionals by CEO Claire Booth

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Hybrid publisher LifeTree Media has signed Claire Booth, CEO of market research firm Lux Insights, for her upcoming self-help book, tentatively titled MEsearch: An Entrepreneur’s Guide to Letting Go. The book is scheduled to publish in fall/winter of 2018/19.

MEsearch follows Claire, a type-A market research professional driven by ambition, competition and goals, as she attempts to understand why she never seems able to simply find joy in her outwardly suc... keep reading

8 Writing Habits for the Enlightened Author

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As writers, we consider it our duty to sit at our desks every day and put down ideas that we hope will inspire the masses and make a meaningful contribution to society.

Doesn’t mean we have to enjoy it. In fact, writing is very often painful, boring and difficult.

But it doesn’t have to be. By making some adjustments to the way you write–and the way you think about writing–you can produce more in less time and even enjoy doing it. Here are eight writing habits that will transform your work sessions from bitter and barren to the best and most productive par... keep reading

Great Minds: Barack Obama

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Bestseller lists are filled with politicians-cum-authors, many of whom publish their memoirs in the twilight of their careers to cash in on their fame (or infamy). But there is a noble quality to those who first express their ideas in print even before they have constituents to cater to, such as the President of the United States, Barack Obama.

Before Obama first took a public office in 1996 he had already penned Dreams from my Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance. In it, Obama searches for meaning as a black American who was raised by his white mother, covering hi... keep reading

Resolve: an Interview with Negotiation Expert and Psychologist Hal Movius

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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

Social media for authors: How to overcome shyness, with Michael Margolis

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Social media is nothing new. Most of us have been on Facebook for close to ten years now; even my eighty-two-year-old auntie is on it. But if you’ve been using social media solely for cultivating personal connections, making the shift to using it as a professional author platform is not always easy or intuitive.

When you use social media in a personal way, it feels like hanging out in your living room with your best friends and family members. Conversations are candid, intimate, and full of inside jokes and personal references. When you start using it to court the attention of fans... keep reading

How to drive your nonfiction book up the bestseller lists

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Every author would love to plop the words “bestselling author” alongside his or her name. But what does this term really mean? The definitions of a “bestseller” are changing in the age of digital publishing.

The New York Times is the gold standard of bestseller lists in North America but recently, more authors are citi... keep reading

Traditional vs. self-publishing – and an alternative to both

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Last week, my favourite book industry blogger Jane Friedman posted an update to her popular infographic breaking down the major routes to publishing. It is shared with permission here, but you might also want to check out her original post at janefriedman.com.

She names those four routes as traditional publishing, fully assisted ... keep reading

Planting the seeds for LifeTree

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Page one, chapter one.

Welcome to the LifeTree Media blog’s very first post. How wonderful that you are here to bear witness to this birth!

This brand new bouncing baby blog will grow up to have a life of its own, moving in directions I can only imagine and touching the lives of people I will never meet. As it should.

Of course I have dreams and intentions for it. I hope that this blog will become a source of inspiration, joy and support for those who get to know it. I hope that it will become the meeting place for a community of like-minded people who are interes... keep reading