Author: Michael Levin

Authors may avoid reading their own manuscripts before publishing due to fear of judgment, procrastination, distraction, and fear of being seen as a big spender, which can result in their book disappearing into the Bermuda Triangle. You know the Bermuda Triangle. That quasi-mythical area somewhere in the Caribbean where ships enter and never emerge. I can’t speak to the legitimacy of the Bermuda Triangle. Maybe it’s real and maybe it’s an urban legend. But I can tell you with authority that when it comes to books, there is a phase of the writing process that books enter but from which they never emerge. The Bermuda Triangle of Books, in my experience, is the time when authors have finished their manuscripts and need to do one top to bottom reading before they’re ready to push the button and have it published. As a ghostwriter responsible for more than a thousand books…

Literary agents can earn referral fees by connecting aspiring authors to ghostwriters for independent publishing, providing a win-win-win solution for all involved. Although the publishing landscape has transformed dramatically in recent years, certain industry practices remain surprisingly unchanged. One example is how literary agents handle potential clients who don’t fit the traditional publishing mold. Every day, literary agents receive queries from aspiring authors who lack the marketing platform publishers expect. These individuals haven’t built massive social media followings, don’t deliver dozens of high-level keynotes, and aren’t, for instance, the baby doctor who appears weekly on the Today Show. Instead, many are successful businesspeople who would love to publish a business book or a memoir. Here’s my question for literary agents: why not refer these individuals to top ghostwriters and earn a referral fee for making the connection? The Economics Make Sense Many literary agents overlook or dismiss the idea of…

The trend in publishing is shifting towards shorter books, as attention spans have decreased and the goal is now to convey key ideas in a concise manner rather than selling books to strangers. Back in the day, the biggest book won. Just a few short decades ago, books had to be huge to be taken seriously. So you had 400 page volumes on politics. 600 page tomes on personal finance. And 800 page gorillas in the form of biographies and memoirs. These days, that’s history. Today, the most successful books are the shorter ones, the ones where the author says what needs to be said, takes a bow, and gets off the stage. This is good news for anyone contemplating becoming an author. You no longer have to create a doorstop for people to take you and your ideas seriously. Ozempic for the publishing industry came in the form of…

Many books on a particular topic are outdated, and each person has a unique perspective, making it possible for a new book on your topic to be published and connect with a specific audience. You’ve always dreamt about doing a book to demonstrate your thought leadership, your knowledge, and your experience to attract new clients, new speaking, new income, and new fun. Here’s the rub: every time you look at your office bookshelf, visit Amazon, or check out a neighborhood bookstore (if you can still find one), you notice that there are stacks and stacks of books on your topic. So why bother, right? I’ve got great news. Just because other people have written books in your field doesn’t mean that you cannot or should not. Or, to say the same thing with a more positive spin, to quote my running shoe, Nike, just do it. Here are three reasons…

Simon & Schuster’s new policy to stop soliciting blurbs from other authors has sparked debate in the book publishing industry, highlighting the practice of log rolling and the importance of authentic blurbs from qualified individuals. Simon & Schuster rocked the book publishing world when it told its authors to quit soliciting blurbs from other authors, a practice that has existed practically since the Gutenberg Bible first rolled off the presses. The publishing house was trying to attack a serious problem that’s afflicted book publishing for decades, even though no one was ever willing to admit its existence. It’s this: most people who blurb books (give those positive, pithy quotes you see on back covers) never read the book in the first place. It’s called log rolling—you blurb my book, and I’ll blurb yours. Better still, you write the blurb that you want me to put my name to on your…

Major publishers are no longer focused on creating impactful books, but rather prioritize marketing plans over content quality, making it difficult for authors with lesser-known names or marketing platforms to secure book deals. As a book guy—an experienced ghostwriter, a New York Times bestselling author, and someone responsible for more than a thousand books over the last 35 years—it pains me to say it, but I must say it. These days, most books suck. And books didn’t need AI to be terrible, although AI certainly gives tons of books a nudge in that direction. Let me explain. Back then, publishers went into book publishing because they believed that books could change the world. Ralph Nader’s, Unsafe at Any Speed and Betty Friedan’s, Feminist Mystique, both published in the 1960s, launched modern consumer safety legislation and the modern feminist movement. Rachel Carson’s classic, Silent Spring, published roughly the same time, launched…

AI is a useful research tool but it is not recommended for writing books as it lacks creativity and tends to generate generic content, while a book should be tailored to the author’s unique perspective and serve as an audition for potential clients. Some people ask me whether I worry about artificial intelligence eating my lunch. I’m a New York Times Bestselling book ghostwriter, and I write books the old-fashioned way. Without mechanical intervention. AI is a wondrous research tool. Ask it a question and you will get a deep, thorough, useful, and often fascinating response. But do yourself a favor and don’t ask AI to write your book for you. Let me explain why. I have seen plenty of book plans generated by AI. My clients sometimes share them with me, as if to say, “Look what I got from ChatGPT in 16 seconds! What do I need you…

Business books are subject to trends, to avoid looking like a copycat, focus on providing readers with guidance, wisdom, and clarity. Books, like clothing, hairstyles, and music, are subject to trends. The problem is that once a trend has been going on for a while, those who follow it look like copycats with nothing original to offer. With business books, there are three trends I’ve seen over the last five years that you definitely want to be aware of…and avoid if you’re going to write a book or have a book written for you. Otherwise, the book will do you more harm than good because people will ask why they should go to a copycat when the original must be out there somewhere, and they could hire or work with that person. The first trend is cleverness. Malcolm Gladwell made an art form of telling compelling stories about individuals and…

AI cannot provide the same level of uniqueness and distinction in a book as an experienced human ghostwriter, and therefore, if you want a book that reflects your unique voice and ideas, it’s best to use a human ghostwriter. Tens of millions of dollars are cascading into startups to enable first-time authors to create books with artificial intelligence. The question is whether you should think about having AI write your book. I say no unless how you appear in public doesn’t matter much to you. If you wouldn’t wear torn jeans to a board meeting, you probably don’t want AI writing your book. I am not a Luddite, opposed to technology, and wishing fearfully for the “good old days” to return. Instead, I’m a hard-eyed realist who has seen what AI produces. The basic problem with AI is that it, well, sounds like AI. It doesn’t sound like the author.…