Time to recommit

I like to make New Year's recommitments. Yes, that's the elegant way of saying I'm trying to keep the same resolutions year after year. I'll recommit to being healthier; to getting to bed earlier (I know right now that's never going to happen); to reading more; and to improving my writing. After I looked over my recommitments, I decided that I could add some efficiency to my intentions if I spent some time reading a good blog that helped me as a writer.

And I found just the blog: Michael Hyatt's "Leading with Purpose." Hyatt is the CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers, noted on his blog as the "the largest Christian publishing company in the world and the seventh largest trade book publishing company in the U.S." The blog, which largely features postings of interest to those in the writing and publishing world, is informative, well-written and visually appealing. I would read this blog even if I didn't have a particular interest in writing and publishing.

Hyatt's blog offers daily posts categorized loosely as leadership, productivity, publishing, resources, social media and miscellany. They're not about the craft of writing (I can get all the craft help I can handle right here at The Writer!), but they are comments on current issues in publishing that are of concern to writers, agents, publishers and business managers.

Some of his most popular posts include "The End of Book Publishing as We Know It"; Advice to First-Time Authors"; "Yes, You Can Stay on Top of E-mail" and "The Beginner's Guide to Twitter."

Hyatt's post on Jan. 6 addressed why it's so hard to find an agent. He starts with a startling fact: "Last year, more than 560,000 new books were published in the U.S. alone." Yikes, that sentence adds some immediate perspective!

He even throws in some postings about personal improvement that are worth serious consideration. Here's one: "Why You Should Sign Up for a Half Marathon."

OK, let's not get crazy. I'm not that recommitted.

Comments