I talk about digital writing, ghostwriting, and self-publishing. | Co-Founder Ship 30 for 30, Typeshare, Premium Ghostwriting Academy. | Author of 10 books.
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Aug 18 • 12 tweets • 3 min read
The first step to writing any book:
Deciding on the title.
But most writers have no idea where to start.
So, I studied the titles of *hundreds* of best-selling books.
Here are 7 mini frameworks to help you write the perfect book title: 1. Write in a best-selling category
The top 7 categories are:
• Personal Development
• Personal Finance
• Insights/Thinking
• Leadership
• Case Study
• Personal Excellence
• Relationships
Aug 16 • 11 tweets • 4 min read
Everyone talks about legendary writers like:
Hemingway, Stephen King, or Henry David Thoreau.
But there is a British author who redefined the game forever.
Here’s the secret technique J. K. Rowling used to write one of the best-selling book series of all time:
At 32, J.K. Rowling was a single mom on welfare, struggling to make ends meet.
One day, while stuck on a delayed train, the character Harry Potter came to her fully formed.
And she spent the next 5 years meticulously planning the 7-book series before writing a single word.
Aug 9 • 10 tweets • 4 min read
I bet my life savings Christopher Nolan is the last great director of this century.
Not because of Inception, Interstellar, or Oppenheimer.
But because he found a secret method to irresistible storytelling:🧵
Nolan uses the Plot Map Technique to visualize his storyline.
He doesn’t want “constraints” to hold him back when writing the story.
So he uses this technique to help his production team visualize & then create it on screen.
Here he explains how he comes up with his ideas:
Aug 3 • 12 tweets • 4 min read
I’ve made $250,000+ from self-publishing.
But it sometimes makes sense to take the traditional publishing path.
Here are 7 questions every writer should ask themselves before trying to land a book deal:
Q1: Do you want Status or Money?
Most traditional book deals are horrible financially for authors. The reason they want them isn't really money—it's status.
"A publisher chose me!"
99% of the time, you will make more $$$ with self-publishing (but get zero status).
Here's why:
Aug 2 • 13 tweets • 5 min read
The KING of modern comedy:
Jerry Seinfeld.
He's received 1 Emmy, 3 Grammy nominations, & even a Guinness World Record.
10 lessons I learned from him: 1/ Get started and embrace the unexpected.
In the beginning, Seinfeld had no idea if he was funny or not.
He had zero awareness of his ability as a comedian.
His first big laugh shocked him:
Jul 8 • 9 tweets • 3 min read
The quickest way to 10x your writing:
Formatting.
Here's my 4-step formatting framework to make your writing easier to skim, read, and share (🧵):
Step 1: Start every section with a single-sentence opener.
When you open each area of your work with a single sentence, you:
• Keep readers interested
• Make things easier to read
• Subconsciously encourage them to continue
Here are the 6 most effective openers:
Jul 1 • 10 tweets • 3 min read
I've generated $10,000,000+ with my writing.
But most people think making a living as a writer is hard.
Here are the 5 steps to make your first $1 million as a writer (that you can start today):
For context, I have:
• Sold tens of thousands of copies of my books
• Built multiple 6-figure writing businesses
• Built two 7-figure writing businesses
• Earned $150,000+ writing for Inc Magazine
• Earned $250,000+ from Medium's Partner Program
Now let's talk money:
Jun 24 • 13 tweets • 3 min read
I can write a 60,000-word book in 30 days.
Here's the 7-step system I use every time:
(This works even if you've never written a book before):
Disclaimer:
This only works for content where you're already the expert/speaking from personal experience.
If you're researching a NEW topic/something you know nothing about, then it will take you longer.
But once you HAVE the information, you can write fast.
Here's how👇
Jun 22 • 16 tweets • 5 min read
I write 5,000 words every day.
How?
By treating my writing like a mental sport.
Here are 9 simple habits I use to stay mentally fit as a pro writer: 1/ Read 1-2 pages of a thesaurus
This takes me 15 minutes every morning.
It’s a great brain exercise and teaches you a lot about language.
Words are your tools, so keep adding to your toolbox.
Here's how I fit it into my routine:
Jun 15 • 14 tweets • 4 min read
I’ve made $250k+ selling books.
Turns out, it’s easy to earn a living as an author—if you self-publish.
Here’s the simple 5-step process I use to write & list my books on Amazon:
Step 1: Write the book
I can write a 60,000-word book in 30 days.
And I do this in 3 steps:
• Decide on a title
• Outline the book into chapters
• Write each chapter and add an intro & conclusion
To get started, here’s a thread on each step breaking down my process:
Jun 7 • 13 tweets • 4 min read
Meet John Grisham.
He’s the author of 49 consecutive #1 bestsellers.
His books have been made into movies starring Tom Cruise, Sandra Bullock, and Samuel L. Jackson.
Here are 10 of his timeless writing insights (on talent, routine, and dealing with criticism): 1/ Grisham sets himself tough creative constraints:
• Start a novel on Jan 1st
• Write daily for 3 hours
• Finish it by July 1st
The key?
His tightly controlled writing environment (down to the coffee he drinks):
Jun 5 • 9 tweets • 3 min read
In 1966, Eugene Schwartz created a timeless framework:
The 5 Stages of Customer Awareness.
Master this and you can sell *anything* to *anybody*.
Here's how to train ChatGPT on this framework to write better copy hooks (with the *exact* prompts I use):
Schwartz's framework:
Every customer is always at one level of awareness:
• Unaware: “Life’s good!”
• Problem Aware: “Something’s off.”
• Solution Aware: “So many choices.”
• Product Aware: “I like you!”
• Most Aware: “Buy now!”
Your copy must meet them where they're at.
Jun 2 • 13 tweets • 3 min read
I can write a 60,000-word book in 30 days.
But I don't sacrifice my life to do it—I still run my business, socialize, and go to the gym.
Here’s how I write a 5,000-word chapter in 90 minutes (this works even if you've never written a book before):
Before you start writing, you need to have two items in place:
1. Your title 2. Your outline
If you don't have these, you don't know what you're writing about.
Check the end of the thread—there are 2 extra resources to help you.
Before we dive in, let's do some quick math:
Jun 1 • 12 tweets • 4 min read
Over the last 31 days, my friends racked up *millions* of views on X.
But all this great content gets buried way too quickly.
So here are 9 of my favorite posts from the last month (that went viral, but you probably missed):
1. Tips on how to create a stronger lower back from @FitFounder:
Anne Lamott is a NYT best-selling author and prolific writer.
To date, she’s written:
• 7 novels
• 13 works of non-fiction
• And is a renowned writing teacher
She’s famous for her writing advice book “Bird by Bird.”
Here are 8 pieces of wisdom every writer needs to hear: 1. Lamott says she’d rather do anything but write.
• Play with her dog
• Spend time with her grandson
• Read other people’s writing
But this isn't how you get the writing done.
Here’s how she finally gets herself to sit down and write:
May 26 • 10 tweets • 3 min read
My friend @AliAbdaal has made *millions* of dollars on YouTube.
His "Rule of 3" framework makes any content instantly memorable.
Here's how it works (with a ChatGPT prompt to help you create "Rule of 3" content in seconds):
@AliAbdaal What is the “Rule of 3”?
When you distill any topic into 3 things, you’ve got a framework.
• “The 3 little pigs.”
• “Bacon, lettuce, and tomato”
• “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
The Number 3 makes anything memorable.
May 25 • 32 tweets • 4 min read
This week I turned 34.
In the last 10 years, I've built multiple 7-figure businesses, got married, and published 10 books.
Here are my 30 rules for a life well lived: 1/ Make decisions from a place of abundance, not scarcity.
Your best ideas are ahead of you, not behind you.
May 23 • 12 tweets • 4 min read
Meet James Patterson.
He is one of the best-selling authors of all time.
• 160+ novels
• 300+ million copies sold
• 144+ #1 NYT best-sellers
• $800 million net worth
Here are 9 of his best insights on writing, storytelling, and rejection: 1. Patterson researches his villains by talking to:
• The FBI
• The CIA
• The Police
But there’s always an extra ingredient he adds to make them more “satisfying”:
May 18 • 12 tweets • 3 min read
My first book took me 4 years to write.
Now, I can write a 60,000-word book in 30 days.
How?
I mastered the art of outlining.
Here’s how to outline your first book in 35 minutes (so you don't waste thousands of hours redrafting and editing):
For context, I have written 10 books, including:
• 3 non-fiction books on writing
• A personal memoir
• A book on habits
• A book of poetry
And more.
I have sold tens of thousands of copies of these books.
Here's how I outline a book in 35 minutes:
May 12 • 23 tweets • 5 min read
I built my first 7-figure business from scratch.
I didn't have an MBA, any special connections, or start out with investors.
But I learned a ton of hard lessons along the way.
Here's my first-time founder playbook: 1/ Build in public
Too many founders want to build "in stealth"—so they can do a grand reveal to the world.
Unfortunately, stealth =
• Slower
• Very expensive
• Harder to iterate
• More pressure to make it "perfect"
Building in public = speed & easier to iterate.
May 10 • 13 tweets • 4 min read
This is David Foster Wallace.
In 1996, he wrote a ground-breaking novel called Infinite Jest (which TIME called one of the 100 best novels of the decade).
But sadly, on September 12, 2008, he took his own life.
Here are his 9 best writing insights that will live on forever:
For many, Wallace’s work is complex, dense, and impenetrable.
But once you peel back the layers, Wallace was fascinated with the human condition and how we understand each other.
Here are some of his lessons about life and writing, in his own words: