It has always fascinated me on what makes art sells over the long term. Whether Star Wars from Film, Harry Potter from Books, Michael Jackson's Thriller from Music, or Seinfeld from TV, it's been interesting to see what makes the public connect with certain artistic...
Book Review 133: Permission Marketing by Seth Godin
by MHill | May 27, 2018 | 2018 Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Nonfiction
"The marketer is not in control, the consumer is. And the consumer is selfish. Consumers care very little about you, your company, your products, your career, or your family. They're not likely to spend time trying to discover how you can help them solve their...
Book Review 110: Make Art Make Money by Elizabeth Hyde Stevens
by MHill | Jun 17, 2017 | 2017 Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Nonfiction
Is it possible to succeed as an artist and entrepreneur? Elizabeth Hyde Stevens examines this question in her book, Make Art Make Money, about how Jim Henson navigated the parallel worlds of art and business to become one of the greatest American artist-entrepreneurs....
Book Review 95: The Successful Author Mindset by Joanna Penn
by MHill | Oct 26, 2016 | 2016 Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Nonfiction, Writing, Writing and Publishing Resources
Digital Publishing has spawned the rise of the indie author movement over the past several years. As a result, there is a lot of books these days about how to become a successful indie author and how to make a living with your writing. However, there are only a few...
Book Review 94: Deep Work by Cal Newport
by MHill | Oct 24, 2016 | 2016 Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Nonfiction
"Great creative minds think like artists but work like accountants." (David Brooks) "When you work, work hard. When you're done, be done." Those two quotes from Deep Work by Cal Newport summarizes my feelings toward this excellent book. Newport introduces deep work as...
Book Review 93: Essentialism by Greg McKeown
by MHill | Oct 16, 2016 | 2016 Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Nonfiction
--The life of an Essentialist is a life lived without regret. If you have correctly identified what really matters, if you invest your time and energy in it, then it is difficult to regret the choices you make. You become proud of the life you have chosen to live....
Book Review 82: The Introvert Entrepreneur by Beth Buelow
by MHill | Apr 17, 2016 | 2016 Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Nonfiction
Introvert Entrepreneur seems like an oxymoronic term. Can an introvert really be an entrepreneur? Well, Beth Buelow makes an excellent case for it in her book titled with the same term. I heard about Beth Buelow from one of my favorite podcasts, The Creative Penn,...
Book Review 70: For Love or Money by Susan Kaye Quinn
by MHill | Aug 18, 2015 | 2015 Book Reviews, Indie Spotlight Reviews, Nonfiction, Writing and Publishing Resources
"Writing challenges me to discover who I am. Publishing challenges me to remember it." "You have to work like crazy, be smart, somehow invest every particle of emotion into the book itself, but then fling it out in the world and be ruthlessly pragmatic about how to...
Book Review 58: Discoverability by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
by MHill | Nov 23, 2014 | 2014 Book Reviews, Book Reviews, Nonfiction, Writing and Publishing Resources
The Indie Publishing movement of the past half-dozen years has changed the course of the publishing industry. Publishing books have become a lot easier thanks to eBooks, Amazon, and other Print-on-Demand (POD) publishers. Would-be-novelists (like myself) that have...
Book Review 50: Why Jesus? by Ravi Zacharias
by MHill | Feb 22, 2014 | 2014 Book Reviews, Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Nonfiction
I must admit I did not think my first review for 2014 would be a non-fiction book. Since I tend to read more fiction than non-fiction and all my reviews reflect that truth. Anyway, there is always a book that jumps out at you and asks to be read and reviewed. Why...