Who’s Smarter? Liberals or Conservatives? 

From AS, re my August 4 piece on political ideology and intelligence:

“Interesting fact: I and other friends of yours, who shall remain nameless, have conversed over the years about your declining intelligence. Reading your article about liberals being more intelligent, I realized there is a direct correlation between your becoming a conservative and you heading quickly toward stupid.

“With that data confirmed, I plan to write it up and send it to JAMA. I think that’s enough research for it to be published, don’t you?”

My Response: JAMA will require a fair amount of support to be willing to publish such an observation. In addition to getting testimonials from our friends, you should get quotes from K and the kids, as they have been noting my senescence for decades!

So, You Want to Get Published? 

From PN, re my recommendations in the August 8 issue:

“Another option is a company like Inkshares.”

My Response: Thanks! I’ll check it out.

How to Come Up with Ideas – Day After Day 

From JW:

“I find that the hardest part of writing is coming up with what to write about. Do you have any suggestions for me? I’m curious if you’d be willing to offer a little glimpse ‘behind the scenes.’ How do you crank out so much great content so often? I would really appreciate any input you have on your idea generation and writing process.”

My Response: I don’t know how often you are publishing. But one of the surprising things I discovered about writing essays for a blog is that it’s much easier to come up with ideas when you are publishing on a daily basis. Easier than publishing weekly or biweekly. I think that’s because when you are publishing only once or twice a week, you demand more of each essay. And your readers also expect less because they understand that a daily publication is a bit like having a breakfast conversation with a smart friend. You expect an interesting conversation, but you don’t expect him/her to support all his/her thoughts with solid evidence and emotionally compelling stories.

That said, the best way to generate ideas worth your readers’ time is to do a good deal of reading yourself. Not stuff you find on Google, but essays and even books written by people that have expertise in the subject matter that interests you.

As a rule of thumb, for every 250 words you write, you should expect to prepare for it with an hour’s worth of intentional reading.

Step #1 in Building a Billion-Dollar Business 

From SS:

“Hello Mark Ford. I want to learn marketing and copywriting from you and really want to have you as my mentor. How can I learn from you? I want to build a billion-dollar company. Please. I really need your help.”

My Response: At this point in my life, I’m no longer doing one-on-one mentoring. The best way to learn from me right now is by reading my books. Since your goal is to build a billion-dollar company, I think you should start with Ready, Fire, Aim – and you can order a copy directly from us.

List price is $27.95. But for readers of this blog, the price is $15 (which includes free shipping). To order your copy:

* Send a check for $15.

* Make the check payable to Cap & Bells Press, LLC. (No cash, please.)

* Include your name and mailing address and mail it to:

Cap & Bells Press

Attn: GKoo

290 SE 2nd Avenue

Delray Beach, FL 33444