“Wow, Ken. God bless you”
“Wow, Ken. The teachings within your book are Great. In retrospect at least 4 of my 8 books could’ve been so much more effective and personal had I read it 30 years ago. Speakers have things to share. Your book gives us another avenue to do so. Thanks and God bless you.”
—Floyd Wickman. CSP CPAE, Hall of Fame Member of the National Speakers Association www.FloydWickman.com
“especially and unreservedly recommended”
“One of the most ‘user friendly’ and comprehensive how-to manuals for writers seeking publication of their work, ‘You’ve Got the Time: How to Write and Publish That Book in You’ is an especially and unreservedly recommended addition to both community and academic library Writing/Publishing collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that ‘You’ve Got the Time: How to Write and Publish That Book in You’ is also readily available in an inexpensive digital book format. Simply stated, if it is your ambition to create the next great American novel and secure your place in literary history (or just to have your own work published and secure as wide a readership as possible for it), then ‘You’ve Got the Time: How to Write and Publish That Book in You’ should be a part of your personal and professional reference shelf.”
–Midwest Book Review
“truly desires to help writers”
“Ken is such a willing coach. He truly desires to help writers better their creations, technically and in the story telling. His calm, accepting, humorous demeanor allows the writer to feel very comfortable with Ken’s coaching. Ken brings years of experience to the table, I highly recommend him.”
—Kristina Ashley, Sedona, Arizona, author, A Life Changing Day with Eustace Conway
“thorough, knowledgeable, generous, prompt”
“My recent experience with using Ken as an editor was excellent! Ken did a tremendous service in helping me ensure my writing and formatting were clear, concise, and consistent throughout my workbook, Mind Mapping for Success. Not only was Ken thorough and knowledgeable, but he was also generous with his suggestions for improvement and prompt with his edits. I would encourage all aspiring authors to contact Ken for assistance in creating a product they can confidently promote with pride.“
—Lisa Roach, author, Mind Mapping for Success: A Guide to Getting Ahead by Using Your Head in a Fun and Creative Way!, and member, National Speakers Association
“EVERYTHING you need to know”
“If you are thinking about writing a book or just starting to write, this book is a “MUST have”! Written by a highly regarded and actively practicing “book coach”, this book does a fantastic job of covering EVERYTHING you need to know, from how to fit writing into your busy schedule to negotiating a contact. It’s a wealth of knowledge at your fingertips from someone who spent his life helping and coaching authors to write. Enjoy!”
–Laura J. Kempf
“you covered it all, fabulous”
“Your new book is my bedtime reading – terrific read, like you are there talking to me – you covered it all, fabulous.”
–Perley-Ann Friedman, author, Volunteer Fundraising Simplified
“so much useful information, laid out succinctly”
“This book is chock full of tips, strategies, and guides that will allow you to become a better writer, whether you’re a novice or pro. I found so much useful information and little tips and tricks that I never thought of before. Everything is laid out succinctly from how to arrange your office or desk to how to keep track of your computer files and organize your research so you can spend more time on getting words down on the page rather than trying to find that one line or quote you need to continue. I highly recommend this for anyone who dreams of writing that novel or short story but don’t know where to start.”
–Jacob F. Keller
“freewriting exercises provided a guiding light”
“Ken’s book came at just the right time for me to examine the pieces I have written over the past many years and realize it was time to create a book of those stories. His freewriting exercises provided a guiding light for moving away from clutter and feeling overwhelmed, to a crystal clear vision of what was meant to be included. By doing the exercises I was able to find focus, a title and a theme to my writing. I have now hired him as a writing coach as I prepare to move forward and write/organize the dang book! Highly recommend!!!”
—Klara Lynn Danner
“noticeably calmed my writerly anxiety”
I am now keeping You’ve Got the Time at my elbow for consultation while I write. Ken Wachsberger has assembled a comprehensive set of guidelines and tips that has noticeably calmed my writerly anxiety the moment I open the book. His friendly, encouraging written voice is absolutely clear and concise. Ken devotes the second half of You’ve Got the Time to publishing in the online age. Those processes appear, to those of us uninitiated, to be complicated, and they turn out to actually be complicated. Ken walks you completely through the mystical variations in the publishing process, helps you to identify the options you have, and allows you to enter the process with your eyes open.
—John Peters, writer and psychotherapist in Boston, Massachusetts
“thoughtful questions helped clarify”
“Ken was easy to work with and very responsive. He posed some thoughtful questions for me to consider, which I do believe helped clarify and identify relevant content. He definitely helped “fill in the blanks” with relaying the message I intended to send.”
–Karen Hiltz, author, The Apple Report: Diary of a Public School Board Member
“wise counsel, an inspiration”
“I always respected and benefited from your wise counsel and knew you as a dedicated and honorable working-class writer, who does whatever he must to get the work out. As I suck at the marketing end of things, I find you an inspiration and am thrilled to see your book.”
— Timothy Jeffrey, author, playwright, screenwriter
“expert and professional consultation”
“Ken Wachsberger is one of the most prominent scholars of the American counterculture and his work on the underground press has been particularly valuable to me in my own studies of Beat literature. While working on the manuscript of The Spiritual Imagination of the Beats, Ken proved to be an excellent person with whom to discuss my work and he did a superb job reading over my drafts and making valuable suggestions.
“The Spiritual Imagination of the Beats was published in September 2017 by Cambridge University Press and has received excellent reviews. Ken’s ideas helped me greatly in shaping my final manuscript and I would recommend his work highly to any author who would like expert and professional consultation.”
—David Stephen Calonne, author, The Spiritual Imagination of the Beats
“great force for producing excellent literature”
“I met Ken Wachsberger twenty years ago with a dream of publishing my first book. I knew Ken was recognized for his incredible writing talents. However, I could not have imagined by working with Ken that my own writing ability would go to an extraordinary level. I highly recommend Ken Wachsberger as an editor, teacher, and a great force for producing excellent literature.”
—C. H. Miller, author, Lance Lebos: A Journey Home
“warmth, positivity, and encouragement”
“Your warmth, positivity and encouragement as an editor still stand out.”
—Dave Morley, freelance journalist and communications specialist
“instrumental with the inevitable anxiety”
“During the early stages of writing my book, an art historical study of the portraits of ancient Roman priestesses, the Vestal Virgins, I met with Ken every other week for coaching. It was important to me to work with a writing coach like Ken who is a published author himself. I knew very little about shaping years of research into a book, and it was reassuring to know that Ken understood the process. Because Ken is a social scientist and not an art historian, he helped me to keep my book accessible to general as well as specialized readers, which was a major goal of this endeavor. In our bi-weekly meetings, Ken gave me constructive feedback on the book’s Introduction and parts of Chapter 1.
“As I was working in Ohio and only drove back to Michigan every other week, it was difficult to keep up the momentum of writing my book, but meeting with Ken was instrumental with the inevitable anxiety that comes from putting out one’s ideas and arguments into the public domain.”
—Molly Lindner, author, Portraits of the Vestal Virgins, Priestesses of Ancient Rome
“blown away with Ken’s comments, corrections, and improvements”
“Most people who write and edit for a living tend to view their own writing as perfect and flawless. Having been a writer and editor for the last 30 years, I know better than to think about my own projects in that way. So before I took the plunge of self-publishing A Mystery in the Mailbox, I sought fresh eyes in the form of the highly gifted editor, Ken Wachsberger.
“I didn’t know him previously, but he had spoken at a National Writers Union meeting I attended, and I was impressed with his presentation, his humor, and his obvious intelligence. I found his phone number and gave him a call. I told him what I needed from him, we agreed on a price, and I shipped the manuscript off to Michigan. I had a little trepidation when I considered that I was sending my heart and soul on paper to a stranger who, being a guy, probably preferred action novels to a book of indeterminate genre that he was about to receive.
“A Mystery in the Mailbox is a combination of inspiration, true life, how to, self-help, and a charitable project. I had no idea how he would react to the content or what kind of issues or suggestions he might send my way. Truthfully, I was expecting a savaging response, but instead, I received a positive, well-reasoned, and accurate assessment.
“I was blown away with Ken’s comments, corrections, and improvements. His needed changes were things I couldn’t believe I had missed, and his suggestions for reworking the order of several sections of the text made a huge difference in the final product. Ken steered me down the right road, rather than the primrose path. I will be seeking Ken’s expertise as a book editor for all my future projects. You would be wise to trust him with yours!”
—M. E. Betsy McMillan, author, A Mystery in the Mailbox
“turned a boilerplate contract into a fair agreement”
As a young passionate scholar specializing in the cultural history of the Cross River region of southeastern Nigeria and southwestern Cameroon and its impact in the Caribbean and the Americas through the trans-Atlantic slave trade, I had struggled for several years and approached over 30 presses to get my first book, Aerosol Kingdom, published. When I finally got a contract, labor historian Jeremy Brecher urged me to join the National Writers Union for guidance. There I met contract adviser Ken Wachsberger, who guided me through the process of turning a boilerplate contact that would leave me powerless to protect my work or earn money from it into a fair agreement that actually protected me. The Editor-in-Chief of the press was amazed by the changes in the contract, and said he would incorporate many of them into their general contracts.
“But for my next book, the boilerplate contract had none of those changes, and was perhaps an even worse “rights-grab” than the first one!
“Fortunately, I was able to benefit again from Ken’s sage advice and then on my third and fourth books as well. I refer him to any colleague seeking similar guidance. Ken’s guidance has enabled me to be happy with my situation as a writer, and have no regrets about any agreement he has reviewed for me.”
— Ivor Miller, member of National Writers Union and author, Aerosol Kingdom: Subway Painters of New York City; Voice of the Leopard: African Secret Societies and Cuba; The Sacred Language of the Abakuá (translation and analysis of Lydia Cabrera’s La lengua sagrada de los ñáñigos”); and The Abakua Secret Society (in process; translation and analysis of Lydia Cabrera’s La sociedad secreta Abakuá)
“through the process step-by-step”
“Whether you’re an aspiring author or a seasoned one, You’ve Got the Time: How to Write and Publish That Book in You should be on your bookshelf. From how to prepare your mental and physical writing space to the actual writing process, and from how to label and organize computer files to practical points on publishing, Ken Wachsberger takes you through the process step-by-step, with plenty of examples drawn from his own real-life experience as an author, editor, educator, and book coach. And don’t even think of signing a book contract before you read the section on contracts; Ken is also a contract adviser with the National Writers Union.”
—Susan Schopp, PhD, historian, member, National Writers Union, author, Sino-French Trade at Canton, 1698-1842