Becoming a Professional Writer with Al Pittampalli

Want to become a better writer? Analyze and dissect great writing. When you’re reading, stop and look at not just what the author is saying but how they are saying it. – Al Pittampalli

About Al Pittampalli

Al Pittampalli is the author of two books, Persuadable and Read This Before Our Next Meeting, which was the most popular kindle book in the world during the week of its release (over 100K copies to date). Both books combine two of Al’s greatest strengths, research and storytelling, to help people and organizations adapt to a fast changing world.

Al’s not only an amazing writer, he’s also a good friend and I hope you enjoy our casual conversation packed with wisdom, tools and writing workflows.

Listen to this episode on iTunes.
Stream this episode on SoundCloud.

This podcast is brought to you by Ulysses. Ulysses is a fully-fledged, beautiful and distraction-free writing app your Mac, iPhone and iPad. It’s been my primary writing app for over a year now and I know I will never stray. Because… it make me want to write. That’s why I’m stoked to tell you that Ulysses is offering the listeners of this podcast a very special extended free trial. If you’re looking for a writing app to love go to ulyssesapp.com/howweworknow to get your extended free trial of Ulysses for Mac.

Topics We Explored

• What it’s like to promote a book once it’s released into the world. 
• Al’s #1 promotional tool during his book launch phase. \
• The importance of reading and studying good writing. 
• What it means to be a professional writer (aka turning pro).
• The difference between new writers and seasoned writers (and why the answer will surprise you).
• The way we are taught to write turns us off to writing at a young age.
• The myths that prevent people from falling in love with their writing.
• Al’s early morning writing routine and why it worked so well for him.
• The Resistance – what it is and how to overcome it. 
• Writing is rewriting and then rewriting and then rewriting. 

Key Takeaways

• When you think about promoting your own writing, ask yourself what are the top 3 activities you can do that will get you the most bang for your buck in terms of promotion and spreading the word.
• Nothing sells books like high profile speaking gigs where you deliver a really great talk to the right people.
• If you want to be a great speaker, you have to become a good writer because you have to be able to write a good speech.
• Nothing makes a great writer more than just sitting down and writing.
• Want to become a better writer? Start with simply writing better emails.
• Analyze and dissect great writing. When you’re reading, stop and look at not just what the author is saying but how they are saying it.
• The essence of good writing is understanding what your argument is, developing it in a logical way that take readers from point A to point B in the clearest way possible. And that is often ridiculously hard to do, but great writers keep at it.
• The first step in learning writing is to love the process. Don’t get too heavy into the mechanics early on because you’ll overwhelm yourself.
• Create a writing practice like you would a workout routine. Start small and build it up.
• Making your writing good is the last part of the process. Don’t worry about making it sound good until the end. Keep writing!
• It’s all about the work and it’s all about the reader. Do whatever you have to do in order to remember that.

Resources and Books Mentioned

Turning Pro by Steven Pressfield
Malcolm Gladwell (author)
BJ Fogg’s Tiny Habits method

Connect with Al

Al’s website
Al’s Twitter