How I Write Morgan Housel: How He Sold 4 Million Books
Morgan Housel, a celebrated author known for his bestsellers like "The Psychology of Money," discusses his unique approach to writing. He shares insights on making financial concepts engaging through storytelling while maintaining brevity. Topics include 'selfish writing' as a way to connect personally with readers, the emotional challenges of writing and publishing, and the art of self-editing. Housel emphasizes the importance of creating impactful sentences and how his lazy writing process has contributed to his success in captivating millions.
02:03:01
Ruthless Self-Editing
- Treat every word as precious and avoid unnecessary fluff or rambling.
- Pretend each word costs $100 to encourage ruthless self-editing.
Consistency in Writing Style
- Morgan Housel's writing style hasn't changed significantly over 17 years.
- He realized that owning his strengths, like writing 1500-word blog posts, is more effective than trying to reinvent himself.
Writing Style Evolution
- Morgan Housel initially tried to change his writing style for "The Psychology of Money."
- After negative feedback, he reverted to his blog-post style of shorter chapters.
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Intro
00:00 • 2min
Navigating Writing Styles: From Blogs to Books
01:53 • 17min
Exploring the Wealth of Economic Data through FRED
18:40 • 2min
Discovering History Through Newspapers: Insights Without Hindsight
20:15 • 3min
Capturing Attention: The Art of Engaging Writing
23:01 • 2min
The Value of Milestones in Creative Careers
25:07 • 3min
Navigating the Emotional Landscape of Writing
27:38 • 20min
The Art of Selfish Writing
47:42 • 9min
The Art of Storytelling and Reflection
56:34 • 23min
Navigating the Writing Process
01:20:01 • 10min
The Art of Memorable Writing
01:29:59 • 12min
Engaging Readers Through Structure
01:42:19 • 9min
The Art of Quitting While Ahead in Creative Work
01:50:50 • 2min
Navigating Feedback and Success in Writing
01:53:01 • 10min
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When people ask me what good online writing looks like, I point them to Morgan Housel. Why? He takes dry financial concepts and breathes life into them with captivating stories.
And he’s been doing it for a decade and a half. Before Morgan wrote “The Psychology of Money” — one of the world’s most popular finance books that’s now sold over 4 million copies — he spent years as a prolific writer. He wrote 2-4 articles a day when he worked at Motley Fool (3,500 in total). Then, he wrote a bunch more articles for Collaborative Fund and The Wall Street Journal.
Morgan didn’t “explode onto the scene” as a newbie. He put in years of early mornings and behind-the-scenes work. The result? His voice is clear, concise, and narrative. His ideas excavate the relationship between money and human psychology. His creative process is uniquely lazy — a bold contradiction to the productivity advice of today.
Morgan is a master of two things: storytelling and brevity. And the aliveness of his writing has made him one of the most successful writers on the Internet.
In this episode, you’ll learn how Morgan captivates millions of readers with his writing. We cover topics like selfish writing; ruthless self-editing; writing with brevity; and making dry ideas come alive on the page.
Website: https://collabfund.com/blog/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/morganhousel
Books: "Save Even More" and "The Psychology of Money" - https://a.co/d/8IEWwtO
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