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If you’re a reader, and you’re on Instagram, chances are the algorithm has fed you posts promising that “this book will change your life” or touting “five books that made me successful.” These claims ...

As an editor of self-help books for more than 13 years, I’ve had many conversations with people who want to write books—often psychology professionals, but just as often, folks who feel their ...

When you confess you’re in a mild funk, every so often a confidante will say something like, “It sounds silly, but this self-help book really worked for me.” Your friend might even give you her copy.

Heaven helps those who help themselves.” So opens Samuel Smiles’ 1859 book Self-Help; with Illustrations of Character and Conduct—an appropriately self-published work that birthed the modern genre.