Having been a journalist for almost two decades now, I can tell you that if someone is a consultant and they’re promising you the “Golden Ticket” to success in publishing your book and getting it covered etc. if you’ll only buy their services or their affiliates’ services then you should take a pass on the ticket and find out as much as you can without them and then consider if you really need them at all.
A book that I highly recommend to all my clients is Peter Bowerman’s “The Well-Fed Self Publisher” . This book was published last year and is one of the most incisive up to date books on everything you need to know to self-publish a darn fine book! It’s truly the guide to how you can do it sans the consultants and thousand dollar book seminars where you leave feeling like you got a couple of good bits of information but still don’t know exactly where to start.
And no affiliate codes embedded in the Bowerman recommend!
Here is a long-delayed interview that Phil Gerbyshak was kind enough to do for me. Let this interview serve as inspiration to what you’re trying to do in connecting authentically to folks, because PHil is a guru at that! Phil’s book, “10 Ways to Make It Great” is also outstanding and inspiring and is available here.
1. Tell us briefly how you became the “Make it great” guy?
A tough one right off the bat. Well, a few years back I was reading a bunch of self-improvement, business, and motivational books that I thought were really, well, nice. But they weren’t great. Then, I read Jim Collins Good to Great, and I thought “Now here’s a man after my own heart. He pursued greatness, he studied greatness, he found greatness.” And I thought about all the “have a nice day” type of empty stuff out there, that said “If you’re feeling down, think about better stuff and you’ll feel good.” I realized that while affirmations can be powerful, ACTION is what’s important. So I combined action with greatness, and came up with Make It Great! in early 2005, and I’ve been working towards greatness ever since.
2. Your book is filled with inspiring stuff! Why do you feel it’s important to keep people inspired?
Thank you very much Nettie.
I feel it’s important to keep people inspired because we are surrounded by negative stuff on TV, in the news, and by people around us who want to hold us back. The only thing that we can choose is what we think and who we surround ourselves with. Sharing my stories about inspiring things is the best way I know of to give back to all the great people who have helped me in my life, and I hope it helps others stay inspired.
3. What’s most inspiring to you in terms of blogging and making connections with folks?
I’m very inspired by the fact that every blogger is on equal footing, and that nobody knows it “all” about blogging and making connections. Everyone has a different story to tell, a different way of looking at things, and blogging always me to connect with people where they are instead of where I am. My favorite writers pour their hearts out on their blog and share a side you’d never see looking at the surface. If you’re willing to look at people with an open mind and love them where they are, the blogosphere is full of amazingly wonderful and gifted people that we all can connect with, if we’re willing to share our own stories and be a little vulnerable.
4. You just returned from SOBCon. How did that go and what was it like?
Wow, what an event! Top 5 events OF MY LIFE! I would strongly encourage everyone to go to next year’s event.
From a presenter’s point, of view, the audience was absolutely electric and wanted all the speakers to hit a home run. I was fortunate to lead the day off, and every presentation fed off the previous, so by the end of the day, Wendy Piersall really brought it all home for us.
As a participant, which I was opening night and then after my talk, it was amazing. There was so much to learn, and so much audience giveback, you couldn’t help but walk away with something you could use.
5. What were some key takeaways from the conference that really impacted you?
You can’t rush community. Community is built one blog post, one comment, one person at a time.
Being authentic, while an overused word, is the best way to build a relationship, whether you’re writing, speaking, or just spending time with friends.
People genuinely are helpful, you just have to ask them for help.
There are at least 110 awesome ways to have a great blog. My way isn’t better or worse than your way, it’s just my way. If you’re not unique, and you’re just echoing what everyone else has to say, you’ll be extinct soon.
6. What do you think is most misunderstood about the power of blogging and intentionality?
Some think blog because they want a quick fix, and they see all the success stories of great bloggers and think “overnight sensation.” While there are some of those stories out there, really, it’s important to think about what you want to write, and write it. Think about the intention you have with what you write. While certain quantity of readership is important, I’d rather have 10 awesome readers that give me feedback, that share my best posts, and that are total evangelists than 100 luke-warm readers than never comment, never link back to me, and never tell me any way I can improve.
If you’re intentional about the outcome you want, and you keep focusing on that outcome, blogging is a great medium. For me that’s building relationships and sharing my experiences and stories to see what resonates with people and what doesn’t.
7. What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
Early on in my blogging, David St. Lawrence (http://ripples.typepad.com/) told me to write and share MY STORIES. He told me that my stories were good, but echoing other famous people’s stories sucked. David encouraged me to share my stories, and write my own stuff, and stop worrying so much about other people’s ideas. Thank you SO MUCH David!
8. What do you hope will come out of your Make It Great! blog in the next five years?
Make It Great! will continue to be my personal blog, where I write about my life, my stories, and my tips on how I’ve improved my life and hopefully how others can learn from me and improve their own.
I’m going to write a sequel to my first book called 10 MORE Ways to Make It Great! where I work with others to learn about how they have taken their life from good to GREAT!
I’m also hoping to add more guest writers, do more book giveaways, and keep the fun going.
9. You’re planning on doing much of your writing at – http://www.relationshipgeek.com , can you talk about why and how that describes you and what the blog will focus on?
Relationship Geek will focus on the most important thing in the world to me: other people. Creating and building relationships on your team, in your department, in your company, and all over your world is often difficult. I’ve learned through trial and (many) errors how to build relationships, so I’ll be looking at my world through the lens of what can I put back into others’ lives, how can I understand them more, and how can I connect the unconnected, using technology and traditional means.
It’s similar to Make It Great! in that there will be personal stories, it’s just the lens of looking at things will change.
Thanks Phil!
Phil Gerbyshak is the author of 10 Ways to Make It Great! ( http://makeitgreatbook.com), now in version 2.0, and is the author of the Make It Great! blog. For more on Phil and his Make It Great! philosophy, stop by http://www.makeitgreatguy.com
Ok, I live in the Hill Country and Dell is based in Round Rock, TX and this latest blog post by Mack Collier really gets to the heart of what Mack terms “how companies are grappling to come to terms with the new media marketing landscape”. Read it and learn from it.
And if you take this information and apply it to any blog overall and how you really must have an authentic conversation with your readers, then that would be a pretty darn good idea as well.
I just did a great interview with David Meerman Scott which will be featured later in another publication, but I’ve got to say “Get his book.” REALLY.
He just dropped a press release today on PRweb that garnered several YouTube views in a little over 3 hours and the whole thing was written about his Mom. Read it, study it, dissect it, learn from it.
And read the book because you too will understand how just one person, rock star, author, entrepreneur, company can tap into all the power the Internet has to offer. (sans gimmicks, slick advertising, and spending thousands on online ad space).
Still not hooked? Ok, well, then here are ten reasons why you should not ever read this book:
Top Ten Reasons to Not Read “The New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to use news releases, blogs, podcasts, viral marketing and online media to reach your buyers directly”
#1. I like cold calling…again, and again and again.
#2. I’m comfortable with spending thousands on Google ads even though it’s hard to see a return. It’s still fun to see the ad come up when I type in our search terms.
#3. I don’t like new things, I’m a proud traditionalist.
#4. Our CEO says this whole blogging thing is just a fad, and gosh darnit, I think he’s right.
#5. Wiki? What kind of name is that for something a business can utilize?
#6. Audience Schmaudience - it’s the number of coffee mugs we send at XMAS that really help us keep customer loyalty and word-of-mouth buzz growing. (They’re cute mugs, we have a dog in a Santa hat on them.)
#7. What would be the point of creating “thoughtful content” – I don’t want them reading – I want them buying.
#8. Social media tag? I didn’t even like playing tag in Junior High, I was always the first one out.
#9. DIGG? What?
#10. Why does everyone have to keep talking about “going global” – we don’t even want customers outside of Utah.
Oy vey – here goes Nettie again with another thing authors should do. YEP!
Submit your book for awards! If it’s self-published even better. There are tons of book festivals, Foreword Magazine award, Independent Publishing Association awards that your book is missing out on if you don’t submit it.
One of my clients Bob Prosen “Kiss Theory Good Bye” just garnered a Silver Book of the Year Award and a Silver IPPY at BOok Expo 2007. Now how did he do that? He had a great spouse who tackled submitting his book to every opportunity for a book award.
Not only did he get more recognition and a possible soft cover rights deal out of this award-winning at BEA but his book is immediately more visible amongst the heap of other great books out there.
Now go and send in your award nominations for your book!
Hi -
I’m proud to say that one my clients, Lois Kelly’s book has hit MarketingSherpa’s Book of the Week - so go and win a copy! (It’s a superb read!)
I think Toby Bloomberg is one of the most brilliant and blog-social savvy women I know and I was also lucky enough to contribute to her www.Bloggerstories.com . I wanted to put a link to it as I’ve been remiss in doing so, while you’re there, read all the other ones! Toby has garnered the top folks on this site to tell their blogger stories!
Mine is here.
Ok, I’m still stewing over the Sopranos ending and frankly my dear husband is still smarting over the lightning fast not so nice comment I made to him about “messing” up the last taping, only to find out later that it was David Chase who went to black on purpose!!!
But despite all that, I’ve also been humming that darn Journey song in my head all week that was playing in the diner and fondly remembering the 80s when I was a young, hopeful teenager trying to convince my Mom that my hair would look good blonde and black.
And the song itself is a great reminder that part of really making it in any venture is to not give up on your dreams.
“Don’t stop believing. Hold on to your dreams.” So how can you do that when your book proposal is rejected or you can’t garner that press coverage?
Hang in there for the long haul baby! Nothing comes easy.
Just keep trying. Look at how many different ways you can position yourself or your book. Listen to reader comments and incorporate them if they’re useful in your messaging. Don’t let your ego get the best of you. Not everyone is going to love your book, don’t take it personally. Move on and move forward!
Don’t fade to black too soon!
When I work with book clients, I encourage them to not wait for the press to cover them but to actively and constantly be engaging new opportunities for coverage on blogs, web sites, review sites and print opportunities.
No matter what level of writing you’re at, or even level of exposure, you should still be working on your own behalf once your book is done. Even if you hire a publicist, you should still be open to reaching out personally if you see a good fit for coverage.
For example, you read an article in the Wall Street Journal about leisure time and you have a great widget that folks can take with them on a weekend (mine would be a margarita machine), so you could proactively email the journalist who wrote the article, tell them you enjoyed the article and ask them if they might take a look at your product.
I worked with one client Phytobase and the CEO of that company is continuously reaching out to folks when he sees an opportunity. (He says I trained him well.) The key is, he’s not above trying to get coverage for his company or himself. He proactively looks for ways to get the word out about his company.
I encourage you to do the same. Even if you’ve been covered in Inc. magazine and you’re sitting pretty good with a stream of journalists, interviewers etc. who are interested in you or your book – keep in mind, eventually that will wane and it’s the real long-term relationships with journalists, writers, reviewers that you’re proactively building that will buoy your next book and your next endeavor.
The Internet moves so quickly, you never know when the next radio show, podcaster or other online editor might be at the top of the heap.
Steve Rubel is a personal favorite of mine and has a great post on his blog about why we all need to understand how to write and do it well.
Here is a link to the post.
I’ve interviewed him over the years and just always come away with the understanding that he is dedicated to all of us being empowered communicators!
Here’s a link to the first interview I did with Steve years ago – and what’s interesting is how “right on” Rubel was in terms of his predictions!
THink your author platform is not all that important to publishers when considering your book? Read this outstanding post by the folks at WME and get the real scoop on what you need to do to make certain your book has a fighting chance!
So you have a book and you don’t know how to market it, or get some stories written about you or the book? This is a common challenge among authors and don’t worry – there’s a cure!
Defy Gravity! (from “Wicked” – a show not to miss in New York).
What does it mean in terms of your book?
It means you have to not let your book sink once it’s out and published. So you’ve got a book with a major publisher and they’re pushing it out for you? I have two clients right now whose books are with major publishers and while they enjoyed the initial press push, their books are staying on the radar because they are taking on the job of marketing those books and building buzz around them as part of their jobs too!
This is where you empower yourself to ensure your book will defy gravity!
I’ll be sharing “gravity-defying” tips all week on how to keep your book in the air for all to see!
Your book can have wings for months to come and make a long migration to all the folks you want to read it. It takes time, patience, effort and money. But the return on investment always is worth it!
Nettie
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