The Published Author Podcast

Anjanette “AJ” Harper has ghostwritten over 100 books (!) and is the writing partner for Mike Michalowicz, and together they've written six books, including Profit First, The Pumpkin Plan, Fix This Next, and their latest, Get Different. After all that, she finally decided to write her own book, Write a Must-Read: Craft a Book That Changes Lives—Including Your Own. AJ is an editor and publishing strategist who helps authors write foundational books that enable them to build readership, grow their brand and make a significant impact on the world. As ghostwriter and as developmental editor, she has worked with newbies to New York Times bestselling authors with millions of books sold. Through her workshops and editing retreats, AJ empowers authors with insider publishing knowledge and guides them through the book development, writing, and editing process. In this episode, Josh and AJ talk about how she got connected to Mike Michalowicz and became his ghostwriter and now writing partner, her course, and why she decided to finally write her own book. Also, a bit of banter about ideal audience and memoir writing.

Peter Winick is the founder and CEO of Thought Leadership Leverage. For the past two decades, he's helped individuals and organizations build and grow revenue streams through designing and growing their thought leadership platforms as well as acting as a guide and advisor for increasing business to business sales of thought leadership products. His clients include New York Times bestselling business book authors, members of the Speakers' Hall of Fame, recipients of the Thinkers50 award, CEOs of public and privately held companies, and academics at prestigious institutions such as Yale, Wharton, Dartmouth, and London School of Business. In this episode, Peter talks about what thought leadership is, how his company helps his clients develop a thought leadership system, and of course, there's a lot of talk about how authors can achieve their objectives by becoming thought leaders. Peter's Links: www.thoughtleadershipleverage.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterwinick/

Kim Whitler is a Professor of Business Administration at the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business and the author of "Positioning for Advantage: Techniques and Strategies to Grow Brand Value". Kim spent nearly 20 years in the private industry in strategy and marketing roles at Procter & Gamble, as the general manager of the Breakfast Division for Aurora Foods, as the CMO of David's Bridal, the country's leading bridal apparel retailer, and as an officer of PetSmart. Kim has written over 350 articles as a Forbes senior contributor and has published in Harvard Business Review, The Washington Post, Ad Age, and many academic journals. She's been interviewed, cited, or quoted over 3,600 times in places like the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, New York Times, NBC, ABC, and The Associated Press. In this episode, Kim talks about how her first job pushed her to become a better writer, why she moved from private industry to academia, and how writing a book helped her academic career and goals to reach more people with her message. She also speaks about what surprised her in the publishing process (like having to wait two years for her book to be published, after she finished it), and Kim and Josh geek out a bit about the CMO role in the middle of the episode. If you're a marketer or need to know more about marketing, you'll enjoy this episode. Kim's Links: https://www.amazon.com/Positioning-Advantage-Techniques-Strategies-Brand/dp/0231189001 https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimwhitler/

If you've read Gary Chapman's book The 5 Love Languages, then The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace is the business/workplace version. Co-authored by Chapman and today's guest Dr. Paul White, The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace is all about improving workplace relationships by learning your coworkers' language of appreciation. The book has sold more than 500,000 copies and is currently selling 1,000/week.    In this episode, Dr. White says, “If I had written the book on my own, it probably would have sold 3,000 copies,” and then tells us how he was able to get through Chapman's gatekeeper and convince him to co-author the book with him. Dr. White also shares how he built a business around the book that now support five other team members in addition to himself through speaking engagements, consulting, and other products and services.   Dr. Paul White's Links: http://www.drpaulwhite.com/  https://twitter.com/drpaulwhite 

Ed Brenegar is a keynote speaker and leadership consultant focused on teaching people to become people of leadership within their workplace and social circles. He's worked with senior executives for 30 years and authored ‘Circle of Impact: Taking Personal Initiative To Ignite Change'. Using his proprietary Circle of Impact model, Ed provides the tools for people to innovate and problem solve by addressing and exploring people's ideas, relationships, and structures. In this episode, Ed talks about how he spent decades developing his Circle of Impact model, five years writing the book, and how he engaged in face-to-face communication to learn how to get people interested in reading it. He also shares how he is now writing much shorter companion books based on his original ideas and how this supplementary material is helping him gain more traction. Ed's Links: https://www.facebook.com/EdBrenegarSpeaks/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/edbrenegar https://edbrenegar.com/

Mareo McCracken is the Chief Revenue Officer at Movemedical where he guides sales, marketing, and customer success efforts. Prior to this, he was the top-performing salesperson at multiple companies in various industries including financial services, marketing, logistics, manufacturing, and commodities. And he's now the new author of the book Really Care for Them: How Everyone Can Use the Power of Caring to Earn Trust, Grow Sales, and Increase Income. No Matter What You Sell or Who You Sell It. In this episode, Mareo talks about how, although he didn't need to write this book to further his career, he needed it to give to people who, upon hearing that he had read over 800 sales books, asked, “What's the one sales book I should read?”  Mareo didn't have a good answer, so he decided to write the book that would be the answer. Mareo also talks about how he structured his book to appeal to salespeople who don't like to read, and how, although it wasn't his intention, the book is now helping him attract and land deals.   Mareo's Links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mareomccracken/   www.mareomccracken.com 

Adriana Monique Alvarez is the CEO and Founder of AMA Publishing, where she teaches women how to start highly profitable publishing companies. She's the author of 15 books (and counting) including How To Start A Six Figure Publishing Company: A Guide for Ambitious Female Entrepreneurs Who Are Ready to Transform a Formerly Male-Dominated Industry. If you're an ambitious female entrepreneur who wants to write a book, this episode is definitely for you. In this episode, Adriana tells how she grew up in a small Colorado town, hated going to school, but then grew up to travel the world as an entrepreneur. Now, she helps entrepreneurs to start their own publishing companies and she discusses the details of how that works, as well as how she helps authors make bestseller lists in the Wall Street Journal and USA Today. Adriana's Links: https://www.facebook.com/AdrianaMoniqueAlvarez/  AMASpeaks.com

Ben is the author of Your Number's Up! Getting a grip on Data and Measurement to accelerate your Direct to Consumer ecommerce sales. Ben is highly qualified to write this book, having held global roles with leading marketing technology companies like Unica, Chordiant, smartFOCUS, and Pitney Bowes Software, as well as leading the data charge at big agencies like RAPP and DDB. Now he works directly with brands that want to take control by using data to identify where to best focus efforts to help them grow rapidly. Ben works with these brands to bridge data, technology and marketing with commercial and common sense thinking. In this episode, Ben talks about why he won't create his next book using presentation software, why he chose to find a book printer instead of using a print-on-demand service like Amazon KDP, and how he used LinkedIn to connect to the people he interviewed for his book. Ben's Links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bensalmon/  https://twitter.com/bensalmon 

Allison Williams is an editor, book coach, and speaker, and she's the author of Seven Drafts, Self-edit like a pro from blank page to book. She has edited & coached writers to publication with Big Five, literary, and indie presses. Her own writing has appeared in the New York Times, and on National Public Radio and CBC-Canada. A former circus acrobat and fire-eater, she still loves to travel, and hosts writing retreats virtually and around the world. In this episode, Allison talks about her journey from the circus to writing and coaching others to write. As she dives into Seven Drafts, she teaches how to edit your own book and the different drafts to create as you work from your “vomit draft,” the first draft that is a big mess, to your final copy. She also talks about hiring editors and ghostwriters and at the end of the episode shares some tips for those listeners interested in writing memoirs. Allison's Links: www.sevendrafts.com www.rebirthyourbook.com Twitter/Instagram: @guerillamemoir

Curt helps entrepreneurs and wannapreneurs design, manifest, and grow their freedom businesses. For 25 years, he has counseled small businesses, entrepreneurs, as well as some of the largest corporations and associations in the country. He's built three profitable businesses, including a 7-figure PR and ad agency. In this episode, Curt talks about his book, Five Pillars of the Freedom Lifestyle, and how he walked the walk by shutting down his business, selling his home, and traveling around the US and the world. If you're an overworked entrepreneur trying to escape the comfort zone of misery, give it a listen. Curt's Links: http://linkedin.com/in/curtmercadante http://twitter.com/curtmercadante www.CurtMercadante.com

Matt Beaudreau is the founder of multiple Acton Academy campuses and author of Collaborative Homeschooling. He's also the founder of Apogee and host of The Essential 11 Podcast, as well as an international keynote speaker. In this episode, Matt explains his philosophy of education and how he went from being a public school teacher to trying to find a better way to educate children and then discovering Acton Academy. Matt also talks about how, after becoming an Acton Academy founder, he wrote his book to explain his ideas around education to the parents whose children joined his program. Matt's Links: http://actonplacer.com/  http://apogeestrong.com/  https://www.actonacademyparents.com/   Instagram: @mattbeaudreau @apogeeprogram @actonplacer

James is the founder of Sweet Fish Media, a podcast agency for B2B brands, and Showcase, a SaaS product for podcasters. He's also the Executive Producer of two podcasts: B2B Growth & Young Married Christian. James published Content-Based Networking to show how you can use the content production process to connect with clients, partners, mentors, and others. For example, if you want to talk to the CEO of a large corporation, you could try to call them up and ask for an hour of their time, and you might get lucky...but no, you won't. However, if you reach out and ask to interview them for your podcast, book, or article, your chances improve dramatically. In this episode, James talks about his author journey but also explains how authors can use content-based networking to create a better book and benefit from the book even while it's still being written. James' Links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamescarbary/ https://twitter.com/sweetfishmedia  https://www.facebook.com/sweetfishmedia  https://www.instagram.com/sweetfishmedia/?hl=en

Kate is a “tech humanist” and the author of A Future so Bright as well as three other books. She speaks globally to audiences about how data and emerging technologies like AI are shaping the future of human experiences, and she's addressed organizations like Google, IBM, Coca-Cola, Colgate, Cambridge, Yale, and audiences of world leaders at the United Nations. Among her prior roles, she was one of the first 100 employees at Netflix, created Toshiba's first Intranet, and led one of the first digital strategy and analytics agencies. In this episode, Kate talks about her inspiration for her books and how they boosted her career as a paid speaker. Also discussed: Whether AI will take over the world and enslave us all. Kate's Links: http://twitter.com/kateo http://linkedin.com/in/kateoneill http://koinsights.com/

Special Episode: Today's episode is about Ron Coury's recent memoir. We generally don't interview people about memoir-type books on the Published Author Podcast, but Ron's story is an interesting one and he has some great advice for anyone looking to publish a book. After retiring from the U.S. Marine Corp, Ron Coury became an entrepreneur in Las Vegas, but not the Vegas you know today—he was there when it was a small town, the “old” Las Vegas from movies like Goodfellas and Casino. Ron started over twenty businesses during his career and along the way dealt with death threats from competitors, political and police corruption, and fought esophageal cancer. In this episode, Ron talks about how he kept decades of notes for the day when he would write a book about his life and how he turned his life into a memoir that became a bestseller and received attention from multiple producers in Hollywood. Ron's Links: https://roncouryauthor.com/

Peri is the author of Leadership Flow: The Unstoppable Power of Connection. She's also a coach, consultant, herbalist, and leadership educator. Working for years in the field of wilderness-based leadership, she ran her own leadership school in Colorado, as well as in South Africa and Bulgaria, and has worked with clients in private, governmental, and nonprofit sectors, including Disney Theatrical, USDA Forest Service, World Bank, Stanford Woods Institute, University of Chicago, and Renaissance Reinsurance. In this episode, Peri explains how the people she worked with kept asking her for more information on what she taught them, but there were no other resources she could direct them to. Finally, she decided to write the book herself. Peri's Links: https://medium.com/@perichickering https://www.perichickering.com silenttogether.com Twitter: @SilentTogether

Dave Chesson became an author as a way to spend more time with his family. As he developed expertise writing, publishing, and marketing books, he shared lessons learned on his Kindlepreneur.com website, which eventually became his main focus. In this episode, Dave shares his author journey, how he started Kindlepreneur, as well as some of his top tips about how to market your book on Amazon using Amazon Ads, editorial reviews, and more. Kindlepreneur is one of the most visited websites for self-publishing authors, so seriously, if you haven't been there, go now. https://kindlepreneur.com/

How do you come up with the right idea for your book? How do you make sure that idea is irresistible? In this episode, Tamsen shares answers to those questions, taken from her book Find Your Red Thread: Make Your Big Ideas Irresistible. Her strategies and tactics are the same ones she's used to work with organizations like Johnson & Johnson, Harvard Medical School, and Intel, and in her roles as the former Executive Producer and current Idea Strategist for TEDx Cambridge. Tamsen's Links: https://www.facebook.com/TamsenWebster/ http://linkedin.com/in/tamsenwebster https://www.twitter.com/tamadear https://medium.com/@TamsenWebster https://www.instagram.com/tamsenwebster/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCle4DE7JXWJc4J0YeFOIIKg

What will convince your customers to work with you, talking about their problems or about your solution? Ari Galper, the world's top authority on trust-based selling, says it's all about the problem. Think about it—if someone trusts you enough, you could say, “I've got the solution to your problem, let's sign you up,” and you wouldn't even need to tell them what the solution is. To build trust, talk about your customers' problems. Now, apply this to the book you're writing to grow your business—are you talking more about solutions or spending your time showing your customers that you understand their problems? Ari's Links: https://www.facebook.com/arigalperfans  https://www.linkedin.com/in/arigalper/  https://twitter.com/arigalper  www.unlockthegame.com 

While her new book, Selling Like We're Human, isn't about trademark issues, it was a trademark dispute the Swiss Sarah Santacroce got dragged into that led to the title. In this episode, you'll hear how Sarah chose her first title and then had to rebrand her book, herself, and her business received a letter from a US-based trademark lawyer (those darn, litigious Americans!). Lesson #1—do a Google and trademark search for your book title or any special terms you want to use. However, once that story's out of the way, Sarah tells us about what it means to sell like a human, and how she wrote a book full of permission slips for those who don't like selling so they can sell a different, better way. You'll also see how Sarah's community helped her write her book, and how her book is helping her build her community. Links: Twitter LinkedIn sarahsantacroce.com

Bard Press only takes on one new book project per year, but when they do, they blow it out of the water with bestsellers like The ONE Thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan or Jeffrey Gitomer's Little Red Book of Selling. Bard Press is managed by Todd Sattersten and in this episode, he'll talk about how his publishing company chooses who to work with and what any author can learn about writing a better book from their process. Todd's Links: https://www.instagram.com/toddsattersten/  https://www.linkedin.com/in/toddsattersten/  https://twitter.com/toddsattersten  https://bardpress.com 

Do you need to hire an editor for your book? (short answer = YES) When should you hire an editor? What kind of editor(s) should you hire? How much will it cost? These are just some of the questions Carolyn Roark, developmental editor, ghostwriter, and book coach, answers in this episode. If you've got questions about hiring a book editor, this is where to start finding the answers.  Links: LinkedIn  Twitter  www.writingtexan.com 

Jose is the founder of Value Prop Interactive, a consulting firm he started over 15 years ago, and the creator of the "Revenue Throughput System", a process that diagnoses the volume and velocity at which a business converts opportunities into revenue. He's an adjunct Professor of Marketing with the Villanova University MBA program and author of Value Prop: Creating Powerful I3 Value Propositions to Enter and Win New Markets. In this episode, Jose shares what the “I3” stands for in his book title, and discusses how using these three key ingredients will help you become a more successful entrepreneur and a more successful author. Jose also talks about how he has leveraged his book to grow his business and is able to track over $1M in revenue directly to it.  Links: www.valueprop.com 

We're all born creative and capable of achieving incredible things—that's just part of the message Nir Bashan shares in this episode, as he talks about his book The Creator Mindset (McGraw/Hill, 2020). Nir has worked with Hollywood and music stars like Woody Harrelson and Rod Stewart as well as companies like AT&T, Microsoft, Ace Hardware, NFL Network, EA Sports, Suzuki, Activision, and JetBlue and shares his formula for creative success.  Links: nirbashan.com  thecreatormindset.com  Online Community  LinkedIn  Twitter: @Nir_Bashan Instagram: @nirbashan Facebook: nirbashan1 YouTube  nb@nirbashan.com

Andrew is a prolific bootstrapped startup marketing expert who has driven three VC-backed startup exits, and dozens of successfully funded startups. In this episode, Andrew talks about his new book, The Startup Growth Book: 50+ Proven Ways to Scale Your Business Without a Marketing Budget, and how he's applying the lessons from the book to market the book. You might pick up a few ideas about how to market your own book, and your business too.  andrewstartups.com LinkedIn  Instagram  Twitter  Facebook 

Kristine Carlson is a New York Times bestselling author and renowned speaker recognized worldwide for the global success of The Don't Sweat the Small Stuff book series she co-authored with her late husband Dr. Richard Carlson. Her memoir has become a Lifetime movie starring Heather Locklear titled, Don't Sweat the Small Stuff: The Kristine Carlson Story. With over 30 million books in print, Kristine has emerged today as a leading mindfulness expert and transformational guide who has been featured on national radio and television broadcasts, including The Today Show, The View, and The Oprah Winfrey Show. Debra Evans also joined this episode. Debra is a developmental editor who worked with Kristine on her book From Heartbreak to Wholeness, and together they launched Book Doulas. In this episode, Kristine tells her personal story of loss when her husband passed away unexpectedly and how she found comfort by serving others. One way she found to serve others was to launch Book Doulas, a program to help individuals tell their own stories by becoming authors. Links: kristinecarlson.com  dontsweat.com  Instagram - Kristine Carlson  Instagram - Don't Sweat The Small Stuff  Facebook - Kristine Carlson  Facebook - Don't Sweat The Small Stuff  Twitter 

Adam Houlahan's first book, Social Media Secret Sauce, launched his speaking career and helped him build a strong personal brand and platform. When Adam decided to launch his LinkedIn Agency, he already knew he was going to write a book to help him grow it. In this episode, you'll hear how the book's reception outstripped his expectations and has allowed him to grow a global firm with offices in Australia and North America. He also shares some of his best tips for how authors can use LinkedIn to promote themselves and their books. Adam is proof that a tactful book launch can propel your marketing strategy into massive success for your personal brand. As an author of three Amazon bestsellers on LinkedIn marketing, Adam walks listeners through his process which includes the following... How to base your marketing campaign around a book launch. Writing a new book vs updating an old one. Utilizing the power of LinkedIn as an author.          Adam is the CEO of the LinkedIn agency, Prominence Global, and author of Social Media: Secret Sauce, the LinkedIn Playbook, and most recently, Influencer: the 9-Step Guide To Becoming Highly Influential In Any Industry. Adam's Links: Adam's Webinar LinkedIn Twitter Facebook  Instagram  Website 

“I know my book isn't going to be a bestseller,” Drew says.   So why did he write it?  Because although his book targets B2B chief marketing officers, a small, niche audience, all Drew has to do is attract the attention of a small slice of that audience to produce massive success for him and his agency.  In this episode, Drew drops a mountain of helpful tips as he talks about why his first book wasn't the right book but how he learned from it, how he's getting the word about his second book, and why he's dedicating the next four years to marketing it.  Links:  LinkedIn  Twitter  Twitter  Renegade.com

Jason Falls leads digital marketing strategy at Cornett, a full-service advertising agency based in Lexington, Kentucky, which was named the Southeast's Small Agency of the Year by Ad Age in 2021. He's also the author of the new book, Winfluence: Reframing Influencer Marketing to Ignite Your Brand.  It's a slam-dunk to say almost every founder or CEO should publish a book to help their business, but what about other members of the team? Jason isn't the founder at Cornett, but he had their full support when he set out to write Winfluence because they knew it would generate leads for the agency. Is there someone on your team you could encourage to publish a book about what your business does?  In this episode, Jason talks about his inspiration to write Winfluence, how he landed a deal with Entrepreneur Press and what it was like to work with them, and how he was able to promote his book on over 180 podcasts.  If you like this episode, check out Jason's two marketing podcasts, Digging Deeper and Winfluence!  Twitter  LinedIn  Instagram  Facebook  JasonFalls.com  TeamCornett.com

Ken has been in the publishing industry for more than five decades and has helped hundreds of executives, entrepreneurs, and others to become thought leaders.  In this episode Ken talks about how he came to the conclusion that every thought leader needs a book, as well as how he became an author himself. Listen in for some great tips on why and how to become a thought leader by writing your own book!  www.thoughtleading.com

Drawing from his military service to a PhD in Philosophy, Charlie Gilkey teaches entrepreneurs, small business owners, and professional creatives how to get stuff done. In this episode Charlie talks about how his first book, The Small Business Lifecycle: Taking the Right Steps at the Right Time to Grow Your Small Business, wasn't the first book he set out to write, but it ended up being a growth engine for his business anyway. His second and latest book, Start Finishing: How to Go from Idea to Done, was delayed for years because Charlie thought someone else had already written it, but an epiphany pushed him to write his book anyway, which went on to become a bestseller and drive his business to new heights.  Links:  https://twitter.com/CharlieGilkey  https://www.linkedin.com/in/charliegilkey/  https://www.instagram.com/productiveflourishing/  https://www.facebook.com/ProductiveFlourishing  https://www.productiveflourishing.com/  http://startfinishingbook.com/

As a young girl, Lisa was a slow reader but knew she wanted to be a writer. A career in writing led to coaching others to write nonfiction, and today Lisa's clients have been featured on Oprah, NPR, Today, Good Morning America, and scores of other media outlets.  In this episode, hear about Lisa's own journey as an author, and learn how she guides her students to publishing success.  Links:  The Ultimate Guide To Transforming Anger - https://amzn.to/2Rmo848  Good and Mad - https://amzn.to/3eegOR9  Twitter  LinkedIn  Instagram  LisaTenner.com  www.how-to-write-a-book.com  12 Ways Journaling Can Spark Your Creativity, Support Your Writing & Transform Your Life

Dorie Clark was fired by her first literary agent after every publisher she pitched turned her down and told her she needed “a platform.” Not one to back down, when the front door was slammed in her face, Dorie says, “I went in the window instead.”  Dorie began pitching business publications to build a name for herself, and through the sale of a bike on Craigslist, got connected to an editor at the Harvard Business Review (HBR) and was able to contribute a few articles. Then HBR decided not to publish her work anymore, but a last-minute cancellation by another of their writers led to the print version of HBR publishing one of Dorie's articles, and the rest is history.  Listen to Dorie tell the story behind her four books, including her latest The Long Game: How To Be a Long-Term Thinker In a Short-Term World. You'll learn what Dorie has picked up over the years about how to build an author platform, market your book, and leverage it to grow your business.  Links:  Twitter  LinkedIn  Facebook  Instagram  YouTube  Clubhouse  DorieClark.com

Brant Cooper's front-row seat to the dot-com boom and crash and subsequent experiences with startups led him to write a series of books to help entrepreneurs build more successful startups. More recently, he's turned his attention to how startups prepare for the long term by making sure they survive the short term with his new book, Disruption Proof.  In this episode, Brant talks about how writing a book is a lot like starting a business, how he tested his content before putting it in book form, his writing routine, and how he creates his books by dictating them as keynote speeches first.  Links:  https://linkedin.com/in/brantcooper  https://twitter.com/brantcooper  https://brantcooper.com  https://movestheneedle.com

From the Air Force (with time in the First Gulf War and Bosnian War) to an MBA and then a PhD in Leadership, Dr. Tracey Jones has seen a lot, and written about what she's learned in 10 books (and counting). In this episode she talks about her author journey to her latest book, SPARK: 5 Essentials to Ignite the Greatness Within, as well as what she's learned about being an author from her time as President of the publishing company Tremendous Leadership. As the daughter of Charlie “Tremendous” Jones and having worked with authors like Brian Tracy, Zig Ziglar, and Ken Blanchard, you'll find Tracey to be a wealth of wisdom for aspiring and current authors. www.tremendousleadership.com www.traceycjones.com

Douglas Burdett isn't an author, but he's interviewed 274 of them. Douglas is the host of The Marketing Book Podcast, and in this episode we chat about the experiences he's had and lessons he's learned from talking to authors like Seth Godin, Mark Schaefer, Anne Janzer (see Ep. #5), and Jay Baer.   How valuable is going on podcasts to an author? (short answer = very) How can an author be a great podcast guest? What should an author not do when going on a podcast?  Douglas has the answers to these questions and more in this episode.  https://www.linkedin.com/in/douglasburdett/  https://twitter.com/MarketingBook  https://www.salesartillery.com/marketing-book-podcast  Mentioned during the episode:  Douglas' webpage with details on how to be a good podcast guest  Douglas' interview with Tanya Hall, Publisher at Greenleaf  Douglas' interview with Anne Janzer

Les McKeown is the CEO of Predictable Success LLC. A renowned speaker, author and advisor on accelerated business growth, Les started over 40 companies in his own right, and has guided hundreds more worldwide.  His company, Predictable Success, advises CEOs and senior leaders of organizations on how to achieve scalable, sustainable growth. Their clients range from large family-owned businesses to Fortune 100 companies, and include Harvard University, T-Mobile, United Technologies, The National Security Agency, Gartner and The Motley Fool.  In this interview, Les details his “secrets” to entrepreneurial success and how he created multiple bestselling books that have helped him grow his speaking and consulting career.  https://twitter.com/PredSuccess  https://www.instagram.com/predictablesuccess/  https://www.linkedin.com/groups/3970027  https://www.facebook.com/predictablesuccess/  https://PredictableSuccess.com/

A former kidnapping negotiator with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the ideal person to write a book on negotiating. After all, what could be more challenging than negotiating the life of a hostage?  Chris Voss did just that, and used his many years of experience in international crises and high-stakes negotiations to launch Black Swan Consulting and publish Never Split The Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It, a Wall Street Journal bestseller, with almost 20,000 five-star reviews on Amazon!  In this interview with Published Author host Josh Steimle, Chris discusses how he worked with one of the foremost ghostwriters, Tahl Raz, to write his book. He also explores how he marketed it.  Chris was the case agent on such cases as TERRSTOP (the Blind Sheikh Case – Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman), the TWA Flight 800 catastrophe and negotiated the surrender of the first hostage taker to give up in the Chase Manhattan bank robbery hostage taking. During Chris's 24-year tenure in the FBI, he was trained in the art of negotiation by not only the FBI but Scotland Yard and Harvard Law School.  Links:  Twitter  Instagram  LinkedIn  Black Swan Consulting 

Michael Zipursky is the co-founder and CEO of Consulting Success, a global leader in coaching and training entrepreneurs. In the past 20 years he's worked with thousands of clients, and he's the author of four bestselling books, including last year's Act Now: How Successful Consultants Thrive During Chaos and Uncertainty.  In this interview, Michael tells the story of how he began coaching consultants, which turned into production courses, which turned into his first book that helped him grow his business. Michael's journey is not only instructive in the details he provides to first-time authors moving through the world of self-publishing, but the very material he teaches his clients is applicable to authors as well.  Instagram  Facebook  LinkedIn  ConsultingSuccess.com

Suhein Beck is the founder of ELAJ, a natural skincare company, and a bestselling author. She's also a Syrian refugee, hosted an international talk show in the Mideast where she had to literally dodge bombs, has been involved in multiple FBI sting operations, and is now an American entrepreneur.  In this episode we talk about Suhein's background, how she came to the US, the amazing story of founding her company based on her grandfather's family recipe for a wound care ointment, and how publishing a book gave her a platform and legitimacy as a skincare expert.

John Meese is the author of the new book Survive and Thrive: How to Build a Profitable Business in Any Economy (Including This One). John is also the CEO of Cowork.Inc, Co-founder of Notable, and host of the Thrive School podcast.  John is an economist-turned-entrepreneur on a mission to eradicate generational poverty by helping entrepreneurs create thriving businesses. He's also the first member in his family to go to college.   He readily admits that to succeed in business entrepreneurs don't need a college degree, a lot of investment, or a big business plan. If you can find real people with real problems that they're actually aware of and trying to solve, and if you can create a solution, then you can be successful!

Way back in episode 67 with Wendy Keller, Wendy referenced Paul Sokol, explaining that Paul is an expert at building funnels—essential for authors building their audience and contacts. Paul talks about this and lots more in this episode, including the new book he's working on.  Paul Sokol is an expert on automated experience design and the author of Infusionsoft Cookbook: Over 88 Recipes For Effective Use of Infusionsoft To Mitigate Your CRM Needs, Marketing Automation, Conducting Online Business Optimally. This book is extremely niche, but it was an important step for Paul in terms of building his business, getting speaking gigs, and gaining new opportunities.

Christina Del Villar is a Silicon Valley marketing executive, consultant and author of the new book Sway: Implement the G.R.I.T. Marketing Method to Gain Influence & Drive Corporate Strategy. Christina has wanted to write the book for a long time, having worked on many teams and discovering that lots of people don't understand what marketers bring to the table. The G.R.I.T. Marketing Method focuses on helping marketing professionals to build smarter programs, be more efficient and exponentially grow revenue to improve overall company performance.G.R.I.T. stands for: Go-To-Market Strategy; RPN (repeatable, predictable, measurable); Intention; and Tools and Technology. In this episode Christina discusses how and why she wrote her book, marketing strategies, and how to market your book.

Carol Roth is an American television personality, bestselling author, entrepreneur, radio host, and investor. Carol appears regularly on national cable television networks including Fox Business, CNBC, CNN, Fox News and MSNBC.    She is author of a new book The War on Small Business: How the Government Used the Pandemic to Crush the Backbone of America, published by HarperCollins.  In this episode we talk about Carol's book, her work as an author and why she wrote her first book, the bestselling The Entrepreneur Equation, and how she promotes her books in the media.  Twitter  CarolRoth.com

In his youth, John Kotter didn't intend to become a writer of bestsellers and a professor at Harvard Business School. But early on in his career he fell in love with digging into a topic very deeply and finding value for readers. His first book, Mayors In Action, kicked off a life-long love affair with research and writing. John, a Harvard Business School professor, has become a highly respected change management leader. In fact, Leading Change, released in 1996, has been named by Time magazine as one of the 25 most influential business management books ever written. John is also author of the global bestseller Our Iceberg Is Melting. John's latest book, released in June, is Change: How Organizations Achieve Hard-to-Imagine Results in Uncertain and Volatile Times. In this interview, John talks to Published Author Podcast host Josh Steimle about his books, ideas, and writing career. He also shares some advice for new authors. John Kotter's Advice For New Authors! John will spend a lot of time working on a book outline until he is satisfied with it. He takes the same approach to his chapter ones, reworking them until he is ready to proceed. This, he says, makes writing the next few chapters much easier. “Writing is much more than writing,” he explains. “It forces you to confront inconsistencies that don't quite hang together. “I'm not throwing away my writing,” he continues. “I'm throwing away a piece of analysis that has been informative. With that clear in my head I can set it aside and go back to writing.” A second tip is never to stop writing if the work and flow feel forced. It may lead you in a direction that you don't want to go in, and it's better to stop and let your brain figure it out. For new authors who are working with publishers (as opposed to self-publishing), John says they should go in with low expectations. “Publishers are operating under difficult circumstances,” says John, referring to the massive amount of change they've faced since the rise of the Internet. “The model doesn't necessarily fit an author's needs. Consider self-publishing instead.” The Reward of Being a Catalyst And Influencing Others John finds a lot of satisfaction in influencing other people's work, or discovering that people are referring to him as a significant influencer. “You also get terrific feedback from people. And if someone goes out of their way to send a note or email, that really says something,” says John. “Hearing stories about how people used your information to create something new is very rewarding,” he continues. “People say John Kotter made it happen, but they made it happen. My role was more of a catalytic one.” Both Research And Experiences Shape Books John says his books come from research, but also a lot of his life experiences. He believes his brain is active 24 hours a day with information at the back of his mind, and a focal point emerges as some point, sparking a flurry of writing. For example, John's latest book Change began as an official research project with his consulting company, Kotter. He explains: “We had a group of five of us talking about some new ideas from brain science and how they were informing us about human nature that fit in an interesting way with some of the research we had that had nothing to do with neurology. “Our research was observational and had to do with why organizations were much more change-efficient and effective than others,” he continues. “That group met on and off for a few years, and one person said ‘OK, we've got enough. Let's write!'.” But John said the timing didn't feel right. He agreed that the group had learned a lot, but believed that it had further to go. However, a year later, John got up one day, went to his iPad, and began writing. “For me, it happens because my brain gets to the point where it says we've figured out the basics and we're ready to put them down on paper,” John explains. “So we can be more systematic about working out the inconsistencies or the missing data, or are there questions that aren't quite answered yet? Show Your Book Draft To Others John has consistently shown drafts of his books to colleagues and readers. He did this methodically with one of his most famous books, Our Iceberg Is Melting. John and the book's co-author Holger Rathgeber self-published that book first, and then self-published seven more times. With each version, they sought feedback. Today, the book is published by Penguin. “When you get negative feedback, most of us cringe and kind of hide and hate that. But nevertheless, as a way to improve your thinking, your writing, your capacity to produce something that will be used and be useful to people, it's invaluable,” says John. And for first-time writers, John encourages them to put on a suit of armor and simply get their book out there! Learn more: If you appreciated this episode, listen to: Overcome Imposter Syndrome To Finish Your Book And: A Hook Point For Your Book Will Win You More Clients - Brendan Kane LinkedIn FaceBook Twitter YouTube Kotterinc.com ABOUT THE HOSTThe Published Author Podcast is hosted by Josh Steimle, founder of Published Author. Josh is a book author himself and his article writing has been featured in over two dozen publications including Time, Forbes, Fortune, Mashable, and TechCrunch. He's a TEDx speaker, the founder of the global marketing agency MWI, a skater, father, and husband, and lives on a horse farm in Boston. Learn more at JoshSteimle.com.

The devastating terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre in 1993 and 2001 were traumatic for thousands of people.  They also changed many people's lives. Some left New York City, never to return. Some left the corporate world.  Today's guest, Miriam Schulman, was one such woman. She tells Published Author Podcast host Josh Steimle that she was always a closet artist, but was afraid of not being able to make a living if she chose that path. Instead, she worked with a successful hedge fund.  However, when the terrorism came to US soil, Miriam—along with many others—had a wake up call. In 2001 she crossed a threshold of no return.   Learning How To Make Money From Creativity   Miriam took a job teaching Pilates at a gym and was also responsible for selling fitness packages. This was the perfect opportunity to study their sales model and emulate it with her own business.  She soon set up as an artist launching The Inspiration Place, and began selling classes. They included teaching people how to paint, including portraits. She also took commissions.  This transition wasn't easy. Miriam is a mother and had to find creative ways of balancing her business with raising children. But today, she has a highly successful business with classes, clients, and her own podcast, The Inspiration Place.  If People Keep Asking You Questions, Write a Book!   Like many other successful entrepreneurs, Miriam had lots of people asking questions about how she ran her classes and other aspects of her business, and over time, the idea for her book arose.  She realized that by writing a book she would be able to connect directly with people just like her: moms (and dads) who are raising children but want to create a successful business that feels rewarding and helps others, too. Her forthcoming book will be published by Harper Collins in 2022.  Bad Book Reviews On Amazon Can Help You Create a Great Book   One of the major things an author must accomplish is producing a book with a unique message. This doesn't mean that the whole book's idea must be unique or that you can't attribute content to other writers or quote people. But the core focus or ‘Why' behind your book should be unique.  Creatives Jeff Goins and Lisa Congdon have both written books on running successful creative ventures.  But, points out Miriam, neither one of them is a mother of children. “And that's a huge part of my audience . . . women who have children, who are being given the message that you can't be an artist and a mother.  “So I felt that that was a big distinguisher between my message and the message of other authors. It's just a different positioning. There were also other books where the mindset and the why was there, but they didn't really then go into the how to.”  Amazon proved to be a big help here. Specifically, it was reading poor reviews of similar books that told Miriam what her book should and shouldn't contain.  “I spent a lot of time looking at the negative Amazon reviews because that really gave me clues into what I was going to say to be different, which didn't mean I was going to bash the other authors because . . . that would be a huge turnoff,” explains Miriam. “But it really helped me create the language and describe . . . how to do it.”  When You Tell Yourself It's Not Working, Stop Listening   Like most creative folks, Miriam knows only too well the temptations of negative self-talk. She's currently in the process of writing her book and knows it can be too easy to believe that voice in your head that says your creative project won't work or your efforts are doomed to fail.  She has a special message for Published Author listeners: “We're always going to have that fear of something going wrong and not making it. Our brains have evolved to be wary of fear. Our brains want to keep us safe. Our brains are going to come up with all kinds of reasons why something isn't going to work. I don't call these excuses. I call them doubts.”  She also cautions that the smarter you are, the more doubts you'll throw in your own path.  “They feel real to you. So be careful of the stories you're telling yourself,” Miriam cautions. “Those stories that you're making up in your mind, why it's not a good time to start, why you're not ready yet, why something won't work for you.”  It definitely is your time, she says, “And you're going to do it anyway. And you're ready for this step.”  In this episode Miriam also talks about how to find the right agent for your book and her writing schedule.  Learn more: If you appreciated this episode, listen to:  Finding The Right Agent And Getting The Best Deal With a Publisher  And:  Overcome Imposter Syndrome To Finish Your Book  LINKS  LinkedIn  FaceBook  Instagram  SchulmanArt.com   SUBSCRIBE TO THE PUBLISHED AUTHOR PODCAST  If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or anywhere else you listen to podcasts. You can also watch episodes of the podcast on YouTube.  And if you want to spread the word, please give us a five-star review (we read every single one!) and share this page with your friends.  We also share valuable snippets from podcast episodes on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.  ABOUT THE HOST  The Published Author Podcast is hosted by Josh Steimle, founder of Published Author. Josh is a book author himself and his article writing has been featured in over two dozen publications including Time, Forbes, Fortune, Mashable, and TechCrunch. He's a TEDx speaker, the founder of the global marketing agency MWI, a skater, father, and husband, and lives on a horse farm in Boston. Learn more at JoshSteimle.com.

Years ago, psychiatrist, Dr. Drew Ramsey saw first-hand the impact of the second-generation of antipsychotic drugs on his patients.   While the drugs may have alleviated the symptoms of psychiatric illnesses, they were hard on the body and mind. Patients gained excessive weight and developed problems with the lipid balances in their blood.   It didn't take long for a book idea to formulate. Drew tells Published Author Podcast host Josh Steimle: “Nobody in mental health was talking about food. No one taught us how to talk about food. There was not a single lecture.  “It really hit me as a young physician. I remember thinking: ‘Wow, fats come from fish.', recalls Drew. “We always talk about supplements and molecules in isolation. We studied B12, we didn't study clams, but if you want to really up your intake of B12, just eat clams for months.”  Drew is an author, farmer, and founder of the Brain Food Clinic in New York City, offering treatment and consultation for depression, anxiety, and emotional wellness concerns. He is the author of three books, including the award-winning cookbook Eat Complete: The 21 Nutrients that Fuel Brain Power, Boost Weight Loss and Transform Your Health and his latest book, Eat to Beat Depression and Anxiety: Nourish Your Way to Better Mental Health in Six Weeks.  A Co-author Improved First Book's Readability  Drew quickly moved from writing down his ideas on scraps of paper to finding a co-author, Tyler Graham, to work on his first book, The Happiness Diet: A Nutritional Prescription for a Sharp Brain, Balanced Mood, and Lean, Energized Body.  Tyler is a journalist and had a lot of experience writing for the public. Says Drew: “That first book was really my education.   “Writing about science is boring! You gotta make it interesting and relevant and compelling,” he explains. “People want to hear your opinion of what they should eat and you can back that up with all kinds of evidence, but it comes down to your opinion.  “So working with a co-author has been huge, especially when I think about how my processes evolved to the team that I now work with.”  The Importance Of Deadlines In Writing  Drew says that many writers miss the importance of deadlines in writing. If you want to get the work done, a deadline is crucial. He learned this lesson working with Tyler. The two men held regular meetings three mornings a week for two-hour sessions. Each had their own work to complete for the morning sessions.   The Happiness Diet required a ton of research because Drew and Tyler had to learn so much about food, including agriculture and the food production and distribution process. However, the hard work laid the foundation for Drew's next books. He gave himself an education and could build on that knowledge with his next books.   Drew and Tyler were in fact two of the early key figures in what is today called mental fitness. “Mental fitness really begins with nutritional psychiatry, this idea that there are things in your life . . . the everyday choices you make . . . they influence your brain health and your brain is the keeper of your mental health,” explains Drew.  Today, there is now a tremendous amount of support for Drew's research and writing. He notes: “There are multiple randomized trials showing if you improve dietary quality and move people towards a more traditional diet, you can significantly decrease the burden of depression and anxiety.”  Writing Books Just One Small Part Of Sharing Message  Drew says that writing a book is just one part of his work to evangelize about healthy eating and mental fitness. A lot of the work is around content creating and delivering his message so that people get excited about the possibilities of food and mental health.   “Whatever you're doing, whether it's improving your relationship or dealing with mood or anxiety, it's all about brain phenomena,” he says. “It's been a really exciting evolution in terms of what it's done for me.”  His key messages for authors include:  Focus On The Long-Haul  Drew believes that each promotional opportunity is part of a big picture around a book. He focuses on the long-haul with each book, and as each opportunity arises he looks for its place in the creation of his platform.    The Secret To a Successful TEDx Talk  Drew has delivered TEDx talks and some of them have been based on his books' content. He finds them “terrifying and challenging” at the same time. His big learning over the years is that a successful TEDx presentation comes from balance: a combination of a state of flow and following the arc of your key points.  “Just channeling your truth and keeping it simple is really important,” notes Drew.  It Takes a Team To Make a Successful Author  Drew is deliberate in his approach to progressing his work, saying he works on his career as an author with the same discipline he applies to his diet and mental health. He recognizes too that a strong team is important, and this includes his agent along with the people who help him translate his ideas and vision, design his books, all the way through to co-authors and other business partnerships.  “You've got to dedicate yourself to the process and have deadlines. Really enjoying that process is important, too,” says Drew, adding that it's essential that authors create a team with people who care about them and support their work.   “It's one of the ways that I really think about mental health and what our brains are here for, that our brains do best when we are connected. We have our own internal process, but I would say almost spiritually that we're here doing what we're meant to be doing, and we're doing it with other people that we care about.”  Share On The Platforms That Work For You  Social media wasn't an easy leap for Drew. As a doctor and psychiatrist, he had to take into consideration privacy considerations and how to handle patients contacting him online. Eventually, he found his place on Instagram, which he feels really comfortable with.   Learn more: If you appreciated this episode, listen to:  Bestselling Author Tells How Books Built His Career  And:  Publisher Said Go Niche With Book, But Author Goes For Broad Appeal  LINKS  LinkedIn  FaceBook  Twitter  DrewRamseyMD.com   SUBSCRIBE TO THE PUBLISHED AUTHOR PODCAST  If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or anywhere else you listen to podcasts. You can also watch episodes of the podcast on YouTube.  And if you want to spread the word, please give us a five-star review (we read every single one!) and share this page with your friends.   We also share valuable snippets from podcast episodes on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.  ABOUT THE HOST  The Published Author Podcast is hosted by Josh Steimle, founder of Published Author. Josh is a book author himself and his article writing has been featured in over two dozen publications including Time, Forbes, Fortune, Mashable, and TechCrunch. He's a TEDx speaker, the founder of the global marketing agency MWI, a skater, father, and husband, and lives on a horse farm in Boston. Learn more at JoshSteimle.com.

People have never been so susceptible to propaganda and persuasion as they are today. Hype truly runs our world.  But imagine if you could generate and leverage hype for positive purposes—like legitimate business success, helping people, or facilitating community change.  Michael F. Schein is a writer, international speaker, founder and president of marketing agency MicroFame Media and a self-described hype artist. As such, he has mastered the art and science of using shameless propaganda and powerful tools of persuasion for personal and social good.   Michael passes this knowledge along in his new book The Hype Handbook: 12 Indispensable Success Secrets From the World's Greatest Propagandists, Self-Promoters, Cult Leaders, Mischief Makers and Boundary Breakers.  The Power Of Group Psychology  Michael tells Published Author Podcast host Josh Steimle: “I realized marketing is about getting people emotional on a large scale in order for them to take action. And that's no different from what we used to call hype.   “It's what the best rock band managers do, it's what cult leaders do, it's what propaganda artists do, it's what leaders of causes do. There's not so much difference between what the worst and best of them do; it's that they all understand crowd psychology,” he continues.   “So I started to take that approach, with the proviso of never deceiving anybody and keeping things ethical, because I didn't leave my corporate job to become a con artist.”  When It Comes To Publisher, Perseverance Is Key  Michael went through no less than two agents to get a publisher for The Hype Handbook. There were a few bites. One agent persuaded a couple of editors, but they had to convince the publisher's sales team that the book would be a success, and for some reason they couldn't.  At that point, Michael thought his book was done, and that it was time to walk away from all his hard work. He felt really sad about the whole thing.  But a chance meeting with a successful PR woman he'd known for sometime turned things around!  During dinner Micheal told her about his book, and she revealed she'd just gotten into literary agent work. She told Michael: “I'll sell your book for you,” and within two weeks he had a publisher!  Make War, Not Love  The Hype Handbook wasn't Michael's first book. At 18, he wrote Teenage Road Hogs, which didn't sell many copies but did attract the attention of Oprah Winfield's book club. But he never heard back from the TV show after vacillating on whether the driving age should be raised or lowered.  Michael believes: “That's the first hype lesson: Make war, not love. Always pick fights. Always know where you stand. I never would have made that mistake today. It was a hard lesson.”  As the years passed by, Michael had learned enough lessons, first in a rock and roll band and later in corporate marketing, and as a freelance copywriter, to formulate the ideas for The Hype Handbook.   As the book's subtitle describes, The Hype Handbook breaks the concepts of hype down into 12 strategies, told through the stories of highly effective and sometimes notorious hype artists.  Build Relationships With Influencers  One lesson for aspiring business book writers is to realize that building a grassroots audience through, say, Instagram or Twitter may not be as important as nurturing relationships with influencers.   Explains Michael: “The best hype artists make it look like everything they're doing is grassroots, but it's only a fraction of what's really going on.  “Instead, they spend a lot of time building strong relationships behind the scenes, so that when they're ready to launch something, they call upon all their favors in a concentrated period of time. And blow it up so that it looks grassroots.”  Build on Your Weaknesses and Insecurities, Not Your Strengths  Another Hype Handbook strategy is discovering that the essence of propaganda is a well-designed package and, in some cases, an almost  cartoon version of yourself. For example, the painter Andy Warhol used his pathological shyness to convey the artificiality of the modern world. “Instead of going to Toastmasters and becoming a firm speaker, he leaned into that shyness and became the most iconic, soft spoken and asthmatic speaker in the world,” observes Michael.  Learn more: If you appreciated this episode, listen to:  Finding The Right Agent And Getting The Best Deal With a Publisher  And:  Writing Books Brings Entrepreneur Speaking Roles, Opens Doors  LINKS  LinkedIn  FaceBook  Twitter  MichaelFSchein.com   SUBSCRIBE TO THE PUBLISHED AUTHOR PODCAST  If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or anywhere else you listen to podcasts. You can also watch episodes of the podcast on YouTube.  And if you want to spread the word, please give us a five-star review (we read every single one!) and share this page with your friends.   We also share valuable snippets from podcast episodes on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.  ABOUT THE HOST  The Published Author Podcast is hosted by Josh Steimle, founder of Published Author. Josh is a book author himself and his article writing has been featured in over two dozen publications including Time, Forbes, Fortune, Mashable, and TechCrunch. He's a TEDx speaker, the founder of the global marketing agency MWI, a skater, father, and husband, and lives near Boston on a horse farm. Learn more at JoshSteimle.com.

You're lying in bed in the wee hours, feeling anxious because you have no idea where your next client will come from.   Does this sound like you? If so, today's Published Author episode is something you definitely want to hear!  Host Josh Steimle talks to Tobin Slaven, author of the book Experts Never Chase: The Hassle-Free Guide for Expert-Based Entrepreneurs. Experts Never Chase is designed to help business owners stop marketing and start growing their business by creating more conversations with the right people.   Experts Never Chase contains the four gears of marketing methodology designed by Tobin to help entrepreneurs find their ideal clients.   First Book From The Published Author Masterclass!  Tobin is the first member of the Published Author's Masterclass to finish his book and get it published.   An entrepreneur for about 15 years, Tobin has been called an introverted savant with a super power for helping entrepreneurs find their tribe and sparking conversations out of thin air!  Tobin's LinkedIn profile notes that his book's title is about the fact that we all know deep down that “chasing undermines the hard won trust and authority of subject matter experts. I help entrepreneurs find the easy path to dialogue that drives sales, without chasing.”  Author Ran a Kickstarter Campaign To Fund Book's Launch  Tobin ran a successful Kickstarter campaign to bring in some funding to launch his book. He says: “I like exploring new territory and doing unique things. I've never run a Kickstarter before, so I didn't bring a lot of experience, but I've wanted to do one for a while. I just find it really interesting . . .This idea of gathering a group of people together and getting them to buy into the vision of what you're creating.”  The campaign encountered a scary moment. With 10 days to go left in the campaign, Tobin and his co-author Cat Stancik, were only at 22 percent of their $5,000 goal. With Kickstarter, the rule is all or nothing, so orders for their book would have been refunded if they didn't reach 100 percent.  Although Tobin was aware that most Kickstarters don't see a lot of activity until the end of a campaign, he knew he had to really kick it into gear.   “I'd call it a good old-fashioned barn raising! I reach out to friends. I had family friends that came in in a big way,” he says. “Some folks supported with dollars. Some folks interviewed us on podcasts and helped us get the word out. And we ended up at 131 percent when we finished.”  The key to a successful Kickstarter campaign is, according to Tobin, being creative with what's on offer. Tobin and Cat offered reward layers where, for example, people could buy a signed copy of the book, a digital package with a hard copy and audio copy due later this year, and a hard copy along with a consultation package.   Frustrated With List-Building, Pushing Send, And One-To-Many Marketing  Up until about four or five years ago, most of Tobin's experience in the digital marketing space was with his own consultancy. His work was all about list building and pushing send—one-to-many digital marketing.   “It was all about efficiency and automation, and doing the least amount of work for the biggest results,” explains Tobin.  But clearly he wasn't enjoying the work because he became frustrated and did a 360-degree flip, going all in on having one-to-one conversations with people and doing the things that wouldn't scale.   Experts Never Chase is about this experience and process and the journey that he's been on after moving away from the one-to-many digital marketing approach. He notes the journey has been full of mistakes, but the goal has been to find a more elegant way of winning clients.  ‘We're Starting To Tune Out The Marketing Stuff'  Toban changed tacks not because he wasn't successful. On the contrary, he and his team produced $1.5 million dollars in revenue with two emails.  However, he was watching the open rates go down, even though they were doing a lot of things right and had pretty high open rates compared to the industry average.   Explains Tobin: “It just was getting harder and harder. And I think we see this, all of us sort of recognize this, that we're starting to tune out that marketing stuff.  “Particularly with the pandemic, I think we crave real connections with people. And I just got to a place where I said to myself if I have to prove results, if someone put a gun to my head and said ‘You've got to produce results, how are we going to do that?' it was this: Go out, talk to people, remove all the marketing that's creating distance between you and the people you want to do business with.”  Networking With Meaning In The Online Space  As an introvert, Tobin finds networking at face-to-face events difficult. He also finds online networkers who he calls “leg humpers” a real turn off. They are the people who have something to sell, connect with you, and as soon as you say you're not interested, they disappear.   Because of this, Tobin says people have bought into automation or they believe that there is a perfect script for online networking.   “The answer is there isn't one. Because if it's a copy and paste script, you automatically are removing your biggest asset, which is creating that human to human connection.”  Instead, explains Tobin, “Every message that is sent . . . the person receiving it is a hundred percent sure and certain that that message was meant for them and them alone. You do that by tying into the details that are only pertinent to them and would not have been sent to anyone else. And it completely changes the conversation.  “I would challenge folks that say ‘I don't have time for this'. Do you have time to burn your reputation with people because you only get that first impression? I want to create relationships with people I want to do business with. I don't want to drive people away who say ‘He treated me like a number, like I was a number on his spreadsheet to get more sales'.”  Learn more: If you appreciated this episode, listen to:  Imposter Syndrome Halted Writer's Work. Now His Book Has 100s Five-Star Reviews  And:  Don't Bother With PR. Do This Instead  LINKS LinkedIn FaceBook Twitter TobinSlaven.com ExpertsNeverChase.com  SUBSCRIBE TO THE PUBLISHED AUTHOR PODCAST  If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or anywhere else you listen to podcasts. You can also watch episodes of the podcast on YouTube.  And if you want to spread the word, please give us a five-star review (we read every single one!) and share this page with your friends.   We also share valuable snippets from podcast episodes on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.  ABOUT THE HOST  The Published Author Podcast is hosted by Josh Steimle, founder of Published Author. Josh is a book author himself and his article writing has been featured in over two dozen publications including Time, Forbes, Fortune, Mashable, and TechCrunch. He's a TEDx speaker, the founder of the global marketing agency MWI, a skater, father, and husband, and lives on a horse farm in Boston. Learn more at JoshSteimle.com.

Authors who aspire to getting picked up by a traditional publisher should find an agent first, given that about 80 percent of books from publishing houses are sold by agents.  Agents are the ones with relationships with editors, developed carefully over the years. An agent knows what a publisher is looking for, and how to present an author and their work to a publisher  But how do you get an agent, and what exactly is their role, apart from—of course—sending your work to the right publisher?  An Agent Does Much More Than Connect Authors With Publishers  Wendy Keller, owner of the highly successful Keller Media, answers these questions and more in this episode.  Speaking to Published Author host Josh Steimle, Wendy explains that today's literary agent acts like a business consultant for an author. The agent will spend time working with an author on the book idea and, in some instances, will help with their book proposal.  “Curating the content and pre-determining the content's marketability are really important factors,” explains Wendy. “It's my responsibility to determine whether a book is going to be successful once it hits the marketplace. So I'm gauging the author's platform, which is an indicator of whether or not the book will be successful.”  Keller Media is a literary agency, speaker's bureau, and content marketing consultancy focused on nonfiction, business, science and self-help content. Keller Media has placed more than 1800 book deals all over the world, including 17 New York Times bestsellers and nine international bestsellers.  Wendy, who has been an agent for almost 30 years, has published more than 30 books, including the bestselling Ultimate Guide To Platform Building and the Secrets Of Successful Negotiating for Women.  Agents specialize in building relationships with editors who eventually acquire an author's manuscript. For this reason, focus on one or two genres, and in Keller Media's case they represent authors of business, science, and self-help books—nothing else.   How To Find An Agent  There are different ways of finding an agent who can sell your book to a publisher. Here are some methods:  Reach out to your contacts and ask if they know any good agents. Be sure to thoroughly research any referrals  Carry out your own research. Look at who the agent has published and the categories in which they specialize. Don't send a query about a self-help book to an agent who specializes in education.  Jane Freidman, a publishing expert with expertise in business strategy for authors and publishers, recommends taking out a one-month subscription to PublishersMarketPlace.com. It will give you a fast education into what the publishing world is like, and is one of the best places to find an agent.  Hire someone to help you find an agent. CopyWriteConsultants.com is a good place to start.    Authors Get Published Based On Their Ability To Market Their Book  Wendy says the corporatization of the publishing industry means that today traditional publishing is about the author's ability to promote the book.  “I used to say it's 90 percent platform 10% content. Just like everything goes from extreme to extreme, at this point I would say it's 25% content and 75% platform, platform being jargon for your ability to sell the book.”  Platform is about the number of people who are engaging with you and how big your fanbase is growing.   Why Go With a Traditional Publisher?  According to Wendy, the main reason to work with a traditional publisher is the number of people involved in the process, along with their experience, qualifications, and knowledge. A publisher will spend time fleshing out an author's idea, so that they are sure the book will be competitive.  “You have this opportunity to be supported, to have your editorial content vetted and approved by many people in the process,” Wendy says.   “You have access to marketing backgrounds like mine and the publisher's that are far more extensive than anything you will ever get from any of the self-publisher hybrid houses. I'm familiar with that model. In some cases, it's the right thing. But in most cases, it's not because the work is going to be inferior and the marketing is going to be slapdash.”  Next, while an author-entrepreneur is working on their book, a publisher is busy preparing the market. For example, they can approach Amazon to let them know that a big business is set to be published, and Amazon will buy according to the expectations of the salesperson.   Working with a publisher means that there's a system in place working for the author, ensuring that the supply and resources are working for the online and bricks and mortar outlets.   The Importance Of a Book Proposal  A book proposal is essential in the world of traditional publishing. A proposal for a book is to the publishing industry what a business proposal is to a venture capitalist, explains Wendy. She says: “You're trying to get a stranger to write a check for your idea, it's got to be such a precise document.  Wendy can tell after reading the first two or three paragraphs of a proposal whether a book idea is strong. Even if an author has a great idea, if their proposal is weak and doesn't answer all the questions editorial, sales, and marketing will ask, a publisher will likely reject the proposal.  Some agents, Wendy included, help authors write their book's proposal. Wendy also assists with building parts of an author's platform that will either turn them into a paid speaker, bring more consulting revenue, or bring customers to their product or service—whatever it is that they're selling.   In fact, says Wendy, today's literary agent acts like a business consultant with an author. They spend time working with an author on the book idea and then their proposal. Next, a publisher will spend time and money on fleshing out an author's idea so that it is truly competitive.  Owner of Bookproposalworkshop.com, Wendy teaches authors how to write amazing proposals. Without a strong proposal you won't sell a book, unless you're world famous, then maybe you can get away without having a proposal  One of Wendy's client's is nationally famous and worked in Donald Trump's government, and even he has to write a proposal for his book, so there's no way around a proposal.   For the book proposal workshops, Wendy brings in a team of proven New York editors and goes over the ‘Why' of an author's book. She explains: “A lot of times authors don't understand how the publishers are looking from their perspective at the content that's coming in.”  In this episode, Wendy also talks about:  The key aspects of an author's platform that must be developed well before their book is written  How previously self-published authors tend to fail when they seek a traditional publisher  Author success stories  How the growth of Amazon has shrunk the advances publishers will offer  Why Wendy selects one publisher over another when pitching a book  Why she will occasionally decide to work with an author who doesn't have a platform but whose book will contribute positively to society.    Learn more: If you appreciated this episode, listen to:  Make Writing Your Nonfiction Book Your Top Priority  And:  No Agent, No Followers, But She Still Landed a Book Deal  LINKS  LinkedIn  LinkedIn - Keller Media  KellerMedia.com/webinars  StrategicVisabilityMarketing.com  KellerMedia.com/query  BookProposalWorkshop.com   SUBSCRIBE TO THE PUBLISHED AUTHOR PODCAST  If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or anywhere else you listen to podcasts. You can also watch episodes of the podcast on YouTube.  And if you want to spread the word, please give us a five-star review (we read every single one!) and share this page with your friends.   We also share valuable snippets from podcast episodes on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.  ABOUT THE HOST  The Published Author Podcast is hosted by Josh Steimle, founder of Published Author. Josh is a book author himself and his article writing has been featured in over two dozen publications including Time, Forbes, Fortune, Mashable, and TechCrunch. He's a TEDx speaker, the founder of the global marketing agency MWI, a skater, father, and husband, and lives on a horse farm in Boston. Learn more at JoshSteimle.com.

For some author-entrepreneurs, success isn't planned. Instead, it comes from a series of events and being able to see opportunities in those events.  This is definitely the story with John Warrillow. He built a successful market research business, with more than $6 million in revenue. Clients included The Bank of America and American Express, and because each job was custom, the profit margins were around 30 percent.  My Business Was Worth Nothing  One day, John decided to sell his business, assuming it was worth a lot of money. He soon discovered that because he did most of the research and sales, there was actually nothing to sell. John had built a business where he was the most valuable asset.  Recalls John: “For me, it was like getting kicked in the groin, it was brutal. It really inspired this journey that I went on to try to understand what makes a business valuable.   “Ultimately, we transformed that company. We hired sales people, created recurring revenue, a subscription model, etc. It was acquired years later by a publicly traded company in New York, a New York Stock Exchange listed company,” details John.   John details this experience in his first book Built To Sell. This book was recognized by Fortune and Inc magazines as one of the best business books of 2011. It's been translated into 12 languages and since publication has sold almost the same number of copies every week, within plus or minus 20 percent. It's one of those rare evergreen books that just keeps selling.   The Amazing Journey To Value Builder  Today, John helps companies build and accelerate the value of their company leading up to an exit. He runs a company called Value Builder, which is software used by business advisors to market themselves and to add a value building practice to their firm.   He tells Published Author show host Josh Steimle that this part of his entrepreneurial journey began after writing Built To Sell,   A questionnaire on the Built To Sell helped businesses determine whether their business was sellable. “Suddenly, we started getting calls from advisors, accounting firms, merger and acquisition firms, asking ‘Could we license that questionnaire on your website?',” says John.   “That triggered a light bulb for me to say ‘Why don't I build some tools for advisors to use?' And that's what started Value Builder, which evolved into a practice management software for advisors to use in their firms.”  The Importance Of Recurring Revenue  John's subsequent books are The Automatic Customer: Creating a Subscription Business in Any Industry, published in 2015, and the newly published The Art Of Selling Your Business.    He explains that he wrote The Automatic Customer with much more intention and more thoughtfully than Built To Sell.   John explains what he set out to do with The Automatic Customer. “Built to Sell talks thematically about how do you create a business that's not dependent on you. But I had underestimated and given short shrift to this concept of recurring revenue. I just hadn't made it a big enough deal.   “What I came to learn through doing some of the research for Value Builder is that recurring revenue is this incredible secret sauce for building a valuable company. If you don't have recurring revenue, it's gonna be very difficult to create a sort of transferable value. And so that's what inspired The Automatic Customer.”  Why Selling Your Business Is An Art, Not a Science  John's podcast, Built To Sell Radio, alerted him to the fact that some entrepreneurs are able to sell their businesses for much more than the accepted industry average.   “I was fascinated by what they were doing differently than all the other folks. And so that's what I really wanted to begin with The Art Of Selling Your Business. This is a bit of a frustration for me . . . valuation experts—people who value businesses—parade around as if there's some formula that values a company and that they are the ultimate arbiters of what a business is worth.   In John's experience, businesses can be viewed very differently in terms of value by different acquirers. In The Art Of Selling Your Business John explains that there is indeed an art to selling a business you've worked hard to build.   “It's not just zeros and ones. It's not just Excel spreadsheets. There's a way you position your company, market your business,” he details. “There's a way you go about romancing the buyer, so that it entices them into wanting to own your company. And that's not something you could put in a spreadsheet. And that's what I wanted to communicate with this book.”  Learn more: If you appreciated this episode, listen to:  Bestselling Author Tells How Books Built His Career  And:  Entrepreneurs, The World Needs Your Book. Don't Let Anyone Talk You Out Of It  LINKS LinkedIn FaceBook Twitter BuiltToSell.com BuiltToSell Radio (podcast) SUBSCRIBE TO THE PUBLISHED AUTHOR PODCAST  If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or anywhere else you listen to podcasts. You can also watch episodes of the podcast on YouTube.  And if you want to spread the word, please give us a five-star review (we read every single one!) and share this page with your friends.   We also share valuable snippets from podcast episodes on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.  ABOUT THE HOST  The Published Author Podcast is hosted by Josh Steimle, founder of Published Author. Josh is a book author himself and his article writing has been featured in over two dozen publications including Time, Forbes, Fortune, Mashable, and TechCrunch. He's a TEDx speaker, the founder of the global marketing agency MWI, a skater, father, and husband, and lives on a horse farm in Boston. Learn more at JoshSteimle.com.

For some author-entrepreneurs, success isn't planned. Instead, it comes from a series of events and being able to see opportunities in those events.  This is definitely the story with John Warrillow. He built a successful market research business, with more than $6 million in revenue. Clients included The Bank of America and American Express, and because each job was custom, the profit margins were around 30 percent.  My Business Was Worth Nothing  One day, John decided to sell his business, assuming it was worth a lot of money. He soon discovered that because he did most of the research and sales, there was actually nothing to sell. John had built a business where he was the most valuable asset.  Recalls John: “For me, it was like getting kicked in the groin, it was brutal. It really inspired this journey that I went on to try to understand what makes a business valuable.   “Ultimately, we transformed that company. We hired sales people, created recurring revenue, a subscription model, etc. It was acquired years later by a publicly traded company in New York, a New York Stock Exchange listed company,” details John.   John details this experience in his first book Built To Sell. This book was recognized by Fortune and Inc magazines as one of the best business books of 2011. It's been translated into 12 languages and since publication has sold almost the same number of copies every week, within plus or minus 20 percent. It's one of those rare evergreen books that just keeps selling.   The Amazing Journey To Value Builder  Today, John helps companies build and accelerate the value of their company leading up to an exit. He runs a company called Value Builder, which is software used by business advisors to market themselves and to add a value building practice to their firm.   He tells Published Author show host Josh Steimle that this part of his entrepreneurial journey began after writing Built To Sell,   A questionnaire on the Built To Sell helped businesses determine whether their business was sellable. “Suddenly, we started getting calls from advisors, accounting firms, merger and acquisition firms, asking ‘Could we license that questionnaire on your website?',” says John.   “That triggered a light bulb for me to say ‘Why don't I build some tools for advisors to use?' And that's what started Value Builder, which evolved into a practice management software for advisors to use in their firms.”  The Importance Of Recurring Revenue  John's subsequent books are The Automatic Customer: Creating a Subscription Business in Any Industry, published in 2015, and the newly published The Art Of Selling Your Business.    He explains that he wrote The Automatic Customer with much more intention and more thoughtfully than Built To Sell.   John explains what he set out to do with The Automatic Customer. “Built to Sell talks thematically about how do you create a business that's not dependent on you. But I had underestimated and given short shrift to this concept of recurring revenue. I just hadn't made it a big enough deal.   “What I came to learn through doing some of the research for Value Builder is that recurring revenue is this incredible secret sauce for building a valuable company. If you don't have recurring revenue, it's gonna be very difficult to create a sort of transferable value. And so that's what inspired The Automatic Customer.”  Why Selling Your Business Is An Art, Not a Science  John's podcast, Built To Sell Radio, alerted him to the fact that some entrepreneurs are able to sell their businesses for much more than the accepted industry average.   “I was fascinated by what they were doing differently than all the other folks. And so that's what I really wanted to begin with The Art Of Selling Your Business. This is a bit of a frustration for me . . . valuation experts—people who value businesses—parade around as if there's some formula that values a company and that they are the ultimate arbiters of what a business is worth.   In John's experience, businesses can be viewed very differently in terms of value by different acquirers. In The Art Of Selling Your Business John explains that there is indeed an art to selling a business you've worked hard to build.   “It's not just zeros and ones. It's not just Excel spreadsheets. There's a way you position your company, market your business,” he details. “There's a way you go about romancing the buyer, so that it entices them into wanting to own your company. And that's not something you could put in a spreadsheet. And that's what I wanted to communicate with this book.”  Learn more: If you appreciated this episode, listen to:  Bestselling Author Tells How Books Built His Career  And:  Entrepreneurs, The World Needs Your Book. Don't Let Anyone Talk You Out Of It  LINKS LinkedIn FaceBook Twitter BuiltToSell.com BuiltToSell Radio (podcast) SUBSCRIBE TO THE PUBLISHED AUTHOR PODCAST  If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or anywhere else you listen to podcasts. You can also watch episodes of the podcast on YouTube.  And if you want to spread the word, please give us a five-star review (we read every single one!) and share this page with your friends.   We also share valuable snippets from podcast episodes on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.  ABOUT THE HOST  The Published Author Podcast is hosted by Josh Steimle, founder of Published Author. Josh is a book author himself and his article writing has been featured in over two dozen publications including Time, Forbes, Fortune, Mashable, and TechCrunch. He's a TEDx speaker, the founder of the global marketing agency MWI, a skater, father, and husband, and lives on a horse farm in Boston. Learn more at JoshSteimle.com.