Have you noticed that you find things when you need them most? Somehow they appear in the nick of time. Destiny? Probably not. A heightened awareness of your surroundings? Probably.
What I needed this week was encouragement and I found it through a quote by Tony Robbins: “Progress equals happiness.” I thought about it a lot and I couldn’t think of an instance when it wasn’t true. I think the opposite is also true: Lack of progress equals unhappiness. 
I was feeling low-spirited this week and I wanted to know why. After contacting the publishers with which I had warm introductions, I started researching the ones with no connections. It was a slog with no sense of accomplishment.
Since I am an optimist, my question was, “How to you realize a sense of progress (and happiness) when you’re doing mundane tasks that don’t appear to be moving you forward? I think the key is how you define progress. The less glamorous or exciting steps are as critical to my success as the more exciting milestones, such as finishing writing or editing. Each step signifies progress. So the tasks of research, cold calling, and customized proposal writing need to be elevated in my eyes so I realize progress and gain happiness from them. Maybe the secret to perpetual encouragement is captured by the adage, “Enjoy all of the sights along the way.”
Phil
Progress Equals Happiness
Change With Confidence
Here is a short video about Change With Confidence.
And here is my book proposal for publishers.
Change With Confidence Book Proposal Summary
Phil
If a picture is worth a 1,000 words, what about a video?
It makes sense that a consumer needs to be interested in a product before buying it. No interest, no sale. My challenge is to inspire interest in publishers to review my book proposal. No interest, no review, no sale.
One barrier to interest is the commitment of time to read it before knowing whether or not it is worth reading. To overcome this challenge, I am creating a short video to introduce my book, describe what it contains, and outline the benefits of reading it.
Fortunately, Mel, my good friend and colleague, is an excellent video director and editor. We spent Thursday morning filming (twenty-nine takes!) and selecting footage. Before shooting, the agenda was:
- What is my book about?
- Why buy my book (benefits)?
- What are my credentials?
- How is it unique?
- What is the audience?
- Call to action: read my book proposal
After many takes, the agenda was reduced to:
- What is my book about?
- What are my credentials?
- Why buy my book (benefits)?
The more I talked on camera the less clear my message became. I wanted to explain my points in detail, which was counter to my objective. To be interesting, a good teaser video needs to be short, simple, and clear.
The footage is now in Mel’s capable hands to edit and add section titles. I know she will make it look as good as it can be. The test will be how many publishers double-click on my proposal. The objective is always the bottom line.
Phil
My Shield of Steel
It’s been years since I thought of Batfink, an animated superhero I watched on T.V. as a kid. He had super-sonic sonar radar and metallic wings. I was mesmerized by his confidence as he tackled villains, proclaiming “Your bullets cannot harm me. My wings are like a shield of steel!”
You need confidence the most when upholding your values and beliefs or convincing someone to take action. Selling my book to publishers is a good test; they may not like my views or take action.
Just like Batfink, who carried a can of oil to keep his wings polished, the mind-set of confidence needs to be tended and maintained. Whether by positive self-talk or celebrating small wins, you need to keep your engine running on high. For example, I just found out that my “The Adventures of a First-time Author” presentation was selected to be featured on SlideShare’s home page (and received more than 1,000 views). I am pumped because this is my first on-line acknowledgement.
If confidence is like a shield of steel, then a small win now and again helps keep it shining.
Phil
So, what are you going to do to sell your book?
P.T. Barnum said, “A terrible thing happens when you don’t promote yourself…nothing.” I’m sure this is true for authors so I jumped into writing my Promotion Plan with vigour. The goal is to state what I will do to sell my book (with vigour). There are many articles about how the author (not publisher) must drive awareness and sales. If not, then something terrible happens.
Passion, confidence, and commitment are three themes I have woven into my promotion plan. It has six elements:
Book Distribution to Audience Influencer: Sending copies to members of my three target audiences: leaders working on big changes (my primary target), post-secondary teachers and students, and Kraft and Cadbury employees and supporters.
Social Media Notifications:Communication about my book to my networks and business associations.
Magazines and Blogs: Reviews, interviews, and serializing content in magazines and blogs.
Keynote Speaking Engagements: Presentations at conferences, association meetings, and schools.
Book Web Site: A dedicated site including this blog, author Q&A, chapter summaries and support materials.
Award Submissions: Participation in media and association award programs.
Please let me know if I missed any promotion opportunities. I would appreciate your thoughts.
I just bought Michale Hyatt’s Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World to fortify my plan. He is offering $350 of bonus resources if you buy a copy by the end of today. Now that’s a promotion!
Phil
101 Reasons to Publish My Book!
I have enjoyed switching gears to the book proposal writing phase. It’s familiar territory (how many proposals have we written in our careers?) and doing research again is fun. I even went to a public library and signed out two books on winning proposals!
Writing a proposal is like making a cake: each ingredient must be added in the right amount and in the right order for it to create something special. Experimentation is risky.
Most advice contains the same sections and a lot of the same tips:
- Overview – What is your premise and how does it satisfy a need?
- Markets – Who will buy your book?
- Competition – What books are similar to yours and why is yours different?
- Author – Why are you the best author for this book?
- Promotion – What can you do to help sell your book?
- Table of Contents
- Sample Chapters
One hundred and one reasons for becoming my publisher is a stretch, especially since my goal is to convince one that my book will sell enough copies to make a profit. All other reasons are icing on the cake.
Phil
