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Empowering the Media to Boost Your Exposure

Part of promoting a book or even becoming known as an expert in your subject area as a journalist or business person involves getting media exposure. Becoming a favorite (or even an occasional) guest on radio or television news or talk shows involves more than just knowing the tricks of the public relations trade. In fact, possibly the best thing you can do initially involves understanding how the media does its job. Then you can help journalists do their jobs better. In fact, as an expert that’s what you are doing: You are reaching out to help them provide the best possible or most unique story for their audience. Learning how to pitch that story, of course, is essential as well. (You can learn how to do that here or here.)

Today, my new guest blogger, Michelle Tennant Nicholson, a 20-year PR veteran and chief creative officer of Wasabi Publicity, offers a wonderful look into how journalists create stories and how writers, authors, businesspeople, and experts of all sorts support the media. By helping the media do its job better, you can boost your own exposure to the general public through the media. It’s a win-win situation.

Empowering the Media to Boost Your Exposure
By Michelle Tennant Nicholson

In all the major cities and smaller markets across the U.S., news reporters, editors and producers are planning their coverage for the day, the hour, or in the case of weeklies and magazines, weeks or months ahead. The old news cycle in which newspaper reporters filed their stories for the next day’s paper is history. Now those same reporters and editors are planning what Web updates they will make throughout the day to stories already underway, as well as which stories they will roll out online and which ones will wait for the next print edition.

The best reporters have a knack for pumping out major scoops and material suited for the front page. Since editors decide where stories appear in print and online editions, the reporter will try to meet and hopefully exceed her editor’s expectations. This little scenario is played out countless times each day in newsrooms across America. From newspapers to local TV stations to CNN and FOX, everyone is watching the Google headlines to see what other media have already covered. Editors and producers brainstorm to find new, unexplored and compelling story angles and reaction from their audience. The traditional media venues (hard copy, broadcast) feed traffic to their own websites, and the websites drive viewer/reader/listener traffic back to the print and broadcasts.

This sped-up 24-hour news cycle means that media of all kinds are looking for sources and experts every hour of every day on the breaking news they cover, from hard news about the economy, crime and war to features in entertainment, health, politics, religion, relationships…every topic!

That means there are more opportunities than ever for you to get your business or expertise covered by the media. Remember, in the media everyone is always watching what the others are doing. TV stations read newspapers. Newspapers watch TV and listen to radio. Everyone keeps their Web browsers and Google search terms constantly updated to see what’s new, what’s breaking and what are the gaps that provide opportunities for fresh coverage. While all media want to get the big scoop, they also all know the art of repackaging stories with new angles, such as local tie-ins or expert commentary, to give their audience something “newsy” even for stories that are being recycled through their 10th or 12th news cycle.

Good coverage in one venue begets more good coverage. Look for those reporter blogs, email addresses and other entry points, such as public feedback forums on media websites. Editors often monitor their forums to gauge reaction and look for new angles. Send the reporter an email or leave them a voice mail (chances a busy reporter will pick up the phone are increasingly rare) with a tempting hint of how you can add to their story. Remember they are running around like crazy trying to feed this 24-hour news cycle so don’t get upset if they don’t get back in touch with you on the first or even the second story. Be polite, be persistent and most of all, provide the reporter with valuable content. In doing so, you will build long-term relationships and lay the groundwork for future coverage, cooperation and empowerment.

About the Author

Twenty-year PR veteran and chief creative officer of Wasabi Publicity Michelle Tennant Nicholson’s seen PR transition from typewriters to Twitter. Called a five-star publicist by Good Morning America‘s Mable Chan, Michelle specializes in international PR working regularly with the likes of Oprah, Larry King, BBC, The Today Show, and all major media. Recently she secured a Dr. Phil placement for a client within eight hours of signing the contract. Contact her at PR blog http://www.StorytellerToTheMedia.com where she teaches tips from the trade.

The economics of Independent vs. Traditional Publishing

Everyone knows traditionally published authors lose an enormous amount of money on each book sale to their publishers. That’s why so many authors chose to become independent publishers.

As head of Digital atPepsiCo Beverages, Shiv Singh pointed out in his recent blog post, Seth Godin’s decision to never again use a traditional publisher means he figured out the economics of doing so lie in his favor. (Please see my last three posts for my thoughts on Singh’s post.) While this seems pretty obvious, I’d like to focus on this for a moment to stress one particular fact: Godin already has book sales. Many new independent authors do not.

Those who have taken Godin’s decision as the straw that has broken their camel’s back–they’ve decided they will now only self-publish or electronically publish their writing–need to take a good look at the difference between themselves and Godin. If they don’t have existing book sales like his, they may not achieve the same success he surely thinks he will have in the coming years. Let’s look closer at the reasons why I says this.

Singh wrote: “I’m guessing that for every book of his sold, Godin gets probably 15% in royalties. That’s not bad when you’re selling 50,000 books priced at $17.13. He’s made $2.5 per book sold or $128,475 in total. But imagine if he sold online only where he’d probably get something closer to 80% in royalties. He’d make a whopping $685,000. Imagine if he only sold half online versus through the book chains (the distribution channels that the publisher owns), he’d still make $342,600. Or if he sold just a quarter, that would be $171,300. I don’t think it is hard for him to sell 12,500 books directly. He doesn’t need a publisher to be better off.

Singh has done the math correctly. It would work the same way for any author. However, for those aspiring authors reading this and thinking they can make the same kind of money as Godin, they need to think about the fact that he has a huge platform. And he has a well-known brand. (Please see my previous posts this week to read about these points.) To achieve these kinds of sales—and this kind of income—an author must spend a lot of time building platform and creating a brand prior to publishing a book or switching over to electronic (or independent) publishing.

In my experience, most writers and aspiring authors do not want to do anything but write. Godin is a marketing expert. He knows how to market himself and his books. He is a business man. He sees himself and his books as a business. That’s why he has achieved the success he enjoys. That’s why his books will continue to sell without a publisher to help him sell them. He’s done the work. He’s worn the business hat…and he continues to do so. He plans on continuing to do so.

Aspiring authors planning to follow his lead and dreaming of big fat pay checks need to consider these facts—the reality of becoming a successful author. You must be a successful businessperson as well.

The Importance of Editors When Independently Publishing Work

Do publishers provide authors with enough value to justify traditionally publishing books? Seth Godin must not think so anymore—or at least that seems to be what he’s saying.

Yet, publishers do provide some services that independent publishers must then be sure to garner on their own or else produce a less-than-quality product. If they don’t, they can be sure their sales will not equal those reached through traditional publishing routes simply because they have not provided readers with the standards they expect. These services include book design, cover design and manuscript editing.

As mentioned in my previous posts this week, best selling author Seth Godin’s announced earlier this week that he would no longer use traditional publishing for his books. This was followed by a blog post by Shiv Singh, head of Digital for PepsiCo Beverages, which broke down what Godin’s action actually means—to Godin and to authors and aspiring authors. (Please see my last two posts for my thoughts on Singh’s post.)

Among other things, Singh wrote: “Seth Godin doesn’t believe his publishers provide him enough value. By saying that he’s going to sell his book online and directly to his readers, Godin is basically saying that his publishers aren’t providing him enough value. He appreciates the need to have a strong editor (and he’s going to hire one independently) but everything else is not valuable enough for him. Publishers should be worried, and so too should Barnes and Noble and Borders. If other leading authors adopted this model they’d all be in trouble.”

I’d like to simply focus on this part of Singh’s statement: “He appreciates the need to have a strong editor (and he’s going to hire one independently).” Over the years, many self-published authors have failed to hire an independent professional editor. As a result, their books have not achieved the same quality that would have been demanded by a traditional publisher. Thus, they did not achieve the same success (i.e. sales) as they might have with a traditionally published book.

I was just at a writer’s club meeting last week and a traditionally published author offered the group the same message: “If you choose to self-publish, be sure to hire a professional editor.”

There are lots of types of editing a book may need. I suggest you find an editor that does everything from line editing to developmental editing so you are sure that not only your grammar and punctuation are correct but that your book makes sense and has no gaps in content.

If you need information on types of editing or working with an editor, you’ll find this post and this post useful.

Yes, editing is expensive. It costs a lot more than electronically publishing your book. It costs more than publishing your book with a print on demand company.

A good editor costs more than a bad editor. (Duh.) A professional book editor will do a better job of editing your book than a college English major or a high school English teacher.

Do right by your book. Do right by yourself. Hire a professional editor for your book. If you’ve already gone to the time and effort of writing a full manuscript, get it professionally edited so your book has a chance of succeeding.

Oh…and then hire a proofreader. That’s a service a traditional publisher would provide as well, although the proof would still be given to the author for a final read as well. Some careful authors I know then give the proof to friends for help proofing to ensure the final published book has no errors.

The Importance of Author Branding

Yesterday I wrote about the importance of knowing your readers. This post was inspired by  best selling author Seth Godin’s announcement that he would no longer use traditional publishing for his books. Additionally, I wanted to comment on the great points made in a  blog post written by Shiv Singh, head of digital at PepsiCo Beverages, in response to Godin’s announcement.

Today, I’d like to discuss the importance of author branding and continue comment in Singh’s blog post. Singh wrote: “Seth Godin believes in the power of his brand and is betting everything on it. At the most fundamental level, this is a brand play. You’ve got to believe in yourself and in your words if you want something to work, he’d say himself. And that’s exactly what he’s doing. He’s putting his money where his mouth is.”

I have to admit that I am not an expert on branding and I am only now beginning to work on clarifying and strengthening my own brand as an author and as a businessperson. That said, I know the importance of branding for any author—and authors must look at themselves and their books as a business that, indeed, does need to be branded. The biggest mistake most writers and authors make is that they don’t see themselves as businesses. Thus, they see no need for branding.

Brands are easily recognizable by consumers. Readers are consumers. They buy brands.

Do you have a brand? Would anyone recognize it? Is it time for you to begin thinking of branding yourself and your work so you, like Godin, can bet on it when you decide to independently or electronically publish your work? If you are considering following in his footsteps, you better answer emphatically, “Yes!”

The Importance of Knowing Your Readers

Earlier this week I wrote about best selling author Seth Godin’s announcement that he would no longer use traditional publishing for his books. The next day I saw a phenomenal blog post breaking down what Godin’s action actually means—to him and to authors and aspiring authors as well as to publishing. Written by Shiv Singh, Head of Digital, PepsiCo Beverages, this blog post is well worth reading. In my next few posts, I’m going to cover a few of my own thoughts, which were generated by Singh’s post.

First, I’d like to discuss the importance of knowing your readers. Singh wrote: “Seth Godin knows his readers better than his publisher does. Godin has realized that he really knows his readers. He knows what they want, he knows how to reach them and he knows quite clearly what he wants to share. He has is own marketing platform via his blog and his twitter account, too. He doesn’t need a publisher to play that role for him. And with the Internet he can distribute his book to his readers electronically.”

Do you know your readers? Are you intimately in touch with them through face-to-face contact, such as coaching, speaking, and other personal situations? Do you read what they read, hear what they say, understand their needs, desires, questions, problems, etc.? Do you have a good understanding of their demographics? Do you know your market?  You must answer “yes” to these questions if you are going to successfully sell books either on our own or through a publisher—but definitely if you are going to do so as an independent publisher.

Knowing your readers also allows you to figure out what to share with them. Successful authors provide readers with books that go beyond filling readers’ needs. They answer their questions, fulfill their desires, connect with them emotionally, solve their problems, and in some way add value to their lives. They offer them something they can’t do without—or at least think they can’t.

You also must know how to reach your readers. You must know where they “live” and how to get into their “homes.” Have you developed a platform from which you can reach your readers? Godin has done that, as Singh mentioned. Have you? If your answer is “no,” you are not ready to sell a book independently. You will need the help of a publisher to distribute that book and to promote it; however, even a publisher may not want you as a business partner without a platform.

So, get to know your readers. And let them get to know you. When you’ve done that, you can take the same step Godin has taken and decide to independently publish your books (primarily through electronic means) and know you will achieve success doing so.

Writing Coach Tip: Learning to Write Fast

Do you find that sometimes you have little time to write? You want to make writing a priority, but other things “get in the way,” edging your writing time into an hour here, a half hour there.

Other times, you may simply find that you have 15 minutes of extra time on your hands, and you’d like to use it to write. However, you may have a hard time getting started; thus, you might lose five or 10 minutes of precious writing time just getting started. This could happen even during your normally scheduled writing period.

How do you break through and not only get started fast but write fast so you accomplish a lot in a short amount of time? Here are two tricks I use on a regular basis.

1. Leave your Inner Critic at the door.

I used to be a Voice Dialogue facilitator. As Hal Stone and Sidra Winkelman, the originators of this psychological process explain, we all have inner “selves” that at different times run our lives. When we are writing, we do not want our Inner Critic involved; this particular self slows down the writing process by constantly stopping us mid sentence to correct a word, change a phrase or delete a whole sentence or paragraph. Later, when we get down to editing what we have written, our Inner Critic proves enormously helpful.  We want this self close at hand to help, if not to actually take over. the editing process.

When you sit down to write, tell your Inner Critic to remain outside the room, the coffee shop, wherever you might be working. (Instead, invite in your Inner Writer.) Each time you find yourself starting to correct your writing, stop yourself from doing so. Tell yourself that right now you are simply writing, not editing. You are creating a draft, not a finished piece. Don’t worry about misspelled words, incorrect grammar, passive sentences. (Tell your Inner English Teacher to go back to the school.) All of these things can be corrected later. Correct only what must be corrected now so your writing makes sense.

2. Don’t let your fingers (or hand) stop moving.

The best way to get a lot of writing done involves not allowing yourself to stop writing for any reason. Once you begin writing, you don’t ever allow your fingers to hover over the keys or you pen to rest motionless over the paper. You must always be writing something, even if it you only write the words, “I don’t know what to write. I don’t  know what to write,” over and over again until something different comes into your mind. (Ask your Inner Writer or your Inner Muse to join you!)

This forces you to not get stuck mulling over your word choices or your train of thought. It allows you to have a stream of consciousness that you follow. Later, you’ll call in your Inner Editor/Critic and your more conscious self, if necessary, to clean up what you’ve written and make sense of it. Right now, in the little bit of time you have, you simply want to get words on paper. You want to use the time you have to actually write something–not to think about writing something.

If necessary, get an egg timer and set it for 10 or 15 minute increments and use these for continuous writing periods.

Try these two tips on a regular basis, and you surely will learn to write fast and get a lot of writing done in shorter time periods. Then when you more time to write, you can use the same methods and you’ll discover that you have the ability to produce twice the amount of written pages in the time it used to take you to do so.

Is it Time to Throw in the Traditional Publishing Towel?

Today best-selling author and long-time marketing and publishing industry expert Seth Godin announced he will never again traditionally publish a book. That’s a bold statement coming from a man who created 120 books as a book packager and who has published 12 best sellers. To the publishing industry, this may be a scary message for such a powerful man to send out to his blog readers, who listen and take note.

His words made me more seriously consider a question I’ve been considering for some time already: Is it time to throw in the traditional publishing towel?How many other aspiring authors and traditionally published authors asked themselves the same question?

While I have played around with the idea of self-publishing for years, and I have produced a few e-books (simply as PDFs  but not in a format that makes them available for e-readers) and a few short booklets, I have not gone the full independent publishing route. I call myself a traditional publishing hold out. I have an agent; she continues to peddle my books for me in the form of nonfiction book proposals.

However, over the years I have accumulated more partial manuscripts– books I’ve started and not finished–as I’ve waited for agents to peddle them. And in the meantime I’ve lost my passion to write them. It makes me wonder if I’ve missed the boat with some of these books as I’ve waited for my ship to come in.

Let me say, I have not just waited on the dock in the meantime. I have been building platform, and that is necessary no matter how you publish your book. Any writer, whether self-published or traditionally published, needs to take time to build an author’s platform to sell books.

That said, these days you can publish a book have it available for every e-reader as well as for print on demand and it costs just a few hundred dollars–or less. I was reading in Newsweek recently about how the stigma on self-publishing has vanished. In particular this has become true now that e-books have increased the demand for more books. Even well-know authors–like Godin–are choosing to take control of the publishing process.

The authors I work with often choose to self-publish, especially since traditional publishing has become so difficult and self-publishing has become so much easier and inexpensive.

Seth Godin’s blog post convinces me that all writers–new and established–should be considering independent publishing of some sort. Plus, if we, as writers and authors, don’t jump on the independent publishing and e-reader ship as it leaves port, we may be left behind and later be found buried on shore in our unpublished (or partially written) manuscripts. I, for one, don’t want that to happen.

No. Instead, I want to get up each morning feeling the need and desire–and passion–to write the books I’ve conceived and which I believe have a chance of success. I don’t want to wait for permission to write and publish them so others can read them–especially when I know my readers want these books. I want to write them. I want to make them available.

How about you?

Now, if a traditional publisher wants to help me, fine. I don’t know that I’d go as far as Seth at this point; I’m not a bestselling author (yet). I won’t turn away a contract. If no one offers me one, I’m okay with going it alone at this point. I would counsel my clients to consider both options as well. I have always done so in the past, but I do so with more enthusiasm for self-publishing now than ever before.

My Media Coaching Experience: It’s Not About You or Your Book

Did you know that when you promote your book by getting interviewed by radio and television show hosts, or even by speaking to live groups, you should never try to sell your book?  That fact represents on of the most important things I learned in my first sessions with media coach Michael Ray Dresser, host of the well-known radio talk show Dresser After Dark.

In fact, you are selling your book, but not by actually telling the audience to buy it. You sell your book by helping the audience feel emotionally connected to you and to the message in your book. You make them feel they want your book because it answers a question, solves a problem or fills a desire they have.

How do you accomplish these things? By telling stories. You tell stories about yourself. You tell stories about the people who have used the process you’ve written about in your book. You tell stories about the people who have achieved success, solved problems, answered questions, filled desires by using the techniques or tools included in the pages of your book.

Then your audience—those listening to the radio or television show or the people sitting in chairs at an event at which you are speaking—will get up and buy your book. Why? Because they not only hear what you are saying but they resonate with the stories you have told. They see themselves in the stories, put themselves in your place or in the place of the people you have described. They feel connected emotionally to you and to the people you have described.

That’s what I learned: Promoting your book via any type of speaking has nothing to do with your book or you.

Going Through the Proposal Process: The Overview

One of the most useful sections of a book proposal is found in the first section, or Introduction. The Overview is exactly what it name implies, an overview of the book itself. And to write an overview, the aspiring author must know exactly what will lie within the pages of the book he or she envisions. To gain an agent or publisher’s attention, the Overview section of a nonfiction book proposal should compellingly and accurately describe your book. If you plan to actually pitch your book to agents or publishers, you will need a highly polished Overview for the Introduction of your proposal. However, when you go through the nonfiction book proposal process as a way to hone and evaluate the viability of your book idea, you simply need to draft an Overview for your own purposes. This document then serve as your guide in a variety of ways. To create an overview, compose about 350-500 words describing your book. Write a compelling lead (hook) followed by a paragraph with your pitch and word count and any other pertinent information about illustrations or backmatter; subsequent paragraphs should describe the benefits of reading your book. If you have any special features you plan to include in your book, add these, too. When you are done, you should have a two-page document that accurately describes—and sells—your book. Read it over. Ask yourself if this is the book you plan to write. If so, use it as your writing guide. Ask yourself if this is a book you think readers need—or, better yet, want to read. If so, you have taken the first step to conceiving a successful book and you are ready to move on. If not, your idea has a pretty low likelihood of success, which means you need to go back to the drawing board. You either must revise your idea or throw it away and start fresh. If you find yourself unable to compose an Overview, you have a problem. Either you don’t know what your book is about, your idea doesn’t work, you’re not excited about the subject, you haven’t done enough research…or something. You need to put your finger on what’s wrong and either resolve the problem, give up on this particular book, or come up with a new idea. Going through the whole proposal process–addressing every section of the nonfiction book proposal–allows you to evaluate if you have a book with a chance of success. (You don’t have to actually write a polished proposal.) Success in the publishing industry equates to sales. This means your book will sell to readers (and possibly to a publisher). The proposal process also helps you get clear about what it takes to actually create a successful book. Once you have a good picture of what this job entails, you can decide if you are cut out for it. For more information on the proposal process and how to use it to evaluate your book or to put together the foundation of a book proposal, feel free to contact me or to look at my coaching or mentoring services.

My Media Coaching Experience: I Don't Know My Message!

I began my media coaching today with Michael Ray Dresser, host of the well-known radio talk show Dresser After Dark, my regular guest blogger and author of the forthcoming book, Why Do They Listen? Creating a Compelling Connection with Your Audience Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere. I discovered that media coaching has a lot in common with the publishing mentoring I do with my clients.

I help both established and aspiring authors get clear about what their book is about and if it is viable—if it has a market and if their idea will appeal to readers. This allows them to tell agents, publishers and readers about the benefits of publishing or purchasing that book.

Michael Ray helps his clients—who are often also established and aspiring authors—get clear about what they want an audience to know about their book and how it will benefit them. In his case, the audience is comprised of the media, listeners and potential readers; in my case, the audience is agents, publishers and potential readers. Michael Ray helps authors know what to say, and he ensures the audience actually hears their words and personally identifies with their message.

My clients and I can play around with words on paper. We have a bit more chance to make sure that our audiences, all of whom are actually reading words rather than hearing them, understand our message. Yet, we still must accomplish the same goal: The words must be understood. If this doesn’t happen, communication doesn’t occur. We are in the communication business after all. Having words actually be understood becomes much harder when an audience only hears them.

Well, they may be heard, but they may not be heard in the way the speaker intends. The key lies in have the words spoken conjure up the images, feelings and meanings the speaker desires. This, Michael Ray explained to me, results in the action an author (or any speaker) desires.

I was amazed at how difficult it was for me to answer the questions Michael Ray asked me about my book—questions that got to the heart of the message I wanted to impart. Yet, he pulled out of me the answers and came up with words that someone can hear…or begin to hear. (I still have work to do to solidify the message; I’ll write more about this soon.)

This process—these initial two hours—reconfirmed my belief in coaching and mentoring services. In particular, if you plan to spend time promoting your book through radio or television talk shows, you must get media training.  Although knowing how to conduct yourself when you get up in front of an audience is invaluable, knowing what to say and how to say it will do more for your confidence than almost anything else. Plus, it will achieve your goal: You’ll sell more books.

I can tell you that I thought I knew what my book was about and what I wanted to tell people about it, but I didn’t. I needed help finding the words. I needed a coach, just like my clients need a writing coach to write their books or a publishing mentor to produce their boo proposals. Michael Ray Dresser helped me with the initial message I’ll offer to my listening audience…and he’s going to continue doing so in the weeks to come.

Check back again for more on what I’m learning during my media coaching sessions.