Archive for the ‘book publishing’ Category

Volunteering at Pascua Yaqui Youth Career Academy Job Fair

Monday, June 8th, 2015

“Careers in Writing and Public Speaking” Booth

 

On June 5th I was a volunteer at the Pascua Yaqui Youth Career Academy Mock Job Fair, in Tucson, Arizona, a yearly event that benefit tribal high school juniors and seniors.

The students profit from the job fair by:

1) Obtaining real world advice on successful interviewing;

2) Expanding horizons and knowledge of career options;

3) Networking with business community members and leaders; and

4) Learning how to get hired for future jobs.

Interviews

In the morning, I conducted practice interviews with the students and provided feedback and critiques of their interview responses and resumes. A common error in the interviews occurred when they answered the question, “What is one weakness that you have?” Many students answered “I have trouble getting up in the morning.”

I responded, “That is not a good answer. You can talk about a weakness, but you must also add something positive too. For example, “I have trouble getting up in the morning, but I am getting better because now I go to bed earlier and set my alarm clock to make sure that I get up.” This way, the interviewer is left with a positive, rather than a negative impression of the applicant.

Job Fair Booth

In the afternoon, I manned a booth in the Job Fair where I talked to students about careers in writing and public speaking. I had copies of each of my four books for them to look at and I had a stack of free Toastmasters Magazine, for those interested in learning about public speaking.

To each group that visited my table, I emphasized that operating your own business, be it authoring books/speaking, or any other business, requires fortitude. With tongue in cheek, I said, “three-and-a-half-titude is not enough. It has to be fortitude!”

The unvarnished truth is that if you don’t write books or make speeches, you don’t get paid. It’s up to you to light a fire under yourself and take the initiative.

An Illustrative Story

In the spirit of Abraham Lincoln, the master storyteller himself, I told each group a story to illustrate my point. I said:

A man was praying to God one day. He said, “God, let me win the lottery. I need the money.”

A week passed and no response came. The man prayed again, “God, I really need some money. Please, help me win the lottery.”

Another week passes and still no response. The man said, “God, what’s going on up there? Why aren’t you helping me?”

A booming voice came down from heaven and said, “Work with me. Buy a lottery ticket.”

Overall, I was greatly inspired by the students’ preparation for the event and their professional behavior. Each student shook my hand, asked intelligent questions and thanked me for participating. Many of them had high aspirations.  I was pleased to be able to play at least a small part in helping them to reach their goals.

Upcoming Presentations

Sept. 8, 2015, 12:40 to 1:00 pm. Old Pueblo Rotary Club. Hotel Tucson. Tucson, Arizona.

 Related Articles:

Follow Abe Lincoln’s Storytelling Example

Lincoln and Storytelling – Morning Blend Interview (video)

Abe Lincoln Storyteller Radio Interview with Rich Peterson

How Abraham Lincoln Used Stories to Connect with People

How Abraham Lincoln Used Stories to Win the Presidential Nomination (a lesson for the 2016 Candidates for President)

Abraham Lincoln and Storytelling – The Story Behind the Book

What Mr. Lincoln Taught Me About the Power of Stories

7 Book Promotion Tips by Radio Host Bob Schmidt

Abe Lincoln Storyteller Radio Interview with Rich Peterson

Lincoln Storytelling at AZ Senior Academy and Aztec Toastmasters (Video)

Abraham Lincoln and Leadership through Storytelling

Review of “The Hour of Peril” – 5 Abe Lincoln Anecdotes

Abraham Lincoln and the Kindergarten Class

7 Book Promotion Tips by Radio Host Bob Schmidt

Sunday, August 11th, 2013

 

Bob Schmidt, Radio Host “Extraordinaire”

I was interviewed last Tuesday about my book, Turn Your Home into a Rental House, by Bob Schmidt of WLFN 1490 AM, Onalaska, WI.

Bob is one of my favorite radio show hosts. He asks good questions, he laughs at my little jokes, and he keeps the whole interview light hearted and fun. Here is a link to that interview (my interview begins at the 16:50 minute mark.)

I was also on his show in 2009 to promote, Fix em Up, Rent em Out. That was one of my very first radio interviews. After the show I called Bob to ask him if he had any advice for me on how to promote my book.

In my “radio interview notebook” I still have the written notes of what he told me. Here they are, verbatim.

Bob Schmidt Book Promo Advice

1.) To book guest appearances call the radio show after hosts are off the air, and talk to the producer or the host. They  don’t respond to email. They want to hear your voice.

2.) Tell them you are the author of a book and succinctly describe “the hook,” or how his/her listeners will benefit from you being on the show.

3.) Make sure you get the host/producer name correct. They are very egotistical and will be insulted if you get it wrong.

4.) During the interview be entertaining and provide helpful information.

5.) Call local TV producers, say I am a local author, and I am fixing up houses. They can film the process.

6.) Contact newspaper home sections.

7.) Fix your website. Put a chapter from the book on it, or provide a prominent link to Amazon where they can get more information about your book.

Why I Like Radio

Radio has been an important component of my book promotion plan.

I use three different ways to reach people, like a three legged stool. One way is the internet, but believe it or not, not every is on the internet. A second way is by giving speeches to groups and organizations. The third way is by radio. It takes all three legs to hold up the stool.

Radio is great because radio shows have time they need to fill, and they guests are one way to do that. It’s fun to be interviewed and you can reach huge audiences from the comfort of your living room. In addition, when a host likes you they invite you back to their show.

Since I started doing radio shows in 2009, I have appeared on 50 shows (and 2 television shows). So far, I have sold 3,300 copies of my books.

To put things in perspective, my friend Joe Sabah has been on over 700 radio shows, and has sold 23,750 copies of his books.

As I like to say, Joe and I together have sold over 27,000 books.

 

Upcoming “Turn Your Home Into a Rental House ” Radio Interviews (most shows can be heard  on the internet)

Wednesday, August 14th, at 9:15 am (eastern), I’ll be on Dave Kelber’s show, WRNJ Radio, Hackettstown, NJ. http://wrnjradio.com (to listen live).

Watch this space for information on additional interviews.

Related Articles

Abe Lincoln Storyteller Radio Interview with Rich Peterson

Dreams, Investment Houses and Creating Books

Thursday, November 15th, 2012

Freud

Sigmund Freud said, “Dreams are often most profound when they seem the most crazy. ”

But what really are dreams? Fearless Men shares a tantalizing glimpse in What Dreams Mean: How To Know What Your Dreams Are Saying To You.

As a fervent believer  in investing in fixer upper houses, I also like Fearless Men’s article Investment Properties Offer a Long-Term Source of Income.

Book writing and self-publishing is another passion of mine and I read with great interest Should I Create An eBook?  at untemplater.

Here are some other favorite posts from the precious week:

Wholesaling Do’s and Don’ts at Louisville Gals.

Are Large Companies Immune to the Fiscal Cliff? at Frugal Rules.

First Cruise Ship? 5 Big Ticket Items To Watch Out For at iheartbudgets.

5 Simple and Odd Things I do to Save Money at Frugal Habits.

PerkStreet Financial Review – The Best Online Checking Account at WorkSaveLive

Our $50K Duplex Is Worth $97K – Why? Part 2 ar Planting Our Pennies.

Old Buildings That Go Untouched at BlueCollarWorkman.

Being Thankful, Not Just For Thanksgiving – Giveaway at ModestMoney.

My Best Financial Tip at Canadian Budget Binder.

Choosing organizations to donate to: What do you factor in? at Young Adult Money

The Amazing Power of Debt at Club Thrifty

Being Thankful and a $100 Giveaway! at Eyes on the Dollar.

No Picnic for Young People, Either at AnyShinyThing.

Waking Up Early Black Friday? No Thanks at Pelican on Money.

 

 

 

_____________________

Coming VERY Soon!

How to Turn Your Home into a Rental House, Instead of Selling It

What Riles Me Up – How to be a great radio show guest

Wednesday, October 3rd, 2012

Yesterday, I participated in a telephone seminar on “how to be a good guest on radio shows.” I have been on many radio shows to promote my books, but I’m always looking for new ways to be a better guest, or perhaps more appropriately, a greater guest.

One point that the presenter mentioned really struck me. He said that radio shows prefer guests who have a strong opinion. They want you to be riled up about something.

Not gonna take it.

The presenter asked, “Why are you angry? What are you going to do about it? What makes you angry about your profession?”

I told the presenter, “I buy fixer upper houses in Arizona and turn them into rental properties, and I write books, but I’m not really angry about anything.”

He said, “Aren’t you angry about the economy, or the fact that a lot of Canadians are buying up foreclosed houses in Arizona?”

I said, “No way.

Let me entertain you, eh?

Sure, our Canadian friends have infiltrated the entertainment industry with singers, actors, and comedians practically indistinguishable from their American counterparts, but they don’t buy fixer upper houses, which is my gig; and the recession makes houses cheaper for me to buy.

But, I was angry when I had my work hours reduced during the 2001 recession. That forced me to change my way of thinking about what constituted economic security, and got me started on my fixer-upper house business. That’s also motivated me write my first book.

Looking back, I was wrong to be riled up at the recession. What I should have been riled up at was my own blindness and misplaced faith in something as ephemeral as a steady economy. I should have been riled up that I waited for a disaster to strike before I took action.

Maybe my approach should be that I am riled up about other people who don’t learn from their own painful experience, or from mine. Not that everyone should run out and buy fixer-upper houses, but everyone should  establish economic security, or carve out their niche, apart from, or in addition to, their 9-5 job.”

He replied, after a thoughtful pause, “maybe that’s it … people who never plan for a safety net.

This is the major problem we are seeing … if people prepared, they wouldn’t be so panicked.”

So that’s it.

Now I have something to be riled up about; to express my rightful indignation over.

Preparing for my next  radio interview

Watch out!

When I hit the radio waves to promote my next book I’ll come out swinging! Grrrr!

Weekly Blog Roundup

Additional recent blog articles that I liked:

How to make a vacant property look occupied at Landlord Investor

Amazing Entrepreneurs – Interview With Diane Conklin at Louisville Gals

5 Thoughts Women Wish Men Knew and Theodore Roosevelt at Fearless Men

5 Easy Methods to Save Money without Thinking at Frugal Habits

Greek Hummus Dip Recipe at Work Save Live  (mmmm)

PoP Balance Sheet – September 2012 at Planting Our Pennies

What Happens to Kids Who Were Bullied? at Blue Collar Workman (Are you looking at me?)

GRE Tips: Acing The GRE As A Middle Aged Person Long After College at Untemplater

Tax Implications Of Running A Blog at Modest Money

Why buying the most expensive motorcycle on Ebay saved me money at Reach Financial Independence

Too Old To Have This Much Crap at Any Shiny Thing

Rental Property Series: How Much Did it Cost at Eyes on the Dollar

Extra Income During the Holidays at Making Sense of Cents

 

Coming Soon!

How to Turn Your Home into a Rental House, Instead of Selling It

Add “Start a Rental House Business” to Your Bucket List

Friday, August 24th, 2012

Taking a break from my regular fixer upper rental house blogging, today I am going to comment on some favorite blog articles that I have recently read.

Fearless Men

While I agree with Fearless Men’s article on the silliness of most bucket lists, in their article, 12 Things A Man Doesn’t Have To Do Before He Dies-Stupid Bucket Lists, I also think that starting a part time business is the exception to the rule.

While most bucket lists consist of activities that might reduce your life expectancy ( e.g., bullfighting), or your ability to enjoy life (e.g., broken body from the ever-popular choice of skydiving), a part time business, like owning rental houses, can actually improve your life.

Landlord Investor

Chuck’s article on Vacancy, First one in a while for us . . . is an insightful description a recent episode of  losing  and replacing a tenant. I appreciate this “real life” rental story that I can both relate to and learn from.

Louisville Gals Real Estate Blog

In her article entitled, 13 Cool Tools to Make You a Marketing Superstar, Sharon describes 13 amazing tools to help real estate investor to streamline their business. This is great for me because I didn’t know a lot of these things even existed, or that I needed them, until I read her article.

Any Shiny Thing

I actually read Lynn’s article Nora Ephron Left Us Sleepless a couple of weeks ago. It’s the type of article that touches your heart and makes you reflect on life’s bigger issues.

Turn Your House into a Rental House

By now, you probably know that my theory is that one of the easiest ways to get started in real estate investing is by turning your home into a rental house, instead of selling it.

My wife, Angy, and I are presently finishing up a book about how we go about doing this, entitled, not surprisingly, How to Turn Your Home into a Rental Property, Instead of Selling It.

Here is a quote from a book

According to the American Association of Realtors, the average American purchases 7 houses during their lifetime. In our opinion, those are 7 houses that we should hold onto for the rest of our lives, to generate monthly income and for long-term economic family security. Don’t give away the goose that lays the golden eggs!

 

The usual procedure that most people follow is to sell the home that they live in and to use the cash from the sale to buy a new house. If we tweak the old procedure just a little, it can result in a huge difference in our net worth and our economic security. We propose that instead of selling your home, just refinance it, and use the money from the refinance as a down payment on your next house. Now, you own two houses and you can just turn your old home into a rental property.

Presently, the book is going through the final editing and formatting process. Of course, it’s being reviewed by Homeland Security and the Pentagon, to avoid any classified information from leaking into the wrong hands.

By September the book should be available in both Kindle and paperback editions.

 Related Posts

Remove that Garbarge Disposal Now!

“Carve Out Your Niche” Wins USA Book Award

Friday, November 11th, 2011

My new book “Carve Out Your Niche” was an award winning finalist in the 2011 National Best Books Awards.

Packed with specifics on not only writing a book, but also the possibility 
and practicality of self-publishing and marketing what you’ve written. 
“Carve Out Your Niche” will prove to be invaluable for anyone seeking 
to successfully write, publish, and market their own work. — Midwest Book Review

Festival of Books Link

Friday, March 12th, 2010

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For those attending my Self-publishing Workshop at the Festival of Books, here is a link to my handout where I discuss how I the techniques that I use to promote my book Fix em Up Rent em Out.

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"Fix em Up, Rent em Out" Featured in Newspaper Article

Friday, December 5th, 2008

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I was recently interviewed by the Arizona Daily Star and responded to a variety of questions related to my house fixer-upper business, such as:

Why did you write the book?;
How did you get into the fixer-upper business?;
Can you give away one secret of success?;

as well as several other questions that inquiring minds want to know the answers to.

Here is the complete interview, entitled “UA researcher fixes up houses on the side, writes about it.”

See also:

For yet another newspaper interview that I did see: Fixer Upper Business Highlighted in Newspaper Article.

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Fixer Jay Webpage Worth a Look

Friday, June 20th, 2008

Fixer Jay

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One of my favorite real estate investing authors, and someone who has inspired me in my own  fixer upper house business, is Fixer Jay DeCima. He has a very informative webpage at www.fixerjay.com. I regularly check out his blog posts located on the website.

As I have mentioned before, I think Jay’s books are exceptionally good guides to learn about the fixer-upper business.

Here is a review I wrote about Jay’s latest book:

Start small, profit big in real estate

The Quickest Way to Lose Money

What is the quickest way to lose money in real estate?

Find out in my latest ezinearticles.com article.

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How to Publish a Book on Real Estate Investing, Part 1

Friday, October 5th, 2007

Let me warn you, writing and publishing a book is like eating a giant piece of beef jerky. It’s rewarding, but it takes more time than you think.

Now that I am in the final stage of this long process, for my book Fix em Up Rent em Out, I can pass along my experiences by writing and self- publishing a book. (As a 2012 update, I have recently published a second book entitled, “Carve Out Your Niche,” which describes how to self-publish and promote a book.)

My initial thought was to write a book about what, to me, was a rewarding real estate experience. I wanted to inspire others to get started in the real estate investing, and to share the shortcuts and to point out the pitfalls of the business.

But, I wanted to do it the same way that I did real estate investing, by learning all aspects of the process and doing it all myself.

The actual writing of the book took 2-3 years in starts and stops. I did most of the writing late at night when my wife and kids were asleep. There were long stretches of time, between periods of writing, when I didn’t think I would finish. At times, doubts crept in and I wondered if I really wanted to publish a book.

What finally convinced me to finish was a book I read entitled “Aiming at Amazon” by Aaron Sheppard. The old way of publishing a book was to print off thousands of copies to reduce the per unit cost, then sell them at bookstores and workshops. The new way, that Sheppard describes, is to sell the books through web bookstores like Amazon.com and to have the printer only print books as they are needed.

Part II of “How to Publish a Book on Real Estate Investing” will follow in the next blog posting.

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