–> Can an Org Use Your Book? Part 5: How to Approach the Organization
When you craft your pitch to the organization you want to partner with, keep these things in mind… (Click here to continue reading)

–> Are You the “Magic Connector” for Shel’s Next Book?
Want to get an acknowledgement in my eighth book,  Guerrilla Marketing Goes Green: Winning Strategies to Improve Your Profits and Your Planet (co-authored with Jay Conrad Levinson), which will be published in 2010 by Wiley & Sons? Not to mention a few copies you can show around?
I am looking for a personal introduction to someone with enormous credentials in social entrepreneurship/green business who might like to do the Foreword for my forthcoming book.
Because this book can have an enormously positive impact on business owners and on society at large, we want it to have as large a reach as possible. I am hoping for a foreword from someone on the order of

• Al Gore
• Jimmy Carter
• Bill Gates Jr
• Wally Amos
• Muhammad Yunus (founder, Grameen Bank, Nobel Prize winner)
• Wangari Maathai (she won a Nobel for tree-planing campaign in Africa)
• Mark Zuckerberg (founder of Facebook)Biz Stone (co-founder of Twitter)
• Malcolm Gladwell

If you know any of these folks, or someone of comparable stature, I would be very grateful for an introduction. If you make the connection with someone who writes the foreword, I will not only acknowledge you in the book and on the website (with your URL, if you’d like) but also give you a few copies of the published book and also give you some very good publicity in my newsletters, etc.
Please contact me as soon as possible if you can help. http://www.frugalmarketing.com/contactform.shtml

–> My Quandary = Your Opportunity
You might have heard that the rights to my award-winning sixth book, Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First, got picked up by John Wiley & Sons, and it forms the basis for my eighth book, Guerrilla Marketing Goes Green (co-authored with Jay Conrad Levinson). The new book will include all but, I think, two chapters of Principled Profit, plus some 20-25,000 words of new material. Wiley will publish it in 2010. I’m especially proud of this because, following an e-mail introduction by one of Wiley’s business authors, I landed the deal and negotiated the contract myself.
But my problem is…my contract with Wiley forces me to stop selling Principled Profit by the end of this year. And I still have quite a few left. This was a groundbreaking book when it came out–one of the only voices showing that ethical business not only made good moral sense, but good business sense as well. While there are more resources in this area than there used to be, it’s still really hard to find this sort of solid, practical advice on both the theory and the implementation, in a nice, easy-to-read format that anyone can put into practice.
So I’ve got a deal for you! Want a copy for yourself? Take $5 off the original $17.50 price. Visit http://snipurl.com/kdq1j to order this remarkable book. Just visit and enter the code, GET5OFF. You’ll also receive my two newest e-books free with your purchase.
Get all the details here: http://frugalmarketing.com/newsletters/2009/06/26/my-quandary-your-opportunity/

• Principled Profit: The Good Business Radio Show, alternate Mondays, 4 p.m. Eastern, over http://www.valleyfreeradio.org (in the Northampton, MA area, 103.3 FM).
• Tom O’Brien of JointWinWin interviews Shel at 9 pm Thursday, July 2, part of the very ambitious (and no-cost) Make A Difference and Make a Profit: Socially Responsible Business Building Experts Teach You What They Know So You Can Make A Difference series with a whole bunch of marketing superstars.
• The Africa speaking tour is not happening in July, but may be possible for January. If you have any contacts who could come aboard as sponsors, please let me know: http://www.frugalmarketing.com/contactform.shtml or Twitter: @shelhorowitz
• Shel addresses the Holyoke, MA Rotary Club Tuesday, August 11, Noon ET
• If you’re in Western Massachusetts and want to see some amazing art, my stepfather, Michihiro Yoshida, is having another one-man show at the Burnett Gallery, Jones Library, Amherst.
• Paulette Ensign’s Publishing Prosperity Mastermind

–> In these tough times, I want to do my part. I’ve just released some things to save you money: A brand new e-book called Painless Green: 111 Tips to Help the Environment, Lower Your Carbon Footprint, Cut Your Budget, and Improve Your Quality of Life—With No Negative Impact on Your Lifestyle,  http://www.painlessgreenbook.com – and a website where you can get that e-book and all my books at a discount: http://www.RecessionBusterBooks.com

–> Which of Shel’s Books is Right for You?

–> New on the Sites, June 2009

–> Administrative Information
Subscribe, unsubscribe, back issues, etc.

–> Don’t forget to play our games, at the top of any page on FrugalFun.com– no fees to play, prizes to win, and you help me continue to bring all this good information to you.

Published monthly since May, 1997 by Shel Horowitz
16 Barstow Lane, Hadley, MA 01035 USA
413/586-2388

When you craft your pitch to the organization you want to partner with, keep these things in mind:

• Focus your inquiry/pitch not on why you want to do this for yourself, but on how it will benefit the organization (please see Part 3 of this series if you need to remind yourself of those reasons)–and on what you can bring to the table to help them, over and above the donation (for example, how you can get them media exposure, how you can open up a new volunteer pool and/or fundraising channel among your workers, how you can get other businesses to donate time, money, or goods and services)
• Come across as thoroughly professional, as some one whose association with the organization adds value to that organization–this should be reflected not only in the quality of your book, but also the quality of your presentation
• Even if you will be donating money to the organization, remember that dealing with your needs could add stress and hassles to the lives of the busy staff and volunteers–so do everything you can to smooth out any rough places for them, and to be as pleasant as possible to deal with. After all, you want them to sing your praises, to want to work with you again, and to recommend you to their colleagues
• Be flexible if you get requests for custom covers or other things you might not expect. Accommodate when possible, but if there are costs to you, it’s not unreasonable to ask the organization to pick up the extra cost

You might have heard that the rights to my award-winning sixth book, Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First, got picked up by John Wiley & Sons, and it forms the basis for my eighth book, Guerrilla Marketing Goes Green (co-authored with Jay Conrad Levinson). The new book will include all but, I think, two chapters of Principled Profit, plus some 20-25,000 words of new material. Wiley will publish it in 2010. I’m especially proud of this  because, following an e-mail introduction by one of Wiley’s business authors,  I landed the deal and negotiated the contract myself.

This is the latest honor for a self-published book that also was republished in India and Mexico, won an Apex Award for best book in the PR/Marketing world, has been endorsed by 80 entrepreneurs and marketers, and sold 1000 copies to Southwest Airlines. It’s certainly not unheard of for a self-published book to be resold to a major publisher, but it doesn’t happen every day, either.

But my problem is…my contract with Wiley forces me to stop selling Principled Profit by the end of this year. And I still have quite a few left. This was a groundbreaking book when it came out–one of the only voices showing that ethical business not only made good moral sense, but good business sense as well. While there are more resources in this area than there used to be, it’s still really hard to find this sort of solid, practical advice on both the theory and the implementation, in a nice, easy-to-read format that anyone can put into practice.

What sort of ideas are we talking about?
This book, even more relevant during today’s global business collapse, shows, among many other things, how…

To put it another way, Principled Profit shows you how to find the *value* in your *values.*

So I’ve got a deal for you!

Want a copy for yourself? Take $5 off the original $17.50 price. Visit http://snipurl.com/kdq1j to order this remarkable book. Just visit and enter the code, GET5OFF.

Copies for your list and network are an even better deal. Full cases of 68-72 books at just $6 a copy (rounded to 70 per box), plus shipping at cost. Note that only eleven cases are available, though–you’ll want to act fast. This is absolutely the lowest price I’ve ever offered on this book.

To make it even sweeter, I have bonuses for you.  Use that discount code (GET5OFF) to also get my two newest e-books:
Painless Green: 110 Tips to Help the Environment, Lower Your Carbon Footprint, Cut Your Budget, and Improve Your Quality of Life-With No Negative Impact on Your Lifestyle (just what it says–easy Green stuff you can implement immediately
Web 2.0 Marketing for the 21st Century (an in-depth look at Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and more)

Just to peek at the tip of the iceberg; many others are possible

• Local history (great for a bank, Chamber of Commerce, etc.)
• How-to (very helpful to manufacturers and distributors/dealers who need to train people in their product)
• Health and wellness (drug companies, hospitals, practitioners)
• Business theory (Southwest Airlines bought 1000 copies of my sixth book, Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First–what I heard back was that the company president wanted to give them to people he wanted to impress)
• Travel/destination (Chambers of Commerce, attractions, airlines, travel agencies…)
• Coffee-table art book (whatever company, industry, or institution is being profiled)
• Cookbook/food book (food manufacturers, restaurants, gourmet or specialty grocery stores; Dian Pfeifer, author of “Gone With the Grits,” sold 15,000 to cereal maker Quaker, which manufactures grits)
• Fiction (tie-ins with locations, genres, equipment, cars…)
• Parenting and child-rearing (schools, play equipment and toy manufacturers, early-childhood education industry, counselors, even law enforcement–in my seventh book, Grassroots Marketing for Authors and Publishers, I cite the author of a book on bullying that had been picked up by several police departments)

Keep in mind that you can not only sell entire books (especially if you can offer a custom cover so the sponsor’s name is on the front), but also pieces (as booklets, special reports, audios, etc.).

This series will continue with part 5, how to approach the organizations. And as a bonus, part 6 will apply what you’ve learned to bulk purchases in the corporate sector.

Before we get to this month’s tip: Two Important Announcements From Shel

1. In these tough times, I want to do my part. I’ve just released some things to save you money: A brand new e-book called Painless Green: 111 Tips to Help the Environment, Lower Your Carbon Footprint, Cut Your Budget, and Improve Your Quality of Life—With No Negative Impact on Your Lifestyle,  http://www.painlessgreenbook.com – and a website where you can get that e-book and all my books at a discount: http://www.RecessionBusterBooks.com

2. If you haven’t gotten your book done yet, or you know someone looking to become a published author, my new coaching program can help: Shel Horowitz’s Exclusive Ethical Expert Book Publishing Program. I’ll be announcing this in my speech Saturday at Willie Crawford’s Birthday Bash in front of several hundred people, but I wanted to let you have first crack. Especially since I’m offering it at a reduced price this first time out, and because the number of available seats is sharply limited: I’ve told the conference planners to stop taking offers when we reach 30 seats at the Gold level, and only FIVE at the Platinum level, which includes private coaching from me.

And now, on to this month’s tip:

How Organizations Benefit by Partnering With You

It’s absolutely vital to understand how an organization will benefit from your book <i>before</> you make the initial contact–because you must answer that question in your proposal letter. This brief adaptation from Grassroots Marketing for Authors and Publishers provides some possible answers:

The key question to ask yourself is this:
How does this organization genuinely benefit from using my book?
There are many possible answers; finding the correct answer may be the key that will turn your prospect into a buyer. Usually, the correct answer will involve drilling down with “so what” questions, until you find ways to either increase sales of the organization‘s products and services and/or increase the organization’s status in the minds of its customers, prospects, employees, vendors—and in some cases (especially to counterbalance negative publicity) the general public. Among many possibilities, the organization might want to:

• Show people how to use the organization’s product or services in creative or expanded ways.
• Establish its own expertise and/or disseminate its ideas to a wider audience.
• Demonstrate a commitment to the community (as when a local bank sponsors a history of the town).
• Overcome bad press.
• Show off the organization in time for an important anniversary or milestone.
• Woo lucrative clients, investors/donors, or business-venture partners with interesting and useful gifts.
• Use the book for internal training.
• Convey a point of view about a hot-button issue of the day (for instance, a organization might give out copies of a book to legislators, regulators, or policy makers).
• Demonstrate that it is a caring and concerned organization willing to help.

One I don’t mention in the book is more important these days than ever before: create (or supplement) a revenue stream through product sales.

Rather not wait until the end of June to get started? Grab copies of my award-winning books, Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First, and Grassroots Marketing for Authors and Publishers. Use this link to get the paperback editions at the discounted price of $41.95, combined (plus shipping), or this link for the e-book editions at just $34.95 (no shipping charge). Between those two books, you’ll get lots of ideas on how to form win-win partnerships that move quantities of your book. ). Of course, you can also buy just one book, at the usual price.

What kinds of organizations are we talking about? The possibilities are limitless; here are a few ideas:

• Nonprofit or not-for-profit charities (the difference is in their tax structure and doesn’t affect you, except that registered nonprofits have more clout) involved with medical or social issues
• Social service agencies
• Government agencies (federal, state, county, local)
• Public or private schools
• Other educational organizations
• Museums
• Trade and professional organizations within one profession
• Trade and professional organizations spanning many professions (e.g., Chambers of Commerce, BNI groups, organizers of business trade fairs
• Meeting planners and conference/convention organizers

Find them through your own networks, their websites and newsletters, trade or professional associations and directories, Chambers of Commerce, tourist information kiosks, Yellow Pages, and a thousand other ways.

Part 3 of this series will look at ways organizations might use your books, part 4 on the types of books that can work (you may be pleasantly surprised), and part 5, how to approach the organizations. And as a bonus, part 6 will apply what you’ve learned to bulk purchases in the corporate sector.

If you don’t want to wait 5 months for all this information, you can buy copies of my award-winning books, Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First, and Grassroots Marketing for Authors and Publishers. Use this link to get the paperback editions at the discounted price of $41.95, combined (plus shipping), or this link for the e-book editions at just $34.95 (no shipping charge). Between those two books, you’ll get lots of ideas on how to form win-win partnerships that move quantities of your book.

–> Can an Org Use Your Book? Part 1-Advantages
When an organization buys your book, in quantity, there are many advantages to you beyond the dollars in your pocket. Not that those dollars aren’t a good thing; they most certainly are. But the cash in your pocket may not be worth as much as the massive marketing benefit you can get from it.  (Click here to continue reading.)

–> Free Call Today For those Looking to Become Better Speakers
Susan Levin and Jack Barnard will be doing a call focused on the art of speaking well, 7 pm ET/4 pm PT *tonight* (Monday, 1/26) The call will cover
- Tap into your authenticity, innate creativity and spirit
- Position yourself as a credible expert and get to the next level
- Command-Brand your message with a phrase that pays
- Streamline your ideas into a well-organized presentation with a proven template systematic work plan
- Select irresistible topics and titles that grab attention
- Produce presentations that captivate and attract attention and motivate action and get results
- Create a clear focus and deliver ideas effectively with confidence that inspire any audience to accept and remember your message and take action.

This is a preview call for Susan’s bootcamps in Los Angeles March 4-8 and Portland, Maine, May 13-17. I attended one of Susan’s bootcamps a few years back and found it tremendously useful.

Get the call info at http://www.speakerservices.com/teleclasses/detail/125/879810

–> Special limited offer while supplies last: As a thank-you for being one of their “luminary” interviewees, InspireMeToday.com gave me ten free one-year premium memberships. They are having great people in all sorts of fields, and members get access to the archives (including my interview) as well.

I’m keeping one for myself…and that leaves nine to give away. The first nine people who order at least two of my books directly from me can get a membership; just put inspiremetoday in the comment field. If you want to know if I still have any left, you can even call (8 a.m. to 10 p.m. US Eastern) 413-586-2388 and ask me.

–> Be Fearless! Discover the wise and fearless presence of a bright new power that lives within you… Best-selling author Guy Finley’s newest book is a step-by-step guide to realizing your ultimate potential as a human being. It reveals fundamental secrets of our living Universe, and contains practical techniques to help you find the truly fearless life. Today marks a special release of the book, and buyers today receive a host of free gifts from over 70 leading authors and experts. Click for details: http://www.EssentialLaws.org/special/1353/

–> Hear and Meet Shel, January 2009
Wednesday, February 11, How to be a Success in Business and Still Hold Your Head Up High, webinar for You Speak Easy.com. Register at http://www.brighttalk.com/webcasts/2349/attend

–> Friends Who Want to Help You
* Do you speak? Susan Levin from SpeakerServices.com is offering a no-charge webinar with Geoffrey Zimpfer, “Get Paid for Speaking Without Ever Leaving the Comfort of Your Home,” register and she’ll send you the recording.
* Marcia Yudkin is giving away a 12-page report,”33 Keys to Thriving During a Recession” that she wrote at the request of a few clients. It is available for downloading at no cost, and you also have permission to share the report. Download it at http://www.yudkin.com/recess.htm
* Another recession-buster from Biana Babinsky: the no charge report, “5 Keys For Getting Clients During Recession.”
* For years, Joan Stewart has published one of my favorite e-zines, The Publicity Hound. And every year, she publishes a free “The Best of the Publicity Hound’s Tips of the Week” ebook. Pick up the 2008 edition here.
* Radio host David Ewen writes, “Hello, at COS Radio we are looking for guests to join us on Book World News. On this weekly show, we talk about what is new in publishing, book marketing, and anything else new in the book world. We talk about anything from inside an independent press, book events, new technologies, new ideas in marketing, etc. In the past we’ve had great guests like Google Books, Wall Street Journal, and Publishers Weekly. Our shows can be found on www.cospRadio.com To be a guest on our show, email TodaysAuthor [AT] yahoo.com.” I’ve been a guest on his show as well. If you haven’t done radio before, this is an easy and safe way to get your feet wet.
* Two very high-quality membership-based teleseminar series are featuring me later in the year. Paulette Ensign’s Publishing Prosperity series has already started. I’ve heard a few of the calls, and they’re excellent–the one with Marcia Yudkin was especially awesome. And Allison Nazarian, a new friend via Facebook, starts her last-Thursday-of-the-month Do It Yourself Marketing Seminar series (with such worthies as Willie Crawford, Kathleen Gage, and yours truly) in January–and is offering all 16 sessions at just $6 per class if you register by January 14.
* Kelly Sonora just posted a list of 100 useful blogs for business. I am familiar with about half a dozen of the blogs on this list, and those happen to be among my favorites–there’s even a section on frugality. So it’s probably a pretty good list .

–> Recent Media Coverage of Shel and His Work
A new feature: spotlight on some of the places where Shel’s been featured recently.

–> How to Get Grassroots Marketing for Half-Price
Over 300 pages of solid information on lowering your marketing cost, boosting your return

–> A No-Cost Way to Connect with Reporters Seeking Stories
My friend Peter Shankman, a very well-connected PR guy in NYC, has started a no-charge service called Help A Reporter Out. He sends queries from reporters a few times a day, and if there’s a good fit, you answer the journalist. And he gets some leads that never make it to Profnet/PR Leads. This should be a no-brainer–but don’t abuse it. Only answer if you’re approrpiate for the query, or else you’ll spoil it for yourself and everyone else . If you get one good lead in a year, it’s worth it. He has passed on leads from the NY Times and Washington Post, as well as lesser venues. Sign up at www.helpareporter.com

–> Finally–An E-Book Site Puts Authors’ Needs First
Writers: Mark Victor Hansen (of Chicken Soup fame) has just launched a very author-friendly e-book/multimedia content distribution site at http://www.youpublish.com/referredby/shelhorowitz. No fee to set up, no fee to upload your files (wide range of types), 50% commission.

–> Facebook Teleseminar with Mari Smith
If you’re not on Facebook yet, you may be missing valuable business opportunities. If you are on Facebook, are you getting the most out of it for your business? Recently, The Blog Squad grilled Mari Smith about why you need to be on Facebook and how to use the social networking site to be smart about building your business. Now you can get access to the audio program from the live teleseminar for an investment of only $20.

–> You’re invited to join Foundercontact
Christophe Poizat, founder and chairman of the International Network of Social Entrepreneurs (INSE) has invited you to receive a free membership with Foundercontact. Foundercontact International Ltd is a web 2.0 online marketplace designed to bring entrepreneurs into contact with 3500 investors for seed, early stage, or growth capital. With members from 5 continents and 93 different countries, it opens up international business opportunities for entrepreneurs. Sign up at http://www.foundercontact.com/user/register

–> Which of Shel’s Books is Right for You?

–> Latest Additions to the Websites

–> Administrative Information
Subscribe, unsubscribe, back issues, etc.

–> Don’t forget to play our games, at the top of any page on FrugalFun.com– no fees to play, prizes to win, and you help me continue to bring all this good information to you.

Published monthly since July, 2007 by Shel Horowitz
16 Barstow Lane, Hadley, MA 01035 USA
413/586-2388

When an organization buys your book, in quantity, there are many advantages to you beyond the dollars in your pocket. Not that those dollars aren’t a good thing; they most certainly are. But the cash in your pocket may not be worth as much as the massive marketing benefit you can get from it:

• Third-party validation. When an organization buys your book, it’s the highest kind of endorsement. The movers and shakers of that organization are telling their members that your work contributes valuable knowledge in the field where they’re the recognized experts. Is that cool or what?
• Access to the organization’s members. Depending on how the group plans to use your book (we’ll talk about some of the possibilities next month), it may tell its members about you through newsletters, web sites, member events that feature you as a speaker, presenter, consultant, or visiting celebrity. The group could even bring you in as a paid spokesperson!
• Ability to mention this relationship in your other marketing. If, for example, you’re approaching a journalist to pitch your heart-disease recovery book, or talking to a medical book club about carrying your title, don’t you think you’ll get more attention if you can say honestly that you’re partnering with the American Heart Association?
• Potentially, you could even get access to the organization’s other partners, including for-profit businesses that might also buy your book in quantity, sponsor appearances, etc.
• If the arrangement is made before you go to print, you can lower your print costs by increasing volume to supply the organization’s purchase.

For all these reasons, it’s worth coming to a deal. Unless it’s a very small purchase, don’t be afraid to discount. If you can do better than break even, that’s terrific. But if you at least cover your costs, the deal still works in your favor, long-term.
Part 2 of this series suggests several types of organizations that might work for you. Part 3 will look at ways organizations might use your books, part 4 on the types of books that can work (you may be pleasantly surprised), and part 5, how to approach the organizations. And as a bonus, part 6 will apply what you’ve learned to bulk purchases in the corporate sector.

If you don’t want to wait 6 months for all this information, you can buy copies of my award-winning books, Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First, and Grassroots Marketing for Authors and Publishers. Use this link to get the paperback editions at the discounted price of $41.95, combined (plus shipping), or this link for the e-book editions at just $34.95 (no shipping charge). Between those two books, you’ll get lots of ideas on how to form win-win partnerships that move quantities of your book.

Today’s Book Marketing Tip is a guest article form Susan Kendrick, of Book Cover Quick Start, discussing (among other things) the important distinction between readers and buyers, and how that affects your book. And by the way, if you order a copy of my seventh book, Grassroots Marketing for Authors and Publishers, directly from me, one of the two free e-books you get is “How to Write and Publish a Marketable Book”-which includes a full chapter on covers.

Take it away, Susan!

-Shel

Does Your Book Cover Have a Hidden Target Market?

One Book–Multiple Target Markets?
Discover the Hidden Buyers for Your Book
(That Can More Than Double Your Sales!)

By Susan Kendrick

By now you must have heard or read at least once that you should narrow
your niche, know your target audience and market exclusively to them on
your book cover. I’m going to tell you to forget all that for a few
minutes, because I want to help you see the hidden sales opportunities you
could be missing.

For the next few minutes, I want you to think about your book in terms of
readers and buyers, two often separate target markets you need to make an
impact on with your book cover.

But aren’t readers and buyers the same person?

Not always. Keep reading. (more…)

Last week, I signed a contract with John Wiley & Sons to do a book based largely on my 2003 self-published book, Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First.

Some people think this is every self-publisher’s dream. Well, having been a big-publisher author (Simon & Schuster, 1993) and being married to one (D. Dina Friedman: Simon & Schuster AND Farrar, Strauss, Giroux, both in 2006), I can tell you that both methods have their advantages.

For me, every book is different, and for each book, there are reasons to do it one way or another. I chose to self-publish Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First because I wanted absolute control; the ideas were pretty revolutionary at the time, and I didn’t want anyone watering it down. I also wanted to seize a moment that I wasn’t sure would still hold in the two years before my work would see the light of day with a big publisher. But I always hoped the day would come when I could resell that book to someone else.

Another book I’m circulating a proposal for needs a big publisher and a large advance. It will take far too much research time to do on my own, and the people I need to interview hide behind a lot of gatekeepers. Those gates swing open a lot more easily if a big publisher has backed the project. If I don’t sell that book, I simply won’t write it.

A project I just managed for a client went to the printer last week. Speed was essential, because the story is very relevant to a major movie being released in January. We only started working together in June, and most of the work took place after September. A big publisher simply wouldn’t do that for anyone other than a superstar celebrity. I found a copy editor, cover and interior designers, and a printer, and the book will be out in a couple of weeks. Meanwhile, I wrote a letter that the client used to build a relationship with people at Paramount Pictures, and wonderful things might happen.

Also, that book hadn’t been in shape to be taken seriously by the publishing world. It needed cleanup and rethinking, and most big-house editors these days aren’t willing to put that kind of effort into a book unless they know they’re going to sell many thousands of copies.

Which leads me to the key point: the big houses no longer buy many manuscripts on the basis of their merits, but on the author’s strengths as a marketer. They will take a mediocre or adequate book with a superstar marketing platform any day over a fabulous book with no platform.

The reason I got to sign this contract with Wiley is because out of 32 pages (not counting sample chapters) in the proposal, 27 of them deal specifically with marketing and the market for the book, including changes to make the book more user-friendly and marketable, involvement of a celebrity co-author, a market analysis, recognition the book has already received (awards, endorsements, foreign republications, etc.)—and six entire pages about my platform: my speaking, writing, e-zines, media interviews, social networking communities, and perhaps most important, a credible and substantiated argument that I can reasonably expect to use pre-existing relationships with various newsletter publishers (relationships I’ve carefully cultivated over the years) to reach about five million people with news about its publication, when the time comes.

Is this the only way to get a big-publisher contract? Certainly not. But it did propel a self-published book with relatively modest sales into a book that the New York publishing world is taking seriously.

Given that, here’s a homework assignment: Over the next month, write down every useful connection you’ve established, every credential you’ve earned–and then, if you ever want to pursue a big publisher, you’ll have something to work into a marketable proposal.