Kathleen Gage, Law Of Achievement

Kathleen,
WELCOME! They stole my questions. I'll just wait with baited breath....

Wow! Some great questions. I just got in from a couple days at my sister's home so catching up to hundreds of emails.

Will give very detailed answers by tomorrow.

Thanks for the interest and I am really looking forward to sharing with the group.

Kathleen

First of all, my parent’s anniversary was really nice. Very low key. Amazingly, we all stayed awake until midnight on New Years Eve.

I will do my best to answer the questions that have been asked about my writing, my business and my life.

As far back as I can remember I had a passion for writing. Some of my earliest memories were in grade school. I loved to read and write.

Unfortunately, there was never much encouragement for me to pursue a career as a writer. If I so much as hinted to others this was a dream of mine, it was not taken very seriously. As a matter of fact, there were some people who went as far as to say, "Right, you a writer." One person in particular was an ex-husband. Notice I said, ex.

Like many women my age, I married my high school sweetheart. The marriage was pretty rocky from the start. Because my focus was more on my ex and indulging in the party lifestyle and not so much on a career, when the marriage came to an end I was pretty lost.

This was at the point that my life didn't seem to have much direction. It was a period where I was drifting a lot, couldn’t seem to settle and felt life had given me a pretty raw deal.

Of course, it seemed to serve me well at that time to really play into that. Not to minimize the experience, but I can look back and see how much of where I ended up and what was lacking in my life had more to do with my own thoughts and actions than the circumstances I found myself going through.

Due to my life choices becoming worse by the day, I found myself sinking further and further into a victim state of mind.

This led me on a downward spiral that in essence took me to a place of being very negative and unemployable. When one is unemployable it makes it very difficult to pay rent. When rent isn’t paid it makes it very difficult to keep a roof over your head. It was in my early twenties that I was what would be considered homeless. I was not one of the people pushy a shopping cart or anything, but I literally did not have a roof over my head.

I have had people ask me why I didn’t turn to my family for help. There is such a thing as pride that can prevent someone from doing that. I suppose I just needed to go through whatever it was I needed to go through to get to the place I am today.

Was there one turning point? In a sense yes, and yet, no; not just one. There were many. One of the main turning points is I just got sick and tired of being sick and tired. I was tired of living the way I was and hoped and prayed for something better.

It was during a very dark time that I found a book by Dr. Wayne Dyer at a garage sale. (that was about the only way I could buy books at that time). “Your Erroneous Zones.” Something in the book gave me hope. From there I searched out other self-help and spiritual books. I have always been a big fan of libraries. I would check out lots and lots of books. Anything to help me see things differently.

What I found interesting is that at that time not too many people I knew subscribed to much of what I would read in the books. It was as if I had to be very secretive about what I was being introduced to. There were some people (like my ex) who would laugh at me and tell me none of “that stuff” works. I guess nowadays it is called Law of Attraction stuff.

Anyway, bit by bit, things began to change. I changed a lot of my behaviors and began making better choices such as quitting the party lifestyle.

The books I read had a lot to do with that. I also made a conscious choice to let go of some of the people I was hanging out with who were not supporting my decisions to change. That was not an easy decision in that I was letting go of something very familiar and even in the discomfort, something that was comfortable.

Something I developed quite a passion for was listening to self-help and spiritual audiotapes. There wasn’t as much available 25 or 30 years ago as there is today, but somehow I was finding stuff. Often at the library, sometimes reading about an event in the newspaper, or hearing about something from a friend.

In all of this, the underlying message was that happiness came from living our passion. Fulfilling our destiny and taking risks.

I developed and integrated some very important beliefs as a result of all the studying, reading and learning I was doing.

One, procrastination is the greatest offender of our dreams. Two, our life will either be a warning of what not to do or an inspiration to others of what is possible in their own life.

Little by little I found myself pursuing the things that were important to me, like my writing and eventually, my speaking. As much as I had dreams of being a writer I also had dreams of being a speaker and using the power of words to impact the lives of others.

Everyone is given gifts that they either do something with, or not. At some point I understood on a very deep level that I was given the gift of writing and speaking in order to fulfill my destiny. Simple as that. And to not do something with these gifts is what had held me back for so many years and would continue to do so if I wasn’t willing to take risks.

The risks included taking writing classes, workshops and seeking out people who were successfully writing as mentors. The risks included being willing to do the same with my speaking ambitions. The risks included being willing to “fail” in order to learn what not to do, but rather what could get me closer to knowing what to do.

The risks included being willing to be rejected and not letting that stop me. When I first decided that I wanted to have a book published I experienced an incredible amount of rejection from traditional publishing houses. Either I never heard back from them or when I did it was to say they just weren’t interested in what I had submitted.

By this point in my life I had strong enough beliefs to know that just because something didn’t immediately work out didn’t mean it wasn’t meant to be. It simply meant there was bound to be a different way.

The first book I thought I would get published never has. Perhaps it will one day, but the catalyst for my first book was the death of a friend. I had done a lot of writing before the book came to be. Lots of articles, short stories, poetry, etc. Because of my career direction, I was writing a lot of business articles.

And yet, it was my friend’s death that took me to such a deep place within myself that the book somehow unfolded.

I did not know at the time of Van’s death what I was writing would become my first book. It is called, Message of Hope. You can read about it at http://www.kathleengage.com/messageofhope.htm

One thing I was doing differently at this point compared to early on in my life was seeking out the people who were doing what I wanted to do, finding out how they did it and using their experience as a model of what was possible. Somewhere along the line I learned that if I wanted to be a winner I had to hang out with the winners. If I wanted to accomplish something in my life I had be willing to quit talking about what I wanted to do and simply do it.

I started reading everything I could get my hands on about the publishing industry. I was amazed to find out all I did about traditional publishing and self-publishing. I met people who self-published, found out what they did that worked and what didn’t work.

Since that time I have published 4 books, several multi media programs and several eBooks and information products.

I did the same with speaking. What is most amazing is that by focusing on what I wanted to do in life, incredible opportunities began to show up. However, it wasn’t that those opportunities were not without risk.

Years ago I was one of those people who would look at someone who was succeeding at something and say how lucky they were. What I have come to realize is that luck often has very little to do with success. Luck is when opportunity and preparedness meet.

How does the saying go? The harder I work the luckier I get.

Since my twenties I have come from a place of dreaming of being a writer and speaker who could influence others and change lives with my words, to now knowing this is what I do.

I have come from a place of being unemployable and homeless to running my own company. I have worked in a number of companies and each time rose to the top and was usually recognized as a top performer.

I now know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that a book gets written one word at a time; one page at a time. It is the same with becoming an award-winning speaker. I didn’t simply make the decision to be a professional speaker and get many top awards. Award winning presentations came from practicing, finding great mentors, going through extensive training and being willing to fail in order to succeed.

One question that was asked is how to start a publishing company. I will answer that under a separate post.

Have a great day. And live your dreams.

Kathleen

This story is even better than Cinderella, and it's true! Amazing! Thank you so much for sharing Kathleen.

Amazing!

Wow, what great information. You're such an inspiration.

I would love to hear more about EWI. Mind telling us about your involvment with them? You reference them a bit in the book and also have quotes from many of their members. I'd love to hear more...

Thank you Kathleen...you are an inspiration to me!
Hard times, self-help, a personal call to action, positive friendships, continual education...the way to a purposeful life is an endless equation with many variables. An important variable is your willingness to share...thanks again...I'll be tuning in for more.

Dotsie,

EWI is Executive Women International. Here is some of what was in the book about EWI.

EWI was established in 1938 to provide businesswomen from diverse industries a forum for promoting their firms, enhancing their personal and professional development and engaging in community activities. Today, EWI has 75 chapters and 3,000 members across the United States, Canada, and Europe who remain committed to bringing value to its firms, to benefiting the careers of its representatives and to providing service to EWI communities.

Both Lori Giovannoni and I have been featured presenters at the annual Leadership Conferences that EWI Hosts. Also, the Spring Conferences.

We have had a great partnership with EWI for years so it made perfect sense to create a win/win opportunity with the book.

Since 1992, EWI has been committed to promoting literacy through annual Reading Rallies hosted by EWI Chapters throughout the organization.

EWI’s signature event, conducted with community groups, schools, and national associations, promotes reading to children. Chapters host a variety of programs that range from community read-ins and book donations to major events involving celebrities, story characters, and the creation of reading rooms. More than 700 EWI volunteers work with approximately 20,000 children at schools, crisis centers, hospitals, and community organizations during Reading Rally events each year.

To learn more about the Reading Rally and find out what is happening in your local area visit executivewomen.org.

Our commitment to EWI and the Reading Rally was to donate $1 per book we sell to the Reading Rally. So far we have donated several thousand dollars and would love to donate lots more.

Let me know if you would like more information.

Kathleen

Thank you for sharing Kathleen,
You are an inspiration!
"The harder I work, the luckier I get."
Makes sense to me.

A big change in my own life was getting out of my own way. And realizing there is a power greater than myself at work in my life.

Kathleen

Kathleen,

Is there a difference in Law of Achievement and Law of Attraction?

I was hoping, too, that you could/would expound a bit on the difference of LOA and LOA. Seems they have lots in common (I have your book out now) but I assume that their are some basic focus differences?

There was a question posed a couple days ago about starting a publishing company. If you have ever started a business, any type of business, the process may be similar.

Because of the power of outsourcing, online resources, etc., one can literally set up a business in a matter of days. Whether or not that business will be successful is another issue. I will cover that in other postings.

Again, starting the business is the easy part; keeping it going - wellllll.

To set a point of reference for this discussion; most books never make money. There are tens of thousands of books published each year. I recently read some stats on how many books sell on average and it is under 500 per title. This means that most people will lose money at the game of writing and publishing.

Because of the way I approach writing, publishing and marketing my books, I have never lost money and have made money on every single title. There have been some days I have made thousands of dollars from book sales, other days, not.

Because of my books, I have had other opportunities present themselves that I otherwise would not have had. However, I didn’t rest on my laurels and hope for something to happen. I am proactive in my approach to writing, publishing, marketing, sales, and backend business opportunities.

Mind you, there is some writing I do that is not done for the sake of making money. Some writing I do simply for the love of writing. Other writing I do for the love of writing and because it is my business.

I do not say this to impress anyone, but to impress upon you that there are strategies for success when you have your own publishing company. One is, if you are going to make money at writing you must treat this like a business.

Many writers and self-published authors have a belief that someone else will market their book for them. In most cases, this is not true. Secondly, many people think if a publisher picks up their title, the publisher will do all the marketing. Again, in most cases, not at all true.

If anyone is interested in my strategies on marketing books, I will be happy to share some insights. Just ask the questions and I share what I have done to not only make money, but take my last book, The Law of Achievement, to best seller status on Amaozon.com.

Back to a publishing company…..You do not need a physical building to have a publishing company. However, it does help to have enough storage area in your home to keep the boxes of books you will want to keep in stock. The beauty of POD - Print on demand is that you can do very low runs and keep your inventory low, thus not investing a lot of your own money. You can keep a very healthy cash flow going as you grow your business.

How large you grow is based on your own personal goals. Personally, I like the freedom of working from home. A few years ago, after running a career development company for a period of time, having a staff of 25 and loving the whole team energy, I considered buying a building and growing my company in that fashion. However, I find that for me, I enjoy the way things are at this point and don't see great benefit for working outside of my home. Other people may have different goals, so you must decide for you what is most appropriate.

You may also want to consider a shipping area in your home unless you outsource. One author I have worked with uses a company to store her books and do all fulfillments. I prefer to keep stock on hand and ship out as needed. However, when I do larger campaigns I have used Amazon to save time and effort of shipping out.

The first thing to look at is if you have the stamina to keep your business going. There will be ups and downs that many people are not willing to deal with.

There are the pros and cons to setting up your own publishing business compared to going with a traditional publisher.

Traditional Publisher (pros and cons)
-You do not have control over many of the decisions
-Before you can sell copies you have to buy them from the publisher.
-You don’t often get a better price than a book store would get.
-Publishing house picks up initial costs
-Little, if any out of pocket expense
-You may get an advance, and yet, if the books don’t sell you might have to refund some of the advance.
-Short shelf life – often only a matter of weeks.
-Slow turnaround time for acceptance of manuscript - often as much as 2 or 3 years
-Lots of rejection
-You have to have good marketing potential in many cases
-You have to market

Self Publishing (pros and cons)
-You have control and make all the key decisions
-Fast turnaround
-Higher profit margin
-You can target very unique markets
-More investment costs on your part.
-You have to market
-Many mainstream houses are looking for excellent self published books to make their own
-You retain all rights
-You can test market with a low run
-You have to store the books


Establishing a publishing business

-DBA
-Licenses within your city
-Business plan
-Separate phone and fax line
-Bookkeeper or accountant
-Web site URL
-Location
-Merchant account
-Tax ID number
-Bank account
-Stationary
-Business cards

Develop a business plan

-Business name
-Executive summary
-Business idea and description
-Market analysis
-Financial position and forecast
-Marketing
-Future books
-Complementary marketing strategies

Well, I hope this helps a bit. More to follow. Feel free to ask any questions you might have. I will be happy to answer based on my own experience and what I can tell you in working with other authors.

Kathleen

Law of Attraction was written by Michael Losier. Law of Achievement was written by Lori Giovanonni and Kathleen Gage.

The Law of Attraction has a whole movement behind it. I would love to have that happen with the Law of Achievement.

Actually, Lori and I wrote this book during a very troubled time for her. Lori and I have worked together for years. Over the years we have enjoyed some incredible experiences and successes with one another.

As a matter of fact, right before we wrote Law of Acievement, we were planning yet another business venture. Then life took an unexpected turn for the worse and the rest as they say, is history.

Here is what we have in the book's intro to give you an idea of how it came to be.
Why We Decided To Write This Book

The idea for this book began many years ago as a result of numerous conversations. Having both achieved multiple levels of success, we wanted to share with others what achievement meant to us. Although we knew someday we would write the book we were continually sidetracked with never-ending professional endeavors.

We went from thinking about writing the book to being guided to write the book through one event that changed the course of many lives. It is through this event our belief that the only point of power is in the now was reinforced like never before.

At 6:19pm on September 2, 2005, our world stopped. Troy Roper Jr., Lori’s husband and Kathleen’s dear friend, was in a severe motorcycle accident. The pursuit of business, joint ventures and material concerns came to a screaming halt.

For 102 days our lives revolved around the shock trauma unit, surgery, intensive care, doctors, nurses and an endless stream of visitors and well wishers. Lori slept in Troy’s room every night and Kathleen relieved Lori every day.

There was no word or concern about business issues. Priorities were rearranged and the world had shifted on its axis. When the crisis subsided it was evident we all had changed. Our beliefs and values had been tempered and some of them changed completely. Our greatest lesson and realization is that far too often we had lived in “someday.” Troy’s accident reminded us to live in today, cherishing each moment. After over eight months of recovery, Troy continues to inspire us.

People tend to put off until “someday” what they really would like to do today. The delays come for many reasons. Time, money, laziness, no sense of urgency or just plain not getting around to it.

Starting as a someday project that we dabbled with for years, Troy’s accident transformed this book into a today project. When we sat down to write The Law of Achievement, we knew it was destined to be a book that impacted many and made a difference not only to it’s readers but to people outside of the traditional business market.

Looking to transform lives with the book’s message as well as the proceeds, we chose to partner with Executive Women International® (EWI) and contribute a portion of each book sale to the Reading Rally.

Both of us understand the power of the written and spoken word. We have made our living from both for decades. To think of a life without the ability to read is almost beyond our comprehension and yet, we know this is a fact of life for many.

Having both been members of this fine organization for many years, facilitating EWI’s Annual Leadership Conference and having a lot of respect for the Reading Rally program, it made perfect sense to partner with EWI.

It is through the support of countless individuals and the experience of the now moment that this book came to be. Our intention in writing The Law of Achievement is to fuel action, inspire dreams and assist others in living a life of purpose, potential and possibility.

Back of book...

The Law of Achievement offers a rare look into what it really means to discover your purpose, possibility and potential.

Authors Kathleen Gage and Lori Giovannoni dare to reveal uncommon and rarely explored philosophies in this unique book. Having been driven by the traditional measurements of success, Kathleen and Lori have discovered the counter-intuitive laws of achievement that had been brewing in their consciousness for years.

The catalyst for writing this book was a life changing experience for both authors that forever shifted their perception of success.

Both Gage and Giovannoni have been sharing these philosophies for decades at conferences and conventions throughout the world. Now you can enjoy the same insights that have been thrilling audiences for years.

The Laws of Achievement appeals to all walks of life, expanding the concept of achievement beyond the common self-help and standard business book to a personal journey of growth and success. With a relaxed style and gentle approach, the authors offer a way to success that allows for nurturance and safety in the process.

The Law of Achievement offers the burned out and over-burdened reader the opportunity to be lit up and ready to engage in life once again.

To read more please visit http://www.lawofachievement.com

Thanks for asking.
Kathleen

Tomorrow night I am hosting a free teleconference with Amy Scott Grant. She has done some work with Law of Attraction author Michael Losier as well as with Joe Vitale. If you are interested simply click on the link below for my ezine. There is information under the upcoming events section on how to sign up for the call.

Kathleen

What a powerful message! You both learned first hand to live for the day. Amazing.

Wonderful and inspiring story, Kathleen. I would like to know if your publishing company is for self-publishers. If so, why didn't I learn about it before I made my choice?

Hi Saundra,

I only publish books I am one of the authors for.

There are many other resources and if you are interested to learn more there are some yahoogroups that talk in detail about self publishing companies. Let me know if you would like the names of the groups.

Kathleen

I've worked with Kathleen for years and you all are in for a great time. She is truly inspirational and has assisted me both professionally and personally through some tough stuff. This is not to be missed.
Lori G.

Hi Kathleen and Lori, K wrote "In all of this, the underlying message was that happiness came from living our passion. Fulfilling our destiny and taking risks." You also spoke of procrastination. I think procrastination is an underlying aspect of fear. Risks also can be full of fear. How do you reconcile the fear associated with risks? Also, how do you define "achievement?" Thanks!

Kathleen, if I were as prolific as you are I'd start my own company too. I'm using a POD publisher. It's a slow road and overwhelming but I'm sticking with it. Hope to have the book out late Feb or early March. Working on website now. Any specific advice for us POD authors? I already signed up for the teleconference and can't wait.

Hello all,

I will add more comments and answers in the morning. I have been working on a new product that I plan to release to my market next week and am dog tired. Time for some deep zzzzs

My best
Kathleen

Great questions Lenora. Unfortunately, many people live in a place of fear and miss out on the "juice of life." There are different types of fear. Healthy fear where we know that something really is to be feared.

For example, the fear of health problems due to bad eating and exercising habits. It is in identifying the fear one is now in a position to do something about it. However, many people choose to stay in the fear and do nothing at all about it, or bury the fear and hope that it miraculously disappears.

Another type of fear is the fear we create from our imagination. The “what if” fear. What if I try something and it fails. What if I take this risk and I lose everything because of it? What if I write a book and people ridicule me?

It is this type of fear that can immobilize us and keep us living in the past or the future. As with the first example, it is in identifying what the fear is we are in a position to take action.

For example, “What if I try starting a business and I fail?” The first question to ask is, “Well, what if that did happen? What’s the worst that would come of it?” Be as honest with the answers as you can.

And then ask, “Okay, if I have the chance of failing, what do I need to do to minimize the risk? What information do I need, what courses can I take, who can I talk to and learn from, etc.”

Based on the answers, then be willing to take some type of action. It has been said that action cures fear. I used to keep that saying up in my office to give me the courage to walk through some fearful situations.

I can remember when I first began pursuing the dream of speaking professionally. There were many a time I had fear creep up. And there were some situations that supported my fear. What helped was to remember why I wanted to speak in the first place; think of what life could be like if I continued pursuing my dream; think of what life would be like if I gave up; and do it, do it, do it, until the fear all but disappeared. With each victory I was able to stretch myself a bit more and a bit more presenting to thousands of people over the years.

If I would have let those knocky knees, sweaty palms, faint feelings stop me, I would have missed so much.

Something that really drives me is to realize that life is in fact very short. Quite a cliché and yet, the truth. In a moment it can all change; it can all end. I don’t want to be one of those people who gets to the end of my life and says, I wish I would have, I wish I could have.

The opening quote in our book, The Law of Achievement, is “You will not discover your greatness by emulating someone else. You will only know your greatness by being who you are.”

The last thought in the book is ..

“The Last Achievement

It all will end one day.

Life as we know it is destined to change.

Our bodies will no longer house our heart’s desires and signs of our achievements will hang on a wall as a distant memory.

We will leave this earth. How and when we leave is a mystery. Until then, our life is in our hands. We are free to explore possibilities, express our potential and live our purpose.

Life’s achievements will pass and all that remains is the memory of the love we’ve left in the hearts of others.

Our desire in writing this book is that we will remain a gentle reminder in your heart.

Our desire for you is that you will leave a gentle reminder in the hearts of many.”

You ask what achievement is. Achievement is many things. Often when we hear the word achievement we think in terms of the externals; money, fame and fortune. Truth be told, often those are the wrong representations of achievement.

Achievement can be something as simple as being the best spouse we can be, the best parent, the best friend. It can be the person who has been critically injured speaking their first words when no one thought they would speak again.

Here is something from our book that may give you more insight into my (and Lori’s) definition of achievement.

Faith - The Foundation of Achievement

Faith is not solely reserved for the realm of the spiritual.

Faith allows us to cross all boundaries of limitation. Faith in ourselves is as important as a faith in something larger than self. It is a prerequisite in life calling upon the possibilities that have yet to be brought into existence.

We talk about “believing in ourselves,” “trusting ourselves,” and sometimes “having faith in ourselves,” but where do we look for an example of this faith? How are we taught to have an understanding of self so strong it is not shaken by failure or rejection, not shattered by fear or lost to desire? Who teaches us to have faith in ourselves regardless of the outcome or situation?

Our life will be filled with many teachers. Our wisest teachers are those we love and those that love us. Relationships grounded in love bring an unbending faith in each other. Having someone who can see your potential when you cannot and hold the faith that you will achieve the heights intended is the purpose of our relationships. We see these relationships in great teachers with their students, parents with their children, spouses with one another.

We all have evidence of how reliable and faithful we are when the chips are down. In looking for a little self–faith, the evidence is as close as an experience when we doubted we had the strength to get through but did so anyway.

Faith in another is a great gift; faith in self is even greater. Our lives are filled with memories of faith. We need only remember."

Thanks for asking.

Kathleen

Heck Saundra, I don't know if I'm prolific or just plain compulsive and obsessive.

Actually, thanks for the kind words. The fact is, we all start somewhere. My first book was a thought long before it was a book. And the first one that was published wasn't even the first one I thought would be published. That one is still waiting to be written.

Fact is, the more we do something, hopefully, the easier it becomes.

On working with POD publishers, I have heard from people who have had incredibly good experiences and I have heard of folks not having good experiences.

My recommendation is to check with folks who have used the same company to find out what their expeirence has been.

Regarding your website. Often, people think all they need to do is put a website up and books will magically sell themselves. Many an author has gotten very discouraged because they don't sell anything from a site. The fact is, selling from a site is something that should be planned out.

How will you drive people to your site? What will they find once they get there? What will motivate them to take the action of taking their money out of their pocket? How will you keep in touch with them?

One of the things that works well for those of us who do make money selling from a site is to have a way for people to leave you their contact information. In most cases, they won't just do that, you have to give them a reason. One that is important to them.

For example, on one of my sites people can sign up for my marketing ezine, a report, some ebooks, etc. Each is designed to provide incredible information and value to the reader and to allow me to build my database with interested readers.

Even in my monthly ezine, I have lots of opportunities for people to leave me their contact information. To see what I mean click the link in my sig file below.

For some reason, many authors I have talked with and corresponded via email with have a real aversion to doing that. It's as if they think marketing and sales is bad.

What I think is bad is not paying my bills. And when I sell books, I pay my bills.

Just a view from the inside of Kathleen's head.

Have a great day.

Kathleen

Kathleen, I'm sure you are going to get some new followers due to all the excellent information you are sharing. Keep up the great work. I'm betting all the women here are signing up at your site. You go girl!

Thank you for your kind words Dotsie. Actually, I appreciate the opportunity you have opened up for me to share my insights, expertise and ideas.

I welcome all the questions the women have and find this keeps me really excited to continue to share my thoughts.

So, as they say, bring it on!

Kathleen

I have a question. I have an extensive list of resource links on my site. Recently I saw something somewhere: someone was offering their recommended sites for a fee! In other words, pay $5.00 and get a list of links. Now I can understand. I spend hours scouring like-minded sites, making sure they are still "live" (many are non-profits that run out of funding) but I would not think of selling this list. What do you think about this? Sales and marketing are necessary, and I had to get used to "exposing" myself and promoting, promoting, promoting. Kathleen & Lori, how do you get your speaking engagements? Do you book them yourself? I joined Toastmasters last year and highly recommend it! PL

HI Lenora,

Thank you for your questions. I don't know anything about buying links in the way you mentioned. I don't know if I would be inclined to do that because chances are many of the links either won't be valid or working; not what you are looking for; and low ranking sites. More links on your site is not necessarily the best way to go. Links with high page rankings (and fewer of them) is better.

A great way to drive traffic to your site is to write and submit articles specific to your industry, market and topics and then distribute to various article directories. Also, post on forums specific to your market. At least those forums that have a section for articles.

Article writing can be one of the best strategies for positioning yourself as an expert and gaining high visibility. These also give you links into your site.

Be sure to include a strong resource box at the end of the article. A resource box simply tells people something about you and often makes an offer of some sort.

If you would like examples of some I have used, let me know and I will post several. This is how I have built a highly responsive database.

You can also listen to a recording I did on cost effective marketing strategies. http://www.streetsmartsmarketing.com/interview.htm

Regarding how we get speaking engagements, I will address some of that in another post. However, in the short term I would highly recommend accessing Lori's free ebook entitled, So You Want to Be a Speaker? You can go to http://www.lorigiovannoni.com/presentation_tools.htm to access it.

Toastmasters is an excellent organization. I was a member years ago and found it to be one of the best choices I made in learning how to develop my presentation style. And, in my early days as a professional speaker, Lori was one of my primary mentors.

In a couple weeks (January 17th) I am going to be interviewing Lori during a teleconference called, How To Become a Six Figure a Year Professional Speaker.

My best
Kathleen

Hi Kathleen, your answers are great. A lot of people ask me for a link to their site, and I want to provide resources for DV and SA as that is part of the outreach. However, each link takes someone away from my site and my articles, and I don't know how to keep my site up (behind) the site that the visitor goes to next. I wonder if it's a good idea to provide a site as a resource without the link? How do you determine the ranking of a site? Gosh, there's a lot to learn, and you have the information! Thanks, PL

You would need to have your IT person set it up so when a page opens it opens to a new window rather than taking people off your site.

As far as finding out the page ranking here is a site you can go to and input the URL to find out the ranking. http://www.prchecker.info/check_page_rank.php

When you link sites you want to not only make sure there is a good ranking, you would benefit from finding sites that have good content that is a compliment to your genre.

Caution! Stay away from what is called a linking farm. It sounds like the offer for you to purchase is just that - a linking farm. It will do you more harm than good.

Better to put the work into putting on quality links. It will pay off in the long run.

Regarding a lot to learn, it is a never ending process. We have two choices on that (actually more, but here are two).
1. Get frustrated and stressed.
2. Learn to love the process

Kathleen

Funny, Kathleen, I am my IT person! I do everything myself, but I am trying to get with someone this year. What is a good URL rank? Above 5, 7, 9 or 10? What is a linking farm? I hope it is not a web ring like I just joined yesterday. I only put like-minded links on my site. Thanks, L

Here is a really good article that explains linking farms

http://www.theinternetpresence.com/business-article-30.html

A good ranking is 4 or 5 and above.

Kathleen

wow, that was an eye-opening article. Thanks!

Thank you so much for sharing this information, Kathleen. It is priceless!

You are most welcome. I love sharing what I know. Keep the questions coming. Bring it on!

Kathleen

I haven't asked many questions but I want you to know I'm reading and really learning a lot and enjoying all of your information!

What time of the day do you usually write?

I've never written with a partner. Does it have a lot of benefits?

I'm curious about how you write with a partner also.

Regarding when I write...all times of the day and night. In that I am fully self-employed and work out of my home, I have a lot of flexibility on my writing time.

I do write every day. What I write depends on which of the various projects I am working on. I usually write at least one or two articles a week. Sometimes more if there is a specific reason.

Right now I am working on a new eProduct which is requiring a considerable amount of my time. I hope to have it released very soon, so I am writing as much as 8 – 10 hours a day (that’s in addition to doing other things too)

When working on a book or an information eProduct, I tend to spend much more time writing than if I am in between large projects. Sometimes staying focused can be a discipline in that there are always other things I can be doing, like reading emails and other time consumers that may not be the best use of my time when working on a project.

I find some of my best writing is in the middle of the night. This used to bother me because I thought I should sleep like “normal” people. I finally gave up that limiting thought years ago and it works great for me.

Whenever I have company (family and friends) who spend the night, they always think my hours are quite strange.

If I am writing with a partner, the timing can change. For example, when Lori and I wrote the book The Law of Achievement www.lawofachievement.com we spent many a day writing while her husband was convalescing from his accident.

For those of you who don’t know, the book was inspired by Troy’s accident that left him on death’s door for quite some time.

Actually, at that time, my concern was sharing time with a friend (Lori) and giving her something to do other than the constant focus on her husband’s condition. It worked. During the difficult period of recovery after Troy was released from the hospital, the writing brought a sense of hope and normallacy to Lori and to our friendship and business relationship.

The way we worked on that project is we would meet face-to-face, talk about our philosophy and beliefs about achievement, as one or the other would type. It worked well. At that time I was living about 30 miles from Lori. Now I live 1,200 which makes meeting face-to-face extremely challenging.

It was exciting to see Troy (who at that time, could not walk very well and required a lot of medical care and surgeries) grow excited about what we were doing. He was actually a beam of light for both of us to keep going on the project.

When we first started the project, neither of us knew the potential of the book and all that would open up as a result. It was more just to put our thoughts on paper. It was a very cathartic experience.

Yet, somehow during this period we developed a plan to have EWI involved in the project; including getting short writings from several of the Chapter Presidents, and put together a full marketing plan which included getting lots of JV partners to promote the book and help us take it to bestseller on Amazon.com

How we got the presidents to contribute is I sent a message out explaining what we were doing. Since most of the presidents know Lori and I and were fully aware of Troy’s accident, it didn’t take but asking once to get some incredible contributions that now reside in the book.

As I look back on that time period and all that was going on, I honestly do not know how we did it. Especially Lori and Troy. No doubt we were divinely inspired. No doubt there was inspiration from above.

Almost without fail, before we began writing we would pray, asking for guidance. It always seemed to be there.

Today Troy is doing incredibly well. He is walking and well on his way to a great recovery.

On most of the projects I have had co-authors on I am usually the project manager. I tend to work well when I am in the lead role for the project.

It can be challenging if you work with folks who don’t deliver on time, or the writing style is very different than yours.

This is where a really good editor comes in. If you are keeping separate voices in the writing that is one thing, but if you want the voices to blend it takes a strong editor to be able to pull it all together.

Communication is essential in any project where you co-author with others. Don’t assume everyone is on the same page. Review each other’s work to make sure you are on track with your overall goals.

Hope this information helps. If you have more specific questions, bring it on!

Kathleen

Thank you, Kathleen for answering the publishing company question so thoroughly.

I'd be happy if you could answer another question for me.

You mentioned that marketing strategies are primarily the author's responsibility. Do you think publishers and agents would automatically reject a manuscript because the author lives outside the US? I have been getting hundreds of automatic standard rejections, without any personal comment. Obviously my proposals aren't even being read. Could it be because my return address is in Germany?

Since my book is written in English and is targeted at the American woman, I don't need or want to look for a publisher in Germany. Should I just give up? I'd appreciate your opinion on this.

Great question. I can't speak on behalf of a publisher, but I know that even when someone has an address in the United States the process of getting accepted by a publisher is slow and painful at best. With Lori Giovannoni's book Success Redefined, the manuscript was turned down by around 40 publishers. One decided to publish it and the book has sold over 10,000 copies.

I would recommend visiting www.writersmarket.com. You can find out an incredible amount of information from that site.

As far as giving up, if you quit, you won't know how far you can go and what level of success you will experience.

If you believe in your book, rather than thinking of quitting, ask yourself, "What do I need to do to be successful?" By asking a better question we get a better answer.

It is essential we act on the answers in order to find out what is possible.

Kathleen Gage

Hi Kathleen, I have kept up every word/post written here. It's nice to have you here. Thank you for coming.

I have to write humor skits for my speaking engagements. I am a ventriloquist. My problem is having someone to test new material on prior to performances. Any suggestions?

chick

Hi Chick,

Who is your primary market? Based on that you could actually offer a free presentation of the skit somewhere where there is a concentration of people from your market.

In that I don't know who your market it, I will offer some ideas and you would have to decide which is best based on specifics for you.

Chamber meetings
Women's assoication meetings
Church groups
Homes for elderly residence
Hospitals (many patients would welcome something to get their mind off the patient care)
Local high school or college

You could also reserve a room at your local library, develop a flyer and a media release about a short presentation and open it to the public. This is actually what I did in my early years as a speaker.

I offered free presentations. To market on a budget (since I was testing the market) I would flyer local coffee shops, stores, libraries and anywhere that had a bulletin board.

I sent out press releases and called people I knew to invite them (this was long before the internet was part of our marketing)

You may even find a civic organization who would be interested in hosting a performance for you.

Hope this helps.
Kathleen

Help? Girl, you are a goldmine of info.The wheels are spinning so fast here that I don't know where to begin. I have a wealth of resources in one reply. I cannot thank you enough. How can I return the favour?

Thank you Kathleen, I really appreciate you.

chick

It is my pleasure.

Something I would love to have everyone who has been watching the posts do is to tell others to join on in. Also, if those who have been "lurking" for a few days could ask any question you might have, I would invite you to do so.

And one more little thing, click on the link in my sig file.

Thanks
Kathleen

Kathleen, have you heard of the Book Trailer we've been discussing on here. What's your take on that advertising strategy?

It's under Bragging Rights

chick

Kathleen, you've dispensed a lot of exciting information. Your accomplishments are astounding. What are your plans for the future? Do you have a 3 yr goal? a 5 yr goal? Do you plan to write any fiction? What can we see next coming from your direction?

This is the first I have heard or seen anything about a trailer. A Trailer for a book may be a great thing. In that YouTube is very popular, this could be an excellent way to market a book.

Any social network site can be beneficial, however, they can also be a huge waste of time and energy if not utilized with a specific purpose in mind.

I recently posted an article on my blog about social networks, which in a sense, YouTube could be considered a social network. Of course, different than the MySpace type sites, but definitely a place people have found great marketing opportunities.
http://www.kathleengage.blogspot.com

The man who did the Evolution of Dance received 57,000,000 (yes million) views. That is incredible. He opened up a lot of opportunities because of the number of visits.

As with anything, no matter how slick and leading edge something is, what is the plan to drive people to see it. How can you get viral marketing out of the Trailer strategy.

I am going to check into it because it definitely seems viable.

Kathleen

Regarding my long term goals, I do have some plans but have found that often life will interrupt even the best laid plans.

I am actually working on a number of projects right now. I plan to do more to brand myself as the Street Smarts Speaker and Author in the coming year. I am having my StreetSmartsMarketing.com site reworked to reflect the focus of direction. We should be rolling that out within 30 days.

I have a new product in my Street Smarts Series that will be released in a week or two.

As far as writing fiction, can't say. I don't really see that in my future but then again, you never know.

A focus of mine is to do more speaking at large conferences. I love to speak at women's conferences so if any of you know meeting planners who are in need of a very high-energy, inspirational speaker, please let me know.

A goal I have had for years is to visit India. I would love to have that experience in the not to distant future.

Of course, keeping balance in my personal life, enjoying time with family and my pets, my friends and in my local community are always high on my goals.

Thanks for asking
Kathleen

Hi, Kathleen: Back to publishing. What are the pros and cons of digital publications? Have you ever considered that route in the past or for future works?

Hi Lola,

Are you referring to eBooks?

Kathleen

Yes, I am, Kathleen. Whilst the written work will continue to be available in the usual book paper form, it seems to be that, ebooks would be an alternative method to the acquisition of literature in the future. Would you be considering this form in the future?

I do have many of my products already in digital format. This has been a substantial part of my business model, my writing and my revenue stream.

I have a series of products under the branding of The Street Smarts Series. Specifically, Street Smarts Marketing and Promotions; Street Smarts Making Money with the Internet, and several others that are soon to be released.

I also have an events eBook, a few other marketing ebooks and lots of eReports.

I would be happy to answer whatever questions you might have on this.

I have sold ebooks through the Internet and I have actually sold them on the platform by having people fill out an order form and we fulfill the order back at the office.

Kathleen Gage

Kathleen, what would you change, or avoid doing if you had to start over again?

chick

Hi Chick,

I have heard others say, and I have said it myself, that I would not change anything because everything I have done, or not done, has gotten me to this point in my life. On some levels I agree with this. On the other hand, I think this is total bunk!

Some of the things I would have done sooner or changed sooner: My ex husband - get rid of him sooner.

But then again, that was an experience I needed in order to know what I don't want in a relationship and also what I do want. Today, I have what I want.

Moving to Oregon. If I would have known how wonderful life would be here, I would have made the move years ago. And yet, that is one of those things that had I done it sooner, there is a lot I would have missed during my time (15 years) in Utah.

I would have begun believing in myself as a writer much, much sooner. Writing is one of my greatest passions that I give thanks for everyday that I am able to actually make a living (and a very comfortable one) from it.

The one thing I don't ever want to forget to do is remember that today is my only point of power. This is it. Make sure to be in resolve every day.

There's much more I could write, but in all reality I am very happy with where my life is and it is a direct result of all I have experienced that cannot be changed; it can either be learned from if it was not what I wanted or repeated it if it was.

Kathleen Gage

Hi Chick,

Actually, it was a number of things. I went on my own personal journey of discovery and began reading lots of books, talking with people, I was fortunate enough to find mentors.

In one of my first posts in this thread there is an overview of some of the things I did. That post would have a lot of the answers to your question.

Thanks for asking.
Kathleen

I always hear writers say to journal. I've never done it. Do you feel it's a help and why?

I feel it's beneficail because it keeps you at your craft whether you are writing something you want to sell or not. It's just like anything else - the more you do it, the better you get.

There have been periods in my life that journaling was how I began my day and ended my day. Actually, it was the cornerstone of much of my inspirational writing.

Now I do so much writing on a daily basis, I don't do the journaling as much.

I do know, however, it is a great way for me to get "connected" to my spirit and often, very interesting thoughts will surface, make their way to the paper, and be the beginning of some new understanding of myself.

I find that for me it helps to write long hand when I do journal. Personal preference that seems to give me a different sense of my writing.

Kathleen Gage

Kathleen,
Do you mind telling us what you do to unwind from it all? Your recreation of choice? Or maybe it's just soaking in a hot bubble bath? Just wondering....

Wow! What do I do to unwind? Great question. There are quite a few things I enjoy. I love the outdoors. I actually live near the Willamette River in Oregon (right across the way from my home) so when I need a break during the day, I take a stroll to the river.

It's amazing what getting out near water and trees can do for my disposition. I go from to

One of my favorite passtimes is playing with my dogs. Really brings me back to the moment. Especially with the Boxer chasing the other who knows what breed around the yard. My boxer is 3 times the size of Max and thinks he is as small.

During the good weather you can catch me working in my flower gardens (I have several) digging in the dirt. I find a lot of serenity doing this.

Something I love to do to unwind is play cards. Just about any game is my game and I usually call whatever game I play "Kathy Wins!" Of course, that doesn't always happen but I can wish.

My folks are an important part of my life so when I can I visit them or they come to visit me.

I like biking when I can. Mostly just around town but I can go for miles and get lost in the experience.

I have been spotted on occasion singing a song or two while doing Karaoke.

I enjoy live theater, especially small productions with local residents. Just a fun thing to do to support local theater. Of course, major productions are very enjoyable.

So, that is a "little" bit about what I do to unwind. And last but definitely not least, prayer and meditation keep me in a great place of peace, serenity and gratitude.

Kathleen

You are such a well-rounded individual. I love reading your words. Before I finished, I was completely relaxed just reading it all! Thanks for sharing.

I want to personally thank everyone who has been a part of this month's Featured Author discussion. It has been an incredible experience. I wish everyone the greatest success life has to offer.

Kathleen Gage