09
Behind the Books with CVB Author Ron Hogan
March, 2010

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Channel V Books author Ron Hogan’s new book, Getting Right with Tao: A Contemporary Spin on the Tao Te Ching (paperback, $9.99; Kindle, $5.99), reinvents the Tao, with wit and insight, for a modern audience. Ron sat down with us to talk about what makes his latest book so innovative (and irreverent), and what his key strategies are for connecting with readers online.

Channel V Books: You’ve lived in Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, New York. Can you connect the dots for readers?

Ron Hogan: And South Bend between Boston and Los Angeles, too! It’s pretty easy, really: After college, I went out to LA for grad school, then my part-time job at an indie bookstore became something closer to a full-time job–but I was getting involved with what we used to call “dotcoms” and “new media,” too, so I headed up to San Francisco to pursue those gigs, then on to Seattle for a stint at Amazon. After that, I knew I wanted to be at the intersection of book publishing and the Internet, so on to New York, where I’ve spent the last decade.

CVB: When and why did you first start working on the book that became Getting Right with Tao?

Ron: It was back when I was working at that independent bookstore in Los Angeles: I got hold of Stephen Mitchell’s “translation” of the Tao Te Ching, and I was very much into the underlying message, but (1) I wasn’t completely won over by Mitchell’s rendition, and (2) it turned out he was taking significant liberties with Lao Tzu’s original concepts. I was active in an online community that encouraged some of my more offbeat creative ambitions, so I began playing with the opening chapters of the Tao Te Ching in a kind of David Mamet/Quentin Tarantino sort of voice. When I put those chapters online, the feedback was hugely encouraging, but then I got distracted and it was nearly a decade before I finally pulled it all together.

CVB: You’ve designed something unique for readers of Getting Right with Taoa newsletter intended to start a conversation with them about using the book as a tool for personal and professional development. Can you talk a bit about how you see this taking shape? What made you decide to offer it?

Ron: The second question is easy: As we were putting this book together, a sensible question emerged: How could you convince somebody to buy a book that people have been downloading for free for the last half-decade? I could write new material–but that would mean waiting months, maybe even years, to publish. Or I could offer access to new material, something I could work on after the book was out.

Once I settled on that option, the subject matter came readily. I’ve been interested in the I Ching for years, and fascinated by the idea that, like the Tao Te Ching, it can serve as a powerful motivational tool. I wanted to write a book that explored that concept, but had always been distracted by other, more immediate concerns. Now that I’ve promised to launch and maintain a newsletter, I don’t have any excuses.

Basically, I see the I Ching as a framework of 64 steps towards personal transformation, and I’ve chosen to frame those steps as questions such as “What do you want from life?” and “Have you dedicated yourself?” Now I’m going to talk to a variety of self-help and motivational experts about how they would approach those questions, and I’ll share as much as I can from those conversations while they’re taking place, and with any luck a new book will emerge from the process. Read the rest of this entry »

01
Ron Hogan’s Publishing Experiment: Can You Sell a Free Book?
March, 2010

Ron Hogan's Getting Right with Tao

Three months into 2010, Ron Hogan, considered by many to be the guide to the literary world’s print and digital spheres, is enjoying a new job (director of digital marketing for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) and a new book, Getting Right with Tao: A Contemporary Spin on the Tao Te Ching (Channel V Books, paperback, $9.99; Kindle, $5.99), which is now available in the U.S. and UK from all major online retailers.

Hogan is known for building mediabistro.com’s GalleyCat into the preeminent blog of the publishing world, and for the two reading series he helps run in Manhattan (one at the Center for Fiction and a monthly celebration of romance fiction called Lady Jane’s Salon). He also started Beatrice.com (an online space featuring interviews with both up-and-coming and established writers) in the mid-1990s, and continued to write there during his time at mediabistro.com and during his two-year stint at Amazon.

Committed to finding new ways of uniting writers and readers, Hogan has now chosen a book publishing model that allows him to deliver his work to an even larger audience, with the help of newcomer Channel V Books (www.channelvbooks.com).

More than 100,000 readers downloaded the first version of the book since Hogan posted it online in early 2004, but people always wanted to know: Would there ever be a print version? Finally, Hogan decided to take the plunge, taking advantage of Channel V Books’ flexibility and speed, which let him revise, write a new foreword and afterword, and produce a finished book in 10 weeks. The result is an elegant, concise book that reexamines the big questions: What does it mean to be alive? What do you want out of life? With a unique voice and incisive style, Hogan gets right to what matters.

“Today’s book industry calls for experimentation and entrepreneurship on the part of both publishers and authors,” Hogan explains. “After years of giving the early version of Getting Right with Tao away for free online, I knew there was an audience for this book—with Channel V’s help, I’m building on the existing interest in this material and expanding it to a whole new readership.”

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29
Creating a Website for Your Personal Brand (5 Mandatory Steps)
January, 2010

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Dan Waldschmidt’s website is a great example of a personal brand site
that embodies the five tips outlined in this post*

Although the concept of transforming yourself into a personal brand isn’t a new one, it’s more prevalent than ever these days. This is true for many reasons–the influence of Internet/social media, ego, and an ever-evolving definition of what’s cool and what’s not. Not to mention, the following factors:

  • It’s no longer taboo for public figures to endorse brands or to put their own names on products. In fact, whereas even ten years ago, actors, musicians and other high profile people risked losing all street cred for shilling a product, it’s now cooler—and more profitable—than ever.
  • In the age of transparency, faceless corporations are, like, so 1998, while having a well-known face that consumers can relate to at the front of your company is totally in vogue.
  • Personal brands can charge people more for appearances, books and other opportunities, than they could if they didn’t have a solid brand platform. In other words, if there are two people with the exact same expertise and value to offer, the one with the stronger personal brand platform will always 1) be the first choice for most opportunities, and 2) get paid more as a result. Not only do they come with an existing audience, they also offer a certain cachet.

Really, the main tenets of creating a solid personal brand platform are the same as creating any brand platform: good messaging, widespread appeal, finding a way to say the same old thing in a new and exciting way, and smart overall packaging.  When it comes to doing this in the online world, you need to start with a website. Here’s how to get started:

1. Use your name as the URL. Sounds obvious, right? You’d be surprised how many people don’t do this. Even people who have made a conscious decision to transform themselves into brands are often timid or uncomfortable with the idea of, well, transforming themselves into brands. And this usually results in using some seemingly clever URL that encompasses the essence of what they’re trying to communicate with their brand, rather than using their name, which is one of the simplest and most effective ways to reinforce and brand your brand.

2. Put yourself at the center of it. Duh. This might sound even more obvious than the above tip, but again, it’s not always a given. You have to remember that many personal brands are not expert marketers, so they have a tough time branding themselves. Personal brands are often people who are experts at what they do, thought leaders, or other standouts in their industries. They know that they could be effective as the public face for a particular concept, but that doesn’t mean that they’re particularly savvy when it comes to implementing a brand strategy. If this is you, make sure that your beautiful mug is front and center on your website.

3. Showcase whatever it is that people know you for or what you want people to know you for. Your personal brand website should not just be a shrine to you and the things you like; it’s got to have a very clear objective. As much as your brand is all about you, it’s even more so about your audience. Are you known for you great insight into X? For your stunning looks or dazzling sense of humor? Do people gravitate toward you because they can always count on you to do Y? Well then, make sure those are the things people get the moment they land at YourName.com. This will yield a much better response than your list of “100 things you didn’t know about me.” (Yes, these are fun, but they shouldn’t be the centerpiece of your message.)

4. What do you want people to do? So, you’ve done your due diligence by giving people what they want, and thus given them a reason to come to your site in the first place. Now it’s their turn to return the favor and do what you want them to do. Is this inviting you to offer a keynote at their next event? Is this an interview with popular media outlets on your area of expertise? Maybe you want to pitch your own show, become the next Oprah, get a book deal or simply attract more interest in an organization you’re associated with. Whatever it is, make it obvious—your being a brand alone is not enough.

Linda Brodsky, MD, is currently using her personal brand site to
attract submissions for a multi-author book project–something
she makes immediately clear to visiitors.*  

5. Partner with someone who knows you better than you know yourself. For the same reason that every writer needs an editor, every personal brand needs to partner with someone who can give critical feedback and offer an outside perspective. Because you know yourself so well, it’s easy to misinterpret the way you appear to others. In other words, your image of yourself is based on a well of information that other people don’t necessarily have access to. For this reason, you must take into consideration an outsider’s point of view. And make sure that outsider is qualified to do such—meaning, they must know your industry, understand what you’re trying to achieve, and have experience with what you’re trying to accomplish. Going back to the writer-needing-an-editor  example—your mom and best friend are always going to tell you that they love your book—but  at the end of the day, they’re not necessarily qualified to give you a credible opinion that matters. Find someone who is.

*Both sites created by Channel V Media.

13
If You Can’t Beat ‘Em, Join ‘Em (E-book Edition)
January, 2010

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Plenty of ink has been spilled about e-books lately—and with the daily rumors of Apple’s iSlate, along with the debut of a zillion e-readers at the Consumer Electronics Show, last week was no exception. It seems like everyone has decided to debut an e-reader, and some publications have had it up to here with all the hype (see Gawker/Gizmodo’s “There Are Officially Too Damn Many Ebook Readers”). Well, we’ve officially decided to join the fray.

Hype or truth? Kindles were Amazon’s single biggest gift item in December, and Kindle titles sold like nuts on Christmas Day—but (and here’s the truth) primarily because Kindle giftees decided they’d better fill up their devices. When all is said and done, tech-savvy consumers and Kindle owners seem to receive the most attention, leaving the rest of the world to assume that the playing field is confined to the major players like Amazon, Barnes & Noble (whose Nook reader has been plagued by a lack of speed), and Apple. If you’re an author or leader in your field and your phone isn’t ringing off the hook from your publisher yet, you’re probably wondering where you fit into things.

Major-league authors—no doubt motivated by a sweet deal from Amazon—are certainly getting in on the e-book action: Stephen King made his novella Ur available exclusively for Kindle 2 users, coinciding with the Kindle 2 launch last February. In December, business writer Stephen Covey (author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People) decided to make his ebooks available exclusively through Amazon. And Paulo Coelho just followed suit by making 17 of his books available exclusively on Amazon’s Kindle store, for six months, in his native tongue, Portuguese. Kudos to them—but what if you’re a published or first-time author (and/or have a manuscript in process or almost completed)?

Whether you already have a book out, or are thinking of writing one, an e-book is something to consider, all hype aside, since it

• helps you access a greater number of readers in a greater variety of ways.

• establishes you as someone who can keep up with the latest technologies and upcoming generations of readers—someone who “gets it.”

• can help sales of your previous books. If you have titles in hardcover or paperback, ask your publisher if you can bundle an e-book with the print version to offer readers more than one format—and more of your work. If you self-publish, this is relatively easy to organize on your own.

After the jump, how to do an e-book if you aren’t besieged (yet!) by calls from Jeff Bezos.
Read the rest of this entry »

15
Behind the Books with CVB Author Peter Dunn
December, 2009

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Channel V Books author Peter Dunn’s new book, 60 Days to Change: A Daily How-To Guide with Actionable Tips for Improving Your Financial Life (paperback, $17.95) takes the best personal-finance advice from Dunn’s experience as a financial expert, flips the switch, and presto: 60 days of manageable, proven ways to save and spend wisely.

Below, Pete talks about how he wound up as the Gen-Y voice of personal finance–and how early experiences with doughnuts shaped his views of money.

Channel V Books: You’re an award-winning comedian and financial mind. Where do these two sides of your personality come from?

Peter Dunn: I don’t really think that the sides are that different, yet the world apparently does.

Comedy is finding and exploiting irony. Money is teaching and describing discipline. On stage, you need to get to a place where you are in an intimate conversation with each audience member. People think that comedians crave attention (and we do), but if you allow your audience to share in the attention, then they appreciate you more. In my office, I simply try to pay attention to the different educational needs of my clients. I read the room, just like I do on stage.
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02
Breaking: Reading Still Sexy, Our Poll Shows
December, 2009

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The results are in from our recent poll on which formats people prefer to read, and paperback (followed closely by hardback) took a strong lead over all the others (PDF, Kindle, audiobook, Stanza for iPhone, eReader, Nook, and SonyReader). The top 5 preferred formats stacked up this way: paperback (40 votes), hardback (36 votes), PDF (9 votes), Kindle (7 votes), and audiobooks (7 votes). (Readers could vote for more than one format.)

Sure, it’s a small sample size, but the implications are telling…

Read the rest of this entry »

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Behind the Books with CVB author Tom Searcy
November, 2009

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Crisscrossing the country for speaking and consulting engagements, two-time author and sales-growth consultant Tom Searcy (RFPs Suck! How to Master the RFP System Once and for All to Win Big Business) is a business whirlwind. We managed to catch up with him at 30,000 feet last month to find out how being a twin has shaped his outlook and fueled his unstoppable drive, why he wrote his second book, and how he balances managing a $3.5-billion business with being a dad and a writer. Below, get a glimpse inside the mind of a master.

Channel V Books: You were the head of four corporations, each of which had revenues of less than $15 million when you started, and more than $100 million by the time you left. And this was all before you had turned 40. How did you do it?

Tom Searcy: My family has a ridiculous work ethic. I worked 70- to 80-hour weeks in two to three jobs during high school summers—as well as a school job and an outside job during the school year. This work ethic was a part of my professional orientation. I outworked everybody in the companies in which I was employed. By the time I was 25, I was running a $15-million-plus business. Along the way, I developed certain habits and disciplines around management, leadership, and performance that served me very well. A couple of those:

• If you are planning on rapid growth, over-hire in positions because the people will make the growth happen to fit their capacity.
• Don’t hire for attitude, experience, or skill—hire for all of them.

CVB: Can you tell readers a bit about your background? Where did you grow up? What was your childhood like? (You have a twin brother, Tim Searcy. Care to share any stories of twin mischief?)

Searcy: Having a twin has been one of the most shaping elements of my growing up. Imagine having someone who is exactly like you—education, upbringing, DNA. You have a permanent benchmark of what is possible. There are no excuses: if he can do it, then I should be able to do it as well. If I want to know what I am personally capable of, then I have to push myself to that level. We are each other’s biggest fans now—but there is still that background sense that I want him to cross the finish line faster than anyone else…and one step behind me.

CVB: What accounts for who you are today (your drive, passion, and ability to connect to people)?

Searcy: I have never been particularly athletic. So, in high school my area of competition was Speech and Debate. I did very well because I could organize my thoughts in persuasive arguments very quickly, and I had to persuade a group of judges that my approach was better than my opponent’s. Do this a thousand times with written feedback every time and you get better. I competed on the national level and did very well.

CVB: What’s your idea of happiness?

Searcy: The creative process is fantastic for me. Writing, developing programs, speaking, painting…. Most everything that is creatively expressive is energizing for me. This translates into sales, because I believe selling is a creative process involving strategy and problem solving.

Read the rest of this entry »

19
Poll: Favorite Formats, Volume I
November, 2009

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We’re curious to know where you do most of your reading, these days. Are you an old-school cozy-chair reader of hardbacks? Are you a busy commuter reading in snatches from your smartphone on the train/bus/ferry? Or maybe you log long hours behind the wheel, and your favorite way of reading is audiobook.

In any case, we’d love to know what you think! In the poll below, let us know which formats you use–and feel free to choose more than one option.

In what format(s) do you read books?

View Results

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Got a favorite genre you read in e-book form? Or one that you only read in physical form, dog-earing the pages throughout? Let us know by leaving a comment.

17
15 Common-Sense Ways Authors Can Be Better Online Citizens
November, 2009

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As with any technology that requires just a little bit of common sense to achieve success, Twitter is abused across the board by people trying to promote themselves and their projects. The abuse isn’t the fact that they’re using the platform to promote themselves; it’s how they go about it. You don’t have to be an accomplished marketer to be successful, just apply a little bit of self-awareness to your outbound messaging to the world. That’s all.

While you would think it would be easy to just say, “Approach Twitter like you would a conversation at a cocktail party. Would you really just sit there and talk about yourself and your book the whole time?” Clearly the correct answer to this is no, yet people do it endlessly—in real life and on Twitter—nevertheless.

It’s painful, really. Not just having to endure it, but knowing that Twitter really offers authors an opportunity to level the playing field as they try to establish their platform. Done right, Twitter can rival the results of authors with huge and expensive publicity teams. 140 characters at a time, it’s up to you to find and engage your readers. And it’s easier than it sounds. Just remember two rules of thumb: common sense and self-awareness. Once you’ve mastered those, consider these 15 others for sheer mastery…

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11
Five Common Traits of The Unintentionally Successful Accidental Personal Brand
November, 2009

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This article was originally featured on Dan Schawbel’s Personal Branding Blog.

For most people there is one path to recognition, status and authority-slaving away, day in and day out, mastering a craft, drawing attention to achievements, and hoping that one day all that hard work will coalesce into a recognized personal brand. There is, however, the exception: the Accidental Personal Brand. This is the person who emerges from the ether, gains the attention of the masses, and benefits from the opportunities that inevitably come with an attentive audience.

To most of us, these lucky few are supremely unworthy. If, for example, you’re a struggling (but talented!) writer, who hunches over your computer for several hours a day working endlessly to entertain your audience and build your platform, you likely cringe whenever you hear that the Internet phenomenon du jour has secured a book deal with an unheard-of advance, based on a blog started on a whim.

Learn from the non-deliberate

And I can’t help but agree that to the untrained eye, most Accidental Personal Brands (APBs) seem to have nothing more than dumb luck on their side, but-stick with me here-not all accidental personal brands are untalented or undeserving. And either way, what’s important here is that we can learn quite a bit from the paths they take-from the very non-deliberate way in which their personal brands emerge to the very deliberate ways in which they capitalize on the opportunities that follow.

But first, a look at some of the most compelling recent APBs:

Joe the Plumber rocketed from a random commenter on Obama’s small-business tax policy to the mascot for middle-class America. He’s since released a book, signed a record deal, made more than a few paid personal appearances, and the list goes on. Jared Fogle lost nearly 100 pounds on his Subway sandwich diet, but gained national attention, a 10-year stint as the Subway spokesperson and a slew of speaking gigs. After Ken Jennings won 74 games of Jeopardy!, he was added to the Guinness Book of World Records, he wrote two books, secured a regular column with Mental Floss, and continues to entertain several media opportunities.

Jon and Kate Gosselin managed to transform their sextuplets into a media empire, including a reality show, books and speaking engagements; a ton of cash, and a high-profile divorce. Octomom secured an upcoming reality show that will feed the country’s obsession with her and her octuplets. Levi Johnston got national recognition for getting a vice presidential candidate’s daughter pregnant and continues to capitalize on his newfound fame-although his long-term success as an APB remains to be seen. Bloggers are plucked out of the blogosphere daily for book deals and other opportunities.

You get the point.

So now for the real question: What are the key elements that distinguish these APBs and how do they compare to the steps you’re taking to build your personal brand? Let’s take a look…

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