By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD I receive calls and emails from people who want to start a call center or contact center. I used to spend quite a bit of time with them discussing the nuances, ramifications, and challenges of starting a contact center or starting a telephone answering service. (They would already be optimistically […]
Be Intentional to Make the Most Out of the Summer Season By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD Even though summer hasn’t officially begun, for most of us in the United States it effectively started after Memorial Day. It feels like summer, and I, for one, act like it’s summer. Though it’s been a while, here’s what […]
I call the sixth error of self-publishing, font abuse. That not as prevalent and it once was, font abuse is using multiple font styles, with varying point sizes throughout a manuscript. The author may view this as creative formatting, but the only thing it accomplishes is irritating the reader. At best, this barrage of fonts […]
If we avoid the first four errors of self-publishing (poor content, cover, title, and editing), we can still ruin our hard work with formatting errors. Just because a book looks good in Microsoft Word, doesn’t mean it’s going to convert nicely to an e-book. Even one conversion error will lower a reader’s esteem for our […]
For Optimum Results Schedule Agents to Meet Projected Call Traffic By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD Call centers rely on people—that is, agents—to meet the needs of callers. This requires developing an ideal agent schedule. Having too many agents results in idle time, with staff on the clock but without enough work to do. This bloats […]
After poor content, cover, and title, the fourth error is skipping or scrimping on the editing. Our books deserve quality editing. I’ve never met anyone who could self-edit with complete success. Yes, some writers are better than others. And, with time, we can all improve our self-editing skills, but we will never catch every error […]
Do I need to make changes to how I collect emails on my website? I don’t think anyone fully understands the practical implications of the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) for the European Union. And we may not for a few years. Here are my thoughts on it. (Reminder: I’m not a lawyer, and this […]
In past posts, we’ve covered the importance of content and cover. The next element is the book title. People browsing books (be it online or in a bookstore) generally look at the cover first. If the cover grabs their attention, then they’ll read the title. If the title reinforces the cover or further interests them, […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD Ten years ago, I have signed up for the “rewards” program at my favorite office supply store. In addition to mailing me coupons and emailing me special offers (which is how I bought a paper shredder for $10), they also keep track of my purchases, which allows me to earn […]
Last week, I said that the primary error of self-publishing is poor content. The second error, almost as critical, is a lousy book cover. People do, quite literally, judge a book by its cover—and even more so when buying online. Don’t Make Your Own Book Cover Unless you make a living designing book covers—or have […]