The goal of advertising is to get our name and book in front of readers. But advertising is expensive; it is a quick way to lose money if we advertise in the wrong place. However, when we find the right place to advertise—one where our audience hangs out and that provides a good return on […]
If all you want to do is write, you should be a ghostwriter. Ghostwriters don’t need to seek an agent, sign with a publisher, or promote their books. They just write. The downside of being a ghostwriter is they seldom receive recognition for their work, just a paycheck. In some books, the ghostwriter is mentioned, […]
I meet many aspiring writers who want to jump right in and write a book. They have little experience, but they have an idea. They start typing away. Most give up soon and only a few finish. And those who do complete their journey, the result is seldom noteworthy. Why is that? The answer is […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD Recently I experienced poor customer service and great customer service. Both happened the same day; both came from the same organization. By choice I bank locally. My bank has a main office and two branches. For twelve years, I’ve always used the same branch. When I make a deposit, I […]
As we consider ways to market our books, we need to be aware of the “marketing measurement myth.” This is an alarming trend with marketers, especially those with affection for the Internet. Their perspective is that if it can’t be measured, it doesn’t matter and isn’t worth pursuing. Consider, for a moment, applying this bias […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD It used to be that telephone answering services (TAS) could function as a generalist – serving all clients – or specialize in specific niches. I now wonder if a niche strategy might be needed in today’s marketplace. A huge answering service niche is the healthcare industry. Within this focus, there […]
(Sorry for the late notice) Last week I was disappointed when I learned that May is National Short Story Month. Gee, the month was all but over before I discovered this. We could have spent the whole month talking about a short story, but I missed the opportunity. Maybe next year. A short story is […]
I’ve been fortunate in that I’ve received very little rejection from the articles I’ve written. In fact, aside from contests, I haven’t won and a few editors who never responded, I can’t recall a single time I’ve heard “No!” But that’s just for articles. For books, my results are different. Half the time, I hear […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD We often talk about call center agents working at home, but what about supervisors and managers? Though I now write about the industry instead of working in it, I believe management can work at home, too. For the past fifteen years, I’ve worked at home. The benefits are many: no […]
For the first couple of decades, I had one goal as a writer: to write faster. Over time I wrote with increased speed and could crank out articles and blog posts quickly. For longer works, I simply broke them into bite-sized chunks and knocked them off one at a time. Easy peasy. The problem was […]