A 3-part series on Do Something! Write About It! Sell It!

In this 3-part series CIPA Past President Joe Sabah chronicles the journey he chose to make a full-time living in the writing and publishing business.

January 2001 - Do Something! Joe will share the advice he received from Dale Carnegie and John Hammond on "How to Decide EXACTLY What to Write About."

February 2001 - Write About It! - How many ways are there to "write" a book? Let's count the ways . . . 1, 2, 3, 4 5, 6 and on and on

March 2001 - Sell It! - Here comes the PROFITABLE STEP. (Let's make money). If you've completed steps one and two properly the third step will fall right into place. Get ready to make the bank deposits and process the credit card orders.

*Do Something, *Write About It . . . Now *Sell It

Part One

The following article is based on a topic that I have written about and given seminars about that has created a full-time income for me for the past 20 years. No matter where you are in your dreams to write and publish, this example of how I did it might also help you.

#1 *Do Something...

    What to write about? What to write about? Why not write about the 'hottest selling topics'? Why not go to Amazon.com and find the hottest selling books, and write on those subjects?

Wrong!

I believe Dale Carnegie was right on target when he advised all his students to "Only, Only, Only speak on something you've earned the right to speak about."

 I've since paraphrased this admonition to "Only, Only, Only write on something you've earned the right to WRITE about."

 Anything else would be hypocritical.

 So, just how do you (and I) find something we've earned the RIGHT to write about? My BEST IDEA came in 1978 when I called my son Joe in California to congratulate him on his upcoming graduation.

I asked, "What can I get you for graduation, son?"

His response: "A job!" Asking him what kind of job he wanted, his response, "I want to be a printer."

   My mind shifted into high gear and I promised to call him within the hour. Going downstairs to my IBM self correcting Selectric I poured all my creativity into the first ever 'gold form.'

 After reading this one pager to Joe, I mailed it the next day to 37 print shops in Concord and Walnut Creek, California. Three days later Joe called. "I got three job offers, and they all called me."

WOW! I don't know who was more excited, my son or me.   Nearly a 10 percent return, unheard of in direct mail circles.   Then came the next question, "If this worked for Joe, could/would it work for others?"

An immediate YES came from students in the seminars I conducted for the community colleges and adult education facilities in the Denver metro area.

Changing the title from "How to Get the Job You Want" to "How to Get the Job You REALLY Want" to "How to Get the Job You Really Want and Get Employers to Call You"  also helped.

One Saturday I scheduled a six-hour seminar and asked my friend Dana if she would turn the tape over every 30 minutes in my recorder. That day was a 'defining moment' for me. I realized that I had six hours of material .. which later was transcribed ... but I'm getting ahead of my story.

The second defining moment in "Do Something" step was when I saw a classified ad in a national magazine that said "Authors Wanted for Radio Talk Show Interviews."

That ad and the subsequent 200 talk show interviews resulted in my second "Do Something" experience.

My book and system "How to Get On Radio Talk Shows All Across America Without Leaving Your Home or Office" has accounted for sales of over $560,000.

Back to "Do Something" ... just what is it that you've done that you've EARNED THE RIGHT to write about?  What gets you so excited that you're devoting a lot of time and energy to it?

When my son was only 10 years old he commented to adults in my living room, "My dad will buy any book with a How-to title."   

And you know something, he's right! When I scan my bookshelves "How-to" books are in the majority. I guess the influence of Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People and How to Stop Worrying and Start Living have helped shape and influence my life for the past 40+ years.

Question: "What genre do you read and think about? Romance? Fiction? History? Poetry? There's a wide open market out there.

Here's where you want to start analyzing your "Do Something" topics. Which magazines do you subscribe to? Which newsletters do you read?

John Hammond, founder and president of the American Motivational Association shocked me with his comment: "Too many people are writing about success who are NOT successful themselves."

I guess that statement stopped me cold, and reminded me to remind all of us to ONLY, ONLY, ONLY Write on something we've EARNED the right to write about.

Go to Part Two to discover tips and techniques that will help you write effortlessly.

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