First Word

(L-R) Bo Bradley, operations manager, Michael Perrotta, author, and Michelle Gamble-Risley, CEO Michael Perrotta, author of Under the Sycamores published by 3L Publishing , spoke at last night's Writers Who Mean Business meeting. The key discussion involved the use of a book coach to mold and shape your manuscript into a valuable final product that will entice readers -- but most importantly publishers to want to work with you. If you are considering using a book coach, here are three valuable reasons why you should: You will receive customized feedback and guidance to improve the story, characters and writing. You will be guided to strengthen to strong points and eliminate the weak points. You will receive unbiased and necessary critical feedback to help you write a five-star book. If you are interested in book coaching services, please call us at 916-300-8012. We respond to all requests and queries within 24 hours. 

All right I am not an expert on this subject -- what is that like the warning label LOL? Well, here I go anyway. The difference in dating in my forties vs. twenties is huge. And here is what I learned. Prettier, younger and less experienced don't trump one key element to why I have more men asking me out in my older version. Men love confident, successful women. Of course, it does helps to keep your looks up, too, but here is the master secret: confidence and inner beauty shine outward. If I have consistently heard one thing over and over again from the men in my life: I don't want drama . Drama comes from where? When we act dramatic, it's because we're coming from a place of insecurity. Insecurity comes from a lack of what? Confidence in ourselves, our value and worth. Stay grounded, secure and confident and build your own life -- and dating becomes an interesting field of dreams. Build up your self-esteem and confidence -- and they will come. I can walk in a room now ...

Whether it's in your personal life or business, if you keep doing the same things you will keep getting the same results. We want to get different results yet we often repeat the pattern and yet we expect something different. Think about that, if you're doing anything in business and it's not yielding sales or desired results, why keep doing the same thing? I like to say 1 + 1 = 2 every time. Or I can be cute and say, you can't "sort of" be pregnant. You either are or you aren't ... there is no between. So, if you do X and you get Y and you think you should get Z, ask yourself what in that formula doesn't work? This rigid pattern can only be broken by you deciding to do A to finally get Z. So, let me use a personal example. If you want a different reaction from someone yet you continually do X behavior and you continue to get Y results when you want Z results, you have to stop doing X and take a different approach. Why does this sound so simple yet it...

As writers, we get locked into our little bubble worlds. We focus on the page and the thoughts. We let these thoughts pour out and then we publish them (some of us). We often forget an audience reads our thoughts. I always remember my audience, but when little notes and thoughts about my work come back to me, I am quickly reminded my thoughts went out into the world. I find it exceptionally rewarding and gratifying that some of those thoughts change lives and touch hearts. Never assume everyone out there already knows some of your well-earned wisdom. Once I gave a talk to a room full of women about my first book Second Bloom, and I will never forget the woman who tearfully walked up to me and thanked me for the book and the presentation. She was moved to tears. I felt instantly overwhelmed that my experiences evoked such strong feelings in another human being. The power and talent to do something like that is just overwhelming, which also means you should wield your talent and power wi...

I am home and back with a vengeance. I feel like my old self again -- and it feels great. I'm back out networking and meeting with clients in full force. My funny story telling had come to almost a complete end with my humorless divorce (well, sometimes I felt humor in my ability to laugh at myself) and my sudden realization I might be heading into menopause. Let's discuss menopause (guys tune out) for a moment ... what's fun about it? Nothing. It's only funny in the sense that every now and again I go a little crazy, sweat and need to stick my entire body in the freezer. Yes, many of you are looking at that picture to the right and thinking, "She's not old enough to be going into menopause." Well, yes, yes, I am old enough. Great genes lie about my age. I'm a proud 46-year-old woman. I love to admit my age, because most people are shocked. Again, let me repeat: Great genetics go a long way toward the Fountain of Youth. Other age-preserving "behav...

If you're in business, passive revenue is the best way to earn money. You do the work and the money continues to flow in long after the work is done. Passive revenue compounds your existing revenue and enables you to earn more without working harder. I like passive revenue because it's the quintessential and true definition of work smarter not harder -- amen. In publishing, your business book acts as your calling card and is more effective than a brochure (who ever throws a book away but thousands of brochures get dumped in landfills), and you get the value add of passive revenue. You can sell a book. You can't sell a brochure. And here is the big shocker: your cost per full-color brochure can be upwards of $5-$8 per brochure versus a full-sized book that can be as inexpensive as a $1.25 per book. You simply can't go wrong when you look at the formula from that point-of-view. Consider this, too: your book can bring in passive revenue for years to come. I have two busine...

Sometimes I just get too darned serious. It's time to make 'em laugh I say. So, I will just tell stories this morning. My daughter Cambria, 8, is a lark. She is very articulate and says the funniest things. Spend an entire afternoon with her and she is sure to make you laugh over something often random. You know little kids and candy, right? Well, last night we went to yogurt -- and as usual she loads her dish with 1/4 yogurt and 1 pound candy ... candy corn, gummy worms ... then she says (and I love it), "How about sprinkles? You can never go wrong with sprinkles." I laughed and replied, "You're right. You can never go wrong with sprinkles." And she heaps a few tablespoons on her already sugar-saturated dessert. A dear friend of mine with whom I share these stories always says, "You gotta love kids." You said it, friend! Speaking of children ... did you know my company 3L Publishing publishes children's book? We have three glorious bo...

Writers are constantly citing writer's block as a reason why their articles, books or other writing doesn't happen. And bloggers especially complain and ask, "How do you come up with something to blog about every day?" 1. Sit down and just let the words flow ... don't think about it, just do it. I call this stream of consciousness writing. 2. If you're having trouble picking a word or even picking a title, use your thesaurus. The thesaurus is a magical tool for inspiration. Just pick an associated word and use it and see what comes up that works for you. 3. Do an outline of what you want to write about and then just do what I call "back fill" the content with related material. Then use the other subheads and signposts to where you want your writing to go.

It's all about the lessons my friends ... so here we go: 1. Always take the high road and do what is best for the kids. 2. Give yourself some breathing room before you get into a new relationship. 3. Remember, you are in charge of your dating life. 4. Create standards for yourself and then stick to them. 5. Create boundaries for yourself and then stick to them. 6. Do not allow your ex to continue to treat you like his wife (you aren't anymore). 7. Any man who doesn't care enough to show up whether it's a date or someone who purports to be your friend isn't really your friend. 8. Make a decision and learn to hold your ground. 9. Everyone deserves to be loved right. 10. Always take the high road. And the last word on life in general ... let go of control. You have no control over anything but your behavior and reactions. What the other person does isn't within your power to control it. Don't try to force things ... let it flow. And then jump in th...

Have you heard that before: we teach others how to treat us ? I had to two major epiphanies today. My lovely operations manager Bo Bradley, whose forthcoming book Hot Mess comes out soon, writes about co-depenency. We were having an in-depth discussion about some of my personal issues. And the topic of self-love came up. Well, I don't want to get into too much detail, but I did not have a lot of "unconditional love" growing up. I've gone on to perpetuate a lot of behaviors and patterns I learned at home. In my new life as a newly single woman, I have found myself in a situation where one of my male "friends" has treated me terribly. With every excuse under the sun that one can imagine, he has continually bailed out or found any dozen excuses not to show up. It has gotten to the point where I expect him not to show -- and not showing up is the rule and not the exception . It hit me today that I taught him it was perfectly okay not to ever show up. He didn...

People worry about money. Listen to a casual conversation, and most often you hear something like, "I'm worried I won't be able to pay my bills." What is always fascinating is that if you asked, "Did you pay your bills and are they are paid now?" Nine times out of 10 that person would say, "Yes." A dear friend of mine always told me that if your bills are paid, what are you worried about today? Why are you worried about what hasn't happened yet or what may never happen at all. Another dear friend of mine was just worried about his balance sheet. I told him he needed to change his relationship with money. Don't focus on losing money or not making money. Always focus on making money. I guarantee you when you focus on making money, you will earn it -- and that piece of advice essentially out of the book The Secret , but almost all books on the subject teach us to focus on what makes us money versus what doesn't earn us anything but an ulce...

So you're an avid networker. You attend all of the events, and in the lyrics of the old Cheers song, "everybody knows your name." Yet despite more trips to the rubber-chicken buffet, you still don't have anything more than a stack of business cards and no real prospects in sight. Here are three things you should do after the networking event: Email  - I always like to send an email to my potential business first. Some people prefer phone calls, but e-mail is my "pick-my-poison" choice follow-up method. I recommend you give it at least 2-3 days (kind of like the rules of when should I call after you meet someone new) and then shoot them an email. Coffee  - I like coffee as a generic meeting device. I don't like lunch, because that can get expensive if you have a lot of follow-up meetings. Coffee is $3.50 and if nothing else, you've gained a friend from the meeting, $3.50 for a good, ole cup of Joe is nothing off your marketing budget. I also...

Now that I'm single again, I am amused by this whole texting relationship thing. A friend of mine mentioned that texting is the new form of intimacy. A quick glance at recent romance articles about how to know if a guy likes you revealed the "rules" of texting. Who should text first. When to text. How to text. More articles and time were devoted to the enigmatic question of texting and when, where and how than to actual romance and sex. Let me just say that if you spend more time texting than romping, hmmm ... seems to me physical intimacy is way more satisfying. Now I will say the plus point on texting: it allows you to send quick messages and lets the person know you are thinking of him or her. It's quick and effective, too. The other night though I was going back and forth with a man I'm dating, and it suddenly occurred to me, "Why are we doing this?" I let my fingers do the touching. I mentioned to him, "And why were we texting and not talking?...

I wanted to write about getting through the tough times, and the importance of really feeling your grief and pain to be able to get over it. We live in a society that uses alcohol, drugs and other distractions to avoid the hard feelings -- the ones that can bring you to your knees. I've just come to the end of a long journey that lasted about a year. Each bump in the road wasn't a small bounce -- it was the kind of life stress that did, in fact, bring me to my knees several times. The entire time and through the endless tears, I just wanted it to stop. Yet I've known people who used aforementioned distractions and 10 years later continue to suffer their own demons. While each crying jag was enormously difficult, and I felt just terrible, I didn't avoid it. On the advice of my amazing life coach and some of friends who are therapists, I went with the proverbial flow. I let the tears just pour down my face and rain all over the place. I physically suffered the ravages of ...

A little divine inspiration for you all this morning ... Control is an illusion . We don't have control over anyone or anything except our thoughts and actions. We can't control other people. We can't control outcomes. We can't control love. And we can't control situations. What we can do is have a positive attitude . A positive attitude is more likely to help your achieve the things you want in life. If you think positive and act positive you will attract what you want ... Law of Attraction. I like to say to others, do you think an Olympic athlete looks himself or herself in the mirror and says, "I'm going to lose today?" No, successful people think and act positive. Actions speak louder than words . A person's action tell you much more than their words. People can tell you one thing and quiet literally do another. So watch what the person does and not what he or she says -- that is his/her truth. What does it matter when it's over . I...

I've decided that today is going to be "rambling blog day" and let's meander off into the unimportant, meaningless, trivial and super entertaining. I just wrote all of these serious blogs, so it's time to be un-serious ... it's a super un-serious day. I actually got my day off right. My special someone texted me funny jokes to get the morning moving. Of course, I was decidedly serious because I hadn't had my coffee yet. Coffee is the jumpstart for the funny bone. In fact, coffee is the great jumpstart for everything, including my will to get out of bed (I know you're all nodding now). Well, in the better news and announcements department, I am moving north again. I should be back in Northern California by month's end. My same friend asked if I was near water. Darn it! I was so eager to get back, I forgot to search for a "room with a view." Oh well, at least I will be back at my home base. So, this is truly a go-nowhere blog full of meanin...

One of the most important focuses any business should be customer service. Never undervalue or under-rate customer service. Focus on superior customer service and reap the rewards, which are repeat business, referrals, and essentially more business. And when it comes to customer service, here are some suggested policies and ideas you should adopt: Consistent, on-time and on deadline -- if you promise to do something you honor it. You deliver whatever it is you said you were going to deliver. If it's a project and you say you're going to get it done by a certain time, honor it and make it happen. If it's a meeting and you say you're going to be there, you show up. It doesn't matter what it is, be consistent, be on-time and meet the deadline. 24-hour response time -- at 3L Publishing it's our standard policy to always respond to a client with 24 hours. We might not always be able to take the phone call on the spot, but we will do our best to ensure we call ...

Have you thought about writing or having someone write a book about your business topic or area of expertise? Did you know a book is better for your business than a brochure and way more effective? Want to know why? Brochures get thrown away, people don't toss books in the garbage . So true! How many times do you see a book land in the trash can? Don't we all kind of have that feeling waste and "tree vengeance" when we have the nerve to toss a book? Now brochures are a whole other story ... where's the trashcan? Speaking engagement requests galore . A book is like someone waving a magic wand and sprinkling all kinds of fairy dust on your head to make you an instant expert. What do people do with experts? They ask them to speak. When you get asked to speak, what do you get? Exposure and new business. New business makes money, which equals profits. Public relations opportunities rock ! A book gives you something to announce and promote to the media. It...