First Word

I have now had the unfortunate encounter with two different situations where trusted people blatantly lied to me (The Queen of Crap and now the Queen of Crap JR -- two monikers well earned). Rather than be discouraged that I can't trust people who I thought I could trust -- and in one case, the person was someone I thought was a loyal friend ... well, until she was no longer. In retrospect, I considered all the duplicity and disingenuous behavior and decided rather than not trust colleagues and associates, I would instead learn from the red flags that were raised. Here are some important observations I've made that may help others learn from my mistakes: If someone conducts their personal lives in a unethical way, don't instantly believe they will separate their personal from their professional ethics . This person burned family, lied, connived and admitted it. I remember thinking at the time it was alarming. I didn't know anyone who had ever done something so low. It...

I am waiting to hear back on my outside projects. I got asked how do I exercise patience as I wait for responses? Sometimes writers get very anxious about the wait to hear back from agents, publishers, editors, producers, etc. I have written three books and dozens of magazine articles and have sold two scripts. Here is the way to become peaceful with the "waiting." First, you have to imagine that these editors, publishers and agents have piles to read on their desks. What I say is "don't bake the cake before you put it in the oven." Writers often think the worst (rejection) long before any of these professionals have had a chance to even review or consider their projects. You can't assume the worst. What you can assume is that it takes time. It takes time to read the material; time to escalate it up the decision-making chain; and time to get back to you. So, your best approach is to periodically check in and gently push. That way you are proactive withou...

Over the years, a common theme in my life is that people call me a "work horse." For some reason my mind flashes to a Clydesdale humping the farm field, dragging a heavy plow. I shake my head and return to reality now. Since I'm no fan of the idea that one must pull a heavy plow to get a lot of work done in a day, I thought I would much rather give you some tips on why it is that most people seem to associate the Clydesdale with yours truly. The real reason is that over the years I have learned some important lessons on how to get a lot done in a day. I thought you would appreciate my insight. Organization first and routine second -- when I first got into business, I set up my paperwork and got all my primary documentation stored and on-the-ready. I have central contracts, invoices and legal documents pre-written and on stand-by for when a need rises. I recently had a very unappreciative former business associate who worked with me and asked for assistance in this area...

Public relations campaigns can be tricky. We often have prospective clients show up who want us to "guarantee" results. I once had a guy shove another PR agency's one sheet under my nose and point to the "empty" promise of "guaranteed" results. He relentlessly insisted I make the same "oath of results," which I could not do. In PR you cannot promise anything when it comes to the media. If you know anything about the Public Relations Society of America code of ethics, you would know that true accredited PR professionals cannot promise media placements. It's unethical to make those kinds of promises. Why? Because (while most of us would like to believe it isn't so) we don't control the media. Have you heard of unbiased news reporting? Well, if PR pros were able to control the media, everything would be quite biased. As professionals all we can do is pitch our ideas and clients and hope the media likes what they hear. And here is one...

I hope that my staff agrees with this -- and I suspect they do; but 3L Publishing is an awesome organization to work for and to work with. What is my assumption based on? "Do you have empirical evidence?" you ask. Well, a few fun facts to help persuade you on my premise. We don't have a brick-and-mortar building. We will probably never have a building. Why? Modern business doesn't need these kind of physical establishments to be successful. When I started my company in 2006, it was to escape the constraints of corporate boundaries -- desks in offices in buildings. It was to create a way for me to lose the commute and the time wasted in the commute. My independence enabled me to spend more time with my family; be home when my kids got out of school; and to keep overhead costs down in fuel costs. As a result, I translated the needs to my team. As we've begun to grow, I don't put restraints on how people spend their time or where they spend their time working. I ...

I recently answered a questionnaire about marketing for small businesses. I thought I would share my answers with the rest of you to help other businesses.  1) How important is having an organized and successful marketing plan? What key areas should one think about when developing a marketing plan?   My personal opinion is that a marketing plan is your roadmap really toward your tactics. I think your overall strategies and goals are important but really drive what you are going to do tactically to take action to drive your marketing campaign. The strategies lay out your intention to reach what markets and why -- your goals are your milestones toward results. Your tactics, however, state what tools and techniques will you employ to reach those goals. Without a clear plan, marketing leaders will pursue their marketing campaigns in a much more haphazard and random way -- and stumble toward success or not achieve success at all. 2) What are a few easy online mark...

We just had a presentation of collaborative writing. I am a fan of collaborative writing -- even though I have been sullied on business partnerships in general. While I will firmly suggest I will not partner in business again (see Buddha, I learned my lesson), I will eagerly partner in writing books or screenplays again. When you have the right collaboration, you will find it enhances the process. You can brainstorm and bounce ideas around with someone else and get feedback from a vested partner, who is much less inclined to indulge you since he/she has a stake in its success. You can be each other's fan and support club to finish the project. You have someone to enjoy the process with too. On the downside, a bad partnership or collaboration can have horrific and stressful results. So, make sure you have an agreed upon vision and compatible writing style. Do watch out for a collaboration where one partner takes advantage of the other's goodwill and generosity. Signs of abuse ...