Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Writing and publishing have long been a mainstay in my life. As a teenager, while living in Japan, the Mainichi Daily, a daily English newspaper, carried two of my columns “Yokohama Jottings” and “Teen Talk”. This gave me entree to a lot of interesting events others of my age had no access to … it also paid better than and was a lot more fun than baby sitting.
In the business world I wrote copy for travel brochures and magazines, and later, as my career took me into the corporate world, my focus shifted to sales. My love for writing was now partnered with sales. The experience opened a new dimension in business and appreciation for money. After the corporate world I went into business for myself. I hung out my marketing consultant shingle. Having a degree in marketing I decided to transition from traditional marketing to the internet and that in a full circle took me back to writing.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is the Entrepreneurs Guide to PUBLIC SPEAKING.
As I was building my internet marketing business I met many entrepreneurs, attended meetings and conferences at which entrepreneurs spoke. My observation was that many entrepreneurs were poor speakers – they were ill prepared and often appeared awkward in front of an audience. Being able to speak well, to communicate and hold your audience’s attention is critical for an entrepreneur, and it doesn’t have to be a large audience. What if you are a startup and looking for capital? You need to be able to present your proposition to an angel in a clear, concise and compelling manner. As a former toastmaster I knew how anyone could become a good speaker and the idea came to me to write this book.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
None that are unusual to me. I do like to write in the morning though. Back in those teenage years I often had just enough time to get may homework done, go attend a function, come home tired and would get up early in the morning to write a brief article about the prior evening before heading off to school. Sometimes that meant getting up at 4.30 a.m. I no longer get up at 4.30, but 5 to 5.30 in the morning gives me two hours of good uninterrupted writing. I find that in the still of the morning, before the world wakes up, I can write better.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Oh, if we go into the way back machine, definitely Hemingway and Faulkner. More recently Michael Ondaatje, Vikram Seth and I just love Malcolm Gladwell. My reading these days tends to be entrepreneur skewed and much as I enjoy reading about entrepreneurship, I must admit that these are not books that are necessarily well written, not in the literature sense that is.
What are you working on now?
As an online entrepreneur I am always open to opportunities. Currently I am a partner in a startup digital magazine. We are in the very early stages so a good deal of my time is devoted to getting the first three beta issued produced and published. We look to learning from those and make corrections from there.
The other thing I am doing now is taking each ebook that I wrote (including those under a nome de plume) and fleshing it out more. Improving, print versions, audio, and maximizing its promotions and marketing. I want to see what differences this makes, track metrics and see what areas can be repurposed for other books in the same genre/niche.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I still default to free promotions. After I put in play the improvement of each book, and use all the platforms and marketing strategies available, I will have a better answer.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Nike says it like no other just Do It. One of my early mentors, Mike Litman, would say “You don’t have to get it right, you just have to get it going” I have made that my slogan. Too many people wait for the right moment, the perfect time, the perfect situation … it never happens. There is no such thing is “perfect” … and by doing so they rob themselves of the joy of accomplishment, improvement, and continuous aspiration towards a better version of the item, and by default, of self.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“You don’t have to get it right, you just have to get it going.” Mike Litman, author of Conversations with Millionaires.
What are you reading now?
Live It by Jairek Robbins. I am a firm believer that we, as humans, need to continually work on ourselves so that we can become the best version of who we are. So yes, these are not necessarily literary barn burners but they make a huge impact in a different way.
What’s next for you as a writer?
1. Launch a successful digital magazine.
2. I’ve always wanted to take the route my grandparents took when they left Russia post the revolution. Both sets, independent of each other, took the Siberian Rail from Moscow on the one side, and Nizhny Tagil (near Yekaterinburg) on the other, to Harbin in China, and then somehow ended up in Japan. I’d like to write about that. The experience today would of course be different, but it would at least be in my grandfathers’ footsteps, it would give me a connection.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Lorna Doone: Introduced me to reading, a fork in the road that made all the difference in my life.
Anna Karenina: That is sooooo Russian! The emotions, the drama, and what a love story!
For Whom the Bell Tolls and/or Blood and Sand by Hemingway
War and Peace … doorstopper for sure, but would give many hours of reading pleasure
A Suitable Boy … going for economy here … the more pages the more reading, but it is an excellent book.
Author Websites and Profiles
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