“If you do not want to be forgotten when you are dead, either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.” –Ben Franklin.

Easier said than done, right? Just sit down and write. We all have a book in us, many say. What’s yours?

Recently I held a workshop and one of the participants challenged herself to use the form I provide to outline a book and finish writing her book in 5 months. Surprisingly, she finished in a few weeks.

So what is the strategy? It’s about getting the right direction, not having too many things you want to write at once, and perhaps, most importantly, figuring out the umbrella idea that you are most passionate writing about.

For example, say you are thinking about a book on creating a successful career. Write down that as an umbrella idea. Then go look at the best sellers on Amazon under careers. Write down the top 10 titles. Then go inside each of the 10 books and look at each book’s chapter titles for even more niche ideas.

Now add any more titles you come up with during the day. Next, let your list rest for a day or so. When you return to it, see if there are a couple of titles from the best sellers or interior chapter titles or titles you came up with that stand out.

Now go query friends and others online and off and choose a title. Create a mind map with 10 chapters (works best for me and others) for a non-fiction book and 14 chapters to start for a fiction book. Next, write out your chapter titles. Don’t worry. You can always change them later.

Now you have something. You have your book. It’s just the beginning, yes. But it’s all yours and if you keep going you will have your very own book. Why not try this? Is your book waiting for you to bring it to life? Is your life waiting for you to bring it into a book?

I have seen every one of her movies.

I used to do some acting in high school and college and had dreams of the stage, but after seeing Meryl Streep in “Sophie’s Choice” I realized that I could never be as amazingly talented as she was and so turned my focus to writing and other efforts content to live vicariously through her incredible career.

Growing up was very painful. My mother adopted dogs and later became a groomer and breeder long before the world went dog crazy. When I was fifteen she had collected more than seventeen dogs she kept in cages in our large but very crowded house.

It was hard to talk to my mother who was distant with me and my two sisters, so much so that I wonder sometimes how I made it from day to day. Although my father ran his florist shop that was connected to our sprawling five-bedroom home, he was always out delivering flower arrangements to funeral homes, hospitals or private homes. In other words, we had little interaction with our parents and even less support in our teen years when we needed it most.

My school life became my refuge during the school year and my Aunt Bonnie became my refuge in the summer. Bonnie lived in Grand Rapids, Michigan, only a day’s drive from our home in Ohio, but, to me, going to her house during one month each summer was like going to Europe to stay in a palace.

Bonnie was like Meryl Streep, beautiful, strong and filled with passion, compassion and ingenuity. Every day was special and I was the center of her attention. She taught me and my two sisters how to sew, cook and, most importantly, at the time, put on makeup. Her beautiful, clean home was a haven compared to the noisy, dirty, strange home I had to live in the majority of the year.

But for one month each summer I was not the shy teen from a small Ohio town who was ashamed of her mother and home. I was a creative, strong young woman who could do anything.

I had a future. Aunt Bonnie would call us her “three little girls” and always tell us how special and important we were and always would be to her. Even today I still call my Aunt Bonnie up for support. Now Bonnie has serendipitously been blessed with a second set of “three little girls” (a set of twins and a younger granddaughter) whom she loves the same amazing way she loved us.

My life would never be the same without my amazing aunt who is a real-life Meryl Streep. What I have come to realize is that both Bonnie and Meryl are timeless people. These women stayed true to their core nature of goodness and caring for others. This is why I chose to write a book that tells a story about a woman named Sandra who is much like my Aunt Bonnie. She made a difference in my life. I hope she can make a difference in yours.

Once you start seeing a better landscape of other books out there you get a better idea of where to position your book. This process is about slowing down to speed up the creation of a well positioned book.

Additionally, it’s not all an intellectual journey. My husband who is also a creative and working on his second book, shared his comments from my last blog stating that I should share more about the feelings around writing a book not just the intellectual aspects. Having a process for positioning your book like the one I offer, above, does include a feeling element. I am intuitive, very intuitive many would say. I go through one reader review after another looking for reviewers who are so passionate about their opinions and share them with great insight. I always have my passion meter running and I can tell what books are engaging and inspiring and enlightening.

So, go out and discover where your book belongs . . . because it does belong. You just need to figure out where and that will make all the difference.

Free Lunch-and-Learns:

How Branding + Social Networking Can Accelerate

Your Organization’s Results

Maximize Your 2013 Growth

Is This You?

Do you lead a group of 10 people or more in a company larger than 200 people? If you do you may qualify for a free lunch and learn.

What to Expect:

Experience a potent, one-two approach for accelerated business growth over the next 3-5 years. Starting over a pizza lunch. (We bring the pizzas!)

We’re Committed to Making a Difference for You:

Ian Miller is passionate about growing companies and brands. He is the author of Rocket Branding, a new book that reveals the secrets, strategies, and processes of 35+ years of global brand and business-building, including American Express, Hewlett-Packard, Harley-Davidson, Proctor & Gamble, and Coca Cola, among hundreds of leading business building campaigns. He has helped build five billion-dollar brands and six 500-million-dollar brands.

Ian is partnering with Melissa G. Wilson, whose passion is connecting people to change the world and make the biggest possible difference. Melissa is one of the top 10 Linked-In trainers, a social media and thought leader publishing and marketing expert, and author of fifteen books – . Her latest, Networking is Dead: Making Connections that Matter, made it to #5 on The Wall Street Journal best seller list and #1 on Barnes and Noble.

How it Works:

Together, Ian and Melissa introduce you and your team to what it takes for your company to experience a 3-5 year plan for accelerated growth.

During an engaging 60-minute “lunch-and-learn” in your offices, you’ll get an overview of growth strategies that can be tailored to your business and industry, hitting high points like:

• Accelerated growth strategies — your growth challenges solved
• Applying digital trends and tools to customer and client relationships
• Keys to successful innovation
• Connections that matter — and make the biggest difference to your results
• World class mentoring and processes to take your people to their next level

 Making it Happen

To find out if you qualify for our complimentary lunch-and-learn for your team of up to 15 people. Connect with business growth thought leaders Ian Miller and Melissa G Wilson. Contact us at Networlding Publishing: or call 312-560-0982.  We always are happy to hear from you.

                                                                          ——————————————————————————————

Write Your Book in Four Months or Less! 

Limited to 8 participants for maximum one-to-one support.

Are you a thought leader?

Do you want to grow your business better and faster?

Have you always wanted to write a book but did not know how to write a great book?

Do you wonder about the dozens of nuances of book writing and marketing?

If you who have a book inside of you but don’t quite know how to get it written, let alone published or marketed, this workshop is for you.Come spend a day  with me and , to help you put your dream of becoming an author into action. In 2012 two of our authors who wanted to have their books traditionally published ended up with agents and publishing deals.

WHEN: Wednesday, February 6th  2013, 9 a.m – 3:30 pm

WHERE: 101 N. Wacker, 6th floor conference room – Chicago, IL., 60606

Agenda

9:00 – 10:30: Overview of the writing  process and assistance with defining your target market and book title.

10:30 – 11:30 We begin working on your outline. Every great book begins and ends with a great outline. We work on each chapter, chapter titles and the content in each chapter.

11:30 – 12:30 I help you design your outline, one-on-one.

12:30 – 1: 30 Networking Lunch (on your own)

1:30 – 2: 30 We now go deeper. I help further outline the details that support each chapter.

2:30 – 3:30 We’ll finish up our last hour with you talking about things like: 1) the great stories that will go in your book to differentiate you from all the other books out there with lots of facts but no engaging stories, 2) the best format, size, price, etc for your book, 3) more information as to whether to self-publish, publish traditionally or use the new hybrid publishing resources, 4) the top strategy we have used to get one Kindle book after another into the top 10 list on Amazon and 5) the top secrets we have learned after 15 years each, helping authors write, publish and successfully sell their books.

Sign up now for only $499 – Bonus: I will take your workshop payment off the price of any further work you choose to do with me, whether it be a book proposal and an introduction to an agent or a self-published book, I can help you. My goal is to create an offer you just can’t refuse. I and my team are seasoned experts, passionate about helping you succeed.

This year I also succeeded in helping two of my authors get both agents and publishers within the last few months. Could your book be next?

RECOMMENDATIONS?

Check out what previous attendees thought:

“Melissa is an invaluable coach and subject matter expert for anyone who is looking to write, create, and publish a book, whether on their own or with a major house. The former is something that is quite daunting to most, and she is so giving in her knowledge and expertise in the technical aspects of writing and laying out a book, marketing, pricing, and distribution.

I attended her two-day session on how to write an eBook. That two-day seminar was the start of one of the most vibrant chapters in our lives. We have two books, Instant Connection: The Easiest Book Ever for Turn Around and Transform Your Relationship in 14 Days and The FlawedShack Redemption: The Authentic Satire of Intimacy and the Natural Laws of Following a Dream coming out mid next year. Her two-day seminar gave us the knowledge and confidence to know that we could take on a project as daunting as writing and marketing a book. And now we have two!

We thank Melissa for being giving of her time and talents and making such a difference in our lives.” Top qualities: Expert, High Integrity, Creative,  Laura Berger, PCC

“I attended the writer’s workshop and didn’t know what to expect but I was so motivated after I left the seminar to move forward with my dream of writing a book. The writer’s workshop helped me to get off the fence and start to put my dreams into a real action plan. The insight that Melissa Giovagnoli provides the participants is priceless having authored over 10 books.

The exercises that we did in the seminar gave you a realistic view of where you need to go next with your book and also all the resources that are available to you. The best part of the seminar was the interaction with other prospective authors and the honest and direct feedback you receive from all the participants. I would highly recommend the workshop who is thinking about writing a book.” -Billy Dexter, Partner at Heidrick & Struggles and is a member of the global Diversity Services

“Melissa has an inherent understanding of the art of giving. Her recent workshop for potential authors guided the participants with an inspiring combination of real world examples, practical advice, and heartfelt encouragement. If you value relationships where aspiration and accomplishment are the norm, then meeting Melissa should be on your immediate agenda. Bruce Hutchison, Author Workshop participant” Top qualities: Expert, Good Value, High Integrity -  Bruce Hutchison

“The worst thing that can be said about Melissa is that she cannot be cloned as a service provider since she’s a champion at teaching AND she continues to be accessible and giving way past normal expectations in follow-up activities. As a trainer myself, it’s easy to both see and be captured by Melissa’s passion and talent for helping people release their “inner writer”. She has that knack for motivating people to to move ahead with what they learn and count on her to be their biggest cheerleader!” -Linda Bolinger, Founder and CEO, Boardroom Bound

“Melissa is a true professional and expert in the field of publishing! She delivers on what she says she will do in a timely manner and is always available to answer questions often providing insight and direction to achieve the best results”. -Lisa Dietlin, President, Lisa M. Dietlin and Assoc.

Also, check out this video from our last book writing workshop

ONE MORE THING

Once you come to one of my workshops if you choose at any time to work with me to help bring your book out to the world, I will take the $499  price you spent at the workshop and put it toward any coaching or book project you choose. For me, it’s all about making you successful.

SIGN UP TODAY!  

Only $499 per person – Limited to only 8 people per session for maximum one-to-one assistance.

In Networlding, the seven-step process I co-developed with Jocelyn Carter Miller, ex-CMO Motorola and Office Depot, we identify in Step #6 the power of “co-creation.” The Domino Project Team is co-creating insights on Seth Godin’s leadership to redefine publishing on a minute-by-minute basis. Here are just a couple of amazing links to to what the team has co-created:

• Change Agents: 5 Marketers Who Are Changing the World
• Before You Write that Book

And if you want to get into the thick of things, jump in here to The Domino Project. It will be different. I promise. I love books. I love helping others write books and I love writing them. What makes this project different is that you can get even more involved in books and the big change in your life they can make.

Even better though is that some of the best-of-the-best bloggers on books are  involved in Seth’s initiative. So come join us! Let us know what you think. We look forward to your input!

What happened differently? The story was intriguing; it was engaging; most of all, it built lots of credibility for my colleague’s abilities to serve his potential clients. I’ve been sharing with audiences for almost two decades now the benefits of writing a book. The good news I am finding now is that it doesn’t require you to even finish you book to start reaping the benefits of writing a book.

So whether you are ready to write a book, an e-book, or even a booklet of less than 35 pages, start today. Here are three tips for starting now:

• Create an outline. I’ve said it before, consider a book like a pie. The crust is essential to creating the pie. Consider the crust your outline for your book just as it is essential for a pie. Spend time on that outline. Create both a mindmap of it as well as a linear outline. Why? Because it will help you fine tune the direction of the book as well as the important ingredients–stories, examples, statistics, etc. that will go into it.
• Create great stories. One way to create great stories is to, first, create ten or so questions you can use to interview other experts or clients/customers who have used your product/service. I have a great list of standard questions I use for interviews. One of the best questions on that list is the question, “What’s the best question you have ever been asked?” This question, alone, has helped me grow a list of the best questions for future interviews. This tip also relates to my pie metaphor as the “filling” of the pie is the great set of stories, examples, statistics, etc.
• Use a good editor, book coach and designer. Your book is a tool for you that can last decades. I still have books I use that I wrote over fifteen years ago. Don’t short change your efforts by turning out a product that is less than stellar. Invest in your book and it will pay you back year after year.

STEP NUMBER 1:

Create Your Values Foundation.

We all have values, but what are your top four and, if you can, what are they in level of priority?

Carol had been what we call in Networlding “baseline networking” for years. She was at the top of her game working as Director of HR for a large organization. However, the long hours and an intense travel schedule left Carol feeling that her personal life lacked balance. From layoffs and career changes to being sought out for competitive executive positions, Carol had been through all of the ups and downs of corporate life.

As she began thinking about what she wanted her future to look like she thought more about her childhood dream of being a physiologist. Carol appreciated valued-based business and aspired to start an individual psychology practice of her own.

With these goals in mind Carol took the first step in Networlding and identified her top four values:

• Spirituality
• Connection
• Making a difference
• Achievement

With these values in mind, Carol decided to leave her six-figure salary and return to graduate school. By understanding her values Carol will not lose sight of them through her process. With her values in mind she is more apt to meet others with similar values and build a network of people around her that will help maintain these values. She will also vocalize her values more often and make requests to be introduced to people who hold similar and complimentary values.

Following is an overview of these tools:

Website Grader – Useful tool for measuring the marketing effectiveness of your
website, get a free custom report in seconds with advice for your website

MarketingProfs – A great resource for case studies, insights, and best practices from
peers and experts in marketing

HubSpot Internet Marketing Blog – Articles about business strategy and inbound Internet
marketing

Web ink now – Online thought leadership and viral marketing strategies from award-
winning author David Meerman Scott

HubSpot – Internet marketing software that helps you get found by more prospects and
generate more qualified leads and sales

CrowdSpring – A site offering custom designs that you choose from actual custom designs, not bids. The average project gets
a whopping 80 entries. They have a money back guarantee
25 entries or a full refund, including the small fee for the services. The site boast over 46,000 creatives.

Zmags – The next generation in online publishing. The site is great. Take a look at my ZMag! For more information, view the zmags blog.

What do you think? What are your top ten or fewer favorites of the year?

CEO Myron E. Ullman III from JC Penney – Holding back about 60% of inventory . . . far more than just the 20% held back last year.

CEO Kip Tindell from Container Store – Cut prices in his store across the board by 16% this year.

CEO Steve Sadove from Saks – Hesitant to cut prices but has done so by using different fabrics to lower costs.

CMO Barry Judge from Best Buy – extending their offerings to include things like “electric cars.”

CEO Gary Friedman from Restoration Hardware – Actually raising prices on some great new designs in furniture.

So with everything and anything going out there what do you think? What do you think retailers should do?

I. Chapter One – November 11, 2011.  Reminiscing about our beginning days in the Innovation Center that opened the year before on October 10, 2010…  What did we set out to accomplish?  What were our motivations?  What resistance did we encounter?  Who encouraged us?  What people were instrumental to our early success?  What role did networlding play? What was it about the Innovation Center concept that truly caught people’s interest and passion?  How did we leverage outside ideas and our blogosphere community to help enhance our vision and accelerate our progress?

II. Chapter Two – A day in the life of the center as it is “today” (11-11-11) – The user experience.  What are the key differentiating attributes of the user experience?  How are people using the Center?  What value are they generating/receiving?  What makes the Center so successful?  How has this changed over the last year?

III. Chapter Three – Opening Day October 10, 2010.  What did the beginning structure look like the day it opened?  Did we have all 30 kiosks in there?  What was our business and revenue model?  What initial mistakes did we make? What fortuitous events helped make it happen?  What was the initial public reaction?  What near-disasters did we finesse?

IV. Chapter Four – The first week.  What happened during that first week of the center being opened?  What did we learn?  What did we commit to fix?  How did it change our assumptions or operating models?  What would we have done differently from the beginning of only we’d known…

V. Chapter Five – The early months.  What happened within the first 90 days?  What were our first 3 major initiatives?  How were they germinated?   how did we get them to the stage of moving to engagement with design engineers from a couple of the companies in the center (check out www.inventright.com or www.edisonnation.com for examples of companies).  Who were our first corporate sponsors?  What made them decide to participate?

VI. Chapter Six – Crisis!  What unexpected event happened ~ 4-6 months later that nearly caused the Center to collapse?  (A little dramatic effect that occurs in every good story…)  How did we rescue it?  What help did we get from an entirely unexpected source?  What sacrifices were we forced to make that turned out to pay huge dividends later?  What seemingly unrelated sub-plot first mentioned in the prologue and carried along at a low level of intensity in Chapters I-V suddenly emerges as an unexpected, vital component of our success?

VII. Chapter Seven – The Center – 2nd Generation.  How did the Center emerge better, stronger and with more innovative impact as a result of the events in Chapter Five?  How did we know that the Center was now completely out of danger and would be an extraordinary success?

VIII. Chapter Eight – Events in the Center.  What kinds of things went on during that first year – especially those that could only have taken place in the unique environment of the Center?

IX. Chapter Nine – Impact of the Center.  What tangible, measurable results has the Center produced in its first year?  What additional kinds of activities are there underway that will yield even greater impacts an dividends.  Where did we create unexpected value?  What didn’t we expect that happened?

X. Chapter Ten – What’s Next?  Having spent the first nine chapters in reflection mode, now we pivot and look to the future.  Sister Centers are now in various stages of opening in San Francisco, Seattle, Boston, London, Prague and Milan.  Interest has been expressed from unexpected sources – DARPA, DOE and other leading-edge US government agencies want to develop a similar concept to help drive early-stage innovation on government projects.  NASA wants to build a Center dedicated to establishing a manned base on Mars.  The World Bank and Gates Foundation want to fund the establishment of local Innovation Centers across Africa to help foster self-help solutions to the daunting problems of Aids, energy, food and tribal feuding — from the same people that these challenges affect the most.

———————————————————–
So, beginning with Chapter One, what ten companies do you think should be part of the center?  Would you choose any of the companies from this list of the twenty-five most innovative companies identified most recently by Business Week? Who would be your ten and why? Please comment and get your colleagues to comment. We’ll let the majority rule and off we go! Check out Business Week’s 50 Most Innovative Company list for 2009 to help with your choices.