THE SEVEN MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

1)  Can you guarantee I will get a book deal with a major US publisher/get on Oprah/make a fortune as a speaker?

Short answer: No.  Long answer: It's likely. Think about this: your brilliance cannot get discovered, Oprah won't have you on the show, no one will buy your book and certainly no one will pay you to speak UNTIL you have a book and a speech to sell!  More than that, unless you get some media momentum, your book or speech might get lost in the millions of other similar products that are marketed better yours. We CAN guarantee we'll help you create the very best speech and book you are capable of creating, in the ideal form and format most likely to sell; we CAN guarantee we'll work our little tushies off to get you as much media as possible.  But ultimately, your dedication comes first, our expertise, connections and allegiance come second and...big and...the public's reaction to what you offer comes third.  If you write a book on how to rewire electricity, chances are good you won't sell a heck of a lot copies, and probably, Oprah's not going to feature you.  Get it?  

2) Isn't the publisher supposed to do all this for me once I get a deal?  Why do I have to do it now by myself?
 
Oh, goodness! You've been reading too many stories about how publishing worked in the 1970s when only a few tens of thousands of books were published each year - not almost 200,000 like now! As a direct result of the plethora of competing titles, publishers take a “see what sticks” approach. Few books sell enough copies to do much more than break even! Despite all the kindly, hopeful promises made by and to authors when the publishing deal is signed, when the book release actually happens, few titles move fast enough to match the author's dreams and the publisher's wishes. It doesn’t take a mathematician for an author to realize that at an income of about $1.60 per book (if you’re lucky), you have to sell a heck of a lot of books to make a profit! And the publisher isn’t doing a whole lot better! Authors MUST take the responsibility on their own shoulders.  That’s why we help people to build a solid infrastructure of speaking, consulting and product sales around the book – before, after or during its sales cycle. We want you to view your book as a lead generator, not an end result.

3)    I already speak. What good will getting a book deal do me anyway?
 
Your book is a powerful lead generator. Anyone who reads your well-written, intelligent, timely book will be motivated to either buy products from you right now, sign up for your free e-zine or newsletter (and thus volunteer for your monthly sales pitch list), or if they can, hire you to speak. Author/speakers get more engagements AND can charge higher fees. There are many “insider tricks” to using a book to enhance your chances of getting the “cream puff” big-fee speaking engagements, too. On top of that, your book gets you media – air time. Media gets you known. Being known generates all sorts of other things, including partnerships you cannot even imagine right now and speaking and consulting opportunities. Clips of you being brilliant on media make wonderful additions to your speaker demo video. The good things just pile up once you have a book out there working for you! 

4)   I have a real passion for becoming an author and a speaker. There are lots of books and audio on this topic. What makes your program different?

Our program is unique in the market because it combines writing with speaking, media and marketing. Our two distinct programs are  based on the time vs. money principle. If you have more time to learn what to do than money to delegate it, we can teach you precisely WHAT to do the highly popular "Learn and Earn" program. If you have more money than time, we can do what needs to be done FOR you - you just pretty much show up and be the star.  That's the "TCM" program. All other programs just give you a small piece of the puzzle, like “how to prepare a speech” or “how to write a book proposal.” Instead, we provide one-stop shopping and a supportive strategic alliance to boot.

5) What if I don’t like speaking in front of people?

There’s a theory in society that the fear of public speaking is more common than the fear of death. Of course, we rarely see people for whom this is true. (We love hams!) If you want to overcome this fear, we can help you. If you’re happy being you and don’t want to change, then that’s fine, too. But if you REALLY don’t want to or cannot speak, let us help turn you into an internet celebrity, information mogul, radio guest, book author and whatever else you can do behind the wizard’s curtain. It’s all about what YOU want.

6) What if those darn publishers don’t buy my book when we’re done?
 
You should know right away that not every book sells. After 18+ years in publishing, we believe that every good book does sell, but if the topic on which you are writing is ahead of or behind the “psychographic curve” of the market, there’s a chance it won’t sell (yet). If you are a bad writer but you insist on writing it yourself anyway, or if what you want to say is not New, Different, Better or offering readers something More (and you won’t work nicely with one of our brilliant editors or gifted ghostwriters to fix your problems), then you probably won’t sell. If it doesn’t sell for ANY reason, we’ll help revise it. You and your literary agent can then give it another shot.  If it still doesn't sell, we'll help you beat the publishers at their own game and prove “you’re right and they are wrong.”  We’ll connect you the most ethical, reliable, proven subsidy publisher we know. Once your book is printed and has distribution through them, we’ll support you in building the marketing (radio, print, television, internet, speaking and special sales) around your new book so that you can sell thousands of copies yourself. Once you sell those, you’ll hear the publishers singing a different tune when you return to them with your proven book in hand.    (Some of the preceding applies only to TCM clients, not Learn and Earn)

7) What if you don’t accept me and my idea into your program?
 
Answer one: It's proof we're mean, short-sighted bullies. Answer two: Publishing and speaking are subjective businesses. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. No one company, person or publisher can be the final arbiter of all that is good, or there’d be only one book and one speech on each topic. (And thus we’d all be Communists). The great news is, even if we turn you down, there are still ways for you to get your dream out there. Perseverance is the secret to success in any venture. And heck, prove us wrong – go out there and make a name for yourself as a hot shot speaker or sell a million copies of your book. We’ll be kicking ourselves – but cheering for you!