Today, I am delighted to welcome Louise Wiles to guestpost for me about how she overcame her blocks by writing Turning Points.

Can I Really?

When the email from Kate arrived in my inbox I was intrigued. It was the title of the book that initially caught my attention, Turning Points. As someone who has relocated as an expat/repat five times in the last twelve years there have been a number of turning points, some good some not so good. But as far as having an impactful story to tell as a result I was unsure.

Kate and I had a chat and she encouraged me to give some thought to those Turning Points. I realized that I did have a story to tell. Mine is not a story of tragedy or heartbreak but more about how I have reacted to circumstance and change. I decided to give it a go.

I have always had a nagging thought somewhere in the very deep recesses of my mind, that one day I might like to write a book and so the idea of writing was already there. I write blogs for my business and have done a lot of academic writing for endless qualifications, writing is something that I do – my question though was do I do it well enough?

For these reasons I decided to give Kate’s book a go. I also hoped that sharing my story would encourage accompanying partners to give their business/career ideas a go, and would also raise my profile as an Expatriate Coach.

Expecting trauma and heartache as I settled down to write my first draft, I was pleasantly surprised at how easily it flowed – but was it good enough? I tentatively sent draft one off to Kate expecting an encouraging email (Kate’s always encouraging) and the request to “please have another go”. To my delight only a few edits were suggested and then it was sent on to the editor.

I waited with bated breath; a professional was reading my writing for the first time ever. How would I react if she told me it read really badly? She did not, some small edits and I was done!

An easier process than I could ever have imagined. I think this is for several reasons. The subject matter, Turning Points is something that spoke to me and my situation as an expatriate. I had a story and message about “all that” that I wanted to get out… and so out it came! This taught me a valuable lesson, write about what matters to me and write from the heart. From a more practical perspective, Jo and Kate also provided a great structure and good writing tips which made the task easier.

Now I find that there is something more than the writing I struggle with, and that is feeling comfortable with sharing what I write. It’s a bit like standing on a stage. In opening ourselves to others through whatever means of communication, we open ourselves to judgment, both good and bad and that feels scary.

I’ve been writing a blog for a few years now. Only my newsletter subscribers know about it. Occasionally I post links to articles on Linked-in and my personal Facebook page, but that is the extent of my promotion. I’ve used lack of time as my excuse, but now I am beginning to wonder if the lack of promotion was more about me not feeling that what I wrote was good enough or worthy of being shared.

Becoming involved in the Turning Points project has made me realize that we all have worthwhile story and message to share. I may not write brilliantly, but if I don’t step out and share what I write, then the time I take to write is wasted. Promoting my blog has now become a much higher priority.

I have learnt:

• To write about what matters and write from the heart. If a topic doesn’t grab my interest or emotions then I leave it alone and write about something else instead.
• Structure is my friend. It might not sound very creative to work with a basic outline or structure but it makes writing so much easier.
• I need to write with the full intention of sharing.
• Plan my promotional and PR campaign for each written piece of work, schedule it and then if there really will be no chickening out!

Louise Wiles: Success Abroad Coaching website and BLOG!

Email: Louise@SuccessAbroadCoaching.com

Linkedin: Louisewiles.

Twitter: @LWexpatlife

Turning Points Book – Turning Challenges into Success.

TURNING POINTS – 25 INSPIRING STORIES FR

Putting together a collaborative book is not easy. From experience I know that the only way you can make this work is to have a strong, resourceful editor. Kate Cobb, a Brit who has emigrated to France, is that editor.  Orchestrating a team of 25 collaborators, using the internet to the full, Kate has done a sterling job.

Perhaps the cleverest by-product of this book is the fact that each of its contributors has now become its promoter and salesperson.

Find out what Kate did  here

What an excellent book.

Here is a book on the sticky subject of actually making a living as a writer. Hard hitting, tough talking, this book is frighteningly frank but also crammed with brilliant ideas, out of the box thinking and what boils down to over 100,000 words of common sense.

If I were to have written this book, it is exactly what I would have written.

Chapters include:

• Talent
• The job (about 100 pages in this section so watch out folks)
• Getting connected
• Engagement
• Putting up or shutting up (love this one)
• Courses
• Print on demand and self-publishing
• Resources

My only criticism is that the book needs more subheadings and an index. It is so packed with gold that readers need signposts and places to stop and take a breather.

So, let me give you a taste of some of the ideas this guy, Neil Nixon, has:

• You could be writer in residence in a prison
• Get funding for a book by hooking up with a charity or NGO
• You could earn money from performing what you write
• And that writers need paying in ‘strokes‘ if they are to stay motivated (that’s a Transactional Analysis theory btw).

In addition, this book has lots of super case studies and tons of lateral thinking ideas and oodles of practical steps you can take. If you are serious, and I mean really serious, about making writing your day job you need this book.

The author, Neil Nixon, is a serious writer. He set up the UK’s first full time university programme in professional writing and, if I were back at the beginning of my career myself, this would be the guy I would want to train with.

OK, eulogy over. I think you get my drift. This is GOOD.

PS – if you are still serious about making a living as a writer then please let me also recommend my friend, Lesley Morrissey’s, ebook on how to market your business in 30 days. Serious writers not only need to market their own businesses, but if they can also turn their hands to writing compelling copy for third party clients, this can be a source of lucrative work too. How to Market Your Business Better in 30 Days is packed with great ideas – and all for just £17.

In this three part series, I am delighted to introduce Linda Janssen of the award-winning Adventures in Expatland as a guest poster. Here, inspired by the amazingly successful Jack Canfield, she shares the nuggets distilled from his recent webinar into bite-sized nuggets of inspirational goodness. Today’s post, the last in the series, is all about the piece of the puzzle that most people shun – promotion! Here goes:

Getting Where you Want to Be, part III

This is the final in a three-part series based on the recent 90-minute webinar ‘How to Get Where You Want to Be as an Author/Speaker’. Steve Harrison, publisher of ‘Radio/TV Interview Report’, interviewed Jack Canfield of the highly successful Chicken Soup for the Soul franchise. Canfield generously shared his ideas and insights to help authors market and sell their books..

The ‘Chicken Soup’ franchise created by Canfield and his co-founder Mark Victor Hansen boasts 200+ titles and 115 million copies sold to date in 41 languages. Canfield is also the author of highly acclaimed training/coaching books such as The Success Principles, The Power of Focus, The Aladdin Factor and Dare to Win.

Part I highlighted some of Canfield’s core beliefs fueling his continual quest as a ‘student/practitioner of the newest and latest practices’ in marketing and publicity; Part II took a look at some of his specific suggestions for selling books. Part III offers more of his ideas to help get your book into the hands of eager buyers.

Get on the radio. ‘Books travel by word of mouth.’ Authors need publicity, and should seek out interview opportunities. Canfield recalls an interview with Scott Peck, author of the wildly best-selling The Road Less Traveled that remained on the New York Times Bestsellers List for years. Peck spoke of doing three radio interviews every day for a year; he then did one interview a day for the next ten years! It can be a few minutes during morning or afternoon ‘drive time’, but getting 30 or 60 minutes outside of prime time allows for long-form interviews. ‘You never know who’s listening.’

Canfield is a fan of late-night interviews on all-night radio stations. ‘All it takes is one listener…to start a ‘chain letter’ effect.’ The trucker driving cross-country or the insomniac hears you, is intrigued and buys your book; he or she then buys copies to give to their college student daughter or military nephew, recommends it to their next-door neighbor and best friends, and so on.

‘People are still listening to the radio, or their advertisers wouldn’t be buying ads.’ Nowadays an author can participate in a satellite radio tour while sitting in their own home; they connect to a series of radio shows via a telephone bridge, and can knock out one or two dozen short interviews of 3-5 minute duration.

Expat publisher, author and writing mentor Jo Parfitt recently started her own radio show Writers Abroad on the Women’s International Network (WIN Radio). I had the honor of being interviewed by her as a growing writer, and the response was amazing. You can listen to the show at http://www.thewinonline.com/writers-abroad

Get on television. Participating in a satellite television tour is the same concept as the radio tour. It requires you to make arrangements beforehand and then go into a local studio, but once there you can complete several interviews. You may have to start with smaller stations and build your way up, but don’t let your geographic location stand in your way.

Leverage social media. Create a website or blog, and maintain a presence on Facebook, Twitter and Linked In to facilitate sharing information and the word of mouth strategy to advertise your book(s). Conduct an internet book tour in which you visit prearranged relevant websites and chat rooms to discuss your book, or participate in a blog tour where you visit a number of blogs for short interviews or you provide a guest post.

A big tool is Bypass Marketing. Only one of seven book buyers go into a bookstore to buy a book, which means six out of seven aren’t coming to bookstores. ‘Take books to where the people are…especially anywhere people wait.’ Canfield and Hansen put books in gas stations, truck stops, bakeries, medical and dental offices, hair and nail salons, pet stores, military post exchanges, restaurants and other unusual places.

Get into a sharing mentality. If you co-author a book, ‘it’s not only less work to write and produce the book, but also to market it.’ You can cross-promote each others’ books, share mailing lists and expand publicity. If you’re an author of a single book, consider packaging yours with another author’s book that would be of interest to your audience when you sell ‘at the back of the room’ after a book signing or speech. In this way, ‘we all win bigger’.

Invest in your marketing education and become a master marketer. Canfield is a big proponent of reading books and articles, going to conferences, and taking seminars and workshops to stay on top of the latest developments. He cites Benjamin Franklin as saying ‘Pour your purse into your head’ (i.e., invest in continual learning).

‘Go beyond shelf esteem’ where you go to marketing education events and then put the handouts, materials and notes away, never to be referred to again; ‘Use what you’ve learned!’ Canfield reiterates ‘Don’t give away your responsibility for promotion and marketing to someone else…become an expert in this arena.’ Even if you do end up hiring a PR professional, you’ll know enough to oversee and augment their efforts. It is inspiring that despite enormous success, he continues to practice what he preaches.

Do the ‘hard-easy’. Make the time and energy investment  up front so that you can do the easier things later. ‘Most people give up too soon’, before they’ve really done the hard work to market their books.

Going further, faster with less effort. Learn to leverage your work to create additional products and generate more publicity. Use a syndicated column to boost public relations and sell more books. Re-purpose your book and other writing material into pod casts, articles, handouts, blog posts, or short e-books. Develop an electronically-delivered newsletter or magazine via email (e-zine) or on the internet (web-zine).

Dialing for Dollars. If you’re truly interested in becoming a sought-after speaker, you have to be speaking to the organizations and associations you’re interested in. Do your research and track down the relevant catalogue or directory for your area of expertise (e.g., Directory of Direct Selling Businesses, Harrison’s Radio & TV Interview Report, etc.), then start making calls. ‘The best way to make things happen is on the phone.’ That’s how you can demonstrate that you are a vibrant, persuasive speaker, and they can see your value.

In this three part series, I am delighted to introduce Linda Janssen of the award-winning Adventures in Expatland as a guest poster. Here, inspired by the amazingly successful Jack Canfield, she shares the nuggets distilled from his recent webinar into bite-sized nuggets of inspirational goodness. Today’s post is all about my favourite marketing tool of all -giving. Here goes:

Getting to Where You Want to Be, Part II

I recently had the opportunity to listen to an informative 90-minute webinar in which Steve Harrison, publisher of ‘Radio/TV Interview Report’, interviewed Jack Canfield of the Chicken Soup for the Soul franchise. The topic was ‘How to Get Where You Want to Be as an Author/Speaker’, and Canfield shared a wealth of information, insights and tips to help any author market and sell his or her book(s).

As co-founder with Mark Victor Hansen of the more than 200 titles in the ‘Chicken Soup’ franchise and author of highly acclaimed training/coaching books such as The Success Principles, The Power of Focus, The Aladdin Factor and Dare to Win, Canfield has sold more than 115 million books in 41 languages.

In Part I, I highlighted some of the core beliefs that fuel Canfield’s continual quest as a ‘student/practitioner of the newest and latest practices’ in marketing and publicity. Today we look at some of Canfield’s specific suggestions for selling books.

If you’re going to be successful, be a giver. Canfield has read The Go Giver books by Bob Burg and John David Mann, and subscribes wholeheartedly to this concept in all aspects of life. Giving begins with writing. He counsels ‘be the best you can be as a writer’; don’t be seen as an exploitative writer who throws out a mediocre product to capture the passing wave of interest on the latest trend. ‘Learn the craft of writing, put in the hours, get feedback…do the work to really write a great book.’

Identify a charity or cause to receive a portion of the proceeds. Canfield and Hansen do this regularly because the benefits are threefold. First, the charity receives financial support and public awareness. Second, ‘people love to be part of more than just buying a book’. Third, the recipient organization often starts helping to advertise or sell the books.

Give away chapters or articles for free use. Initially this may seem counter-intuitive: if you give away a key portion of your product, why would anyone buy the book? Doing so not only garners publicity and generates interest, but also establishes trust in your product. Canfield offered excerpted portions of Chicken Soup for the Parent’s Soul which ended up in more than 75 parenting newsletters across the US. The result? Tens of thousands of copies sold.

Give free talks. Most authors know to do the obvious book readings. Canfield suggests seeking out groups and organizations that might have an interest in your topic and offer to speak gratis. He is adamant that ‘the Universe always gives back tenfold.’ In addition to making sales at the back of the room after the talk, he maintains every free talk given led to selling more books or being hired for work with new companies or clients. As he puts it, ‘It is impossible to give without receiving’.

Give away your books. Canfield and Hansen read Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point , which speaks of connectors (people with a special gift for linking us up with others) and mavens (people who accumulate knowledge and ideas and share them with others). Canfield’s advice is to look for connectors and mavens, and give them your book(s). For one of their books, they gave away 2500 books to such influencers, and ended up selling half a million copies. ‘If you won’t give it away free, you’re not passionate about it.’

Become a joiner and network, network, network. ‘Get into the right room, and you’ll meet wonderful people.’ Canfield talks about the ‘power of environments’, believing that people are generally weakest in the environments of money and networks. ‘The fastest way to develop a network is by getting into one.’ Look into professional organizations, associations, conventions, conferences and seminars in your field(s) of interest (e.g., a writers’ association, expat groups, etc.). Once there, be sure to volunteer your time and efforts. Pay your dues, literally and figuratively. Sharing an amusing yet effective anecdote about passing trays of hors d’oeuvres and drinks early in his tenure with one association, he counsels ‘join the hospitality committee and work your way up.’

In this three part series, I am delighted to introduce Linda Janssen of the award-winning Adventures in Expatland as a guest poster. Here, inspired by the amazingly successful Jack Canfield, she shares the nuggets distilled from his recent webinar into bite-sized nuggets of inspirational goodness. Here goes:

Getting to Where You Want to Be, Part I

Recently I had the opportunity to listen to an informative 90-minute webinar in which Steve Harrison, publisher of ‘Radio/TV Interview Report’, interviewed Jack Canfield of the Chicken Soup for the Soul franchise. The topic was ‘How to Get Where You Want to Be as an Author/Speaker’.

This enormously successful genre of Chicken Soup ‘inspirational anthologies’ by Canfield and co-founder Mark Victor Hansen now includes more than 200 titles, with over 115 million books sold in 41 languages. Canfield has also written such highly acclaimed training/coaching books as The Success Principles, The Power of Focus, The Aladdin Factor and Dare to Win.

Originally a teacher, Canfield became a teacher-trainer, than moved to training/coaching corporate clients. Today he sees himself as a ‘Teacher for Humanity, broadening my classroom for bigger impact’. His finely honed mission statement? ‘Inspire and empower people to live their highest vision in a context of love and joy.’

While the entire conversation was full of incredibly useful tips and insights, I’d like to share the highlights of this fascinating interview on marketing and selling books.

Unless you let people know about the book, no one is going to buy it. It took Hansen and Canfield eighteen months to get the original Chicken Soup for the Soul book on the bestsellers’ lists. During that time they interviewed other best-selling authors on the keys to their success; they looked for patterns, and developed a marketing plan.

We make our own luck…we attract luck and good things to us. Canfield is a huge van of visualization, and he wants authors to think and act like a marketer. He and Hansen visualized success for everything they wanted to manifest. They’d spend 8-9 minutes every morning discussing and ‘seeing’ their goals. They’d take the New York Times Bestsellers List, replace the #1 title with the latest ‘Chicken Soup for the Soul’ book title, make copies and post them throughout their offices to reinforce their visualization. They would visualize the entire front window of bookstores filled with their book. Today the Chicken Soup for the Soul series is its own category, floor to ceiling, in most US bookstores. He still uses a vision board animated screen saver on his computer displaying his current goals and updates it as needed.

Dream Big. In an interview with former NATO Commander and US Presidential candidate Wesley Clark, Clark said ‘It doesn’t take any more time to dream a big dream than it takes to dream a small dream.’ Canfield explains: ‘When asked, we’d always say that we’re writing a best-selling book…The law of attraction kicks in, allowing people, resources and ideas into our lives to achieve our goals.’ He goes on to add ‘Every goal I’ve ever had and visualized has come true. Not necessarily on the exact time line or schedule, but we did succeed.’

Books travel by word of mouth. By going out and promoting your book, you help put success in motion. He mentions that realizing how important marketing was, and that it wasn’t ‘beneath him’, caused ‘a shift in attitude…and understanding of what was important: learning the tools, principles, techniques and strategies to sell books’.

Don’t hide your light under a bushel basket. Canfield uses this Biblical phrase to illustrate that you needn’t feel awkward about self-promotion. You can think and act in a proactive manner to market your book without cheapening yourself. If you’ve mastered your craft and believe that what you’re writing about will help others, solve problems or contribute to the greater good, then you don’t want to deprive others of this important thing.

Every book is like a child, with both a masculine and feminine side. The feminine side is writing the book, giving birth. The masculine side is getting out and learning the business side of promoting what you believe in. You are responsible for supporting this book. Develop that extroverted side of yourself to promote yourself, get media training (for television and radio), study internet marketing and use of social media.

Decide you deserve to succeed...You should expect to succeed. Set your goals high. Canfield and Hansen ‘sleep well at night knowing we’ve made a difference’ with their book series. Despite their publisher initially laughing at their sales goals as being unrealistic, they went ahead and proved him wrong (making him a wealthy man in the process).

Get Into Action. ‘Stop watching, get off the couch and go do something…you’ve got to take action!’ The Teacher in Canfield leads him to say, ‘The Great Curriculum Developer in the sky gives you ideas. But you have to act on them.’ Use affirmations to reinforce your visualization. ‘Learn marketing, stay focused, take action, keep going.’ Despite colossal success, Canfield continually attends new seminars and conferences, taking copious notes and learning more about publicity and marketing. He considers himself a ‘student/practitioner of the newest and latest practices’.

Linda Janssen

Do you ever spend lots of time on a project and, though the idea seemed like a good one, moving forward is like wading through treacle?

I know it has happened to me. Many times.

Take the years I spent trying to build a business around helping expatriate spouses to build a portable career. I wrote a book called A Career in Your Suitcse (three editions in fact, because the book kept selling out). I ran a heap of workshops and did many keynote speeches all over the world. People loved my message. They scribbled notes furiously whenever I spoke and many told me that my words had changed their lives. Yet, for three long years, the work never seemed to flow. Rather like treacle, in fact, it falls in heavy, dark puddles, that are too dense to spread far.  I used to get pretty upset that there were not streams of people knocking on my door begging me to work with them. But then, after writing four books on careers, (Find Your Passion, Grow Your Own Networks and Expat Entrepreneurs) to add to A Career in Your Suitcase, I decided to call it a day. The books were still available in some form or another. I would go and speak or teach if someone asked me, but I decided to call a halt to my marketing efforts and do something different.

This time I decided to focus on a different aspect of my skillset. I knew how to write, so I would teach and mentor people how to write.

This time I was walking on air, rather than through treacle. The work began to flow. People did bang on my door, asking to work with me. Hundreds of people. I began to expand my service in two directions – upwards, towards publishing and downwards, towards finding their voice and their story -  and again I watched my business grow.

Clearly, I had been flogging  a dead horse when I had been down the career route, then. Or had I?

Remember, how I told you that Ruth van Reken came to stay last week, and shared her phenomenal wisdom with us? Well, during one of our many chats, just Ruth and me, she made me realise how the career track  had actually just been waiting for a place in my business.  She believe that I had been ‘meant’ to do that work. Now the final puzzle piece fell into place. I can help writers to find their story, write and publish their books and then … and here is the exciting bit … turn their books into a business. A speaking career, a healing practice, a consultancy or mentoring service, or even a series of related books!

I had been meant to experience the suitcase years. The trouble is, I had covered all the aspects of my current business in the wrong order. But that’s OK, isn’t it?

Nothing is ever wasted. There are no mistakes, only learning.

I am so grateful for my ‘suitcase years’.

I’ve been a published writer for over 25 years and have made a pretty decent living out of doing what I love despite being a ‘trailing spouse’ for almost all that time too. Many of you know that I have written books and mentor others to get published, but maybe you are not totally familiar with all the different types of writing I have tried along the way? What you may also not know, is that I wrote a book called A Career in Your Suitcase, now in its 3rd ed, and that I am regarded as someone who knows a lot about portable careers.

Tiffany Jansen, American in Holland and blogger at Clogs and Tulips, recently asked me to guestpost about both of my specialisms together in one article – how to create a portable career as an expat writer. I was delighted to oblige, and in doing so compiled a list of six top tips for wannabe expat writers.

To read the post and discover the tips, please click here.

One of the first things that I teach the students attending my book-writing workshops is that they need to have the authority to write about their chosen topic. I say they need to have ‘been there, done that and got the tee-shirt’.

Stacie Nevadomski Berdan fulfils that objective brilliantly. She is a marketing and communications consultant, an expert on international careers, an award-winning author, and an engaging and lively speaker sought-after by multi-national corporations, professional organizations, and universities around the world.  Focusing on the elements of globalization, she provides practical and relevant advice to succeed in the global marketplace, including the value of understanding cross-cultural environments, the benefits of female leadership, and the changing role of managers within the context of an increasingly global and virtual workplace. Her book, published by HarperCollins, and co-authored with C Perry Yeatman is the book every woman needs if she is contemplating whether to accept that overseas posting or not….

JP

Tell me about your book. What is it about? Can you describe it in just a few sentences?

SB

Get Ahead By Going Abroad: A Woman’s Guide to Fast-Track Career Success is a groundbreaking, award-winning book that highlights a growing trend among successful, globetrotting women: Working abroad can fast-track a career, broaden professional capabilities, increase one’s pay and expand personal horizons.  It is the go-to resource revealing successful strategies on how women – single, married, kids or not – can leverage this trend to catapult their careers. Providing step-by-step details on how to make it happen, the nitty-gritty details cover the essentials you need to be aware of from picking the right market to deciding what to pack to making the most of it in your new home – all brought to you by seasoned pros who’ve been there and done it successfully.

JP

Why did you write it?

SB

My co-author, Perry Yeatman, and I had a hunch that it was no coincidence that the two of us, plus hundreds of our friends and colleagues, who had lived and worked abroad had fast-tracked our careers. We conducted research with more than 200 women who had lived and worked abroad confirming our theory. We felt compelled to share the news with women around the world: One more means of breaking through the glass ceiling and getting to the top was available to those women who wanted to go for it.

JP

Why do you think needed to be written? What will your book do for other people?

SB

First and foremost, the trend backed by research would help other women go for global careers that would lead to success. Second, our research had also revealed five traits that the vast majority of these women had in common and attributed to much of their success.  These traits – adaptability/flexibility, great communications skills, team- and relationship-building skills, patience and persistence, and curiosity/open-mindedness – were, many times, the same traits that women were cited as having that held them back. These traits, however, are necessary for cross-cultural success and women had them. We feel as though this information empowers women to not only push for global assignments but to go global confidently in their innate ability as women. Based on the feedback we’ve received from readers, Get Ahead By Going Abroad has inspired thousands of women to seek out international careers.

JP

Who do you think will read your book? What made you think that there was a market for it? Now that it’s been out for a while, what proof do you have that you were right?

SB

Female professionals around the world. Global is everywhere.  Companies and organizations are expanding their businesses. International experience is no longer a “nice to have”, it’s a “must have” for the vast majority of large-scale organizations. Those who know how to play in the global market will increasingly be more successful. Proof is in the news almost every single day that highlights the importance of international experience, foreign language skills and an ability to lead and manage cross-culturally and virtually to business success. Proof is also in the thousands of emails that I’ve received from women and men, experienced professionals and recent graduates, that book inspired and motivated them to go global. Proof is in the thousands of copies sold and the demand that still exists for the book – as well as for me to speak on the topic in a variety of forums.

JP

It does not matter how good a book is, or how good your writing is if no one knows about it. What steps have you taken or do you plan to take to promote your book? Are you a speaker or trainer? Do you have a blog? A website? A newsletter? Do you use Facebook, Twitter or other social media tools? What about press releases and sending out review copies and free articles? Have you had any other ideas? Which methods do you think work best and can you give me any examples?

SB

In the first 6-8 months, I worked closely with my publicist at HarperCollins to secure about 30 Tier 1 media interviews, including 10 major broadcast (e.g., CNN International, NBC “Weekend Today”, ABC’s “America This Morning), international print magazines (e.g., Time, More, Fast Company) and major daily newspapers (e.g., Wall Street Journal, USA Today, International Herald Tribune), as well as targeting expat- and women-specific web sites, blogs and media. Since the book’s launch, I have written regularly for the Huffington Post and serve as an on-call international careers expert for major media outlets. I write and publish articles in magazines and newspapers on the importance of working abroad. I take every legitimate interview that contacts me, whether a major network or a personal blogger, to promote my message.  I write a blog that is posted on www.getaheadbygoingabroad.com and linked to my own web site, www.stacieberdan.com. I am an active speaker within corporations, organizations and on campuses; I am represented by two speakers bureaus but also allow people to contact me directly via my web sites. I use LinkedIn to post comments to my professional network, and to a lesser degree, Facebook. I adapt my message to the evolving climate, and I work hard at it. It’s a full-time job.

JP

How did you publish your book? What was your route to publication?

SB

I wrote my first non-fiction business proposal with the help of a professional coach. We circulated it to agents, one liked it, and pitched it to editors at the major publishing houses. Within four weeks HarperCollins bought the book.

JP

Self-belief can be a big problem for writers. How did you manage to stay confident in your ability and remember that you were good enough to write your book? How did you cope with the days when you thought you could not do it and that it was rubbish?

SB

I left a successful marketing and communications career after 15 years. My co-author and I believed in the trend passionately and, although Perry went back to work full-time and I conducted the interviews and wrote the entire book, she provided wise counsel and expert editing throughout the process.  Even after developing a detailed outline for the book, I found that certain chapters were harder than others to write. Having a partner to bounce ideas off was incredibly helpful.

JP

It’s easy to procrastinate, to blame writers’ block and to put off finishing your project. How did you keep yourself motivated? And how long did it take you to write it? What was your routine?

SB

I believe that discipline is one of the secrets to writing a book – or finishing any long-term project. I am a wife and mother. My daughters were six and starting first grade when I sold the book in September of 2006. I got up every morning, went for a long mind-clearing walk before they awoke, had breakfast with them, and sent them off to school with my husband’s help. He worked at home – he is a travel writer – and I would then go to my office and write until they came home from school – sometimes longer if I was in the throes of a chapter. We’d play, have dinner, story time, and we’d put the girls to bed. I would then go back to writing until 10 or 11 pm. I wrote the book in four months.

JP

What was your biggest challenge regarding the writing of your book? How have you overcome that?

SB

Although it was the greatest asset, having a co-author was also the biggest challenge. Both Perry and I are strong-willed, confident professionals. Working through the obstacles was difficult, especially since we are truly “married for life” with co-ownership of the copyright. We overcame it through constant discussions, dialogue and always remembering the respect we have for each other.

JP

I believe that getting feedback is really important to help you recognise when your writing is really good and to find ways of making it even better. How did you get feedback on your work?

SB

In addition to my co-author, I also had a great editor at HarperCollins and a terrific agent. Both read it and gave terrific feedback in a timely manner. I think it helps not to have too big an ego, especially for a first-time published author. In addition, I had several friends and colleagues whose perspectives I respect and admire read it for comments. But most of all, the person who gave me the most helpful feedback overall was my husband. He is a professional writer and has an amazing command of the English language. He provided thoughtful advice and comments while never rewriting a sentence. It was always big-picture recommendations for he knew how important it was for this book to be mine.

JP

If you were to give advice to someone else who is thinking about writing a book based on their life experience what would be your number one tip?

SB

Make sure that you are committed to both telling the whole, interesting story, as well as the process, which can take on a life of its own and often out of your control. Writing and publishing a book takes a great deal of energy and time and is not for the faint of heart. With that said, publishing a book is one of the most rewarding experiences in my life.

When I was a kid I wanted to be a writer ‘when I grew up’. But Miss Butler, my careers’ advisor (who was actually the biology teacher), told me that writing was not a real career, so I shelved my dreams. I was lucky. It took me less than 10 years to get back on track and I have enjoyed over 20 years as a professional writer ever since.

Whenever I am asked to mentor high school students who harbour dreams of writing some day, I leap at the chance to put right the ‘wrong’ that happened to me. When Steph at Denizen magazine, an online publication for global nomads, asked me to share what I had learned with her readers I grabbed it  and wrote Six Writing Tips for Global Nomads.

If you are a young person who wants to be a writer some day, or the parent of one, please read my piece and pass on what you learn.

six writing tips for global nomads