Trafcom News Podcast 98: Turning experts into authors, with Sallie Goetsch

Have you ever thought of writing a non-fiction book? You’ve come to the right place. In this 24-minute podcast, you’ll meet The Author-izer, Sallie Goetsch, who helps turn experts into authors.

Listen to Sallie’s wise advice about the value of having a book under your belt, and how the process of working with a ghostwriter works.

You can download the MP3 file for this podcast directly by clicking here, or you can subscribe through iTunes. Or you can listen with the player right here:


Here are the show notes:

00:01 Intro and welcome; about Sallie Goetsch
02:00 More and more people are looking to write books; the value of having written a book; most business people write a book not so much to make money from its sales, but to reach potential customers and establish their credibility.
03:39 Positioning yourself as an expert with your book; but your book has to be GOOD!
04:44 If your book is really good, most people don’t care who your publisher is.
05:25 You can shoot yourself in the foot by publishing a book that’s not ready for prime time.
05:50 You’ll find typos even in books published by mainstream publishers.
06:45 It may cost a publishing house more than $50,000 to produce your book. If it costs you $10,00  in editors and designers and production costs, you may be getting a pretty good deal.
07:18 How can a ghostwriter help someone who has a book idea? Sallie describes the process of working from the potential author’s ideas, notes, etc. The ghost may record and transcribe interviews, and create an overall structure for the book.
08:40 A good ghostwriter will capture the author’s voice.
09:00 You may decide to take your idea to a publisher as a proposal, or publish it yourself.
09:30 The size of your platform is important; who is going to buy your book?
11:42 The deeper you’re in a discipline, the harder it is to write at an introductory level.
13:00 How to get organized before even speaking to the ghostwriter; fallacy that you can move from first draft into proofreading; flow and structural issues usually have to be corrected first.
15:30 Some of Sallie’s clients aren’t all that interested in writing, OR they are competent writers but don’t want to take the time away from their business.
16:29 Sallie’s advice to would-be writers: If you really have something that you want to share with people, and you can’t get to all those people one-on-one or through speaking engagements, then you probably need an ebook, a book, or a CD or some way to deliver your message. And you probably need help to do it.
17:01 Working with a ghostwriter is still work. You need to make time for him or her.
19:00 Sallie answers a question from holistic health coach MJ McConnell about whether a first-time author should publish an ebook; you can read Sallie's blog post here.
22:20 Comment on Trafcom News Podcast 97 from Will Norman, who has started a podcast called DaVinci’s Waking Dream
22:33 Most of us DO have a voice for podcasting!
23:11 Where to send comments: email to Donna AT Trafcom DOT com, call the comment line at 212-624-0209 or post a message to the Trafcom News Podcast blog
Look for the Trafcom News Podcast on Blubrry.com.
Theme music is "Beneath Your Surface" by the Elisabeth Lohninger Quartet from the Podsafe Music Network.

Comments

[MJ McConnell]

Thanks to Donna & Sallie for fielding my question. As a neophyte small business owner with passion and big dreams, I appreciate other women entrepreneurs sharing their expertise. This podcast was informative, clear and well worth the twenty- four minutes I spent listening to it. Brava!

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