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Monday, November 1, 2010

What I Learned from Dan Poynter

And so I interviewed Dan Poynter, on my Blog Talk Radio show for aspiring authors, Information in a Nutshell.

Here is what I have to say about the interview,
It was fabulous!
Dan answered the questions very thoroughly, with great wisdom and with patience. Just think. He has done this for so many years and I'm sure been asked the same questions over and over again. Even though I tried to think outside of the box I still wanted to ask him some of the traditional questions that people often ask.


Dan had so many great things to say, but here are a few:

1. If you don't already have a blog, don't start one and try to get people to follow your blog.
2. Instead, do a keyword search or set a keyword alert with Google Alerts and visit blogs that already have a large subscription base and post on their blogs.
3. If you don't already have Google Alerts set for your name, do so immediately. In that way you can follow what is being said about you and respond as needed.
4. Dan talked about how writing and publishing has changed since he wrote his first book and the importance of keeping up with the times.
5. Dan shared the amazing resources found on his websites for authors who desire to self-publish

And, as an added bonus (for me as well) the show was chosen as one of the day's Top Picks!

 

And that is not all... it turns out that having Dan Poynter as a guest is cause for many people, including agents to email me, and ask if their clients can have a chance at an interview. That was an unexpected benefit, although I am booked through the coming year, it will help for next year's bookings. 

And there is more... The show was featured during the week end as a highlighted show. I was pleasantly surprised and realized this, when once again I began receiving emails via Blog Talk Radio in-Mail, from authors interested in having me interview them and talk about their books. Many marked my show as a "Favorite." 

The show's behind the scenes manual invites hosts to encourage their listeners to mark the show as a favorite or at the very least to "Follow" the show. I'm too shy (yes, shy with a capital "S") to self promote in this manner. In fact, I've had to overcome much of my shyness in order to host this show and promote my own books!


Really, one of the important factors that separates a veteran author and professional such as Dan Poynter and someone with no speaking and interview experience is that Dan is prepared for whatever questions might come his way. The focus of my show is on the writing and publishing process. Yes, we discuss the author, their life and their book. But, we really delve into one or two aspects that are their area of expertise. For example, if the author has a background that makes them an expert in their field and it took them twenty years to write the book. We explore the reasons why and hopefully this will help another aspiring author to overcome these same types of issues.

Dan's has a wide area of expertise, but I think his specialty is the niche market. He was able to sell his early books on Parachuting to specialty markets. Hence the name of his publishing company, ParaPublishing. Get it?

If you missed the interview, be sure to catch the archived version. And, it is thanks to my famous guest that the show was highlighted, and for that I say, "Thanks Dan Poynter for spending time with me and my listeners, we all benefited from your experience and wisdom."

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