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If You Want To Be A Professional Writer, Start Acting Like a Professional Writer!

When I sold my first book, I thought that qualified me to call myself a professional writer. It did and it didn't.

True, I was making money from my writing. In that sense, I was a pro, not an amateur anymore.

But the fact is that I was doing a lot of things the hard way. And the mark of a pro is that they don't do things the hard way. They don't have time. The more professional you are, the less time you have. And the more demands made on you by other people.

I thought things would get easier as I earned more money. But they got harder. There were more interviews. More endorsement requests. More speaking opportunities. More books to sell at conferences. More contracts to deal with. More money to account for. More phone calls, more email, more of everything!

I didn't have a system to handle it all. My schedule got tighter and tighter. My writing space shrank as piles of paper crowded in around me. My file cabinet turned into a rat's nest. The tax man took a bigger and bigger bite. And I felt overwhelmed by all the people who wanted me to do "just this one little thing." I didn't know how to say "no," which meant that my "yes" was often just a hope and a prayer.

I was a professional writer acting like an amateur. I thought I could just sit in my chair and write and everything would run smoothly, like it did before I got published. Which made as much sense as a friend I knew in college who thought the car just ran forever, whether you put oil in it or not.

Fact is, your writing business won't run smoothly unless you plan it to run smoothly. It'll go fine for a while, but eventually it'll collapse under its own weight--usually just when your career starts to take off.

My career has zoomed in the last year. But it was like putting a sports-car engine on a bike. My writing business didn't have the infrastructure to support success!

OK, so I've been pretty dumb. I'm a writer, not a business geek. I really don't want to deal with accounting or filing or legal crap. I just want to write. But accounting and filing and legal crap won't go away on their own, and if you don't take care of them, then eventually you'll be overwhelmed with all the stuff you hate and you won't have time to write.

How's that for an irony? Success can screw you up.

That's not fair. Life hardly ever is. If you want to succeed, you need to find a way to tilt the playing field back your way.

All of this hit home for me in November, 2006, when I was talking with my friend, Allison Bottke. Allison was flabbergasted that I didn't have a mission statement. That I wasn't incorporated. That I did my own accounting. (Hey, it only takes me a week to do my taxes every year!)

I realized that it doesn't have to be this way. Allison clued me in that if your system is broke, the first thing to do is fix your system. You need to do that before you do anything else.

I thought I didn't have time to get organized. But I finally realized that I didn't have time to NOT get organized.

With a little coaching from Allison, I fixed my busted system. I was astounded that I got it all done in just a few weeks, working a few hours a week on it. I could have finished quicker, but there were delays outside my control. (It takes less than an hour to file the papers to incorporate, but then you have to wait weeks for the state to do its little bit.)

If you have a big mess in your workspace, it could take as long as a WHOLE DAY to clean it all up. But think how much time you waste looking for stuff you can't find. How many days does THAT add up to in a year? Imagine reclaiming all those days and using them to do stuff you LIKE doing--such as writing!

Allison identified 7 areas that any writer needs to get control of. If any of those are out of control, then you're an amateur. If all of them are under control, then you're acting like a pro, even if you've never been published. Allison landed her big-shot agent a few years ago, partly because she was so obviously a professional.

Here are a few questions to help you identify which areas in your writing business are in control and which aren't:

• Do you have an enormous To Do List that you can't manage?
• Do you NOT HAVE a To Do List at all?
• Is your desk mounded with stuff that you never use?
• Have you ever spent hours looking for one piece of paper?
• Do you feel crowded out of your workspace by all your stuff?
• Do you have to go to the office supply store whenever you need to do something?
• Do you have heaps of papers that you've never filed?
• Do you forget to mail things because they got lost on your desk?
• Do you pay tons of self-employment taxes as a sole proprietorship?
• Does your accounting system make you feel sick?
• Do you waste days out of your life when taxes come due?
• Do you ever wonder if you could take more tax deductions, but you don't know who to ask?
• Do you ever wonder if you should get a web site, even though you aren't published yet?
• Are you furious with yourself that somebody else made a web site with YOUR name, and now you can't use that domain?
• Have you been putting off getting a business checking account for your writing business until you're actually earning money?
• Do you have a valuable brand name you haven't trademarked?
• Have you ever agreed to work on a project that really didn't "fit" who you are as a writer?
• Have you been wondering if you should form a non-profit organization for your writing business?
• Do you shrug when people ask where you want to be in five years?
• Do you not know what you want to be doing three months from now?
• Do you set deadlines and then miss them, over and over on the same project?
• Do you feel so OVERWHELMED with all the business questions that you wonder why writing isn't fun any more?
• Do your friends tell you that you need to get yourself "branded" but you worry that it's all a bunch of buzzwords?
• Do other friends tell you that you don't need a brand?
• Do you worry that if you do get branded, then you'll be locked in to writing one kind of thing forever?
• Do you wish the branding gurus would just go away and let you write?

Most writers would say yes to a lot of those questions. You may think I've been reading your diary when I wrote those. Naw. All I had to do was read mine.

The fact is, writing goes better when you have a handle on the yucky stuff. Like time management. Organization. Filing. Accounting. Legal mumbo-jumbo. Mission and Vision Statements. Strategic planning. Branding.

Nobody likes to get organized. (Unless you're a sicko person.) But everyone can benefit from a bit of organization. The problem is how to get from here to there.

In January, 2007, Allison and I began a series of teleseminars on Strategic Planning for Writers. I was the host. She was the expert. We talked about everything you need to do to get your business out of your way so you can focus on your job -- writing. In June, we added a fifth teleseminar on branding. (What's a "teleseminar?" Click here for a simple explanation of how it works.)

We recorded all five teleseminars. Allison is a very funny lady, and I can sling the one-liners when I need to. We had a terrific time and received many emails of thanks from our listeners.

Now you can hear them all -- exactly the way our listeners heard them. You can get every handout -- exactly like our listeners received. You can download them all RIGHT NOW -- and that's better than our listeners had it, because they had to wait a week between each teleseminar.

They're all recorded, so you don't have to worry about missing the call. You don't have to pay the long-distance fee. Just listen to them online (or download them for later). And read the handouts. All on YOUR schedule, when YOU feel like it, as often as YOU want.

Want to make sure your computer can play the sound? Click here to play a test audio clip.

Some Things You'll Learn in Teleseminar #1: "Take Control Of Your Space!"

• What do you do when the whole great mess just overwhelms you? Where do you START? Allison will tell you the 5 things you MUST do first.
• What if you're having trouble getting motivated? Allison will give you 3 reasons why you should "waste" your time putting your business in order.
• What if you want to hire a professional organizer to help you out? Allison will tell you how you know when that's a good idea, how to find the organizer that's right for you, and when to run like fire when the organizer isn't right for you.
• What if you've got only an hour today? What can you do in an hour? You'll learn an ideal "first task" that you can do in one hour.
• Do you know how to tell what to keep and what to throw away? Learn 5 key tests that will tell you what to do with any piece of paper.
• Are you balking at the idea of using a filing cabinet? Learn 3 ways you can use the filing cabinet to mesh best with your personality. And consider 3 possible alternatives, in case filing cabinets really aren't what you need.
• Want to know what Allison does? She'll be happy to tell you how she categorizes her 8 filing cabinets, her bookshelves, her stack trays, and her desk in order to manage her incredible empire.
• What if your desk is full, your filing cabinets are full, your chair is full, and your floor is stacked with stuff? Allison will tell you your options. They're not easy, but your life is already a living hell, so what difference does it make?

Some Things You'll Learn in Teleseminar #2: "Do Your Legal Stuff First!"

• About branding: Why you should start out from Day One thinking about your brand, and why that's not as hard as it sounds.
• How to brand yourself without getting burned.
• How to name your business. How to decide whether to name it after yourself or find a fancier name.
• Trademarks, copyrights, and taglines: How to know what you need and when you need it.
• When to get a domain name and why you should get more than one.
• What you can deduct on your taxes and when you can deduct it.
• When you should hire an accountant and why you might need one long before you think you do.
• When you should open a business checking account and what can go wrong if you don't.
• How to know if you should be a non-profit and how to know if you shouldn't.

Some Things You'll Learn in Teleseminar #3: "What's Your Mission/Vision?"

• Sick to death of hearing about oozy-woozy Mission Statements? Get a simple definition of what a Mission Statement is and learn 1 GREAT reason to have one.
• Want some examples of Mission Statements that WORK? Allison will show you hers -- and I'll show you mine.
• Learn the 1 most important thing to know about Mission Statements.
• The 2 questions you can ask yourself that will unlock what your Mission Statement really is -- with amazing speed.
• Don't know the difference between a Mission Statement and a Vision Statement? It's easier than you think -- and it unlocks the key to writing both of them EFFECTIVELY.
• Want to know what's better than a Vision Statement? Learn why a Vision Statement just isn't enough.
• Want the nuts and bolts of how to do all this? Allison will tell you the 3 documents you need to produce in order to rev your strategic planning into high gear.
• Afraid you'll waste weeks and weeks doing useless planning? Find out how many MINUTES Randy took to write his Mission Statement -- and why you can do it that quickly too.
• Still feeling nervous about that Vision thing? Learn the 5 critical components that will put your vision in focus.
• Heard too many buzzwords about writing a Business Plan? Learn the 6 parts of a Business Plan now -- and get a head start on them for next week's teleseminar.
• Not sure if you need a 1-Year Plan, a 5-Year Plan, or what? Allison will tell you exactly which plans you'll need -- and how to sketch them out QUICKLY.

Some Things You'll Learn in Teleseminar #4: "Develop A Strategic Plan For Your Career!"

• Ever wondered how many dollars a Strategic Plan is worth? Find out Allison's snappy answer to that question.
• Afraid that somebody will give you an MBA and stick you in a Brooks Brothers monkey suit if you ever wrote an actual Business Plan? Find out why writers need one too, and the crucial differences between a Harvard business plan and the kind a writer needs.
• Throw away your Executive Summary! Find out what a WRITER needs instead.
• Get rid of that Business Overview! A WRITER needs something a lot less geeky.
• Say Sayonara to your Market Analysis! WRITERS don't need bean-counting, they need something else. Find out why you can't live without it.
• Do you really need a Financial Analysis? Or does it make more sense to think like a WRITER?
• Who needs a Management Summary? A WRITER'S business doesn't need management. Find out what you need instead.
• A pox on timelines! A WRITER doesn't need no stinkin' Gantt chart! Start planning your career the way you plan your writing projects.
• Even if you have a great strategic plan do you know what ELSE is important in order to make your career zing and sing?
• Want an inside peek at Allison's Strategic Plan? She'll open the door and show you her 15-Year Plan.
• Ever wonder how you decide what to do first? Allison gives you her simple technique for setting priorities.

Some Things You'll Learn in Teleseminar #5: "Branding for Writers"

• You'll learn exactly what a brand IS. So you'll never be confused about branding again.
• You'll learn what to say when some nay-sayer comes along and tells you that you don't need a brand. Have a ready answer for people who want to keep you from doing what you need to do!
• You'll learn the 3 main types of brand. Do you know which is right for you?
• You'll learn 5 different aspects of branding, each of which leads to the next. Don't try to develop these in the wrong order!.
• You'll learn 7 key points to keep in mind when choosing a brand name. Don't paint yourself into a corner with the wrong name.
• You'll learn 3 critical questions to ask yourself when you develop your brand. Without these, you could waste years trying to find your brand.
• You'll learn what a tagline is and how it relates to branding. Don't be misled by people who tell you that your tagline IS your brand.
• You'll learn 9 specific actions you need to take in order to brand yourself. It's OK to leave out some of these steps, but only if you can give a REASON for leaving them out.
• You'll learn the 3 biggest mistakes you can make in branding. Any of these can be fatal to your branding efforts.

Want a step-by-step guide to getting your act together? That's included--with each teleseminar.

Not everything in life is free. Allison's time is extremely valuable, and there's no way I could have asked her to do these teleseminars for free. Matter of fact, my time is valuable, too. So we have to charge you something.

Allison has been paid as much as $15,000 to help huge non-profit organizations clean up their acts. But you're not a huge non-profit. Your mess is 100 times smaller than that of a dysfunctional board of directors. Maybe 1000 times smaller. And to be quite honest, you aren't nearly the pain in the kiester that most boards are.

If you hired a professional organizer you could get your space cleaned up for several hundred bucks. You may need to do that, but you definitely need to know how to find the right one, or you risk wasting your money on somebody who won't fit your needs.

My consulting time goes for $125 an hour and I'm about to raise my rates because my time is in demand. But that's for a one-on-one session. The great thing about a teleseminar is that we can spread those costs out over a lot of people.

I talked to Allison about price. We decided that we'd rather help a LOT of people for a low price than a few people for a high price.

Here's what you'll get with each teleseminar:

• A handout that you can print out before you listen, with blanks to take notes. If you're a tactile learner who needs to take notes to stay focused, this'll be perfect for you.
• A complete script for the teleseminar. So you won't have to take notes if you don't want to--we'll do it for you! If you prefer to not even listen to the teleseminar, you can just read the script. It's all there.
• A step-by-step guide on how to put into practice what you learned during the teleseminar.
• A professional recording of the teleseminar that you can listen to as many times as you want. You can listen to it online. Or you can save the audio to your computer and play it at your leisure, as often as you like. You can even load it on your iPod so you can get inspired while you exercise or drive. It's up to you.

If you went to hear Allison teach this at a conference, you'd pay for gas, meals, lodging, and the conference fee. And you'd have to travel, which is a hassle. You could pay hundreds of bucks to do that, and it would be well worth your while.

We don't want you to pay hundreds of bucks. This is the internet age, and things can be done ever so much cheaper these days. An audio lecture on a CD goes for $15 to $25 these days, but then you have to wait for the CD to come in the mail.

We'll give you the handout notes, the teleseminar, the recording, the transcript, and the step-by-step guide--all at the speed of the internet--and all for just $15 per teleseminar. (The last jumbo teleseminar on branding ran to 90 minutes, so we priced that at $25.) And you can get all five teleseminars for just $51! (That saves you a whopping 40%.)

We won't waste your time justifying the price. We know it's terrific and so do you. If you clean up your act, you'll save yourself hundreds or thousands of dollars per year, and cut your aggravation to boot. Here are the details. If you want to pick and choose among the five teleseminars, click on the individual links to add them to your shopping cart. If you want all five as a bundle, click on only the "All Five Teleseminars" link at the bottom and save 40% off the price of the individual teleseminars.

Our 100% Money Back Guarantee

We believe you'll get way more than your money's worth. Within 30 days, if you don't think you got full value, then we'll refund your money. 100%. No questions asked. No need to send a long letter with your reasons. Just ask for a refund. You'll get it quickly and without argument.

Is that fair or is that fair? It's fair. You risk nothing. We take all the risk. We trust you not to abuse this policy. Go ahead and click the link for whichever teleseminars you want.

To buy any or all of these teleseminars, just click on the appropriate link in the pink box below.

 

P.S. If you've read this far then you know you need to clean up your act. You're right where I was back in November. Take action now, and in just a few weeks, you could have it done for good. If you'd done this stuff a year ago, then you'd have been working like a well-oiled machine for the last eleven months. Click the link and let's get you rolling!

 

 

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