Ask the Expert Mentor Transcript
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Ask the Expert Transcript: April 17 th , 2004
© Advance Mentoring Inc. 2004
The following is the transcript from the Ask the Expert Session hosted by Christine Hohlbaum, April 17 th , 2004 at 3 PM EST.
The Expert's statements (manager) are listed in BOLD,
while questions are listed in BLUE.
All outside comments and off topic notes are listed in plain text.
For the PDF Version of this Transcript, click here
manager : Hi everyone! I am sorry I\'m late, but my good old computer hiccuped a few times
frances : Why did Christine change publishers?
frances : What criteria would she use to choose one?
manager : answering...
manager : iUniverse is a POD publishing company that charges authors upfront, GOM is a traditional publishing firm which does not require this
teeka1234 : Hello Christine. It\'s Martha. Why did you decide to write your book?
manager : DISTRIBUTION is #1 -- since I am an American living in Germany , int\'l distribution is key for me
DawnColclasure : i didn\'t know she changed publishers
DawnColclasure : hi Christine
manager : second, what kind of products have they published? aer they responsive? timely? good to work with?
teeka1234 : For a first book, to get your name out there, it is a wonderful opportunity Dawn.
DawnColclasure : yes i know. it\'s important to have an agent.
manager : I was working in the corporate world before I had kids
manager : after my second one, I as a SAHM needed a creative outlet so I started writing funny stories about my day home with the kids
manager : yes teeka she is answering now
manager : out of emails, the book evolved
teeka1234 : Got it, thanks.
manager : I have wanted to write a book since I was eleven
annjmacdonald : Christine: You do a lot of online marketing yourself; do you find some of your efforts bring the bulk of the rewards (sales), or in the online world, do you find you get a little reward from each of your many efforts? If some worked better, what were they?
manager : answering...
frances : excellent question ann
manager : oh yes! online marketing has been the way to go for me (as well as radio interviews )
DawnColclasure : To All: I interviewed Christine in my forthcoming book, BURNING THE MIDNIGHT OIL: How We Survive as Writing Parents. She shares how she manages to find time to write while being a busy mom
teeka1234 : Christine, can you give us a short example of one of the funny events with your kids?
manager : write ezine articles, make a Q&A of your book and \"sell\" it as an interview to webmasters (they love good content -- give them a story and they run with it)
manager : always include your bio in the ezine articles
manager : my daughter sophia was newly potty trained and I had to go to the dermatologist\'s office -- Jackson was 5 weeks old, still in a carrier
DawnColclasure : oh, bless those carriers!!
manager : I had taken off all my clothes and put on a ridiculous paper gown for the doc. to look at my nose (I know, I know, but I like to follow the rules...sometimes)
manager : then, Sophia clutched her butt and said she had to poop -- when a two.year.old says this, you had better listen!
DawnColclasure : definitely!
teeka1234 : lol Christine!
manager : so I put all my clothes back on (almost ripping the paper gown) and rushed her and sleeping Jackson into the bathroom
manager : the key to book promotion is this: be genuine. People feel it when you are offering of yourself (find a mission and be creative)
manager : sure, you want to sell books, and you will! But first, you have to lay a solid foundation, build relationships with people, give them value to their lives -- you do that and the rest is fairly easy
teeka1234 : That is truly the key Christine. Let your own personality shine through.
annjmacdonald : Thanks, christine.
frances : for Christine maybe LOL Not MY personality!! hehehehehe
happyhomeschool : How do you find your Niche?
manager : a snappy press release is essential -- the who, what, where, when, and why of your story -- you must offer a story (that you wrote a book is not in itself anything new)
teeka1234 : Frances : you can still establish a relationship with your readers.
manager : Oh Frances , not true!!!!
manager : my advice is to write from the heart -- that is what I do
manager : my book is focused on parents, that is a fairly large group of people
DawnColclasure : Christine I have a question...
manager : you need to know your target audience
frances : hahaha - oh my yes - my only saving grace is that there are enough others out there like me - we recognize each other and know we are harmless
teeka1234 : It helps to write about what you know best.
teeka1234 : lol frances !
manager : once you have defined that, you can move forward -- get involved in discussion groups or message forums where your target audience hangs out
12023 Goshen Avenue, Suite 3
Los Angeles, CA 90049
Ask the Expert Transcript: April 17 th , 2004
© Advance Mentoring Inc. 2004
The following is the transcript from the Ask the Expert Session hosted by Christine Hohlbaum, April 17 th , 2004 at 3 PM EST.
The Expert's statements (manager) are listed in BOLD,
while questions are listed in BLUE.
All outside comments and off topic notes are listed in plain text.
For the PDF Version of this Transcript, click here
manager : Hi everyone! I am sorry I\'m late, but my good old computer hiccuped a few times
frances : Why did Christine change publishers?
frances : What criteria would she use to choose one?
manager : answering...
manager : iUniverse is a POD publishing company that charges authors upfront, GOM is a traditional publishing firm which does not require this
teeka1234 : Hello Christine. It\'s Martha. Why did you decide to write your book?
manager : DISTRIBUTION is #1 -- since I am an American living in Germany , int\'l distribution is key for me
DawnColclasure : i didn\'t know she changed publishers
DawnColclasure : hi Christine
manager : second, what kind of products have they published? aer they responsive? timely? good to work with?
teeka1234 : For a first book, to get your name out there, it is a wonderful opportunity Dawn.
DawnColclasure : yes i know. it\'s important to have an agent.
manager : I was working in the corporate world before I had kids
manager : after my second one, I as a SAHM needed a creative outlet so I started writing funny stories about my day home with the kids
manager : yes teeka she is answering now
manager : out of emails, the book evolved
teeka1234 : Got it, thanks.
manager : I have wanted to write a book since I was eleven
annjmacdonald : Christine: You do a lot of online marketing yourself; do you find some of your efforts bring the bulk of the rewards (sales), or in the online world, do you find you get a little reward from each of your many efforts? If some worked better, what were they?
manager : answering...
frances : excellent question ann
manager : oh yes! online marketing has been the way to go for me (as well as radio interviews )
DawnColclasure : To All: I interviewed Christine in my forthcoming book, BURNING THE MIDNIGHT OIL: How We Survive as Writing Parents. She shares how she manages to find time to write while being a busy mom
teeka1234 : Christine, can you give us a short example of one of the funny events with your kids?
manager : write ezine articles, make a Q&A of your book and \"sell\" it as an interview to webmasters (they love good content -- give them a story and they run with it)
manager : always include your bio in the ezine articles
manager : my daughter sophia was newly potty trained and I had to go to the dermatologist\'s office -- Jackson was 5 weeks old, still in a carrier
DawnColclasure : oh, bless those carriers!!
manager : I had taken off all my clothes and put on a ridiculous paper gown for the doc. to look at my nose (I know, I know, but I like to follow the rules...sometimes)
manager : then, Sophia clutched her butt and said she had to poop -- when a two.year.old says this, you had better listen!
DawnColclasure : definitely!
teeka1234 : lol Christine!
manager : so I put all my clothes back on (almost ripping the paper gown) and rushed her and sleeping Jackson into the bathroom
manager : the key to book promotion is this: be genuine. People feel it when you are offering of yourself (find a mission and be creative)
manager : sure, you want to sell books, and you will! But first, you have to lay a solid foundation, build relationships with people, give them value to their lives -- you do that and the rest is fairly easy
teeka1234 : That is truly the key Christine. Let your own personality shine through.
annjmacdonald : Thanks, christine.
frances : for Christine maybe LOL Not MY personality!! hehehehehe
happyhomeschool : How do you find your Niche?
manager : a snappy press release is essential -- the who, what, where, when, and why of your story -- you must offer a story (that you wrote a book is not in itself anything new)
teeka1234 : Frances : you can still establish a relationship with your readers.
manager : Oh Frances , not true!!!!
manager : my advice is to write from the heart -- that is what I do
manager : my book is focused on parents, that is a fairly large group of people
DawnColclasure : Christine I have a question...
manager : you need to know your target audience
frances : hahaha - oh my yes - my only saving grace is that there are enough others out there like me - we recognize each other and know we are harmless
teeka1234 : It helps to write about what you know best.
teeka1234 : lol frances !
manager : once you have defined that, you can move forward -- get involved in discussion groups or message forums where your target audience hangs out