A good book is hard to sell. Ask any author. Self-published or not. No matter whether a book is fiction or non-fiction, literary or schlock, it is getting harder to sell books. It isn’t because no one is buying books. People are buying books, especially eBooks, in record numbers. Except the price is so low and there is such a huge glut of new books that for any one author to sell enough books to make a living from the proceeds is an elusive pursuit.

It takes a small village to create a book: writer, editor, publisher, book cover designer, layout artist, lawyer, licensing consultant, distributor, publicist and marketing consultant. And if you don’t have this strong team in place, your book will go nowhere. If you can’t afford to put a team into place, then you need to learn how to do everything yourself. More than ever, writers need to think of themselves as entrepreneurs who are building small businesses based on their books.

A writer is an entrepreneur whose best work is grounded in cold-hearted practicality, coupled with a poet’s sense of beauty. Great American essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote in Self-Reliance “Most of our jobs, our work, our endeavors are inherently wired to prevent us from becoming great.” Emerson was a champion of the entrepreneurial mindset and he understood what it takes to be innovative enough to build a business. In describing the entrepreneur, Emerson wrote, “He has not one chance, but a hundred chances.” Authors need to do more than to write well; they need to become exceptional business people so their books can be found in the midst of all the clutter.

Please join us for the Seattle Book Summit on Friday, June 1st, where the focus is on the business side of publishing. For complete details check out our Registration Page on EventBrite and check out our Facebook page for latest event speaker updates.

PR for People® Seattle Book Summit: The future of the book is here! Friday, June 1st 11:30 am to 6:30 pm, Art Institute of Seattle, South Campus, 2323 Elliot Avenue, Seattle, WA 98121. Please register at PR for People on Event Brite.

NYC’s top comedian and author Wali Collins is our keynote speaker.
Seattle Book Summit Itinerary
11:15am to 12noon Registration
12Noon to 12:30 – Opening with key note speaker-Comedian and author Wali Collins
12:45 to 1:30 – Session 1 – Overview of Publishing Today
The state of the publishing industry. Should you seek a traditional publisher or self-publish? Is it best to go to market with an eBook first and a print version later? How has the book changed?

1:30 to 2:15 Session 2 – Book Elements. What needs to happen before you publish? What are the different forms of editing? What are the different formats of electronic or print publishing? How to choose an editor? How to choose a publisher? Do you need an agent? Do you need a lawyer?

2:30 to 3:15 — Session 3 – The Book Cover: Is it true that book covers sell books? Bring your book and get its cover design judged by a panel of experts. Critique of covers and advice on How to choose a cover that will make your book sell.

3:15 to 4:00- Session 4-Marketing opportunities
How do you build a community for your book? What tools do you use? How do you blend PR with Social Media and marketing? How do you know when it is time to hire a publicist?

4:00 to 4:45 – Session 5 – It’s not wrong to make money in publishing – The business of publishing focuses on the finer points of book distribution, in print and electronically, and some newer methods of book distribution. What are the intellectual property rights of authors and publishers? What possibilities do books have for brand extension and licensing? What are some other revenue streams?

4:45 to 5:30 – Session 6 – Turning the page: The book of the future is here
Beyond eBooks, now we can begin thinking about each book as a living community. What are the future trends in publishing? What are the new revenue streams for publishers and authors? What does product placement have to do with books?

Note: All sessions are 30 minute moderated panel discussions with 15 minutes Q&A
5:30 to 6:30 – Reception – Cocktail party/mixer includes hors d’ oeuvres, beverages and wine. This is a great opportunity to mingle with other authors, publishers, and with business professionals and companies that serve the publishing industry.

Sponsors Include: PR for People® PublishNext! Art Institute of Seattle Creative Fuel Studios 4th Avenue Media

The most brilliant strategic move Elizabeth made was one of brand positioning. She donned the persona of the “Virgin Queen,” or the Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ. By assuming this archetypal image, and surrounding herself with religious icons and symbols, Elizabeth could not be taken down by either the Catholics or the Protestants. Instead of marrying and producing her own male heir, she developed her Virgin Queen persona, successfully ruling a bitterly divided nation for 44 years with such cunning that she defeated the Spanish in 1588.

It’s always good to use history to put PR into perspective. Had Elizabeth reigned today, she would have undoubtedly used many of the media tools now made available to all of us. She would have viewed the entire PR landscape and selected those tools to create a blended reality that best served her persona as the Virgin Queen.

What is a blended reality? It is the seamless integration of media, both the old and the new. It means what you post on Pinterest may be slightly different than what you tweet about, but both messages are still true to your core brand regardless whether you are the Queen of England or the owner of a shoe repair shop in Hoboken, New Jersey.

As for Elizabeth, one could easily see her in-depth feature story on the history of the Tudors in the New York Times, the photos of the wrecked boats from the Spanish Armada on her Facebook fan page and what she ate for dinner on Pinterest. Although she would use all of the right tools to create her own Blended Reality, most of her conversations would still take place off line behind the scenes, and not on a media platform for the entire world to see. Her Linked-In might not include her true allies and influencers. One could hardly see Elizabeth tweeting “off with your head” or texting a mobile coupon “Wanna win a trip for two to the Tower?”

Using all of the social media platforms in the world is waste of time if you don’t have a strong sense of strategy. To create a blended reality—you have to be certain of your positioning—of who you really are, and of the story you are telling to the world. Creating a successful blended reality means knowing which tools to use and which ones you should never use. It also means knowing what message to share with each form of media, and also of knowing when to do the deal behind closed doors and telling no one. –Patricia Vaccarino

In my Facebook, I also get targeted ads for shoes, cashmere sweaters and skin care, even though there is nothing in my Facebook profile to indicate that I really do like these things. (I have searched for these items on Google and have purchased them online.)

I do know that the algorithms used by Facebook or Google are the function of the minds of engineers and they have no way of telling which of my friends have intrinsic design sensibility that I might value. Soon algorithms will utilize a higher level of artificial intelligence and figure this out. And even when they do, I find it confusing to know which of my friends like something when all I want to do is look at chairs.

The late Roy Amara was a researcher, a scientist and a past president of the Institute for the Future. He had also worked at the Stanford Research Institute. He had a Ph.D. in Systems Engineering, but he also had an M.S in Arts and Science, which gave him a unique perspective to see both the forest and the trees. He is known for Amara’s Law: “We tend to overestimate the effect of a technology in the short run and underestimate the effect in the long run.”

I’m not a geek, so I don’t completely understand how, when I search for something on Google, that information is harvested by Facebook. Maybe these two big players actually like each other more than they say they do. Maybe there is no clash of the titans. Maybe it is just old fashioned monopoly and oligarchy shaping our economic landscape in the age of communications the same way the railroads shaped the landscape in the age of industrialization at the beginning of the last century. Back then, a few players made a whole lot of money, and I’m willing to bet that history is repeating itself.

Morgan Stanley, who is leading the IPO for Facebook, is quite popular on Facebook, and the last time I checked has 6,022 likes.

And Goldman Sachs, who gave Facebook a huge infusion of cash last year in anticipation of the IPO, is also very popular on Facebook. The last time I checked, Goldman Sachs has two fan pages, one for the bank and financial institution with 13,957 likes. Goldman Sachs also has a separate fan page for the organization with 15,120 likes.

Can you imagine anyone really liking Goldman Sachs?

In light of Facebook’s impending IPO, only a few key players who are well-connected and on the inside stand to make a whole lot of money. The rest of us will be pruning our likes when we see what happens to the incredibly personal information that we have spouted off to our Facebook friends. We will see how our personal information can be used without our consent for someone else’s profit and gain, or later on, for even darker motives.

As much as I have cautioned clients, colleagues, family and friends about being prudent and to exercise good judgment about what to post on Facebook, I am constantly amazed by the embarrassing things people put out there for the whole world to see. And if you think that your privacy settings will protect you from the predatory nature of the algorithms, then you deserve to be called a lemming looking for the highest cliff.

When you like something, keep in mind that you have given your consent for your name, image and likeness to be used as an endorsement in any context. Your photo can be used anywhere and you might be in the company of other people that you do not want to be associated with. When all the lemmings line up, you might be giving away a part of yourself that can be used in a most unflattering context or pose. Remember, algorithms have no heart. Be careful what you show, post, like and say. Lemmings never see the edge of the cliff until it’s too late. –Patricia Vaccarino

PR for People® Events
PR for People® Seattle, Special Event, Thursday, March 1st, 4pm to 6pm, Regus Office, 1100 Dexter Avenue North, The Solutions Room (Main Conference Suite), Seattle, WA 98109.

PR for People® presents investor Peter Atkins. Peter is the founder and managing director of Permian Partners, an investment fund focused primarily on Internet related companies. Peter is also the author of the Amazon bestselling Kindle book, Life Is Short And So Is This Book: Brief thoughts on making the most of your life, which has consistently been among the top-rated Kindle books on Amazon in the psychology of creativity and genius.

How can a few simple ideas, implemented consistently, change your life?

Peter will discuss lessons he’s learned to get the most out of life and business. He will also share his experience of successfully publishing a book on Amazon’s Kindle platform.

Seating is limited and you must RSVP: PRforPeopleEvents. (prforpeopleevents@gmail.com) If spaces are full, you will be wait-listed for standing room. There is no admission fee. This event is sponsored by Xanthus Communications LLC and its subsidiary PRforPeople®.

I don’t follow Justin Bieber and I really don’t care about his grandparents, but I Googled the story, until I realized what I was doing. I was getting sucked-in to news that was totally irrelevant to anything in my business or my life. I got hooked by the story: drama, tragedy, imminent death and grief, an accident so horrific that the car flipped in the air and landed upside down. OMG! Justin Bieber may have lost his grandparents!

Whether it’s told in 140 characters, or in a book, an article, or a video, a good story will always command attention.

In the last few years, people have been giving up newspapers and TV news and keeping up with late-breaking news via Twitter. Ordinary people are sharing information and telling compelling stories that may or may not be true. Twitter spouts word-of-mouth chatter like a nasty super virus. Sooner or later you are going to catch the bug. You just don’t know how bad your symptoms will be and how long it will take for you to recover.

Twitter is making news more social and dramatic than it has ever been in the past. The question remains: will Twitter get you clients, increase sales and grow your business? Some reports predict 2012 will be the year social media gets boring.

With Twitter, it is hard to separate what is authentic from the poseurs. A large following may look impressive, but it is increasingly common to buy followers from teams in India who grow Twitter followers the same way black hat SEO tactics generated content farms and false links to boost websites’ search rankings on Google. People who have large Twitter followers do not always have a real community, but may have paid to buy a mercenary herd that is transported from one social media account to another.

Does Ashton Kutcher really have over nine million followers or is his magic genie a silk-turbaned Sikh team working in India for 2 dollars an hour?

Twitter offers no accountability to assess what is genuine news vs. rumormongers, carpetbaggers and snake oil salesmen. Twitter offers no authentication to truly know who is really tweeting behind the scenes. Twitter is more than the wild wild west. It’s a gold rush where no one knows what is real and what is fool’s gold. Use it as a tool for business intelligence or competitive intelligence to see who is out there and what they might be doing, but validate everything. Build your following to be a community-of-interest, composed of real people who want to hear what you have to say.

OMG!! What happened to Justin Bieber’s grandparents? They were scared and shaken-up, but they’re okay!!! –Patricia Vaccarino

PR for People® Events

PR for People® Seattle proudly presents “Stepping Out”
Book Launch Party for STEPS by Patricia Vaccarino at eXit SPACE Dance Studio Friday, Feb 3, 6 to 8:30pm
Attendees are encouraged to step-out and take the free ballet class that will be held at the studio during the launch party on Friday, February 3.

STEPS has been described as more than an ordinary business book.

Journalist Manny Frishberg said, “The title of Patricia Vaccarino’s new book STEPS is a mixed metaphor. There are the stair steps up in her grandmother’s house, which she mastered decades ago; there are the steps of a ballet class – the central metaphor of the book. Also, the steps of growing a business and a brand – the subject of the book. “Steps” is more than a business manual; it is part memoir, part meditation on the inner world of the ballet class, part exhortation to excellence: a pean to stretching beyond one’s reach.”

Vaccarino wants to inspire people of all ages to take up dance. “No matter how old you are or what kind of shape you are in, the time to dance is now,” she said. “Rigorous dance training makes people stronger in all areas of their lives, and especially in business.”

Revenue from the event’s book sales will be donated to the Seattle Dance Project. Founded in 2007 by Julie Tobiason and Timothy Lynch, Seattle Dance Project is a world-class dance company.

PR for People® Seattle, Wed, Feb 1, RESCHEDULED!! Seattle Book Summit, Buy Books for America! Pop-up retail event for authors to sell their books and give a percentage to non-profit organizations and foundations. Secret location. Details forthcoming. Stay tuned.

Wharton Grad and mother of four children, Randy Joy Epstein will take your business to the next level. Randy Joy grew up on a tree-lined block in Brooklyn, where everything that mattered in life, the butcher, the baker, the grocer, and the school, was accessible by foot. No matter where she traveled, Randy Joy has always had a strong desire to explore excellence by helping companies and organizations, large and small, identify what obstacles need to be removed so they can stay focused on moving forward to hit their marks. Randy Joy’s greatest passion is to take a company, and to set up all the elements that matter to make it thrive. She also likes helping startups leapfrog over the rudimentary steps and quickly gain traction in the marketplace.

Randy Joy’s career actually started at Price Waterhouse Cooper, where she was an accountant and her clients were fortune 500 companies, and startups. The numbers always tell the truth. Randy takes pride in having the unique ability to see the numbers and to work backwards, creating a trail that clearly defines what is working and what is not. Then it’s on to next steps and creating a road map for unstoppable growth. To make change, first you make small adjustments. Then a succession of incremental, barely perceptible changes sustained over time will produce the long-lasting, desired results that ultimately become a major paradigm shift. Randy says, “When you pursue excellence anything is possible, so long as you have clear vision, a road map of where you need to go, and the persistence to stay the course.”

PR for People® Events

PR for People® Seattle, Sunday, January 1, 4 to 6pm, Bustle Café, 535 W. McGraw St, WA 98119. This month will present Marianne Sweeny to give us a recap on Google’s latest updates with Panda and what impact it will have on your business.

PR for People® Seattle, Ben Franklin Breakfast,Thursday, January 19, 7:30 to 9am, Bustle Café, 535 W. McGraw St, WA 98119. This month we will introduce the new contact management system TheListInc.com.

PR for People® Seattle, WED, Feb 1, STEPS + Seattle Dance Project. Secret location. Details forthcoming. Stay tuned.

Wali Collins is America’s most loved Comedian. He was the first African American to host Comedy Central. Wali is a regular at all of the mainstream comedy clubs in New York City and Los Angeles. He headlines and tours at comedy clubs in Europe and Asia. Now Wali has created a popular movement around his book The Y’NEVANO Book of ENCOURAGEMENTS. Y’NEVANO has grown to become many things: a video, a book, a state of mind, and a movement. Wali’s television stand-up credits include HBO, ABC’s “The View,” Comedy Central’s “Tough Crowd” and “Late Show with David Letterman.” He was nominated three years in a row as “College Campus Entertainer of the Year.” Wali is also the most sought after comedian for corporate events: Johnson and Johnson, IBM, FEDEX, and L’Oreal.

Garret Kramer is the Author of Stillpower, the highly acclaimed book about coaching and performance. Garret Kramer also is the founder and managing partner of Inner Sports, LLC. His revolutionary approach to performance has transformed the way players, coaches, professional teams, and even parents view the athletic and life journey. He has provided consulting and/or crisis management services to hundreds of athletes and coaches, from well known professionals, Olympians, and teams, to high school and collegiate players across a multitude of sports. Garret Kramer’s presentations are customized for each audience and attendees are strongly encouraged to ask questions and to participate in a dynamic interaction that sheds illumination on the forces that shape how we perceive our own abilities and the world around us. Presentation topics range from: Transforming the mindset of the world class athlete to Penn State: Analysis of a Tragedy.

Julie Tobiason reached the pinnacle of success in the ballet world. As a principal dancer for Pacific Northwest Ballet, she has danced many varied roles, which include Juliet, Swanhilda, Cinderella, Hermia, Agon and Jardi Tancat. Ms. Tobiason has performed pieces by Fredrick Ashton, George Balanchine, Kent Stowell, Nacho Duato, Val Caniparoli, Mark Dendy, Donald Byrd, William Forsythe, Maureen Whiting, Paul Taylor and Lynne Taylor-Corbet. She is co-founder and was co-artistic director of Seattle Dance Project, a modern and contemporary dance company. While directing Seattle Dance Project, Ms. Tobiason has planned and implemented successful public speaking and fundraising events. Through her years as a performing artist, she has learned some important lessons about business and life and is able to share her experiences about coaching and mentoring, managing multiple priorities, and the value of listening to your gut instinct.

PR for People® Events
PR for People® Ben Franklin Breakfast, Thursday, December 15, 7:30 to 9am. Bustle Café, 535 W. McGraw St, Seattle, WA 98119. This month we will focus on trending in Twitter.

PR for People® Seattle, Sunday, January 1, 4 to 6pm, Bustle Café, 535 W. McGraw St, WA 98119. This month will present Marianne Sweeny to give us a recap on Google’s latest algorithms and what impact it will have on your business. Please rsvp:PRforPeopleEvents@gmail.com.

PR for People® Seattle, Ben Franklin Breakfast,Thursday, January 19, 7:30 to 9am, Bustle Café, 535 W. McGraw St, WA 98119. This month we will introduce the new contact management system TheListInc.com.

PR for People® Seattle, Tues, Feb 1, Seattle Book Summit, Buy Books for America! Pop-up retail event for authors to sell their books and give a percentage to non-profit organizations and foundations. Secret location. Details forthcoming. Stay tuned.

Xanthus Communications LLC and its subsidiary PR for People today announced a strategic partnership with Hollywood Celebrity Broker Tim Cavanaugh. Tim Cavanaugh is the principal of a full-service celebrity booking company, Cavanaugh & Associates, based in Los Angeles, which specializes in coordinating celebrity promotions and appearances from conventions & expos to entertainers to speakers at corporate events and universities. Cavanaugh also books celebrities for product endorsements, media tours, product launches, hosting of events, direct/response marketing and infomercials.

According to Tim Cavanaugh, “We have the ability to work with any celebrity in any area (sports, television, film, reality, chefs, music, nostalgia, comedians, authors, speakers etc.) and are not limited to a restricted roster of talent. “

Tim Cavanaugh is emphatic about working with non-celebrities when his client doesn’t have the budget to hire a celebrity. However, non-celebrities must be highly credentialed, talented and compelling speakers.

Xanthus Communications LLC has always sought speaking opportunities for its clients in the same traditional way as many other PR firms, a process which is both time consuming and expensive for the client who is pursuing speaking engagements, but now through its subsidiary PR for People ® there is a push to get clients high quality speaking opportunities at a nominal cost.

According to Patricia Vaccarino, founder of PR for People®,”We are committed to getting our highly credentialed clients in front of the right audiences. We want companies, organizations and professional groups & associations to use us as a first source to find their speaking candidates. Our clients are not necessarily household names, but they are rising stars– business people, creative professionals, performing artists, academics, and authors. “

Tim Cavanaugh has over 25 years experience in the industry and has an extensive network of relationships with celebrities, companies, organizations, charitable foundations and businesses of all sizes. In his practice, he frequently encounters clients who cannot afford the high fees to book a celebrity. Instead these companies and organizations want to hire an expert or a business person who may not have a household name yet, but is skilled at giving great presentations. Cavanaugh’s fees are paid by the company or organization.

Cavanaugh said, “I never charge the talent for anything (to pitch them etc.) – my fee always comes from the client who is either booking a speaker or hiring me for a celebrity seeding/gifting/outreach project.”

The strategic partnership between Cavanaugh & Associates and PR for People means clients, who maintain a press kit on (http://www.prforpeople.com) will be evaluated by Tim Cavanaugh for speaking engagements and other promotional opportunities, including product endorsements. PR for People will also send Cavanaugh monthly updates to announce new clients, their capabilities and their fees.

In December 2010, Xanthus Communications launched a new website for PR for People offering the PR tools needed to build a professional brand: a Press Kit and Media Switchboard Service. PR for People members come from all industries and sectors and include, but are not limited to, attorneys, accountants, actors, authors, architects, artists, beauty experts, dancers, dentists, designers, educators, economists, fashion designers, financial planners, graphic designers, interior designers, IT specialists, healthcare practitioners, HR consultants, medical doctors, musicians, nutritionists, research scientists, retailers, business coaches, sports coaches and therapists…just to name a few.

NOTE: To be eligible for speaking opportunities that are made available by PR for People ® you must have a press kit on the website.

PR for People® Events
PR for People® New York City at Butterfield 8, Monday, November 7, 6 to 8:30pm. Special Autumn Celebration! Please join us in the private room of the Butterfield 8, East Midtown, 5 East 38th Street New York, NY 10016-0001 Please rsvp: PRforPeopleEvents@gmail.com

PR for People® Ben Franklin Breakfast, Thursday, November 17, 7:30 to 9am. Bustle Café, 535 W. McGraw St, Seattle, WA 98119. This month we will focus on latest trends in presentation skills. Please rsvp: PRforPeopleEvents.

PR for People® Seattle, Thursday, December 1st , 6 to 8:30pm 3rd Annual Holiday party. Location: Hyatt at Olive 8 Urbane Room, 1635 8th Avenue, Seattle, WA 98101

PR for People® Ben Franklin Breakfast, Thursday, December 15, 7:30 to 9am. Bustle Café, 535 W. McGraw St, Seattle, WA 98119. This month we will focus on latest trends in presentation skills.

PR for People® Seattle, Sunday, January 1, 4 to 6pm, Bustle Café, 535 W. McGraw St, WA 98119. This month will present Marianne Sweeny to give us a recap on Google’s latest algorithms and what impact it will have on your business.