Rest assured, you are not alone. The world is filled with people like you who have a great story to tell but don’t quite know how to get it written, let alone published.  This is why we have created the Aspiring Author Workshop. Come spend an afternoon with Jon Malysiak, Chicago-based literary agent, author/playwright, blogger, and me to help you put your dream of becoming an author in motion.

WHEN: Wednesday, January 11, 2012 – 1:30 – 4:30pm (or a variety of additional dates scheduled after)

WHERE: 101 N. Wacker, 6th floor conference room - Chicago, IL., 60606

PRICE: $219

We will book only 7 spots per workshop to provide the maximum one-on-one support.

Workshop Details

The first hour of the workshop will consist of a group consultation/discussion with Jon Malysiak where you will have the opportunity to talk about your book idea and get insider advice from a publishing industry veteran on how to get started with the writing process. The second hour will be YOUR time to start putting your words to paper. And finally, the third hour will be your chance to share what you’ve written with Jon and get additional insider advice from me on how to market and promote your book. You will come away from the workshop with a clear perspective on the publishing process and an exciting start to making you way to that point where you WILL hold that book in your hands with your name on the cover.

Jon Malysiak is the co-founder and President of the Jonathan Scott Literary Agency, (www.jonathanscott.us) a boutique agency located in Chicago’s West Loop neighborhood. Jon has been a publishing professional for more than fourteen years, first as an acquisitions editor with several top Chicago publishers and, since, 2005 as a literary agent at Jonathan Scott. He is also the author of the soon-to-be-published novel Birds of Dreams—a satiric look at reality television—and two plays. In addition, he is the creator and writer of the Author-on-the-Town blog (http://author-on-the-town.blogspot.com) and a certified high school English teacher.

Unleash your thought leadership and creativity now. Sign up!

In Networlding, the seven-step process I co-developed with Jocelyn Carter Miller, ex-CMO Motorola and Office Depot, we identify in Step #6 the power of “co-creation.” The Domino Project Team is co-creating insights on Seth Godin’s leadership to redefine publishing on a minute-by-minute basis. Here are just a couple of amazing links to to what the team has co-created:

• Change Agents: 5 Marketers Who Are Changing the World
• Before You Write that Book

And if you want to get into the thick of things, jump in here to The Domino Project. It will be different. I promise. I love books. I love helping others write books and I love writing them. What makes this project different is that you can get even more involved in books and the big change in your life they can make.

Even better though is that some of the best-of-the-best bloggers on books are  involved in Seth’s initiative. So come join us! Let us know what you think. We look forward to your input!

What began as a suburban Chicago dad’s letters to his daughters has become a new roadmap for adults seeking perspective in challenging times. Your Name Here GUIDE TO LIFE began as a series of letters from author Michael Rosenbaum to his then-teenage daughters, but response from Baby Boomers has revealed a much broader audience of adults seeking life balance.

“I thought of the project as a collection of dadlore, lessons that dads would pass on to their children,” said Rosenbaum, a business consultant and former financial journalist. “When I showed the text to my friends, I expected comments on its relevance to their own kids. Instead, they said they thought the book was really written for them.

“The recession and rising joblessness have led many of my peers to reconsider their priorities and seek a different balance in their lives,” Rosenbaum added. “They said the book offers a strong template for that task.”

YNH GUIDE TO LIFE is the first inspirational/self-help book from Rosenbaum, whose prior works included business textbooks, a guide to corporate governance and a theatrical comedy. His story-laden text draws on experiences with cops, morticians, psychologists and others to deliver an enlightening, warm and humorous journey through the human condition.

“I’ve been collecting stories and insights for decades, scribbling them down on index cards, Post-it Notes and far too many cocktail napkins,” Rosenbaum explained. “Often, my notes included something I’d done that was stupid, but instructive. At other times, a friend would make an observation so clear and insightful that one simple sentence became a life-changing event.

“One of the biggest insights I’ve gained, and one I try to pass on in the book, is that we can learn important lessons from pretty much everyone, if we just pay attention,” he added.

Your Name Here GUIDE TO LIFE is the first in a series planned by Barosum Books, based on the wisdom of ordinary people. The first volume is available at Amazon.com with a list price of $12.99.

Visit the Website: www.yournamehereguide.com

Q. You’re not famous, are you?

A. In my house, almost everyone recognizes me, but I do get to walk around town without being mobbed by paparazzi.

Q. That’s great, but why would anyone read a book of life lessons from somebody who isn’t a celebrity?

A. First, I desperately need attention. If enough people read the book, I won’t have to do something stupid that gets posted on You Tube. And, if millions of people read the book, I WILL be a celebrity.

Q. Seriously. Why will people want to get their insights into life lessons and happiness from you?

A. Because I was relatively unhappy for most of my life. I had to figure out for myself how to make the journey…and I took notes along the way.

Q. So the Your Name Here Guide to Life is really a biography?

A. If it is, it’s not my biography, because these are life stories shared by millions of people. When I tell people a story from the book, they often respond by saying, “I had a situation just like that…” or “the same thing happened to my daughter…” The book is about the human condition and the way all of us share our lives. In fact, that’s why we have the subtitle, “The book you’d have written, if only you had the time.”

Q. So if people know many of these lessons, why do they need you to change their lives?

A. First, I am absolutely not going to change anyone’s life. All I can do is change myself, and that’s the only person any of us can change. The good news is that we all have the power within us.

Q. If people already have the power to change, why do they need self-help and inspirational books like yours?

A. Too often, we make the mistake of ceding our power to someone else. Maybe it’s our second-grade teacher or the person who stood us up at the prom. We never get past the hurt, which means we continue to give control of our lives to someone we might never see again. Among other things, the book includes ways to regain the power we gave away to someone else.

Q. Have you ever given other people that kind of power over your life?

A. Absolutely! At some point, we all make this mistake. Eventually, we can learn to avoid most of the traps we set for ourselves. We never get to perfection, but one day we tip the scales dramatically in the right direction.

Q. In the book, you talk about the accidental teachers you’ve met. Who are they?

A. Some are cops, who almost always pick up incredible wisdom on the job, and others are doctors, psychologists, moms, dads, morticians…you name it. Everybody gains some priceless insight along the way and they end up sharing their lessons one way or another.

Q. One way or another?

A. Sometimes, people demonstrate an important lesson by doing something stupid. Many accidental teachers are seemingly ordinary people who suddenly drop an incredible bit of wisdom into a conversation. Others do the opposite, delivering a major lesson about how not to think, act or speak. All of us lead by bad example at some point in our lives.

Q. Including you?

A. Of course. I’m human, so I’m subject to all the failings described in the book. That’s the whole point. Except for a few outliers, we’re all living the same lives. We all end up with the same disappointments and we all have similar experiences. Knowing how much we’re like other people is a great comfort. It means we’re not alone in the world.

Q. Why would people want to read your book?

A. It’s honest and funny, and it resonates with the way people really live. People connect my stories to their lives because they’ve been there and done that.

Q. You deliver your lessons through stories rather than a direct discussion of issues or values. Why did you choose this approach?

A. Storytelling is a great, non-confrontational way to share wisdom and people respond better to stories than to lectures.

Q. I noticed that each chapter includes some space for people to write in their own stories.

A. That’s very important, because everyone has personal stories and lessons to share. By giving people a space to jot down their own reminders, we can expand the impact of the discussion. We’ve even asked people to share their stories and wisdom at www.yournamehereguide.com .

Q. Does that mean there will be future Your Name Here guides with other people’s lessons?

A. I hope so. We’re working on a few concepts right now and seeking contributions at our website.

Q. Your Name Here Guide to Life is an unusual name. How did you come up with it?

A. We were talking about the universal nature of the stories and lessons in the book, and somebody noted that almost anyone could claim this as their own personal guide. That reminded us of the Your Name Here tags we end up wearing at conferences and it seemed like an apt reference to our universal uniqueness.

Q. One last question. What’s the most important lesson in your book?

A. Thanks for asking an impossible question. If I had to pick only one lesson, it would also be one word: Choices. Many things happen in our lives and we control very few of them. The one thing we can control, almost invariably, is how we respond to life’s events. We choose how we react, how we internalize and how we move forward. Having this choice makes us very, very powerful.

This e-book, Generating Revenue Through Thought Leadership (click here) covers the foundations of how and why to drive more business with thought leadership marketing. It explains why more customers are attracted to thought leadership and illustrates it with great success stories. It also explains why it’s critical to have a powerful point of view on a topic and how to develop one.

From my summary, if you start off with this e-book you will get the concept very quickly that e-books are a fantastic way of getting a big idea and then leveraging that idea into your own business to create success with your customers or clients. In other words, e-books are a tool that you too should create and then leverage for your own company. We welcome a conversation through our publishing division to help you should you need it.

We know you will greatly appreciate and enjoy this solid work of excellence. To get more information on the book and become part of The Inclusion Paradox community, visit Andres’ blog by clicking here.

My team and I have decided that we should tweet on Kraft for a week and see what results we get. Now, there are rules with Networlding as we are all about the GOOD that companies do in the world. What does that mean?

If you have something that we should know about that Kraft is doing well, let us know. We will also be happy to retweet your “good news” tweets. Our goals is to spread good news about companies that are big enough to make a difference. We think that if we focus and leverage the good things they do they will, most likely, do them more. But we’ll see . . . .  You can never know the outcome of a social media-social networking experiment unless you try.

Thanks!

The Networlding Team of Kerry LaCoste, Jon Malysiak and Me, Melissa Giovagnoli