It was one of those meetings where they’ve agreed to speak with you about your “consulting,” but they weren’t really sold that somebody local could help them.
I handed a small packet of information to each of the two folks I was meeting for lunch. On top of each packet was a copy of my “DaddyTeller” book. Our meeting had nothing to do with the DaddyTeller content, but I knew that both of the people I was meeting had some family with daddies and grandpas in it.
Suddenly, one of my potential clients picked up the DaddyTeller book. She cradled it in one hand while with the other hand she softly stroked the cover of the book. Her demeanor changed, it softened. “Oh, you’re an author, too.”
I had transformed, in her eyes, from some storytelling consultant (“What’s that?”) to An Author. I was someone with authority and expertise. My self-published book, one I poured my heart into, was the key to connecting with this client.
How about you? How are you connecting with the people who hire you? Are you handing them a business card and expecting them to be wowed? The silent assumption is “Here’s my card. Add it to the dozens you already have.” How about handing them your book with your business card? The silent assurance then is, “Here’s my book, a gift for you, and I’m starting this relationship by giving you something unique and useful.”
Remember, I am writing here of creating a tool that helps you build your business and art. I’m not talking about creating your masterpiece novel. Why do you as an artist and teacher need a self-published book? Here are a few reasons:
First, your book will establish authority with your clients and readers, that is, you prove that you have the skills and you can also put your ideas into concrete words and action.
Second, your book (copies of which are very affordable when you self-publish) becomes your new business card. It’s a tool. It’s easy for a client to lose one more business card, but, if you have done your marketing work correctly and targeted people that you can help, your book becomes the tool that props open the door and helps the person who receives it. Helpful tools, like your book, are rarely lost.
Third, you could create an income stream that, once you get started, will come into your bank account monthly without requiring much ongoing work. It’s not magic but I do enjoy the auto-deposits at the end of every month. My books have also helped me to secure gigs and long-term contracts for both live workshops and the “Oh, we’ll buy a book for everybody” opportunities.
Finally, writing and creating your book organizes your thoughts and provides a chance for self-reflection. While I have several books to my name, the first DaddyTeller book came about because a coach I trusted pushed me to “Do something for dads if you think they are so important.” Creating a written text from the ideas floating in my overactive brain was hard to do. I had to be able to reflect on and then articulate why it was important for men to connect with their kids through storytelling. Eventually I was able to create a tool that is now been in the hands of many families.
Let me be clear: self-publishing your book is a great deal of work and there are expenses. Remember that, once upon a time, publishing your first CD (or cassette for some of us) of your recorded stories was mysterious and overwhelming. Everything worthwhile and profitable takes time to learn. Jump on in. Don’t be afraid to learn. You will be creating a book and a tool that builds up the work you do and the presence of storytelling in the world.
I will help you get started on this path. Come join me for my workshop on self-publishing at the 2014 NSN Conference here in my home state of Arizona. You’ll be in for a fast-paced, participative, mind-spinning, Saturday-morning ninety minutes of information. You’ll walk out with title ideas and a simple plan of how to turn that idea into a book in about ten weeks. Come ready to move and interact.
Your book is the tool to building a stronger storytelling business and presence.
About Sean
Sean Buvala has been storytelling since at least 1986. He started his work by accidentally using active storytelling to convert a classroom of slightly (but comically) homicidal 8th-grade teenagers from angry kids to storytelling practitioners.
From bosses in boardrooms to folks at festivals, Sean tells and teaches stories in many settings. He’s the founder (and janitor) at Storyteller.net.
Along the way, there has been some award-recognition and authoring of a growing pile of books, articles, podcasts and videos. Traveling internationally (meaning that he’s been to Canada), he makes his home in Arizona with four kids and one wife.
Contact Sean
Website: www.seantells.com
Email: