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Now that I have my own Internet radio show (also known as a podcast) that reviews books, I have a whole new view of the media.

I now know what “the media” wants because I am the media!

So here’s what I want (and what other radio hosts/reporters etc.) want.

Number one thing: I want you to make it extremely easy for me to have you on my show. I want you to do the work.

That means you need to give me

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If you haven’t subscribed to Terry Whalin’s The Writing Life blog, I recommend you do so.

Terry’s blog is a wealth of information about writing and publishing. I’m continually amazed at how much he reads and reports.

His post yesterday about “The Awful Revelation“–discovering his book was out of print a whole year ago, yet no one had bothered to tell him–was particularly distressing to me.

It just underscored a truth: We authors must take 100 percent responsibility for our books.

Nobody cares about your book the way you do.

Least of all, the publisher, in most cases.

Publishing is going through a major upheaval on several fronts, folks. This kind of “dropping the ball” is happening much more often than any of us would like to think. Of late, all I seem to be hearing from my author and publishing friends, such as agents like Terry, is about how publishers are dropping the ball in various ways.

I’ll be reporting on the sea changes in the publishing world, and how they affect anyone who has published, or hopes to publish, a book. Stay tuned.

I was just reading an email I received.

Didn’t know the person it was from, or what she was talking about, really. Some kind of product that was off the market for 6 months, now is available for 3 days only. (Lessons: Make sure you put yourself in your recipient’s shoes … and always ask, “Who cares?”)

Anyway, the short email sent me to a video to learn more.

I did not want to click on the link.

I don’t like videos online, frankly. I sit in front of my computer long enough. If I go to a web site, I want to be able to quickly scroll down and get to the punch.

I don’t want to sit and watch a video. But worse–when I did relent and click on the link (in the name of research, for this post), there were LOTS of videos to watch.

Yikes! What a time suck! I closed the browser post-haste.

So, I would really like to hear from you: Do you like videos on web sites?

Do you like audio? Me, I kind of like an friendly audio–as long as it doesn’t start automatically (which is embarrassing when you’re on the phone multitasking and you come to a site with a booming voice suddenly blaring out of your loudspeakers). I especially like when a site tells me how long an audio or video is.

I also like to be able to choose to subscribe to something (as with podcasts I like, that automatically download to my itunes so I can listen when I’m cooking or washing dishes).

Yes, I prefer audio. I prefer text.

But I’d love to know what YOU prefer. Please post your comment.

On my Books ‘n’ Such book review Internet radio show, I try to focus on books that have potential to change your life in some way, personally or professionally.

This week, I review two of Seth Godin’s books, The Dip and Meatball Sundae.

Each of these books is having a continuing impact on me in many ways.

The Dip is subtitled, The Little Book that Teaches You When to Quit (And When to Stick). On the show, I talk about how Seth’s thoughts color my professional life, and my parenting as well. In a world in which there are way too many choices and distractions, this book gets you to ask and answer the questions that can bring clarity and focus.

Meatball Sundae is a must-read for anyone who wants to use the Internet professionally–to sell your books, promote your business or even a cause. Nobody has a better bead on the culture of the Internet than Seth Godin (and make no mistake, it is a culture of its own).

Seth not only understands and clearly articulates what is, but he sees what can be, where things are likely to go. In this book he outlines 14 trends that “are completely remaking what it means to be a marketer.”

Maybe you don’t think of yourself as a marketer. You’re an author, or would-be author. (more…)

It’s been frustrating: I’ve discovered that email just isn’t getting through to those who say they want to hear from me–people like you!

I have been dealing with Yahoo/ATT (my email provider), as well as my web hosting company. It’s a case of big businesses giving me the runaround.

(This can go on for only so long, if I’m to believe what Seth Godin says in his books, especially Meatball Sundae. Businesses will not last if they don’t serve the customer.)

At any rate, I’m taking steps to correct this matter. If you want to continue to receive information from me, please take a moment to re-sign up. You can do it right here, by signing up in the upper right-hand corner. You will receive an email from me asking you to confirm your subscription. Please click the link in that email and add me to your address book right away.

That should do it. I have lots of good stuff I want to share with you, but we have to be able to communicate, right?

Thanks so much. One of the most wonderful things about life nowadays is the ability to connect with people we never would have connected with even 10 years ago. I value you so very much. If what I have to give is of value to you, please stay connected.

(And if not, this is a good time to part. I hope we part friends.)

Just couldn’t resist mentioning something that’s pretty exciting to me and Janet Penley, with whom I wrote MotherStyles: Using Personality Type to Discover Your Parenting Stregths.

Two psychologists from Hong Kong have reviewed MotherStyles on Metapsychology Online Reviews. MotherStyles is to be published in both Chinese and Korean!

Interested in knowing more about MotherStyles? Check out Janet’s blog.

Have you ever wondered why some authors make a fortune while so many others with equally good books (sometimes even better) always seem to struggle financially?

I always did.

Then I heard a teleseminar with Steve Harrison that opened my eyes to what makes all the difference.

In working with 9,300+ authors over the last 20 years, Steve has learned rich authors simply do seven key things differently than poor authors.

Steve Harrison is publisher of Radio-TV Interview Report (RTIR) and Book Marketing Update, and has worked with and interviewed some of the most successful authors alive today.

Some are extremely famous bestsellers, like the creators of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series and Rich Dad Poor Dad.

Others are happily not-so-famous but quietly raking in high six-figure and even seven-figure annual incomes without ever being on Oprah or hitting any bestseller list.

To learn what rich authors know that poor authors don’t, (more…)

I just signed up for a teleseminar with Seth Godin about his book, Meatball Sundae: Is Your Marketing Out of Sync?

It was free for me, since I’d already bought the book.

If someone who didn’t own the book wanted in, guess what? The price of admission was to buy the book.

It was interesting how they worded it: “New to Meatball (Will buy the book for you + live call).” There was a “sale” which ended by the time I got there, so I couldn’t have bought the book and the live call had I wanted to. It looked like it would have cost $25 plus 99 cents for some fee.

Since I already owned the book, I signed up for the free option. To prove I owned the book, I had to answer a question that required referring to a certain page in the book.

So what is Seth Godin doing here? (more…)

On March 18, I did a Virtual Book Tour with Frank Viola and George Barna on their very provocative new book, “Pagan Christianity? Exploring the Roots of Our Church Practices.”

In less than 10 days, we received more than 650 questions from people who signed up for the Virtual Book Tour. (You can still ask a question, and then get to listen to the replay of that interview.)

Needless to say, we could discuss only a fraction of those questions in the 70-minute format.

So I did another interview, this time with Frank, for my book review podcast, Books ‘n’ Such. Some of the questions we discussed:

• What do you mean by “pagan”?
• Where do all the different denominations come from, and is having all these different groups a pagan practice?
• Just about every Christian church has a dominant pastor or priest or leader of some kind. Is this not what the Bible teaches?
• What is your intention in publishing this book, and what impact on local churches do you hope it will make?
• Why does it matter where our church practices come from? Can’t God work through culture and the way things have evolved, even if they are rooted more in pagan-or cultural-practices?

I invite you to tune in to hear Frank’s answers, if you have any interest in this topic.

The doors to Podcast Secrets really will close at 5 p.m. Pacific today.

If you have been considering it, please check out the program, plus the bonuses I am adding to what Paul Colligan and Alex Mandossian are including.

It totals more than $9,000.

It will get you started in podcasting and show you exactly how to create revenue from it.

I would be surprised if you don’t make back your initial investment within a few months (provided you do what you learn, of course).

If you just want to listen to the recording of the Preview call, you may still do so (the VIP discount still applies, and you can listen to it again and again). (more…)