The Author's Corner

Creativity plays an important role in our society, but it is often overlooked. Without it, we wouldn’t have art, theater, or books (to name a few). But outside of the creative arts, creativity also plays a critical role in our everyday lives, as it contributes to effective problem solving and decision making.

In this episode of The Author's Corner, Robin sits down with Tony Award-winning producer, coach, trainer, and speaker John Pinckard to discuss the power of creativity. Robin and John explore the many aspects of creativity, and the myriad ways that we can tap into, utilize, and benefit from our own natural creative instincts. John debunks the idea that only certain people are creative, revealing that we are all, at our cores, creative creatures. He also offers thoughts on the so-called ‘threat’ of AI to the creative fields, and why there are aspects of the lived experience that AI can never truly replace.

Key Takeaways from This Episode:

• Why John equates working in theater and making a living doing it with winning the Powerball lottery.
• The reason why 'I'm not a creative person' is one of the dirtiest lies we tell ourselves.
• Why creativity - particularly for writers - revolves around the live experience.
• The art of coaching - asking the right questions, rather than giving answers.
• And much more...

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

John's website

John's LinkedIn

About John Pinckard:

John Pinckard’s best known work has been as a two-time Tony Award winning producer on Broadway, where he was responsible for hits like American Idiot, Clybourne Park, and A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder. Perhaps his most surprising work was a seven year stint in investment banking while running a lighting design firm. However, his most meaningful work has always been as a consultant and coach. For twenty years, he advised countless artists, executives, and stars throughout the entertainment industry. Now based in San Francisco, Pinckard is bringing his distinct perspective on conscious leadership, intentional relationships, and creative recovery to founders and leaders throughout the Silicon Valley community. He has taught at Columbia University, the University of Florida and the University of Central Florida, and is an alumnus of the UC Berkeley Executive Coaching Institute at the Haas College of Business.

The number one excuse from aspiring authors who don’t yet have their book in hand: “I don’t have enough time right now.” If this seems familiar to you, you’ve got to ask yourself: when will you have enough time? Next month? Two years from now? More often than not, people who say they want to write a book never do. They simply continue to live their busy life and make excuses. Truth is, you’ll never have the time. You have to make the time.

In this episode of The Author's Corner, Robin sits down with Dr. Robert Saul, a busy pediatrician for 44 years who has also made the time to write over 160 op-eds and author three books (and counting). Robin and Dr. Saul discuss his book and the circumstances that led to its creation. They explore the writing process for a busy professional like himself, and how he now creates weekly blog posts for his mailing list - “planting seedlings” as he puts it - to help develop current and future writing projects. He also offers thoughts on being more intentional with his writing, such as finding the small, quiet moments of downtime when he can fit it in.

Key Takeaways from This Episode:

• What inspired Dr. Saul to write his first book, 'Conscious Parenting: Using the Parental Awareness Threshold.'
• The concept of the parental awareness threshold.
• A typical day for Dr. Saul writing as a busy professional.
• Why developing trust is the most important element in the medical profession.
• And much more...

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

My Children's Children

Dr. Saul's LinkedIn

About Dr. Robert Saul:

In over 44 years as a pediatrician, Robert Saul has developed a keen awareness of parenting skills, raising children to be good citizens, how to improve our communities, and how to advocate for children. He has authored several books, including, Conscious Parenting: Using the Parental Awareness Threshold, which provides a basic framework to give parents the learned ability to understand their interactions with their children and to change their responses to maximize positive results and minimize negative results.

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• Robin Colucci's Book: How to Write a Book That Sells You: Increase Your Credibility, Income, and Impact

In today's episode of The Author's Corner, Robin sits down with Erika Andresen, CBCP, JD, MPA, a veteran, lawyer, small business owner, and of course, the author of, How to Not Kill Your Business: Grow Your Business in Any Environment, Navigate Volatility and Successfully Recover When Things Go Wrong. Robin and Erika discuss the reasons why she made the switch, both in her career - from corporate law to active duty with the military - and also in her writing style - from complex legalese to approachable terminology that better connects with people. Get a peek into her motivations to write her book, including her dream of helping mom-and-pop shops who are not willing or able to spend money on business continuity consulting, and why her book is the solution.

Key Takeaways from This Episode:

• How Erika made the transition from academic to mass market writing.
• Erica's primary motivation for writing her book.
• The importance of understanding the target audience and speaking to them in their terms.
• How the process of writing her book has helped her more fully appreciate the value she brings to others.
• And much more...

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

EaaS Consulting LLC

Erika's LinkedIn

About Erika Andresen:

Erika Andresen, CBCP, JD, MPA, is a recovering lawyer after nearly two decades in both the corporate finance world and the military. Erika became a subject matter expert on national security and disaster preparedness/response while advising different commands and also during high-risk situations in Afghanistan. Her work with actual disasters led her to attain a Master of Public Affairs.

Erika left active duty in 2020 and has since started EaaS Consulting, LLC, with the goal of keeping businesses in business. To that end, she authored How to Not Kill Your Business: Grow Your Business in Any Environment, Navigate Volatility, and Successfully Recover When Things Go Wrong, a conversational introduction to business continuity enjoyed by CBCP practitioners and business owners alike. Erika is also a professor of emergency management for the MPA program at the University of Texas at El Paso. She has been quoted in articles for Forbes, Dark Reading, SmartSheet, and MoneyGeek on the issues of business continuity and disaster preparedness.

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In this episode of The Author's Corner, Robin sits down with John Pabon, sustainability expert and author of The Great Greenwashing. John shares the combination of frustration, stupidity, and hubris that inspired him to write and self-publish his first book, Sustainability for the Rest of Us: Your No-Bullshit, Five-Point Plan for Saving the Planet. Robin and John discuss his decision to write in his own voice, in a way that spoke to a mass audience, rather than the way he would normally speak to his peers in the sustainability sector. You'll also learn about the concept of "greenwashing:" a process in which companies and governments will wrap themselves in the language of sustainability, in an effort to distract people from the bad environmental practices they have in the background.

Key Takeaways from This Episode:

• Why John chose to self-publish his first book, and the lessons he learned from that process.
• The goal of his new book is to help people understand the myths and misunderstandings surrounding sustainability.
• The positives (and negatives) of traditional and self-publishing, from John's experience.
• The impact that the private sector can have on sustainability.
• And much more...

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

John's website

John's LinkedIn

The Great Greenwashing book

About John Pabon:

John Pabon has spent two decades in the business of saving our Earth. After leaving his role at the United Nations, John traveled the world studying the impacts of sustainability first-hand in factories, on fields, and in Fortune 500s. His mission is to move sustainability from theory to practical strategies that help people and businesses confidentially make real impact.

Over his 20-year career, he’s had the privilege of working with the United Nations, McKinsey, A.C. Nielsen, and as a consultant with BSR, the world’s largest sustainability-focused business network. He is the founder of Fulcrum Strategic Advisors, Programme Director for The Conference Board’s Asia Sustainability Leaders Council, and serves on the board of advisors to the U.S. Green Chamber of Commerce. John is also the author of Sustainability for the Rest of Us: Your No-Bullshit, Five-Point Plan for Saving the Planet. His upcoming book, The Great Greenwashing, is out June 1st, 2023.

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• Website: Robin Colucci
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• Robin Colucci's Book: How to Write a Book That Sells You: Increase Your Credibility, Income, and Impact

Intellectual property is a concept every writer should be aware of—specifically, how to protect yours, and how to respect other people's. In this episode, our guest understands that better than most, and thankfully is here to share her knowledge. Andrea Sager is the CEO and founder of Legalpreneur, host of the Legalpreneur podcast, and the author of Legalpreneur: The Business Owner’s Guide To Legally Protecting Their Business. Robin and Andrea discuss the "big three" legal elements authors should be aware of to limit their liability. Andrea shares her advice for authors who decide to self-publish and she provides many more tips on the options you have available when/if you find your work has been stolen.

Key Takeaways from This Episode:

• Why so many attorneys fail to understand solo- and entrepreneurs.
• Why every author needs to have a business entity, particularly when self-publishing.
• How Andrea has helped clients defend their copyright.
• What to do when you discover that someone has blatantly stolen from you (i.e. plagiarism.)
• The important difference between the 'copyright' and the 'right to publish.'
• …and much more!

Resources Mentioned in this episode:

Legalpreneur

Andrea's LinkedIn

Legalpreneur book

About Andrea Sager:

Andrea Sager is the CEO and founder of Legalpreneur, a legal tech startup that focuses on offering affordable legal services to businesses of all sizes. She is the author of The Legalpreneur: The Business Owner’s Guide to Legally Protecting Your Business. While working at a corporate firm, Andrea noticed a gap in the legal industry – no one was catering to the small, innovative start-up brands dominating her social media feeds. As a serial entrepreneur, she knew firsthand the importance of building a business with a solid legal foundation. However, she also knew that many new businesses simply did not have the funds. That realization led to the development of Legalpreneur. Because legal services should be accessible to everyone. In addition to running her company, Andrea is a mom of two in Houston and is passionate about all things health, wellness, poker, and business.

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The truth is important for every author, but it is especially important if you are writing a book on a controversial topic. Controversial topics attract pushback and criticism, so if you get something wrong, you’re extra likely to get called out for it. That’s why it’s essential to ensure accuracy when you’re writing about a controversial topic, just like William Cooper. William is the author of Stress Test: How Donald Trump Threatens American Democracy, as well as a columnist whose writings have appeared in over 100 publications globally including the Wall Street Journal, New York Daily News, Huffington Post, and USA Today. In this episode, William and Robin discuss the dangers of 'filling in the blanks' with preconceived notions around controversial subjects, the origins of his moderate nature, as well as the process of turning a collection of articles into a book.

Key Takeaways from This Episode:

• William's thoughtful and level-headed approach to controversial and polarizing topics.
• How to cut through rhetoric and grandstanding when looking for facts in the media.
• Why William believes the Clinton impeachment was frivolous and a mistake and why Trump's was much more serious.
• How he turned a collection of his published columns into a book.
• …and much more!

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

Stress Test book

About William Cooper: 

William Cooper is an attorney, columnist, and author of Stress Test: How Donald Trump Threatens American Democracy, which Publishers Weekly calls “a compelling rallying cry for democratic institutions under threat in America.” His commentary has appeared in hundreds of publications globally including The New York Times, New York Daily News, Baltimore Sun, USA Today, Huffington Post, Toronto Star, Shenzhen Daily, and Jerusalem Post.

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Join The Author's Corner Community today:

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• Robin Colucci's Book: How to Write a Book That Sells You: Increase Your Credibility, Income, and Impact

Today marks our 100th episode, and this time Robin is flying solo to offer her thoughts on one of the most underrated strategies used in self publishing: the book proposal. Book proposals are essential in traditional publishing, but they are also highly useful if you are planning to self-publish. It's not easy, nor is it an intuitive process, but it can provide a real advantage when your book is ready to be published. You wouldn't start a business without a business plan, and you shouldn't try to publish a book without a book proposal. Luckily, Robin is here to offer her expertise to help you understand this vital process.

Key Takeaways from This Episode:

• The key elements of a book proposal.
• How to create a due date for your book.
• The importance of describing your audience in your book proposal.
• Why the book-comps exercise is such a huge confidence boost.
• Why you need to create an outline for your book.

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Robin Colucci's Book: How to Write a Book That Sells You: Increase Your Credibility, Income, and Impact

We've all heard stories of women who've created content for the internet - a blog or viral social media post -  and then turned it into a book. Take the example of Julie Powell, who decided to cook all of Julia Child's recipes in a single year and publish the results to her blog. It landed over 400,000 views and ended up leading to a movie called Julie and Julia. More recently, Rachel Hollis created a social media post with a photo of her stretch marks, with the comment that she was proud and would not be shamed by them. The sentiment resonated so much with women readers that she ended up writing a book, Girl, Stop Apologizing, and later, Girl, Wash Your Face, which were unbelievably successful in sales on the New York Times bestsellers list. You hear stories like this and it makes you wonder, could that really happen to a real person? Could it happen to me? Today's guest, Dana Miranda, is here to share how it really happened to her, and what we can learn from her experience. 

Key Takeaways from This Episode:

• How Dana landed her book deal with Little, Brown Spark, an imprint of Hachette, one of the 'big five' publishers.
• How Dana got started writing in the personal finance space.
• The article she wrote that caught everyone’s attention.
• How to get an agent to help you develop a book proposal, and how to get the proposal from an agent to a publisher.
• How to use your book as an anchor for marketing and building your audience.

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

Healthy Rich website

Dana Miranda LinkedIn

About Dana Miranda:

Dana is a Certified Educator in Personal Finance (CEPF), an author and a personal finance journalist. She's the founder of Healthy Rich, a platform for inclusive, budget-free financial education, working with organizations, schools and companies dedicated to making money better for folks who are often left out of the conversation about money. Her approach to financial education lends an antidote to pervasive budget culture, a damaging set of beliefs that rewards restriction and deprivation and promotes an unhealthy and fantastical ideal of financial wellness. Dana grew up in a working-class family in a small town in Wisconsin. Upon joining the world of personal finance media in 2015, she quickly discovered that the niche was led mostly by advice (and admonitions) from middle-class white men, ignoring the broad diversity of our relationships with work and money. After leaving a leadership position with a popular financial media startup and spending two years as a freelance writer, Dana created Healthy Rich to start a new kind of conversation about money. She has written about work and money for Forbes, Insider, Culture Study, the New York Times, CNBC, The Motley Fool, NextAdvisor, and Inc. magazine, among others.

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• Robin Colucci's Book: How to Write a Book That Sells You: Increase Your Credibility, Income, and Impact

Here's an interesting question: What does sharing stories and advice on how to talk to kids about LGBTQ families and friends have in common with catering? Stumped? Today's guest has some insights that might help. Sudi "Rick" Karatas is the author of two books: 'Rainbow Relatives,' real-world stories about how to talk to kids about LGBTQ families and friends, and 'How Catering Sucked the Life Right Out of Me.' In this fascinating discussion, Rick explains why he goes by two different names (Sudi and Rick), as well as his experiences with both traditional publishing and self-publishing. He also outlines some of the fears and doubts that came up for him when writing his first book.

Key Takeaways from this Episode:

• Why he goes by both "Sudi" and "Rick" and the differences between those two distinct personalities.
• Why 'Rainbow Relatives' is about educating people, not preaching.
• The fears and doubts that come up when writing a book, and how he overcame them.
• What was behind the decision to self-publish 'How Catering Sucked the Life Right Out of Me.'
• The importance of a good book title.

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

Sudi "Rick" Karatas website

Sudi "Rick" Karatas Instagram

Rainbow Relatives

How Catering Sucked the Life Right Out of Me

About Sudi (Rick) Karatas

Author, actor, songwriter, screenwriter, singer, producer. Sudi Karatas has worn many hats - so many that he has two names (Sudi and Rick) to help differentiate his two distinct personalities. He says he was born to write, with pen and paper in hand, saving him thousands of dollars on therapy. Rick has written two books: 'Rainbow Relatives,' a parenting book that deals with stories and advice on speaking to kids about LGBTQ topics, and 'How Catering Sucked the Life Right Out of Me,' an entertaining look at his experiences in the catering industry. Sudi grew up in Syosset, New York but has been living in Southern California the last 20 years. Besides screenplays and books, he's also written many songs that are on Spotify and Itunes, 12 scripts and a couple of pilots.

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Join The Author's Corner Community today:

• Website: Robin Colucci
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• Robin Colucci's Book: How to Write a Book That Sells You: Increase Your Credibility, Income, and Impact

Data analytics has become essential for writing and publishing books in today’s digital era, so listen in as we chat with Christina Inge about the significance of gathering relevant information in your book-writing process. Listen until the end to optimize your marketing strategies and make data-driven decisions that lead to success.

Key Takeaways from This Episode

• Various methods of utilizing data to boost a publishing company’s catalog
• The impact of making data-driven decisions as a marketer
• Free and reliable data sources and how to maximize their marketing value 
• Reasons why you don’t need to buy information from data-curation companies
• How data can make your book more relevant and sellable
• Practical advice to help authors succeed in the writing industry

Resources Mentioned in this episode

• Marketing Metrics by Christina Inge | Kindle, Hardcover, and Paperback
• Google Analytics
• Google Search Console
• Instagram
• Newsletter
• Ubersuggest: Free Keyword Research Tool
• AnswerThePublic
• Hootsuite
• Twitter
• Google
• Marketing Analytics by Christina J. Inge | Paperback

About Christina Inge

Christina Inge has two decades of experience leading digital strategy and managing complex marketing technology projects. She specializes in articulating effective, efficient digital strategies for organizations using the latest channels to drive results. She is the founder of Sleek Marketing, which offers hands-on education on digital marketing in the Boston area. She is the author of Marketing Metrics and Fundamentals of Marketing Analytics.

Christina served on the board of the American Marketing Association as vice president of social media throughout much of the 2000s. She is a frequent and sought-after speaker on web analytics, content strategy, and SEO. She has worked with well-established brands such as Nissan, Smithsonian, and Pega Systems, as well as a range of startups and nonprofits. Christina has won numerous awards for her work, including the Social Media Society Social Media Stars award, as well as the FutureM Future of Marketing award. She has been a Mass challenge mentor and has served on the board of the IEEE Entrepreneur’s Network.

Christina holds a BA in English from the University of Maryland University College and an MS in Instructional Technology from the University of Wyoming.

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Join The Author's Corner Community today:

• Website: Robin Colucci
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• Robin Colucci's Book: How to Write a Book That Sells You: Increase Your Credibility, Income, and Impact