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Month: February 2021

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Growth Personal Development

The Power of Reinvention – Entrepreneurial Success In the COVID Era

 

“Adapt, change, or die.”

It’s one of my favorite mantras and couldn’t be more accurate during the challenging world of COVID.

We’ve all heard stories about how businesses from the largest-enterprise-sized corporations to the smallest ‘mom and pop’ shops have found new markets or completely reinvented themselves to stay afloat during these times.

In essence, they pivoted.

While that word has become a cliché of the COVID era, we can’t overstate the pivoting power of entrepreneurs. It’s something that’s in the blood and one of my recent guests is a perfect example of that ingenuity and malleability.

Eva Sadej knows a thing or two about reinventing yourself.  She is the founder and CEO of Medbar, a company bringing COVID tests wherever they’re needed. Except, that’s not what her company was doing pre-pandemic. It started as Flossbar, a mobile business bringing dental services to companies across the country. Flossbar was so successful; it had backing from Colgate and contracts with major corporations.

“Our dental idea was working fine. It was like 38% quarter-on-quarter growth,” Eva said during her recent interview on All Business with Jeffrey Hayzlett. “A good pace for our sector.”

 

Flossbar was so successful, Eva found herself on the Forbes 30 under 30 in healthcare list last year.  

 

Then COVID hit. 

 

“April’s revenue was zero. It was bad, and we were going for the next fundraise, so it was sink or swim,” Eva recalls.  

 

Her team had several ideas to keep the business going during the tough times ahead – among them what Eva called “hibernating,” which referred to laying low and laying people off until the pandemic passed. Instead of suspending operations, the team had another idea. 

 

“We thought about what do we fundamentally provide? Who are we? What’s our exact service?” Eva said. “We realized we’re doing four things to get a service into the workplace. We’re doing compliance. Humans moving around. Stuff moving around and technology backbone for the customer journey. That means we can do other things.” 

 

Eva’s team then went about pivoting from mobile dentistry to mobile COVID testing, but it was not without the challenges a brand-new industry can present.

 

“Diversified supply lines, that was an early problem. You can’t get access to COVID tests,” Eva said. “You couldn’t get access to it if you’ve got two suppliers. If you’re contacting 60 of them and bugging them every single day, you’re bound to get COVID tests.” 

 

“What we found is actually a lot of red tape, and we are great at figuring out ways to get around red tape, that’s still in the spirit of the law.” Tenacity was the name of the game.

 

While regulations became a speed bump, Eva and the team encountered another roadblock. They quickly found out medical testing and dentistry played by an entirely different set of rules. For example, to run a COVID testing lab, Medbar needed a high complexity laboratory license and expand its staff.  

 

“So, what did we do? We hired a pathologist and got a high complexity laboratory certificate as fast as possible,” Eva said. “You learn what you need to do, and you just execute. It’s about execution and knowledge IP. Taking your fundamental things and assets you have and applying them to something somebody actually wants to buy now.” 

 

While Medbar is an East Coast-based company, they service they provide is available across the United States.  

 

“We’ve got a flyer program as we call it,” Eva said. “(A team of people with) a packed suitcase and they’re ready to go next day to fly to a client that has a pandemic outbreak.” 

 

You could argue Eva is nimble from experience. Her parents immigrated from Poland to Brooklyn when she was young. She graduated from Harvard and dropped out of Wharton to start what became Flossbar. While Eva has a self-proclaimed “science nerd” background, she comes from a family of doctors, nurses, and therapists. She admittedly knew nothing about dentistry when she hatched the idea for Flossbar.  

 

“I’ve got teeth,” Eva joked. “I learned about how the mouth is so connected to the body. It’s ridiculous that we’re not learning about it.” 

 

Eva found dentistry was behind the rest of healthcare in terms of innovation and thought creating a new dental care model would be “low hanging fruit.”  

 

So, she came up with a dental business idea she called the “Airbnb model.” 

 

She would take over dentists’ offices during the off-hours, using primary dental care as a feeder system for more advanced patient needs. 

 

“It was actually taking over dental offices in the evenings and weekends,” Eva said. “Getting hygienists to go in there to do the basics, cleaning, x-rays, whitening, and then the doctor or dentist is going to be looking at those x-rays the next day.” 

 

Eva quickly found the cost of acquiring those customers during the off hours was high. The margins didn’t work. Plus, dentists didn’t like the idea of renting out their offices. 

 

“Their offices, it’s their baby, it’s their kingdom, their investment,” Eva said. 

 

So, she pivoted to the business model Flossbar became before COVID hit. 

 

I enjoyed my conversation with Eva, always great to talk to other successful entrepreneurs. She has a great business mind and seems to be continually working towards success. During the interview, we got into what made Flossbar successful, her other business ideas that didn’t work, and her advice to other young entrepreneurs.  

 

Listen to our full conversation here.  

 

Categories
Body Language Management Personal Development Women In Business

The Do’s and Don’ts of Women Saying I’m Sorry in the Workplace

You’ve likely heard — or even observed — that women tend to apologize more at work, even when an apology isn’t warranted. One study from 2010 found that when looking at the frequency of apologies in relation to the number of offenses, men and women were equally willing to apologize when they believed they needed to correct wrongdoing. But overall, the study discovered women do tend to apologize more.

As a coach who helps leaders communicate with confidence, I’ve seen that while many women might believe apologizing demonstrates respect, it can inadvertently make them appear less confident. For instance, I’ve observed that some women apologize if they are challenging the thoughts of others or inconveniencing someone with a request. It’s tempting to believe an apology softens the blow of a difficult message, but sometimes, it can actually diminish its impact. It might cost you respect and credibility among your peers, leaders, and employees. It can invite others to challenge your opinion and requests. As a result, while trying to be merely polite, unnecessary apologies might cost some professional women their influence.

Throughout my time coaching, I’ve learned a few ways to help women navigate this tricky subject many struggle with. Here are four critical do’s and don’ts of apologizing in the workplace:

Do apologize with sincerity

“Sorry” has an amazing impact on those who deserve it. When a leader makes a mistake, an apology is necessary to maintain trust and respect. A superficial apology won’t do. Leaders owe it to those affected to recognize the mistake and what part they played, ultimately owning the outcome. The apology can’t be an empty, “I’m sorry,” but should be sincere ownership of any wrongdoing. Men and women alike must apologize in these situations if they want to remain influential in their place of leadership.

Tip to execute: When you’ve made a mistake, own it. Make eye contact and say, “I’m sorry.” Long-winded explanations aren’t necessary. Kindness and humility will go far to help others recognize your sincerity.

Do apologize when the mistake was yours

Some scenarios require apologies. The key is to identify the part you played in the mistake. Let’s say an employee has spent a considerable amount of time working on a project, but a key component was missing. As the leader, it’s necessary to point out the error and request rework as needed. It’s not uncommon for women to feel guilty at work (often for a variety of reasons). To soften the bad news, I’ve seen that many give an unwarranted apology just for sending the employee back to correct their work. If a mistake needs correcting, an apology isn’t needed. Instead, it might come across as sounding insincere and lacking believability.

In this same scenario, an apology is necessary if the leader recognizes they failed to clearly communicate expectations or left out need-to-know requirements that caused the mistake. This is when an apology is crucial to maintain respect and influence. Without it, employees grow frustrated and resentful.

Tip to execute: Be clear and concise in your request for rework. Don’t ramble. Just get to the point, and communicate the requested changes. Prevent the situation altogether by communicating your expectations clearly in the beginning. Take time to check in frequently, answer questions and ensure everyone remains focused on the goal.

Don’t apologize for challenging ideas

In workplaces everywhere, men and women professionally debate ideas in an attempt to improve and innovate their business. Challenging another person’s beliefs isn’t rude; it’s necessary to evolve beyond the status quo. Unfortunately, many women use “I’m sorry” less as an apology and more as a polite way to interject their ideas into the conversation. How often have you heard a woman speak up to challenge another person’s idea by saying, “I’m sorry, but I disagree” or “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I have another idea.”

What is there to be sorry for? Disagreeing or respectfully challenging others is expected. An apology for this behavior is not only unnecessary; it comes across as insincere. In this case, “sorry” is merely a filler word taking up space in the conversation while failing to provide value.

Tip to execute: If you wish to interject your ideas or challenge others’ views, wait your turn. Listen to the speaker intently and thoroughly. When a pause occurs, speak up. Be concise, and clearly state your opinion or idea. Be aware of your body language. Sit upright, make eye contact, and politely assert yourself without interrupting. In my experience, others will recognize your confidence and be more willing to act on what you say.

Don’t apologize to empathize

When hearing others’ struggles or burdens, it’s quite all right to empathize or sympathize with their situation. Listen with intent, and give them your undivided attention. Ask questions to better understand and see where your help is needed. An apology for their situation isn’t required unless you were the wrongdoer. Saying, “I’m sorry,” can diminish the weight of your apology. Instead, acknowledge their situation and hear them out completely. I’ve found an intentional listening ear bears more weight than a meaningless apology.

Tip to execute: Listen intently. Make eye contact in a way that demonstrates your desire to hear and understand the speaker. Ask questions to clarify the conversation, and nod to demonstrate your understanding. Repeat back to the speaker your paraphrased understanding of their statements. If you can offer help, do it. If you aren’t sure they need help, ask. A kind, listening ear, and gentle gestures resonate more loudly than an artificial apology.

Women, apologize when you’ve made a mistake. Otherwise, save it. Don’t diminish the power of these two words by overusing them in situations where they aren’t needed. Politeness and professionalism demonstrated through your actions, body language, dedication to listening and strong communication skills earn influence in the workplace and require no apologies.

Categories
Growth Personal Development

How Marketing and Advertising Have Become Ripe for Disruption

With more than half of U.S. consumers, or 55 percent, subscribing to paid streaming video services, the way we consume content has changed considerably.

 

COVID became an accelerant for streaming content – whether it’s Netflix, watching a Twitch stream, and clicking through YouTube. 

 

How popular is YouTube?  

 

It is the 2nd most popular website in the U.S., behind its parent company Google. It has an estimated 2 billion monthly active users who watch 500 million hours of video every day. According to Nielsen, YouTube reaches more adults (18-35 year olds) than any traditional cable network. Needless to say, it’s become a go-to for marketers of all sizes.  

 

Every business is ripe for disruption during the COVID-19 pandemic, including marketing. 

YouTube has also become an even hotter property during the pandemic.  

 

“The move from a more traditional TV environment to streaming clearly exploded in COVID,” Tara Walpert Levy, Vice President, Agency and Brand Solutions for YouTube and Google, said during a recent C-Suite Network Digital Discussion. “We saw five times the viewership of YouTube during (the early days of COVID) than we had prior and literally 100 million people watching YouTube on their TV screens.” 

 

To put that in perspective, about 100 million people watch the Super Bowl every year.   

 

But advertising on YouTube isn’t like buying a spot on the Super Bowl. YouTube ads may not be memorable, but they are able to make a connection with savvy viewers.  

 

“I think what it has led to is, for the most part, more personalized content that you still might call an ad as you traditionally define it, but we’re seeing those ads perform way better and clients getting much more sophisticated,” Tara said.  

 

Through the YouTube way of doing business, marketers can look at analytics to see how well an ad has performed. They can also track engagement, knowing when viewers are hitting the “skip ad” button and adjust their campaigns accordingly. 

 

“It is mostly about making content simply better and making sure that it is put in the environments where consumers are engaging,” Tara said.  

If it’s good content, it will stand out. The trouble is making memorable content, whether it’s an ad or a blog post and Tara pointed out that people might be surprised to what attracts the most views on YouTube. 

 

“Typically, every year, three or four of the top 10 most-watched, most engaged, most loved videos on YouTube are from brands,” Tara said. “Consumers don’t care. If you are really good (at creating content), I think you can have a huge impact.”  

 

You hear a lot about keeping content short because of people’s attention span. While short content ingestion might be right for some, I think viewers want engaging content, regardless of length. Ask yourself, why do so many people binge-watch entire seasons of their favorite new shows? 

 

Despite that, it can be challenging for brands to get their message out in the digital environment.  

 

“I think digital allows for a degree of performance-based advertising, meaning you can literally say, ‘I’d like to generate excellent leads at this cost.’ Even better yet, you know what your customer lifetime value is, you know what your target profit is,” Tara said. 

 

Brand managers find that moving parts of their marketing budgets from traditional media to digital platforms find the flexibility digital provides appealing. 

 

“What that does is two-fold. One, it typically maximizes growth for a brand well beyond what they do in traditional advertising because it gives you faster info to optimize against,” Tara said. “Even more importantly, in this environment, it lets you manage variability. When you think about the (COVID-19) crisis that hit, when you think about recovery, what we saw across the board was that brands that leaned into automation, which by definition is happening in the digital world. Those brands did better because the machines could more rapidly keep up with the rapid swings in consumer demand and interest with the ability to personalize.”  

 

According to Tara, marketers being nimble with their campaigns and content have created a lot of opportunities, helping some companies retain their loyal customers and attract new ones. 

 

“I love to be able to break down, in this moment, new customer acquisition and their behavior and existing customer retention and their behavior,” Tara Said. “We’re seeing a lot of businesses that are getting many more new customer segments than they ever have before.” 

 

Tara says this is where the data matters for marketers. Through most digital platforms, you can track brand performance in real-time. 

 

“(Businesses) don’t have the time right now to do a lot of the more traditional modes of research, but they are able to get rich data that behavior without having much or qualitative hypothetical around it, they’ve got real-world info,” Tara said. 

 

Even armed with technology, not every campaign is a home run. Tara reiterated that YouTube is transparent with its partners, helping them manage expectations and marketing budgets. 

 

“With a fundamentally new strategy, it’s going to take a couple of weeks to look at really knowing for sure what’s happening,” Tara said. “One of the things you get to see is when you have on average tens of thousands of an ad, you can see immediately which ones are working better for which audiences. Then you can simply adjust the mix to do more of that.” 

 

Digital platforms allow you to easily change what ad runs at what time of day, the specific audience, and other factors, according to Tara. Moving to digital is a total mindset change for marketers who are used to buying mass media and hoping to reach the right audience. 

 

“The mental shift of having the guardrail be ‘my marketing budget is X, and I’m not going to spend more than that,’ the guardrail instead is ‘I will not pay for an ad that does not deliver against this target return on ad spend,” Tara said. “That tends to give us and our clients together a lot more room to freely optimize, to freely find the most growth without stressing that there’s going to be an uncomfortable CFO.” 

 

I’d like to thank Tara for her insight and expertise into a way of doing business many of us don’t know much about, but we all need to learn more. 

 

If you’d like to listen to the entire conversation, click here. You’ll also hear the insightful Q & A from our audience. Not part of the C-Suite Network community? For additional information on the C-Suite Network or how to gain access to one-of-a-kind content, click here to learn more.   

Categories
Entrepreneurship Human Resources Marketing Negotiations Sales Women In Business

“How To Argue Better To Win More Negotiations” – Negotiation Tip of the Week

“To make an argument more acceptable faster, base it on the beliefs of those involved.” –Greg Williams, The Master Negotiator & Body Language Expert (click to Tweet)   Click here to get the book!

 

“How To Argue Better To Win More Negotiations”

People don’t realize they’re always negotiating.

If you wish to become more persuasive in your negotiations, you must learn to argue your points better. To do that, you must adhere to the three factors of a good argument, along with how you position your views and opinions. If you assemble the components correctly, not only will you become more persuasive when arguing, you’ll also increase your negotiation outcomes.

Click here to discover how to do that. 

Remember, you’re always negotiating!

 

Listen to Greg’s podcast at https://c-suitenetwork.com/radio/shows/greg-williams-the-master-negotiator-and-body-language-expert-podcast/

 

After reading this article, what are you thinking? I’d like to know. Reach me at Greg@TheMasterNegotiator.com

 

To receive Greg’s free “Negotiation Tip of the Week” and the “Negotiation Insight,” click here https://themasternegotiator.com/greg-williams/

 

 

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Categories
Body Language Entrepreneurship Human Resources Management Marketing Negotiations Sales Skills Women In Business

“Reading Body Language How To Spot And Stop Lies In A Negotiation” – Negotiation Insight

 

“A liar’s lies only penetrate your believability to the degree that you’re unaware of the lie.” -Greg Williams, The Master Negotiator & Body Language Expert (click to Tweet)  Click here to get the book!

 

“Reading Body Language How To Spot And Stop Lies In A Negotiation”

People don’t realize they’re always negotiating.

Nothing can be more deceiving in a negotiation than a negotiator that lies. Well, maybe there’s one thing worse – that’s a negotiator that continually lies to gain an advantage. In either case, once you learn to spot the body language signs of a liar in your negotiation, along with how to stop him, you’ll know how to turn those lies against him.

Continue to gain insight into how to spot and stop liars’ lies.

Remember, you’re always negotiating!

 

Listen to Greg’s podcast at https://c-suitenetwork.com/radio/shows/greg-williams-the-master-negotiator-and-body-language-expert-podcast/

 

After reading this article, what are you thinking? I’d like to know. Reach me at Greg@TheMasterNegotiator.com

 

To receive Greg’s free “Negotiation Tip of the Week” and the “Negotiation Insight,” click here https://themasternegotiator.com/greg-williams/

 

 

#Lie #Liar #StopLies #c-suitenetwork #thoughtcouncil #Negotiator #NegotiatingWithABully #BodylanguageSecrets #readingbodylanguage #Negotiation #NegotiationStrategies #NegotiationProcess #NegotiationSkillsTraining #NegotiationExamples #NegotiationTypes #negotiationPsychology #HowToNegotiateBetter #ReadingBodyLanguage #BodyLanguage #Nonverbal #Negotiate #Business #SmallBusiness #Power #Perception #emotionalcontrol #relationships #BodyLanguageExpert #CSuite #TheMasterNegotiator #ControlEmotions #GregWilliams #success #Howtowinmore #self-improvement #howtodealwithdifficultpeople #Self-development #Control #Conversations #Howtocontrolanegotiation #howtobesuccessful #HowToImproveyourself

 

 

Categories
Entrepreneurship Management Negotiations Operations Sales Skills Women In Business

“Mischief – This Is How To Stop It In A Negotiation” – Negotiation Tip of the Week

“The harm in mischief is its harm can be hidden.” -Greg Williams, The Master Negotiator & Body Language Expert (click to Tweet)    Click here to get the book!

 

“Mischief – This Is How To Stop It In A Negotiation”

People don’t realize they’re always negotiating.

Have you considered the impact mischief has on a negotiation? Mentally, mischief can tunnel into a negotiator’s mind and manipulate his actions without that negotiator understanding the unseen forces working against him. If you haven’t given this much consideration, start now. If you don’t, you’ll gain less in your negotiation outcomes and be the worst because of it. The following is how you can spot and stop mischief in your negotiations.

Click here to continue!

 

Remember, you’re always negotiating!

 

Listen to Greg’s podcast at https://c-suitenetwork.com/radio/shows/greg-williams-the-master-negotiator-and-body-language-expert-podcast/

 

After reading this article, what are you thinking? I’d like to know. Reach me at Greg@TheMasterNegotiator.com

 

To receive Greg’s free “Negotiation Tip of the Week” and the “Negotiation Insight,” click here https://themasternegotiator.com/greg-williams/

 

 

Categories
Best Practices Growth Personal Development

Write With Your Own Voice

Many beginning writers make one mistake that dooms their books to failure.

They avoid putting themselves into their writing, thinking that an objective, personality-free tone will make them sound more professional. Instead, they end up producing a dry, lifeless manuscript that readers will put aside.

What Does Voice Mean?

Voice isn’t the same as style. Developing your writer’s voice doesn’t mean that you try to develop a unique way of writing like James Joyce or Ernest Hemingway. It means developing the voice that’s uniquely yours.

In “4 Ways to Start Writing Like an Expert,” Tamara Powell writes:

“One of the best writing tips I’ve ever received came from my writing group. A fellow grad student sensed that a member of the group felt he needed to talk about a concept in the same way as its originator, and the student encouraged his friend by saying:

‘Don’t surrender your voice to talk about other people’s ideas on their terms. Tell your story and use it to illuminate the ideas of others.’

As an apprentice in your field, it can be tempting to hide behind the voice and vocabulary of someone more established. And yes, it can be helpful to try others’ techniques while you’re learning, but eventually, you have to start speaking for yourself. If you don’t adopt your own voice, you’ll never add to the ideas of others—you’ll stay stuck trying to sound like everyone else.”

How I Use My Voice

I have never written my autobiography or a memoir, but every book I’ve written has personal anecdotes.

I write about my children and my husband, which tells readers that I, like many of them, have had to juggle family and career.

I describe my challenges in starting and running a successful business. I’m candid about my mistakes, which teaches my readers that missteps don’t have to be fatal.

I share how I felt tense, embarrassed, and vulnerable when opposing lawyers questioned me as an expert witness and what I’ve learned about staying cool under pressure.

Basically, I say, “I’m a human being who has concerns, who fails at times, and who keeps going. So can you.”

Help the Reader to Identify With You

This is the ultimate point of writing in your own voice. You don’t want the reader to think, “This person is an expert. This person never made a wrong move. He/she would never understand what I go through.”

You want that reader to feel that you’ve been through what they are experiencing, that you’ve made mistakes, and that you will no doubt continue to make mistakes.

You want them to feel that you’re on their side and that you’ve written this book to help them through their rough spots.

If you succeed in doing that, you’ll be speaking to them with your voice—loud and clear.

Pat Iyer has written or edited 49 of her own books. As a book coach and editor, she loves to help her clients finish their books – in their voice. Go to PatIyer.com to connect with Pat.

Categories
Best Practices Growth Personal Development

 Do You Have to Suffer to Write?

In popular culture, there’s a notion that writing, or the production of any art form, means suffering. You might have seen a movie in which a writer is crouched over a manual typewriter, pounding the keys, with an ashtray full of smoldering cigarette butts beside him. His teeth are clenched, and he squints in agony as he reads what he’s written.

It’s not a tempting image.

We know the legends about tortured artists. Van Gogh immediately comes to mind, as does Sylvia Plath. Some artists turn their lives’ suffering into art, using it as a healing process that may also heal the reader or viewer.

The odds, though, are that you don’t aspire to write a great book or become a great writer. You want to write about how to reach more customers or help a business survive pandemics and other upheavals. You may have gone through some suffering and hard times to arrive at your conclusions, but you’re not Van Gogh, and you don’t want to be.

This article will help to fracture the mystique of tortured artists.

But Writing is Hard Work, Isn’t It?

Maybe. This is a big subject, and I foresee that I’ll write several blogs on how to make writing easier.

Here I’ll make the transition from genuine suffering that arises from one’s life to self-inflicted suffering. Many writers are skilled in this form of torture.

Using the Stick to Write

I know too many writers who believe that beating themselves with a symbolic stick will drive them to goal achievement.

They agonize if they didn’t meet their daily minimum word count goal or for skipping a writing session. If they abandon a writing project, they say, “If only I’d stayed with it . . . I’m so undisciplined, lazy . . .”

They can also use the stick during a writing session. “Finish this chapter, or you’ll feel like a failure.” “You have a deadline to meet.” “You told everyone you were writing a book. Finish it, or they’ll know what a failure you are.”

There they are, fulfilling the stereotype of the writer who stares with hatred at the typed page.

The sad thing about this scenario is that many writers probably started out enthusiastically. They ran into trouble. An outline failed to jell. They finished a first draft and realized they left out something important. Someone gave them a discouraging critique.

Maybe they didn’t quit, but the idea that writing was hard work grew in them, and tapping the keys of a computer keyboard became as difficult as pounding those stiff typewriter keys.

“Writing is hard work” became their groove.

Replace the Stick with the Carrot

The most constructive thing you can do if you fall into this negative groove is to stop. Instead of pushing through in a joyless way, think about what you can learn from a mistake or a damaging critique.

Maybe you’ll realize that you should have put the outline aside for a few days or weeks and read more on your subject. You could have shown your proposal to an expert. You could have pretended the critique was for someone else and read it more objectively.

If you decide you need outside help, take a course or hire a writing coach.

Set rewards for yourself: for finishing a chapter, a first draft, for being brave enough to ask someone to read your manuscript.

 Here are 15 specific ways to reward yourself for writing.

And each time you end a writing session, say, “Good job.” Thank yourself for persisting.

You deserve that praise.

Pat Iyer serves entrepreneurs as a writing coach. She loves to help her clients finish their books. Connect with Pat using this contact form.

Categories
Best Practices Growth Personal Development

Book Design: An Inside Job

Writing Your Book is Only the First Step

https://www.steubenpress.com/blog/posts/124-what-a-book-designer-wants-self-published-authors-to-know

I’ve published nearly 50 books and had a role in designing many books I’ve ghostwritten and/or edited. From this experience, I know that the interior design of a book plays a huge role. It can even determine whether a reader will close your book and never read it again.

Some self-published authors want to do everything, including design. If you’re among them, you need to know as much as you can about this vital area. If you’ve decided to turn design over to a professional, know enough to evaluate the designer’s choices.

I also recommend that you look at a lot of book interiors. See what design styles appeal to you.

This blog post won’t answer all your questions about interior design, but it will provide some essential basics.

Keep It Clean

R. Hegnauer, who has designed over 250 books, says in “What a Book Designer Wants Self-published Authors to Know,”

“With prose, you want to keep the text clean and easy to read. This isn’t a place for experimentation with fonts. Once the reader notices the font, they’re getting distracted from the content and not really enjoying the book. The reader shouldn’t even notice the style of the text, like if it’s too small or strange.“

Keep It Elegant

Jeremiah Shoaf of typewolf.com, compiled a list of top 10 favorite body text fonts. If you take a look at this, you’ll see the possibilities.

Handy as this list is, I have one disagreement. He shows two sans serif fonts. A sans serif font looks like THIS. It’s straight up and down and it gets boring fast.

For text—as distinct from headings and subheads—always choose a serif font like the one you’re reading.

Another factor in choosing a text font is that some fonts have wider characters than others. The Times Roman family is narrower than Palatino. That means you’ll get more words per printed page.

If you want to end up with more pages, choose a wider font. You can research this, or you can simply try out an average page of your manuscript with different font choices. A designer can also help you here.

Keep It Honest

You’ve probably seen self-published books with very large type and very wide margins. These authors (or, less likely, designers) have decided to blow some air into their books. Maybe they don’t have enough pages for the book to have a spine.

They would do better to write more. A book that has been deceptively designed to look bigger than it is in terms of content gives independently-published books a bad name.

The same is true of the opposite approach: cramming as much type as possible into a book in order to keep the price lower. Such a book looks unattractive and cheap.

I also urge against extra leading, which is the space between text lines. Two to three points of space has been the industry standard for decades. That means if you use 12-point type, which is a highly readable size, the space between lines should be 14 or at most 15 points.

Some self-published authors use double spacing between paragraphs. This happens more commonly in non-fiction books, and its proponents say that it makes the information easier to absorb.

It may, but it may also look like more air blowing into the text to expand it. Putting a half-line of space, 6 or 7 points, between paragraphs is a more subtle way to provide white space.

Other ways to make the text more readable include:

  • Bulleted and numbered lists
  • Frequent subheads with space above and below
  • Boxed quotations that capture important points

Get Feedback

Whether or not you intend to design your book, design a few pages, or ask your designer to design a sample for you. This should include a chapter opening page and two facing pages. If your book will have design elements such as extracts, boxed materials, tables, numbered and/or bulleted lists, design or ask to see samples of these, as well.

Show these pages to friends, and get their feedback. Incorporate their suggestions into any revisions.

Major Caveat: Finalize your design choices before you format your manuscript or have it formatted. Otherwise, you will face either a time-consuming or a costly process.

The time you spend on designing your book marks one more essential stage in preparing it—and you—for success.

Pat Iyer is a book coach, editor and ghostwriter. She works with layout artists to help her clients create an independently published book of which they are proud. Contact her here.   Her website is patiyer.com

Categories
Best Practices Growth Personal Development

Are You Worried About Having Your Book Manuscript Critiqued?

You think your book manuscript is wonderful—or you think it’s awful. Wherever you fall on the spectrum of confidence in what you’ve written, you need feedback.

Does that sound like frightening news? It’s your book. You care about it. You may have suffered and struggled through writing it. How can you trust someone else to competently and fairly judge it?

It’s because that other people aren’t emotionally invested in your writing that they can read it with objectivity and fairness. You need that kind of reading.

The Dreaded Red Pencil

While that pencil may be electronic these days, some of us remember when it was literal. We’d turn in school papers and get them back riddled with circled words or phrases, underlining, marginal comments, and exclamation points. It may have been an overwhelming and discouraging sight.

The sad truth is that many teachers, underpaid and overworked, had little interest in encouraging hopeful writers. They plowed through piles of papers, usually at night, with the sole intention of finishing them before they fell asleep at their desks. They didn’t worry about breaking your heart and helping to establish a life-long fear of criticism.

If you’re not sure that teacher’s criticisms have lasting impact on students, read this.

When feelings of self-doubt arise, remind yourself, “I am no longer eight years old.” If you need more self-encouragement, make a list of what you do well.

Because sensitivity to criticism doesn’t vanish overnight, give special thought to choosing your beta readers.

Who Should Read Your Book: The Beta Reader

Some people claim that no one who cares about you should critique your book because they’ll be too nice. You need a tough, no holds-barred critic.

If you’re feeling vulnerable even before you ask someone to read your work, a tough critic is exactly what you need to keep yourself from ever writing again. You’re not copping out by asking someone nice to read your manuscript.

A friend may say the same thing a stranger will, but they’ll wrap up the truth in a much more sympathetic package, and you’ll be better able to take in what they say and make the needed changes.

In “Why Use Family and Friends as Beta Readers?”, Paul Kilpatrick elaborates on this theme.

Small Humiliations Now Can Prevent Bigger Ones Later On

Be aware that even a critique couched in kind language can sting. When that happens, think of this analogy. You might feel embarrassed if a friend tells you that you have a stain on your garment. You’ll feel much more embarrassed if no one tells you, and you go on a stage to speak in front of hundreds of people.

Beta readers perform the invaluable service of pointing out aspects of your work you can fix before publishing it. If you give them an outline or a first draft, their recommendations can make writing the second draft or doing revisions much easier. This will boost your self-confidence and make you more calm about receiving a new round of critiques.

You Can Return the Favor

Someone who does a beta reading for you may ask you to reciprocate. This is a common and mutually productive practice among authors. I recommend that you welcome this opportunity. You’ll have an invaluable chance to see how another person’s writing mind works. You’ll probably learn something.

And consider what one of my Writing to get Business Podcast authors did. John Saunders asked about 250 people to serve as beta readers. They committed a small sum to buy the book. John gained advance money he used to pay for the publishing and he had a core of people who helped him launch the book.

Best of all, as you thoughtfully evaluate someone else’s reading, you’ll find yourself wanting to be helpful and to make useful critiques. You’ll realize that beta readers aren’t out to get you. They’re not that teacher who waved the deadly red pencil. As you learn to willingly (gladly will come) their recommendations, you will become a better writer.

Pat Iyer is a book coach and editor. Blind reviewers and beta readers gave her valuable feedback on many of her 49 books.  Connect with Pat on her website at patiyer.com and request a free consult by using the contact form.