A couple of days ago, I wrote this post, which got some people interested in what the heck I was doing: I should have a very interesting announcement soon (and no, my wife and I are not expecting another baby)!
Some of the guesses in the comments there were funny to me, and some of them actually gave me some new ideas that I might need to pursue on some level. I just wanted to experiment to see if I could generate a bit of advance buzz before I wrote this post. Interestingly, we had some friends over to our house last night, and one of them asked me what this announcement would be, because she had seen my post on Facebook. That is the power of social media!
So, without further ado:
We are writing a book! The best part: YOU can help
My friend Steve 
Rosenbaum and I have been in touch with a New York publisher who is interested in the book already. In fact, Steve had a previous book contract with the same company.
How much additional business could you generate if you could truthfully tell clients that you are a published author in your industry? In my humble opinion, this equals INSTANT credibility!
What is the topic?
We are putting together a collection of success stories about using blogging and social media tools in the real estate industry. This includes mortgages, too! If you have a unique marketing idea or an anecdote that illustrates how ActiveRain, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, or any other internet tool has been a game-changer for you, please submit it! This type of opportunity doesn't come around that often, at least in my opinion.
If you would like to participate, you would have an opportunity to be published in a book that should appear on the shelves at Barnes & Noble, Borders, and on the virtual shelves of Amazon.
We will probably need 12-15 chapters or thereabouts, and there is a panel in charge of selecting which content makes it into the book we submit.
"But Jason, I am not really a great writer."
If the topic/idea is solid, don't worry too much about the writing quality. We have a couple of professional editors who can polish things up if needed. We are primarily looking for examples of how social networking has helped your business. If you have already written about this in the past, we would just need you to flesh out the story beyond the confines of a blog post in order to make it a reasonably-sized chapter.
There is no risk here. If your story doesn't make it into the book, it will probably be used as part of a website that we are currently developing. Either way, it's a chance for you to get national exposure as a marketing genius. :)
I should mention that there is no guarantee that this will be published, but I feel good about our odds, since the publisher has already expressed interest. If accepted by the publisher, the book would likely be on the shelves within about 6 months' time. Who knows? This might become the seminal book on the topic, or it could lead to bigger and better things. If there is one thing I have learned from my time blogging, it is to seize opportunities when they arise.
"Alright already. How do I submit my chapter for consideration?"
I'm so glad you asked. That's the easy part. Just email it to me at jason@austintexashomes.com. After I gather the stories, I will submit them to our panel (yes, I am part of the panel, but there are other people, too). If your story/idea is selected for inclusion in the book OR the website, you will be required to sign a basic release so that we can use it.
Based on our conversations with the publisher, each chapter should run about 3500-5000 words in length. We will probably end up with 12-15 chapters total. So, if you are interested, that should give you a good guideline to shoot for. Again, don't get too tied up with the length - if we need to increase or decrease the size of the chapter, we can do that with you later.
I would like to have all of the chapters in hand by the end of this month if possible, so please try to get me your stuff by August 31st. If you have an outstanding idea or success story to share, I would consider waiting if you contact me. Otherwise, please do your best to honor the deadline, and I will do my best to get you published.
If you have ANY questions at all, please feel free to call or email me. My cell phone number is 512-796-7653 and my email again is jason@austintexashomes.com. I hope to hear from you soon!
Thanks for reading (and writing!).
Photo by this is your brain on lithium via Flickr.com.
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