Profits or Growth? | Lessons from Monopoly | 2012 Goals

Well, we've finally reached the end of 2011, and I must say it was a pretty good year. The business is humming right along, family life is good, and there's only sunshine on the horizon. But enough looking back, let's look forward.

As you can see from the title of this post, I've got a few things I want to talk about today related to starting a law firm. The first is whether or not you should be working toward profits or growth. The second is a lesson I learned from Monopoly this last week while I was at home visiting family. The third is a true breakdown of my professional goals for this coming year.

Profits or Growth

I read a lot of stuff. I read books, I read magazines, I read articles on the internet, and I read blogs. One of the blogs I read is called "A VC." It's written by a guy who's a venture capitalist in New York. As you might guess, this is one of the business blogs that I read.

The other day I was scanning through my blog reader when I came upon a post on A VC called "Profitable: To Be or Not to Be?" It was a great read and it got me thinking a lot about my law firm and the decisions I need to make moving forward to get to where I want to go. You can read the post here.

The paragraph that got me thinking was this one:

Many high growth companies can be profitable. They have enough revenue to cover their essential costs and could easily decide to show a profitable income statement. But they don't make that choice. Instead they invest heavily in the business with the expectations that those investments will produce more revenue (by hiring salespeople), or additional products (by hiring engineers and product managers), or additional geographies (by hiring an international team), or any number of other value enhancing aspects of the business. The result of that decision is that the business loses money or simply breaks even (I prefer the latter approach)

Sure, it's geared toward high growth companies and larger companies, but it also applies to businesses like yours and mine. At some point hopefully the money we are bringing in is more than the money that is going out. At that point we have a decision to make: do we put the money in our pockets or do we put the money back into our business?

Now, I know it's not an either/or decision. The answer is probably a little bit of both. But you can definitely skew that one way or the other depending on what your business philosophy is. The important point I'm trying to make here, I guess, is that whichever way you decide to go, make sure that it's at least a conscious decision. If you take all of the money out of your firm you're going to feel like you're spinning your wheels when it comes to growth. If you leave it all in you may feel like the business isn't reaching its true potential (because you're broke).

What's my philosophy? We're going to talk about that next.

Lessons Learned from Monopoly

I love the game of Monopoly. I've been playing it for about as long as I can count money. What I love about monopoly is that it has rules, but those rules include the ability to negotiate just about anything you want. It's kind of like real life in business - if you can get someone to take your offer, then you've got a deal.

Although I love the game of Monopoly a lot, I don't actually get to play it that much. First, it takes forever to finish a game. Second, there just aren't a lot of people around that really want to play. But, over the Christmas holiday, I found a few willing players, and I learned (or was reminded of) some great concepts related to starting a law firm, including the idea of growth or profits. I'm not going to tell you who won the game, because it's not important. But I will tell you I had a blast playing.

The game started out like many games do - everyone is trying to grab as much property as they can, hoping to either get enough properties of one color to expand, or to put together a portfolio big enough to make some deals and then expand. Over time it worked out where one player had all of the railroads and utilities plus Park Place and Boardwalk, the two most expensive properties on the board. One player had many different properties spread throughout the board, including one entire side of the board (minus the railroad, utility and chance spots), one had two properties on opposite sides of the board, and one didn't have much (worst luck rolling the dice I've ever seen).

At this point people have options on what they want to do. They can try to get more properties from people, the can expand their existing properties, or they can do nothing. We'll call the first two growth strategies and the last one a profit strategy. For about an hour I was probably in the profit strategy camp. I'd just go around the board biding my time, hoping to put together enough money to someday expand my existing properties. I wasn't active at all. But I stopped that once I saw what was happening as a result of that - I was spinning my wheels.

I wasn't losing money, but I wasn't really making that much either. People would land on my properties and pay but then I'd land on one of theirs and have to pay. Sort of the same way you get money in from clients and then have to pay it out to vendors or for other expenses. It was frustrating for me because I was eager to get ahead of the game but I just couldn't.

It took me an hour to realize I'd been employing the wrong philosophy.

After that hour I started investing my money in growth. When I had extra money, I bought a house or put up a hotel. There was some worry about landing on Park Place or Boardwalk and having to pay a big rent (incurring an unexpected large expense) but it happened so rarely that I had enough money to take care of it. And if I didn't then I knew I could leverage some of my property to take care of it (credit card - line of credit). All of a sudden my profits started soaring. By putting the money back into the business, in places that yielded good returns, I was the benefactor of those returns. A little aggressiveness went a long way.

It was during that game (and later while reading a book I'll talk about later) that I realized I needed to employ some of this in real life. I'm a growth guy. I want this business to grow, and the best way to do that is by reinvesting in the business, by being aggressive in specific, calculated ways that I'm confident will help increase business (yes I'm talking about law firm marketing, but I'm also talking about other things).

Which brings me to my goals for 2012.

Goals for 2012

I know I've already talked about some of my law firm goals for 2012, but they were really just fly by the seat of pants. These are still kind of just coming out of my brain as I type, but I'm going to try to break them down a little bit more.

1. Gross Revenue of $300,000

I think in my last goal projection this number was higher, but this I think is a good goal for the year. It's $50,000 higher than my goal for 2011 and a little bit more than that for actual increase.

Breaking that down I need to make $25,000 a month. Just looking at that it seems like quite a bit of money. But, in reality, it's only about 8 cases a month (2/week). That's only a slight increase over what I'm doing now.

2. Hire an Associate in January

This is where that "growth" strategy comes into play. Right now I'm simply wasting too much time going from courthouse to courthouse doing the procedural dance that is a DUI defense practice. I need someone to come on board that can not only cover those hearings but learn DUI defense from the ground up. I need to invest in the future of the firm.

This is not just a 2012 goal but a January 2012 goal. I plan on posting the job tomorrow on the law school job listserves and see what's out there. There's no reason to put it off anymore. Once I get someone helping me out I can devote more time to reaching goal number 1.

3. Join Toastmasters

Yes, I know, this was a goal for 2011. I don't have any excuses for not making it happen. It just didn't. But it is this year.

Why? You might be asking? Simple - communication is the lifeblood of my work. If I can't effectively communicate, particularly through the spoken word (think jury trial) then I'm not going to get the results I want. Toastmasters helps you work on those skills.

4. Redesign My Websites into a Coherent Whole

This one speaks for itself. My websites right now don't share the same message. That needs to change. I've already started working on it, but I want everything to be set in place so no matter which one of my websites you land on you're getting the same message (that we'll do whatever we can to win your case).

5. Satellite Offices in Nearby Cities

For the last year I've been expanding my internet presence by spidering out to the surrounding communities. For example, if I'd started with Salt Lake City DUI attorney or Houston Criminal attorney, I'd now be focusing on West Valley City, West Jordan, Sandy, or Missouri City, Pasadena, Aldine, or Sugar Land. But now that I have an internet presence there I need to have a satellite office there - a physical address I can use to meet clients, conduct meetings, and put on my website. So I'm going to do that. I think I've got one place I can use for super cheap, and finding another shouldn't be too hard. As I expand in other ways I'll add satellite offices there too.

6. Finish the Office Design to Project Our Core Values

In a business like ours, first impressions mean a lot. There are at least 10 other people out there competing with you for business, no matter what city you're in, and if you don't make people feel safe and exude a sense of confidence you are not going to win those potential client battles.

One way to do this is to have an office set up that projects what you are selling. You are successful or will be successful, so make it look that way. Make sure your office is clean. Make sure it is well lit. Make sure your artwork projects the feelings you want it to. Make sure your office set up makes sense.

Right now my office looks nice, but it could be so much better. I'm going to stop thinking about it and start doing some things to change it up. And I'm going to do them sooner rather than later.

Okay, that's it for goals for 2012. What do you think? What do you think about growth versus profits? What do you think about Monopoly? What are your goals for 2012? Let's talk about it. Send me a message in the comments.

A Christmas Tail

Yesterday I received a Christmas blessing that is so rich I felt I must share it with you.

Last Friday evening we noticed an odd-looking white cat outside our gate. I very quickly realised it looked odd because it had no ears. That’s right – no ears. It was not pristine and quite rough looking and I feared it had been a victim of some kind of cruelty.

Over the years I have given both time and money to animal charities but still remain very sensitive to this, as many others are. To the point that one day I found holes cut out of the newspaper – my dear husband had censored some upsetting stories for me!

Back to White Cat though, she came meowing out from under a car as we walked past. We came back a few hours later and she was still there, calling out loudly. She was very friendly and allowed me to pat her. I brought some meat out and fed her on the grass verge.

The next day we didn’t see her and I thought she might have gone home. She was back on Sunday and over the next few days I fed her some more. I realised what a fabulous man my husband was when he suggested we take her in when that was what I was thinking too.

On a night of torrential rain we brought her inside (we had already been giving her breakfast and dinner) and she stayed the night. She hissed and growled at Jessica a lot but I thought they would get used to each other. She stayed the next night too.


I thought after Christmas I would take her to the vet for a check-up and see if she was micro chipped to try and track down an owner if there was one, but we feared she may have been dumped.

She didn’t look young and when you picked her up she was light as a feather. Quite a difference from Miss Jessica who looks dainty but when you lift her it’s like a bag of sand in your arms!

Her ears told me another story though. They didn’t look hacked off, but surgically removed, and I realised she may have had skin cancer being a white cat, which would have necessitated ear removal. She looked a little ferrety with no ears I have to say. And I was patting her yesterday morning and my ring got caught on her ear-hole. It didn’t hurt her but I felt terrible.

I thought she must be a lost, loved cat if someone had taken the time and expense to have her ears operated on. Plus she was very tame and operated our cat-door no problem at all. She was not a wild cat Miss White Cat.

At work yesterday I decided to see if I could find White Cat’s owners. First I placed a pet lost and found ad on Trade Me (like eBay here). I rung two vets in the area and asked if any of the cats on their records were white cats with no ears. Then I did an internet search. One of the New Zealand pet websites with a lost and found section allowed you to search by keywords and areas.

Up came a white cat lost in our area but it had ears. I clicked on the photo anyway and what do you know, the description of the photo said ‘this was taken before she had her ears reduced due to skin cancer’. And she was lost in a big park right near us. I couldn’t ring the number quick enough.

I phoned her ‘Dad’ and he couldn’t believe we had his girl. She is 12 years old and had been with him since she was six months old. She had hopped into a friend’s car, unbeknownst to him of course and the friend drove off. When he got to where he was going (right by our street) she jumped out frightened and ran off and that was the last they saw of her at the end of November. She had been living rough for more than three weeks.

Her Dad came around last night to pick her up. He was such a lovely man, a retired police detective. He said he had tears in his eyes after I rung him to say we had his puss.

I still can’t believe it’s worked out so well and Dolly has been reunited with her family (her Dad is a country music fan and named her after Dolly Parton 'because she is blonde'). And only a few days before Christmas. I couldn’t think of a better Christmas present myself.

And full credit to Jessica for being such an accommodating hostess to White Cat. She did not hiss or growl once, despite a strange cat staying with her. And the nice lady at the cat shelter said she liked her own company and didn’t want to be around other cats. Jessica’s my true Christmas angel.

I was so happy last night thinking of them cuddled up together. I asked him if she slept on the bed with him and he said ‘tonight I might let her’, and he was planning on locking her in the house with him.

Merry Christmas to Dolly and her Dad!

Starting a Law Firm | "The Flinch" Review, and What Makes Me Flinch, Among Other Things

Update to this post before it's even posted - I wrote it about 10 days ago - doesn't make it any less relevant, just means I'm not actually in a plane right now

Right now I'm sitting in an airplane at thirty-five thousand feet or so, headed from Seattle to New York. I've never been to New York before (can you believe that?!) but I guess this is as good a time as any to go. The University of Washington is playing Duke in basketball on Saturday in Madison Square Garden. I plan on being there. But it's not all fun and games. The plane ride, though a direct flight, has given me five or so hours to get to work. And you are one of the lucky beneficiaries.

I'm not going to answer any questions about starting a law firm or marketing a law firm because I don't have access to the internet. Yes, the plane has wifi, but I don't want it - it's amazing how much work you can get done when you don't have an internet connection.

But I haven't been working the entire time - I've been reading too. Today I happened upon a book called, I think "The Flinch." It's a free book you find on Amazon. I was directed there by Jonathan Fields, a writer and blogger that always has something interesting to say. He recommended "Flinch," it was free, so I uploaded it to the handy iPhone to read when I had some spare time (i.e. train ride to the airport and waiting to board the plane). It's a short book, and I've already read it, so I thought I'd review it.

The Flinch | A Book Review

"The Flinch" by Julien Smith, is a motivational book. The purpose of the book is to get you to realize all of the things you are afraid of are dumb and to get over it, get out there in the world, and start mixing it up. It's a great book and really hit home for me.

The idea behind the book is that we all know what a flinch is. Someone acts like they are going to punch you or you think you are about to get hit by something, and you flinch - it's a recoil based on the fear of what is to come. This book points out a very eye opening fact - every day we flinch, we back of things we should do or want to do, because we are afraid of getting hit by some imaginary object (failure, ridicule, etc.).

Flinching, as the book so eloquently points out, is an instinctive reflext that used to have a lot of value, and has some value today. If you are actually in a dangerous situation, there's nothing better you can do than flinch. It protects your vital organs. It keeps you out of harms way. But there's a problem - we don't have many truly flinch inducing events in our lifetime. But the flinch reflex wants to act, so it finds situations where fear can be created, and it causes us to flinch.

The whole premise of the book, in short order, is to stop flinching. It's not going to hurt. You are going to survive.

My Own Flinches | Things to do Immediately

As I am wont to do, I thought I'd share some of my flinches right now.

1. Hiring an Associate

For me to get to where I need to go I need an associate. I need someone to do some of the technical work (lawyerly work) work so I can focus on other things (growing the law firm). But I'm scared because I'm concerned the person I'd hire wouldn't be good enough. That manifests itself in my constantly thinking and talking about finding help but never actually actively looking for any help.

2. Growing the SEO Business

I know I've talked about this a lot here, but I've got some skills that could really change the lives of the attorneys that want to to take advantage of that. But doing that means taking another chance, it means more work, it means hiring more people, and it means more chances to fail. No one likes to fail. I hate to fail. And, honestly, even though I know I won't fail at this, something inside of me is telling me to flinch, to hold back on this, for no rational reason.

But I'm going to fight the flinch. I'm going to get started on both of these things, today. And I'm going to make your life better (potentially) and I'm going to make my client's lives better.

This is all I've got for now. Read the book. Think about where you are flinching in your life. Then stop. Hop in the cold shower (read the book), make yourself uncomfortable. Start a law firm. Until you start doing that you can't reach all of your goals.

Rest Breaks for Writers--Feeding the Creative Artist

I'm rerunning this blog from last December, since it is timely at this season.  To honor my artist and focus on my writing, the blog will be taking a break until the first week of January.  Feel free to browse the archives back to 2008 for inspiration--and consider taking a rest break and feed your own creative artist this month!

There are some important signs of burn-out that writers need to attend to.  An overactive Inner Critic.  A feeling of the blues about one's work.  A sense of deep depletion, despite enough sleep and exercise.

December often rolls around with all of these symptoms, for me.  I'm finishing up my fall semester of teaching my online and in-person classes.  I adored them--the students were amazing, wonderful, and inspiring-- but I give so much to each group, holding the creative space for them when they can't see the pathway, it takes a lot of energy and time.  This week, as the classes complete and the last posts are made, I find myself sitting on the couch, staring at the mountains outside my living room window, wondering where I am.  More important, who I am.  I can't tell anymore.

Crying jags often accompany this, for me.  Wails of "I'll never write again" sometimes come too.  It's normal to dive even deeper as the tension releases and the stress lessens, as both body and emotions come forward with long-ignored needs. 

Don't get me wrong:  I eat healthily, I exercise regularly, I sleep reasonable hours, and I have good family and friends support.  I'm living a good life.  But in the realm of manifestation and creativity, which is what my work is all about, I had been stretched to the max these past months.  I didn't know any other gear to drive than Intense.  I didn't know how to get back to the "necessary boredom" that Dorothy Allison talks about, the place where my own creativity bubbles up.

Somehow, though, I'd managed to carve out three weeks in my calendar.  My spouse started a new job about that time, my son was visiting friends for the holidays, so I was alone.

Blissfully, frightfully alone, with nothing to do.  Or, let me rephrase, nothing anyone else was asking me to do.

So what next?  How do I make use of this nothing, and let it heal me, fill me up again?  I hadn't a clue how to begin.

Taking a Creative Retreat for the Inner Artist
I have a wonderful book for these occasions:  The Woman's Retreat Book by Jennifer Louden.  It's packed with ways to disengage and reacquaint yourself with yourself.  I found it on a back shelf, went back to my spot on the couch near the mountain view.  I closed my eyes and opened the book at random.  Of course, it opened to this section "Feeding the Artist."  I read the first line: "If there is one cosmic law I know the consequences of ignoring, it is this one:  you cannot create from an empty well."

Duh.  Why didn't I see this before I had my meltdown?  Well, obviously, when one is empty, it's hard to see that.  Many of us keep running anyway, fueled by adrenaline, and the joy of life gets dimmer and dimmer.  We lose track of where we are, who we are.  We get swept up with other people's lives (and creative needs--if you're a teacher).  It's all good, it's all important.  I love my work.  But there's a moment to say, "Stop!"  Let yourself go back to yourself.

I decided I would ignore both calendar and lists for these three weeks, as much as I could.  Even my visioning lists went into a nice blue folder and into my desk drawer.  I began to putter, to play.

The first day I cooked two soups.  I love to cook, and two soups in one day seemed lovely and extravagant.  Besides, the vegetable drawer was foreign territory and I could use up a dangerous-looking butternut squash (fine with the dangerous part cut off).  I took a walk and went to bed by 9.  The next day I listened to Christmas carols and wrapped a few gifts then read a lovely novel (Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann) and let myself nap.  Day three I got out the card table and started a jigsaw puzzle.  I cleaned out my clothes closet.  I took myself to lunch.

You get the idea.

One of Jennifer Louden's most important directives in this chapter on "Feeding the Artist" is not to create while you're filling the well.  Stop working on your project, stop trying to manifest anything.  Ugh, that was hard.  I hadn't had enough time to work on my novel-in-progress, so these three weeks were planned as full immersion.  But when I took out the manuscript and my editing pen, I froze up.  It all looked terrible--a sure sign of the Inner Critic's negative notions surfacing--and I couldn't bring myself to do anything.  Reading Louden's advice felt like a reprieve.

Funny thing.  As I began to fill up again, new ideas started coming.  I would be watching a movie or marveling at McCann's amazing prose, and I would find myself thinking very lightly about my own creative projects.  Images would come.  An idea of how to solve a sticky plot problem in the novel.  A place to get information I needed.  I didn't pursue these, just took notes.

I'm letting the creative tension build for another week.  It's getting fun.  I look forward to my empty days, I no long dread the thought of moving so slowly.

This Week's Writing Exercise 
1.  Take stock.  Do you need to feed the artist?  Is she or he starving from too much output and not enough input these past busy months?

2.  If the answer is yes, can you carve out time for a rest break?  Even five hours in a day when nothing is needed of you is amazing and precious.

Lessons from Madame Chic

I loved everything about this book, in which the author recounts her time spent with an aristocratic Parisian family and details the fabulous lessons learned from them, and others she came into contact with during her time spent in France.

Jennifer has a friendly conversational tone of writing that makes you feel instantly pulled into her circle of girlfriends. Often I felt I was having a cup of tea and a chat with her.

I, along with many others followed Jennifer’s blog series The Top 20 Things I Learned in Paris. This book carries on with these lessons and goes more in depth. There are also many new stories about her time in Paris..

From her writing, both in this book and on her blog, The Daily Connoisseur, I sense that Jennifer is an elegant and gentle person. It was a pleasure to get to know her better through her first book Lessons from Madame Chic. I really hope there are others.

I certainly picked up many tips to elevate my day-to-day life to that of art. We may not all be French aristocracy, but that doesn’t mean we don’t want to live beautifully, every single day of our life.

Thank you Jennifer for writing this fun and well-designed book. It will keep Paris alive in my head and rightly deserves a prime spot on my French Chic bookshelf.

Disclosure: Jennifer kindly emailed and asked me if I would like a copy of Lessons from Madame Chic sent to me to review. Yes please! And thank you!

Additional note: Our rescue-cat Jessica published this review post when it was only half finished so I apologise on her behalf if you received it incomplete.

A serene season

I have decided this year I am not buying into the craziness. I know some enjoy the frenetic buying energy of Christmas, but I’m not one of them. I just get stressed and unhappy. And this year ‘by rights’ I could be more stressed as we are hosting two family gatherings. Other years because we lived in such a tiny place we were always the guests, so why exactly was I feeling so put upon then?

So whether things are stressful or not, I will be calm. I will be happy and 'up' and little things will not bother me. Sometimes it is as simple as making a decision to be that way.

I had planned to keep up my walks and yoga as far along December as possible, but it has been too busy in the shop. That’s okay though, I am still calm. Making sure I eat enough protein has been a key factor in this I think. I have been keeping away from junky foods for the most part and planning in a good dollop of protein with each meal. It keeps me full for longer and I haven’t been craving sugar.

And not eating sugary gross foods means I feel happier and more in balance. Despite there sometimes being an instant connection to eating a bag of lollies and then me feeling jittery, hot and irritable, I still didn’t click and change what I did next time. A friend of my Mum’s who is a cancer survivor and is now much more aware of her health stays away from sugar entirely. It’s really not good stuff even though it comes along in bright colours and says ‘look at me I’m fun, you’ll have a good time with me’. And it’s marketed at children!

I’ve also been listening to my good friend Dr Norman Vincent Peale on his audiobook The Power of Positive Thinking. He is a religious man and likes to quote the bible every now and then. I am not particularly religious (I think of myself to be more spiritual) but what he says makes so much sense and it is very calming to listen to him. He really makes me see reason and the world seems a more manageable place after I’ve had a dose.

Dr Peale says none of us are born as worriers and that it is a habit we acquire over time. We go into it bit by bit and so we have to turn things around in a slow and steady manner. I still have a long way to go but I am willing to keep doing the work to be a happy and serene person who lets minor annoyances wash over them.

Another way I have been cultivating calmness is to do things ahead of time. Some family members and I swapped wishlists which I have to say I’m a real fan of now. It takes the stress out of gift giving, and isn’t a ‘surprise’ gift a waste of time and money if it is not used? In my ideal world we would all swap good wishes rather than buy stuff, but who doesn’t like to open a brightly wrapped Christmas present on the day.

My relaxed and calm Christmas feeling was severely tested this morning. The first post on this subject I had been writing over the past few weeks went ‘pop’ just as I hit publish and completely disappeared. Even though I had been saving and autosaving all along, every single word was gone. After checking and rechecking that I couldn’t find it, I decided it wasn’t worth getting upset about and started writing another one.

And now here I am with a second post. And I’m calm. Today I am at home for the whole day, oh joy, and I can really get stuck in and whip our chateau into shape.

Be serene this Christmas everyone!

Can Self-Publishing Land You on the Best-Seller List?

My indie-released songwriter friends never understood why writers are so hung up about self-publishing.  Musicians have long separated from the labels and ventured out on their own, releasing their own CDs and working with indie distributors like cdbaby. 

But we writers have been told that unless we get an agent and go the traditional route, we'll never be taken seriously in our writing careers. 

I went the traditional route for years--agent, large publisher, small press.  Each experience had its ups and downs and I worked with some wonderful editors and publishers and some not so.  I stayed away from the stigma of "vanity press," or self-publishing, because I believed it was a fast route to career suicide.

Besides, I wanted the marketing and distribution help a publisher could give.

Times have changed.  Advances are few and small now, most publishers don't have the same careful editorial procedures I benefited from as a writer starting out in the 1980s.  Manuscripts must arrive in pristine condition--the writer's responsibility.  Agents and publishers demand a platform, a solid marketing plan and media presence, from most authors they sign nowadays.  The writer must become more than just a wordsmith with a good story.  She has to learn to sell her book as well as write it.   

For this, writers get 7-1/2 percent of sales, which for a $14.00 trade size paperback amounts to about $1.13 per copy.  We do the marketing work, we hire editors before submitting it.  The publisher prints the book as orders come in (print on demand) in most cases, not wanting to carry inventory, or does a short run of less than 500 copies to see whether the book will sell.  Agents take 15 percent of everything.   

Some writers are thinking seriously about their options now.  Many are choosing self-publishing. 

They're figuring out the system themselves, they're crafting e-books and selling them for 99 cents a copy to drive up sales.  They're making money.  Even if they self-publish a printed book, through Create Space or Lightning Source, they can make up to $10.00 a copy after expenses are paid back (for typesetter, proofer, cover designer, and editor).   

Self-publishing requires money up front, for a printed book.  Less or none for an electronic book.  But if you're going to have to market it yourself anyway, why not make $10.00 a copy instead of $1.13?

What's your experience with self-publishing?  What are your thoughts?

Find out the potential, explore your options.  Don't be swayed by the traditional route when there are more opportunities for writers than ever.

Your writing exercise this week is to read all about writer Darcie Chan. She was rejected by over 100 literary agents and dozens of publishers, then went on to self-publish her debut novel and sell over 400,000 copies on Kindle.  Think this kind of story is a fairytale?  It's happening more and more.

The link to Darcie's story is here.

Self-publishing is still a controversial topic.  But as the industry takes one hit after another, it's an option many writers are considering--and succeeding with.

For more success stories about self-publishing also check out chapter 25 of my book, Your Book Starts Here.