Anna David's Blog, page 17
December 1, 2021
I'm Now a Book Critic! Here are the 5 Books I Recommended
Yours truly has become a book critic.
Well, sort of. She—meaning I—is/am now recommending my five favorite books of the month every month on KATU TV in Portland. And I’ll be releasing each of the segments as a podcast episode. Is it because I’m hurting for content? Possibly! But it’s also because I want you to see—and hear—what’s possible when you’re an author.
Yes, sometimes they’ll let you go on TV to recommend other books. So enjoy this mini episode (and especially enjoy hearing me call the Emmy award-winning host by the wrong name).
Here's a breakdown of the books:
No Filter: The Inside Story of Instagram by Sarah Frier
A thorough examination of the creation of the social media platform that has come to take over many people’s lives, this comprehensive page-turner shows how an app created in 2010 came to be purchased by Mark Zuckerberg in less than two years for a billion dollars—and then the power struggles that ensued from there. The author, who’s a reporter for Bloomberg News, where she reports regularly on Facebook, Instagram and the other social media platforms, has earned awards and come to be considered an expert on the whole social media game. The book caused a bit of a sensation when it came out because it delved into Zuckerberg’s obsession with controlling Instagram, despite having assured the creators that they could have independence, just at a time when Facebook’s PR was getting worse and worse.
If You Lived Here, You’d Be Famous By Now: True Stories From Calabasas by Via Bleidner
Written by a 21-year-old and published by a major publisher, this book is basically the female, modern-day version of Fast Times at Ridgemont High if Fast Times was immersed in Kardashian culture. The author is wise beyond her years, painting a hilarious story that manages to cover adolescence in a way adults will find entertaining and illuminative. The most amazing part about it isn’t its wisdom or humor but the fact that the author is so witty and positive that the plastic culture she describes doesn’t seem tragic…just oddly real.
Book Wars: The Digital Revolution in Publishing by John B. Thompson
Covering the recent history of an industry that has undergone a more rapid transformation in the past decade than it had in multiple decades before, this is a decidedly intellectual book by a British author that manages to be incredibly approachable and actually something of a page-turner. It’s clear this author has done his research and is particularly compelling while doing a meticulous breakdown of why companies that seemed to be on the cutting edge of capitalizing on the emergence of ebooks failed. (In short: no one could predict where the ebook market was going; people originally thought entrepreneurs would be the big ebook readers; turns out it’s the romance crowd because they love to devour series books and besides, romance books aren’t necessarily ones you’re proud to put on your shelf!)
Traction by Gino Wickman
This isn’t a new book but it is one of the clearest explanations of how to grow a business that I’ve read in a while. It focuses on six components a business needs to be profitable—Vision, Data, Process, Traction, Issues and People—and gives tips like keeping scorecards for every week, accountability charts for team members, issues lists and process documents. It also stresses the importance of having Rocks—otherwise known as 90-day goals. There are charts, questions to answer, worksheets and examples aplenty. It also emphasizes the importance of creating company core values so that everyone you hire and every decision you make can be weighed by whether or not they fit them.
My Addiction and Recovery: Just Because You’re Done With Drugs Doesn’t Mean Drugs Are Done with You by Ed Kressy
Don’t let the kind of basic title or cover of this one fool you. My Addiction and Recovery is one of the most sophisticated, original, gripping recovery memoirs out there. A first-person account of how a man from an upper-middle-class family descended into meth addiction, this is one of the most riveting accounts of addiction I’ve come across. While describing the paranoid delusions he had that he was being tracked by the FBI because he had played a part in 9-11, Kressy introduces himself as a new voice to the Quit Lit movement. His story is one of going to a place that few survive and even fewer document. Even if you think you’ve read and seen it all, I guarantee you’ll find yourself as shocked by Kressy’s story as you are moved by his writing.
To see the segment, click here. Otherwise, just give this a listen.
CLICK ON ANY OF THE LINKS BELOW TO HEAR THIS EPISODE OR CLICK HERE TO GET THE POD ON ANY PLATFORM
November 24, 2021
Brianne Davis on Launching a Book on Sex and Love Addiction
Brianne Davis is a gorgeous, successful actress—i.e., NOT the sort of person you’d think would launch a roman a clef about sex and love addiction. But do that she did and Secret Life of a Hollywood Sex and Love Addict came out in 2020 (for anyone who read it and is clamoring for more, have no fear; it’s the first in a series of four).
For someone who’s dyslexic and never thought she’d write a book, Davis pulled the launch off with serious panache—writing articles for huge publications, booking hundreds of interviews, landing big celebrities for blurbs, getting the book in libraries, entering the TikTok universe and so much more.
While she admits that the fact that she’s a “name” helped her, she’s also full of tips for anyone launching a book (spoiler alert: it requires a whole lot of hustle).
Listen in on our chat about why she wrote a novel and not a memoir, the rationale behind her two different covers and how the book launched her massive coaching business and speaking career, among so much more.
RELATED EPISODES
Erika Schickel on How Friends Make Your Launch
What to Do 60 Days, 30 Days and 7 Days Before Your Launch
Sarah Alaimo on Going From "I Can't Write a Book" to Launching Her Book
CLICK ON ANY OF THE LINKS BELOW TO HEAR THIS EPISODE OR CLICK HERE TO GET THE POD ON ANY PLATFORM
November 17, 2021
The Jeff Garlin Book Soup Event!
You know who Jeff Garlin is. If not, allow me to explain that he’s on one of the most popular current shows (The Goldbergs) as well as what’s widely considered the best TV show of all: Curb Your Enthusiasm. And, while this isn’t QUITE as remarkable, he’s also been on the podcast before.
So why is he back? Because Book Soup hosted us for a virtual event to promote my re-launch of Party Girl, where we had a hilarious chat about how we met, why traditional publishing sucks and so much more. Because so many people told me they wanted to attend but couldn’t, Book Soup gave me permission to release a recording as a podcast! Enjoy the party in this week’s episode.
RELATED EPISODES
What I Learned From the Party Girl Re-Launch
How Do I Get My Book Made Into a Movie?
Should I Give Up on Traditional Publishing?
Jeff Garlin on the Difference Between Selling a Book to a Publisher and Selling a Book to Readers
How Do I Throw a Book Launch Party?
CLICK ON ANY OF THE LINKS BELOW TO HEAR THIS EPISODE OR CLICK HERE TO GET THE POD ON ANY PLATFORM
November 10, 2021
Ashlea Hearn on Getting Books in Stores and Finding a Mentor
Ashlea Hearn is not only a 1st Lieutenant in the Army Reserves but also the author of Genesis Mortalis, Book 1 of the Take It Trilogy.
We met when she reached out to me about the upcoming release of that book. But here's what's relevant: by that point, I had noticed this lovely person named Ashlea Hearn reviewing me wherever she could—different books, this podcast, on Google...everywhere. But here's what I really noticed: she wasn't just slapping a review up there in order to "do the right thing" but crafting thoughtful, in-depth analysis that showed she really had taken in and appreciated the work. (Her review of Party Girl still comes up as "Most Relevant," which is Amazon speak for "the most thoughtful one.")
Because of all this, not only was I delighted to speak to her about her book but when she declared me her "mentor," I happily took on the role. And it's been nothing but rewarding as I've watched her jump into life and authorhood with enthusiasm and gumption. Then, like the amazing mentee she is, she flew out for a book party I had for one of my clients and made so many friends that when I showed up for breakfast the next morning to meet some, she was there!
So that's our back story. Here's her back story.
She started writing as a little girl because it was a fascinating escape from what she considered to be a mundane life of a girl from the Midwest.
At an early age, she fell in love with the suaveness of James Bond, the action of Mission: Impossible, the gore and badassery of Kill Bill: Volume 1 and the relatable female characters of Totally Spies!—all of which influenced the Take It book series.
Listen in on this chat between a mentee and a thoroughly delighted mentor!
Find Ashlea here:
CLICK ON ANY OF THE LINKS BELOW TO HEAR THIS EPISODE OR CLICK HERE TO GET THE POD ON ANY PLATFORM
November 3, 2021
Brian Meeks on How NFTs Fit Into the Writing World
Brian D. Meeks writes under his name and the pen name Arthur Byrne. He’s currently working on his 20th novel and has six non-fiction titles, including Mastering Amazon Descriptions: An Author’s Guide. Additionally, he has a thriving author copywriting business.
His digital art began 17-years ago, when he was building corporate spaces in the virtual world of Second Life.
Now, he’s turning that contemporary art passion into a new brand by creating daily NFTs.
In this episode, we talked about how his NFT project has inspired him to love writing again, why he writes some of his books on Facebook and how we can all start selling our writing as NFTs on bitclout, among many other topics (he's what's known in the talking world as a "digressor").
RELATED EPISODES
How Can I Use Social Media to Promote a Book?
How Did Alex Strathdee Get 40,000 Students to Read His Book?
CLICK ON ANY OF THE LINKS BELOW TO HEAR THIS EPISODE OR CLICK HERE TO GET THE POD ON ANY PLATFORM
October 27, 2021
Ed Kressy on Meth Psychosis and Landing Big Blurb-ers
Ed Kressy is not your average human.
He's much sweeter than your average human and his sweetness emanates from him.
He also has a much crazier story than your average addict with a crazy story...and this is coming from someone who's heard every crazy addiction story over the past two decades.
The short version: he went into a meth-induced psychosis for 14 years that left him convinced he was involved in 9/11. The longer version is in his memoir, My Addiction & Recovery: Just Because You're Done With Drugs Doesn't Mean Drugs Are Done With You, which you can get here.
He is one of the most exquisitely talented writers I've come across in a long time—something I found, and tell him in this episode, surprising. I've read almost every book out there about addiction and recovery and few are as brilliantly crafted as this. Please get this book. Not only will you be exposed to some of the best writing around but all proceeds are being donated to prisons.
And that relationship with prisons, for those here for the marketing tidbits, is how Ed was able to get the great Seth Godin to blurb his book.
In this episode, we get into Ed's crazy story, how many drafts he wrote of this book (you don't want to know) and his mission to get the book into every prison he can (so far, it has been accepted by 108 facilities in nine states, serving an estimated 132,000 incarcerated people). Listen in to find out more about the guy whose recovery-related work has appeared in the Washington Post and who's delivered criminal justice-themed talks for groups at Amazon, Cisco, Google, LinkedIn and MIT.
RELATED EPISODES
Jessie Krieger on Crowd-Funding Your Book Launch
How Do I Get Blurbs For My Book?
CLICK ON ANY OF THE LINKS BELOW TO HEAR THIS EPISODE OR CLICK HERE TO GET THE POD ON ANY PLATFORM
QUOTE OF THE EPISODE:
"Ed Kressy has a much crazier story than your average addict with a crazy story...and this is coming from someone who's heard every crazy addiction story over the past two decades."
October 20, 2021
What I Learned From the Party Girl Re-Launch
Ohhhhh, does your own book launch teach you some lessons and that goes double when it's a re-launch like my recent one for Party Girl.
In this episode, I broke down what went right (fun events out of town, asking someone I knew to help me get in a cool store), what didn't (Launch Squad, I'm talking to you if you said you'd review the book and still haven't!) and what was kinda ehh for the money put out (a publicist). That last question really comes down to...Is this story worth $5k?
Hear the whole rant in this episode!
AND PROVE ME WRONG ABOUT REVIEWS BY BUYING THE BOOK AND REVIEWING IT HERE.
RELATED EPISODES
What to Do 60 Days, 30 Days and 7 Days Before Your Launch
How Do I Get Reviews For My Book?
How Do I Get People to Buy My Book?
CLICK ON ANY OF THE LINKS BELOW TO HEAR THIS EPISODE OR CLICK HERE TO GET THE POD ON ANY PLATFORM
QUOTE OF THE EPISODE:
"Ohhhhh, does your own book launch teach you some lessons and that goes double when it's a re-launch like my recent one for Party Girl."
October 13, 2021
October 12, 2021
A Breakdown of the Bad Art Friend
"Bad Art Friend" is a story that ran in the New York Times last week and it has the publishing world abuzz in a way only the publishing world can be. I'll save you the summary because you can just go read it yourself but the long and the short comes down to three questions:
1) Who comes off worse, Dawn Dorland or Sonya Larson?
2) Who doesn't in a teeny way relate to Dawn (even if our actions wouldn't be the same as hers)?
but ultimately, and most relevantly if you're a writer...
3) If someone lifts another person's Facebook post, should that be considered plagiarism?
There's also a fourth question, from cynical old me: How much will they sell the movie rights for and will the two of them even be able to come to an agreement where they can tolerate splitting the rights?
I broke down my thoughts about this controversy, including some commentary from a meeting I had with the Inner Circle today, as well as a thought taken from Larz Marie's Sexy Unique Podcast, as well as complete paranoia over ever saying anything without crediting the original source, in this episode.
Who's side are you on?
RELATED EPISODES
Can I Get Sued for Writing About Someone?
How Do I Get My Book Made Into a Movie?
CLICK ON ANY OF THE LINKS BELOW TO HEAR THIS EPISODE OR CLICK HERE TO GET THE POD ON ANY PLATFORM
QUOTE OF THE EPISODE:
"'Bad Art Friend' is a story that ran in the New York Times last week and it has the publishing world abuzz in a way only the publishing world can be."
October 6, 2021
Erika Schickel on How Friends Make Your Launch
Erika Schickel isn't just a brilliant writer who's been published in Salon, The Los Angeles Times, LA Weekly, Bust Magazine, Tin House, Ravishly and The LA Review of Books. She isn't just the author of the mucho acclaimed memoir, You’re Not the Boss of Me: Adventures of a Modern Mom.
She's also someone with a hell of a wild story.
And she busts out with all of it in her new memoir, The Big Hurt, which is a profound statement on the power plays between men and women.
In this episode, we discussed her thoughts on the post-pandemic changing face of publishing, how political and cultural tastes can guide selling a book, the unique challenges presented to women authors, the legal hurdles in writing a memoir and much more.
Because this is a podcast about launching a book, and The Big Hurt was just released, we also, of course, focused on what she believes are the most essential elements when it comes to the launch. SPOILER ALERT! It really comes down to leaning on the people you know.
More about Erika:
Her website.
This is a great article on Erika in Vanity Fair.
Follow Erika on social media:
Twitter: @ErikaSchickel
Instagram: @erikaschickel
Facebook: Erika Schickel
RELATED EPISODES
What Are the Exact Steps to Publishing a Book?
Samantha Perkins on the Anxiety of Launching Your First Book
What to Do 60 Days, 30 Days and 7 Days Before Your Launch
How Does Pat Flynn Launch a Book?
CLICK ON ANY OF THE LINKS BELOW TO HEAR THIS EPISODE OR CLICK HERE TO GET THE POD ON ANY PLATFORM~
QUOTE OF THE EPISODE:
"The publishing date is no longer what it once was. Back in the day, everything was pegged to your publication date and the three to four weeks that followed it and that would be whether you made it or not. But now because of the pandemic, the internet, the changing face of publishing, all of these competing sources of information, the rollout really is more like a year."
