This is the sixth post in a series dedicated to the anniversary of the publishing of my first book, Conquer the Entrepreneur’s Kryptonite. The purpose of this series is to share what I’ve learned to help inspire you to do the same if there’s a book in your heart waiting to get out.

This is a post about how my book got its name. If you want information on crafting a good title, talk to someone else. I pretty much stink at coming up with great book titles (as you’ll see below).

That’s not to say I don’t think they’re great at the time. I fall in love with them. And if that gets the book writing process moving, I guess that’s a good thing. The worst thing you can do is spend all your time coming up with a title without writing the book! Maybe that’s why they call it a “working title”, eh?

1) This Is Not Easy

Make It Look Easy was the title of my book when it was first conceived. I was playing on the concept that the greatest performers–in sports, stage & screen, business, etc.–are so good at what they do that they make it look like anyone can do it. Some examples:

• Auto Racing: How many NASCAR fans think they could get behind the wheel and race? Probably an overwhelming majority. After all, 97.4% of all drivers think they’re above average! [think about it…now laugh]
• American Idol: People who can really sing make it look so darn easy! Are the people auditioning for AI really that clueless about their singing ability? Probably (unless they just want to get on TV to be made fun of). I’d much rather find the hidden talent of people who can sign but have never bothered to find out. Maybe that’ll be Simon Cowell’s next hit show…random people singing on the street!

Anyway, this title started to die about halfway through the writing process when Dan Miller told me he didn’t like it. He asked me, “What is ‘It’?” and that was the end. The title wasn’t intriguing enough to be mysterious, and it wasn’t specific enough to tell a potential reader/buyer what it was about. Back to the drawing board…

2) 50 Titles and Counting

Luckily I didn’t waste too much time worrying about finding a new title. Well, I probably did. Not having the title nailed down was frustrating. But after a bit, I focused on the writing again instead of the title.

As the book neared completion, I knew it needed a real title. I started playing with words and had an actual list of more than 50 titles written down.

I ran many of them by friends, and eventually picked my top ten (including the original title) for a poll amongst my book team members:

• Simple Planning, Significant Results
• 50 Shades of Strategic Planning
• Build Your Own Roadmap
• Unstuck
• Make It Look Easy
• Put Your Potential to Work
• Planning for Greatness
• The Roadmap
• Do What Works
• Simple Strategic Planning
• Effortless

I narrowed it down a bit and did another poll. I had new ideas and pitched them to the group. The churning continued as the deadline for publication neared, and I still needed enough time to develop a book cover, artwork, and maybe even a new domain and website. Ugh!

3) Superman Rises

It was April 23rd, 2013 at 11:02 pm when, about 30 posts into a thread on my private Facebook group for the book team, the word “Kryptonite” first emerged. Who else could have hit the word but Chuck Bowen, my mentor and the creator of the Simple Strategic Planning process that inspired the book. He simply called it, The Entrepreneur’s Kryptonite.

A little over 12 hours later, when civilized people were awake, my friend Kevin Miller (son of Dan Miller who killed the original title) added the word “Conquer”. There it was for the first time: Conquer the Entrepreneur’s Kryptonite.

We debated using “Conquering” for a while, but I ended up liking the impact and brevity of “Conquer” better.

Bonus Title Trivia:

• There were already two brief Superman references in the book before the title emerged, but they were not part of a theme.
• The title inspired a new theme throughout the book. It was carried by a brief statement or paragraph on the chapter title pages. I wrote those in about 10-15 minutes…they just flowed from my mind to the page!
• The title also inspired my friend and amazing graphic artist, George Amequito, to design the lightning bolt design I used in the book (which is now a personal logo). He captured the superhero concept perfectly, and it fit the content of the book as well. In my mind, the circle represents the completed plan which is struck by lightning, representing action and pouring out the contents of the plan. The roughness of the image show both the lack of perfection and the struggle required to make something meaningful happen.
• The release date of the book was June 14th, 2013, the same day that the movie Man of Steel was released in theaters in the US. My goal had been July 1st, but I didn’t have an exact date set until the movie and the book themes overlapped.
• The subtitle (Simple Strategic Planning for You and Your Business) is another story all together, but I don’t think we had quite as many debates over it! If I had to do it over, I’d probably add “9 Steps to” at the beginning of the subtitle, just because it has a bit more hook to it.

Stay tuned as I write about the writing process, the finishing process, formatting, creating the trifecta (book, e-book, and audiobook), crowdsourcing, my support team, and so much more. I don’t know how long the series will last and I haven’t written the next post yet, but I’m going to share all of the ups and downs I can remember!

If you have specific topics you want me to cover, leave a comment or send me a note!

This is the fifth post in a series dedicated to the anniversary of the publishing of my first book, Conquer the Entrepreneur’s Kryptonite. The purpose of this series is to share what I’ve learned to help inspire you to do the same if there’s a book in your heart waiting to get out.

After more than two and a half years of crafting my masterpiece, the end was in sight. I had no idea how much work the last six months before publication would entail, but I knew I wouldn’t do my best work if I did it alone.

It was about February of 2013 when I put out the invitation to join my Book Team. I created a private Facebook group where I could post content or questions, and they were a huge help. I thanked the 39 of them by name in the back of the book, but I want to share here the value they provided in those last few months leading up to the big launch.

1) Feedback

Whether it was posting cover ideas or polling them for their thoughts on potential book titles, they never failed to validate or challenge what I was thinking…sometimes both at once! This group of friends and fans provided the perfect sounding board.

2) Accountability

By inviting them into the creative process, I created expectations that I needed to deliver on time and on target. They encouraged me when the sea of doubts overwhelmed me. They pushed me finish, and because of them, I was still standing at the finish line instead of crawling on bloody knees.

3) Idea Generation

It wasn’t like I grabbed 40 random people to be a part of a focus group. This was a group of avid supporters who knew me and knew my project. They engaged in more than just support…they provided new and exciting ideas. Some were great (this is how the book got “Kryptonite” in the title) and some were not so good (like trying to put “zombie” in the title). Though the not so good ones were still fun.

4) Marketing and Promotion

In addition to being supporters and encouragers, the people on my team were promoters. They helped spread the word prior to the book’s release, including the Indiegogo pre-sale campaign. It is impossible to know how many books were sold thanks to their efforts, but it was enough to triple my crowdsourcing goal.

5) A Bigger World

If I had tackled the finalization and publication of the book on my own, it would have been a very lonely process. There were a lot of late nights and early mornings. The effort was very intense and stressful. But with 39 people on my team, how could I feel alone? I didn’t, thanks to them.

Stay tuned as I write about the writing process, the finishing process, formatting, creating the trifecta (book, e-book, and audiobook), crowdsourcing, my support team, and so much more. I don’t know how long the series will last and I haven’t written the next post yet, but I’m going to share all of the ups and downs I can remember!

If you have specific topics you want me to cover, leave a comment or send me a note!

This is the fourth post in a series dedicated to the anniversary of the publishing of my first book, Conquer the Entrepreneur’s Kryptonite. The purpose of this series is to share what I’ve learned to help inspire you to do the same if there’s a book in your heart waiting to get out.

Yesterday I wrote about how I almost quit writing my book for various reasons throughout the process. Today I want to talk about finishing.

Now there are two ways to finish. The first is to quit. Sometimes that’s a legitimate option. But it wasn’t for me. With this book, the only way to finish it would be to see it in print and hold it in my own hands. If anyone else got a copy, that was just a bonus.

So how did I navigate the choppy waters of nearly quitting to reach my literary destination?

1) I Had a Plan

That may seem very obvious, especially considering that my book is all about the process of developing a strategic plan. Actually, the idea of writing a book on the topic of planning without having a plan is rather ridiculous. That was pretty much how I started though.

Perhaps I had a vague plan. What I really had was a dream without legs. And it never would have been finished without having a plan.

The trick for me was to use my own process to plan out the rest of the book. I had a ton of raw content, perhaps 75% of the book. But to finish I needed the final 25%. I also needed a better title, a cover, the layout, a publication date, an ISBN, a book launch, and a good hard edit.

Honestly, finishing the book was 90% of the work. The plan saved me.

2) I Had a Deadline

Early in the writing process I had announced my intention to publish my book about six months later. I thought that setting the deadline and making it public would help me get there. It didn’t.

It was premature and much too big of a promise. I could have published at that point, gotten the same pats on the back, and even would have sold some copies. But I wouldn’t have been proud of it. It would have been rushed and incomplete. It would have haunted me.

[Side note: I would have learned more if I had taken that approach. Maybe the third or fourth version of the book would have been something I could be proud of. Perhaps the feedback and would have made it even better. The perfectionist in me couldn’t do it though. But with the next book…I’ll probably err on the side of too soon than too late or almost never.]

Once I could see the book nearing completion, I set a real deadline: June 14th, 2013. And instead of dreading the date as it approached like I did with the first deadline, this new deadline empowered me. It did everything a good deadline is supposed to do: it focused me, it forced me to overcome obstacles, and it forced me to deliver.

Why June 14th? Originally, I just thought it would be cool to release my book on the same day the new Superman movie, Man of Steel, was released in theaters. It was a few weeks later before I realized that on June 14th, 2010 I had written my book proposal. I’m not a superstitious person, but that seemed like a good sign.

3) I Stopped Learning

This one may seem counter-intuitive. I’m all about education and learning, and throughout the book writing process I was going to business training events, reading books, and listening to a ton of podcasts. New ideas, new examples, and new stories would find their way into the book.

But at some point it got to be too much. If the book was ever going to get finished, I would have to stop the consumption of new content. It was slowing me down and it was counter-productive. I had to finish soon or the book would never be finished.

I probably didn’t unplug completely, but it sure felt like I went cold turkey. And I’d do it again if it meant finishing a big project.

Stay tuned as I write about the writing process, the finishing process, formatting, creating the trifecta (book, e-book, and audiobook), crowdsourcing, my support team, and so much more. I don’t know how long the series will last and I haven’t written the next post yet, but I’m going to share all of the ups and downs I can remember!

If you have specific topics you want me to cover, leave a comment or send me a note!

This is the third post in a series dedicated to the anniversary of the publishing of my first book, Conquer the Entrepreneur’s Kryptonite. The purpose of this series is to share what I’ve learned to help inspire you to do the same if there’s a book in your heart waiting to get out.

As I look back on the year since Conquer the Entrepreneur’s Kryptonite was published, it’s hard to remember all of the times it almost died. Three years is a long time to write a book or work on any kind of creative project.

Thankfully I was able to push through and finish what I started. But along the way, there were specific reasons I almost killed it before it was born:

1) I’m an Impostor (part 1)

In May of 2010 when I started writing the book, I really was an impostor. Here I was, writing a book about strategic planning because I was teaching others how do do strategic planning, yet I wasn’t really doing it myself. I was doing some things around it, which is kind of like a health and fitness coach reading a workout book while eating a donut.

So I felt like a hypocrite (and I was), but at the same time I really was helping my students and clients. That counted for enough to get me going, and I didn’t let it stop me (though it wouldn’t be enough to finish…more on that tomorrow).

2) No One Will Read It

Every writer dreams of having a best-seller. But here I was, writing a book on strategic planning for small business owners. Really exciting, mass market stuff! Did I even have a chance?

Probably not. But I didn’t write it to be a best-seller. I wrote it to help the people who needed clarity and focus. For small business owners and those who dreamed of starting a business, so that they can be intentional with their limited resources and take action (the right actions) to improve their odds.

I also wrote it for myself. It was content that I needed personally, and a massive project that fulfilled my desire to write a quality book. In the end it didn’t matter how many people buy it or how many people read it (different metrics!).

3) The Colossal Waste of Time

Was writing this book a bad business decision? Perhaps. When you factor the amount of time spent writing and producing it with the size of the audience interested in the topic, I was on course to make way less than a dollar per hour.

But two things pushed me forward…the burning desire to write a book and the fact that a book is about more than just selling books. The desire speaks to my childhood dream of being an author. The purpose of the book beyond selling is that it positions me as an expert, it can be used when I teach courses or lead seminars, and it leads to media exposure and even coaching clients. (I’ll share the first year financial results in a future post, but I can tell you now it’s not easy to quantify.)

4) I Have No Audience

Anyone can write a book these days, but not everyone can sell books. If you’re a celebrity, you can even hire someone to write your book for you and still make the best-seller list. Easy, and the book can be total fluff, but it’s money in the bank.

For regular people, writing a book is less of a slam dunk. Moving copies requires having a platform…an audience of people who know who you are and want what you’re selling.

I had no such audience. What I did have was a small collection of friends, students, and clients who knew the power of my process and could support a limited production of copies.

Instead of building a platform, I wrote a book. That’s probably a mistake, but I went in knowing it. The book is helping me grow my platform over time.

5) I’m an Impostor (part 2)

“Are you even an entrepreneur?” asked the critics and skeptics. Some were real people, most were in my head. But it was a question that caused me to almost quit at the very end of the process. Here I was, working a full-time job making a great salary, and my book has the word “entrepreneur” in the title. Running my business part-time and on the side wouldn’t be enough to satisfy some people.

It took some time, but I’ve become very comfortable with the word entrepreneur. To me it’s not about being Richard Branson or Mark Zuckerberg…it’s about creating value. There are entrepreneurs in the workforce. They creatively add value for the people they work for. There are big entrepreneurs and small entrepreneurs. Some make it, and some don’t. But they are part of the struggle to improve our world and make their mark, and if they are successful, they’ll have a well-deserved financial reward to go with it.

So yes, I’m an entrepreneur. Deal with it if you don’t like my definition. I’m too busy to care what you think anymore.

6) I’m Too Busy

Working a full-time job, being a husband and father, buying a house and moving, changing consulting clients…those were easy compared to starting a new public school system. Or maybe that was just the last straw.

When I was appointed to our city’s new school board and charged with helping complete the separation from the county system, I was honored but I had no idea what I was getting into. For 10 months, the five of us dealt with lawyers, consultants, tax assessors, financial managers, state officials, the media, the public, and so much more. It was one of the biggest projects I’ve ever been a part of, and we were successful in record time.

But it cost me an entire year of writing. I simply shelved the book project and didn’t think about it much. Maybe one day I’ll write a book about that experience!

7) It’s No Good

Doing things well is at my core. I’m addicted to excellence. So even though I was self-publishing, this book had to be as good as any other business book out on the market.

So how often did I think it was a steaming pile of crap? Probably every day for the first 30 months. But then it started to take shape. I started to carve out the junk and found a sparkling gem inside. It took a team to get it out the door, but we did it.

Is it perfect? No. I still find a typo, or think of changes I want to make. But those things, thankfully, didn’t keep me from finishing the book.

Finishing is very different from not quitting. I’ll talk about finishing tomorrow.

Stay tuned as I write about the writing process, the finishing process, formatting, creating the trifecta (book, e-book, and audiobook), crowdsourcing, my support team, and so much more. I don’t know how long the series will last and I haven’t written the next post yet, but I’m going to share all of the ups and downs I can remember!

If you have specific topics you want me to cover, leave a comment or send me a note!