Amazon is my favorite place to shop. Yes I live in St. Charles county, but Wal-mart really isn’t where I spend all the big bucks. As you might have guessed that’s where I purchase all my books.
Purchasing leads to recommendations, and recommendations pointed to Dean Koontz. So I picked up the first Odd Thomas novel. I was immediately hooked. So far I’ve read the first three.
Koontz purchases on Amazon of course led to more of his works turning up for me to buy. Oh, the titles are interesting, but they don’t really say much about the books. Let’s list a few…
Seize the Night
The Watchers
Life Expectancy
Intensity
Phantoms
You get the drift. Short titles and cool covers. That’s what it’s all about I guess. What I’d really like though is my friends and contacts to make some recommendations about his books. Or heck, just suggest some good alternates.
Ones I’ve read already:
Odd Thomas 1st-3rd books
Frankenstein books - Prodigal Son and City of Night
That’s it. Just those. I’ve been wary of running out and spending $10 on something I might hate. Are the Odd Thomas novels a good indication of the rest of his writing? Are they exceptions?
So I’m asking you, my readers, and the rest of you out there on the net; what’s your favorite Koontz tale or alternate work of fiction.
I’ll post the results here on the blog, so keep the suggestions coming in. As an added incentive, I’ll buy you a book too if I take your suggestion. So be the first to suggest your favorite.
Alltop much? If you want to know what’s hot, or at least the top 100 in something, there’s no better way than to visit alltop.com. Today is the premiere of utterati.alltop.com. It’s the site for the top Utterz users on the net.
Notice anything? Yep, yours truly made the page. My name is up there along with such greats as Chris Brogan, Andy Caster, and Paisano. Woot.
Do stop by the Utterati page and check out some of the goodness. You won’t be sorry.
The project above by Liz Strauss is one that sure got folks thinking. What can I say in 25 words that will have meaning and impact? She provided a few great examples and many folks have responded already. The deadline is today though; this is a barely under the wire post.
All said, here’s my take:
No person an island they say. Then why do we work so hard to keep folks on their own islands. Consider inviting them to yours.
You’ve just written a world saving blog post or book or both. It’s got to reach the world in short order. How are you going to convince your friends to talk about it to their connections and networks? Is bribery the answer? Offer them some participation prizes? We know that only provides temporary buzz.
It’s war out there. People in your network of friends and business associates are under a constant barrage of information. They’ve seen dozens of blog posts, new books, and freshly launched businesses. Chances are they are weary of it all. What’s a person to do?
Contacts need to become comrades in arms. Their energy and focus on your needs to be such that’d they are willing to help you put the war paint on. When that happens, they’ll be talking up you, your work and more without any prompting.
War paint? Yep. What I found out when working to get to SOBCon08 was more was accomplished by getting folks along side than pushing them to push others. Oh, I did my share of that, but what really worked was bringing my contacts to fight along side for me.
How to get them there is really the question? It’s partially about having something great to say, but it’s equally about sharing your story and making them a part of it.
What really sells people, especially folks like me, is getting involved in the story. What gets me talking about Apple and their products? Oh, good products for sure, but there are lots of good to great products out there. For me it’s the story. I can tell about my Mac conversion; I can talk about how excited Apple is about the users; I can’t help myself.
With my contacts, it’s hard not to share their stories when they share them with me and invite me to be involved. That’s crucial. You can’t just have a story to tell, but it’s got to be one that folks can join in on.
Cancer survivor stories might move us, but how much more moving when told by someone that you know, or someone that asks you to come along side, and lets you know how much it’s appreciated. A story where you get to be part of it.
If you’re paying attention, you’ll realize it’s not really about the book, or the blog post so much. It’s about who you are and how your contacts are part of that. The more involved you can help them to be, the more they are going to want to share on their own.
Honesty and transparency are key. If you’re going to ask folks to get involved, and give you their trust, get them to be part of and share our story, then be up front with them. Ask for their help, tell them the truth, and share the joy of your success.
Do you have cohorts willing to help you put the war paint on and face the world? Are you working on building those types of relationships? Waiting for your best seller to happen? How about getting your support team together while you wait. They are vital to your success.
Want to come along side me? Your support and encouragement is always welcome. Want me along side for you? Tell me your story and get me on board. We’ll go face the world together.
Social networking and media can fool you. Oh yeah, you’ve got a hundred contacts here, a 1000 there, and more folks are friending you on Facebook every day.
But what’s really happening? Is the world knocking your door down? Are these folks really your friends? The hard truth is that most of these folks will engage you in no more than water cooler chat.
Reality can be rough, but this isn’t out of your control. There’s hope and better relationships ahead. We just have to step off the path a bit.
What can you do? How can you turn contacts into partners, associates, and friends? Investment!
The biggest mistake we make is looking for more when we’re not willing to take the first step. As in relationships of any kind, it takes time and effort to form a bond. This is amplified in some ways by the sheer distances across which we reach with the internet.
Investment isn’t about spending more money, or taking out stock in a the latest Facebook copy cat. It’s about investing in those threadbare connections. Turn the water cooler chat into sharing about plans, dreams, and that secret tattoo.
As a person struggling with this every day, and feeling the pressure myself, I’ve set myself on a path to move through this struggle. There are a few things I’ve done to move things forward.
- send postcards - folks really enjoy these, and they give you a chance to send a hand written and personal note to someone, an individual, across miles, and even across oceans. This is the personal touch that gets remembered and says, “I like you.”
- ask how you can support them - I find myself more and more asking how I can support people. Yes, I fail sometimes, but I’m getting better. But it’s about the effort. Get in there and actually support folks. Don’t just cheer on the sidelines! Visit their blog, link to them, send your friends to their site, pimp out their book, or even consider praying for them.
- pick up the phone - if you can’t be there, the next best thing is a human voice. I’ve witnessed first hand how life changing a single phone call can be. It doesn’t have to be a heavy thing, but reach out, touch someone’s life today. You can’t do business either until you connect.
- when all else fails, visit in person - I’d taken the opportunity this year to do just that. I’ve to meetups, lunches, breakfasts, and dinners, blogger meetings, tweetups, and taken photo walks. Heck, we even stayed at a Flickr friend’s house for a week. Wow!
I’m no genius and these aren’t brain surgery level tips. These are simple and practical things you can start doing today.
To show you I’m serious, email me, DM me, send me a private Utterz, call. Tell me about yourself, how we can connect, and where you’re looking for support. Beyond that, I challenge you to reach out today to one of those people you’ve got in your contact list and let them know you’re more than an avatar.
