How Carolyn Went From Unknown
to Top-Expert in Less Than 12 Months
Dear Business Builder,
You’ve thought about writing a book before, haven’t you?
Imagine going down to Barnes & Noble and casually maneuvering a friend over to a particular bookshelf. Just so you can say off-handedly, “Oh look, they’re carrying my book.”
And they’ll pretend it’s a big surprise and you haven’t blathered on ad nauseam about every minute detail of getting your book written and published.
Wouldn’t it be great?
The truth is, having a book published is a huge credibility element. And probably the surest way to establish your expertise in just about anything.
Today, you’ll meet Carolyn Warren, author of Mortgage Rip-offs and Money Savers. (You can find out more about Carolyn at www.mortgage-helper.com.)
Her book was a smashing success. And she went from being an unknown nationally to being the top expert in her field.
Isn’t there anything more powerful than a good idea executed at the right time?
Her book has been featured in over 20 newspapers and magazines, Like:
- Business Week
- The Boston Globe
- The Seattle Times
- And more
She’s even been interviewed on nationally syndicated radio shows like Bob Brinker’s Money Talk.
And she’s received substantial praise (some from people we all know) …
"Carolyn Warren better get a bodyguard. Her new tell-all on the mortgage industry exposes so many of the lending industry’s favorite frauds, every loan officer from Seattle to Miami is going to be gunning for her!
Mortgage Rip-offs and Money Savers is like a map that faultlessly guides you around the carefully camouflaged land mines laid by lenders. And it gives you simple, step-by-step directions for saving tens of thousands of dollars.
If you’re looking for ways to save a king’s ransom on your mortgage and monthly payments, you simply must read this book. It could easily put an extra $10,000 … $50,000 … $100,000 or even more into your bank account!"
– Clayton Makepeace, Publisher of The Total Package
And tell me this review isn’t just the perfect headline for a promotion:
"Finally someone from inside the mortgage industry has come in from the cold and laid out the "dirty little secrets" of the home loan business.
– Kenneth Harney, Washington Post
Let’s hear Carolyn’s story:
John: Carolyn, would you give us a little bit of background on what your book is about?
Carolyn Warren: Sure, John. My title was strategically chosen to communicate what the book is about: Mortgage Rip-Offs and Money Savers: An Industry Insider Explains How to Save Thousands on Your Mortgage or Re-Finance. So this title and sub-title is actually my elevator speech.
John: That’s a great idea.
Carolyn Warren: It’s an idea all writers can use when they choose a title for their book, e-book, or website. My book is an inside look at what goes on behind closed doors in the mortgage industry, and how most people are paying too much for their home loan. I reveal information that’s been kept hidden from the public until now.
John: What made you decide to go ahead and publish a book, or write a book first, I guess before you got it published?
Carolyn Warren: I had the idea for a long time and had been building a file of information. Then I had the good fortune of meeting Clayton Makepeace at a writers’ conference in Florida. When I told him about my book idea, he said, “You should write this book. It’s a great idea.”
Then he said two fateful words that changed my life. He said, “Go fast.”
I think most people feel like they have a book inside of them that they would like to write someday, but it’s not at the top of their list.
After Clayton said, “Go fast,” he said something else that really put the fear of God into me—and this is something everyone who has a good idea should pay attention to …
Clayton said, “If you don’t write this book now, someone else is going to beat you to it. When the timing is right for an idea, several people across the country will all have that idea at the same time. So if you want to do this, go fast and do it now.”
I thought, “Oh, he’s right. What if somebody else writes this book from inside the mortgage industry? I’m going to be kicking myself, saying, ‘I’ve had this idea for years and I didn’t do it, and somebody else did.’” So I went home and wrote the book.
John: Wow. That’s great. I think you’re right. Most of us, I think—probably copywriters more than anyone else—have the idea that there’s a book that they want to write, and a lot of people just never get around to it. So I think that’s great advice. So what’s the process that you went through when you started writing the book? What was the way that you went about getting the book together and then getting it published? I mean, did you go to a publisher before you had the book done? Did you have to get it finished first? Just how does that work?
Carolyn Warren: Great questions.
I wrote the book in three months. Then I went to a writers’ conference in New York where literary agents, publishers and writers were all meeting, along with members of various media. That’s where I met my literary agent. So the second agent that I approached accepted my book, and the first publisher he approached made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.
John: Wow.
Carolyn Warren: A year later, Mortgage Rip-Offs and Money Savers was on the shelves at Barnes & Noble, Borders, Amazon, and booksellers all across the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.
John: And, do you have to have a book completely written before you approach a publisher?
Carolyn Warren: For non-fiction books, the answer is no. You submit a book proposal along with one to three sample chapters. Then you get the contract to write your book. However, in my case, I did have the book written ahead of time. I let them know I had the book completed, so we could move fast on it.
On the other hand, with fiction, you must have the entire book written or they won’t even consider you.
The nice thing about non-fiction is that you don’t need to make that time commitment until after you have your contract.
John: That’s a great point.
Carolyn Warren: Yes, and having a published book establishes you as an expert.
John: So then, because I think this is applicable, especially to anybody who’s in a service industry, like copywriting or marketing, or any other type of career where they’re working by positioning themselves as an expert. Did you notice much of a difference in how you were perceived professionally from before to after you had your book published?
Carolyn Warren: Yes, the difference was night and day! This is why I say any copywriter who wants to make a full-time career out of writing should have a book published. Being an author catapults your perceived expertise level as a writer. Authors are highly respected in our society.
People can say, “I’m a copywriter,” and half the people think you’re talking about working in the office that stamps copyrights on material, you know? They don’t know what that means. Or you can say, “I’m a freelance writer,” and then half the people take that to mean you’re a starving writer, which doesn’t help your image any. But when you say, “I wrote this book,” then you get a “Wow,” and instant respect. So it’s a lot of fun and I highly recommend it. Plus, you can get royalties for years, which creates a passive income stream for you.
John: That’s a great point. You’ve done some copywriting, haven’t you?
Carolyn Warren: I have. I completed the AWAI copywriting course. That was my first introduction into copywriting, and then my first copywriting job was for a local nonprofit. It came about when I received an e-mail from a friend who was going on a charity mission trip with Children’s International. The next day, I asked her how the fund-raising was going, and she had not received any responses except from the manager of her office, you know, her boss, who kindly gave her $50.00, but nobody else had responded. Her e-mail was quite confusing and not very good from a copywriting standpoint. So I told her I was taking a course in copywriting and writing sales letters for fundraising. I asked her if she’d like me to do the e-mail for her, and rewrite it and send it out again. She said, “Yeah, that would be really nice.”
I wrote a simple one-page sales letter soliciting funds, and she e-mailed it to her same list of people. Within 15 minutes, donations started coming in. People that were in her office building were coming over to her desk with tears in their eyes, pulling out their checkbooks and writing checks. She got so many donations that it exceeded her goal, and they were able to help 44 additional children with food, clothing, and medical supplies.
John: Wow, that’s great.
Carolyn Warren: That was my very first project which I did for free, but it gave me a great testimonial for getting started in copywriting. Now most of the copywriting that I do is within my own industry area of expertise, which is mortgage and credit. Here’s an example of how having a book has helped my copywriting career. A mortgage company in California contacted me to write an 11-piece advertising campaign for them because they saw my book. I was paid over $8,000 for six weeks of part-time work.
John: Not bad.
Carolyn Warren: My book is what got me that job. And then Monday this week, I received an e-mail from a company in Texas who needs Web site sales copy, and they also learned about me because of my book. So here’s a secret: My book does something more than give people great insider information; it also sends people to my Web site. That’s how this particular company contacted me: first, they had my book and then they saw my Web site, AskCarolynWarren.com. A book can serve as your "calling card."
John: Right. You know, that’s a fascinating point. Because your book isn’t about copywriting but it is about positioning you as an expert in the niche that you also write for. You obviously had a lot of expertise before that, but the book is an additional credibility element when you do promote your copywriting services to them as well because you obviously know that industry inside and out.
Carolyn Warren: Exactly.
John: That expertise translates over. So yeah, that’s a great point.
Carolyn Warren: So it’s two things that many copywriters may not have considered. One is it positions you as an expert in your field, and so if you want to write for any types of companies in your field, that will bring business to you; and secondly, it showcases your writing style. If you write in a lively, emotional style like we learn from Clayton Makepeace, businesses know your writing won’t be boring.
John: That’s great. So then if I or another copywriter was thinking about what kind of book should I write, do you have any ideas or suggestions on what you think might be either subjects or ways to think about what kind of subject matter you want to write about that you could go on about, you know, arriving at some kind of idea?
Carolyn Warren: Yes. That’s a great question because a lot of people, especially new copywriters, they think, “Well, what could I write a book about?” Here’s the answer: What is your area of expertise? I happen to know about rip-offs going on inside the mortgage industry, and I knew that most people are paying too much for their financing even if they have good credit, and that it’s costing them tens of thousands of dollars. So I wanted to expose the scams and let people know how to get a truly good, cheap loan without all the stress and sleepless nights. So that’s what I wrote about.
So think about your own area of expertise. For example, if you’re a gardener, you can write about that. If you bake, you can write a unique book about that. It doesn’t matter. Whatever you’re passionate about, if it’s your hobby, if it’s your favorite sport, if it’s your present employment; if you’re knowledgeable about a topic, then other people are going to want to know about it also.
Let’s say you mow lawns for a living and do landscaping. Then you can target gardening companies and nurseries for copywriting, and you can have a book with tips on how to make good water features, or how to do organic gardening, or how to get a mature landscape in two years, you know, something like that. Write a book that showcases your expertise. Now let’s say you’re a stay-at-home mom and you haven’t worked outside the house in ten years. Well, I tell you what, I’ll bet you have some funny stories about raising kids. You could write a humorous book about raising kids, and then you could promote yourself to write Web site copy for baby food companies, for toy companies, for children’s educational companies, even fundraisers for children’s groups. The possibilities are endless!
John: That’s a very interesting point. Now obviously not every book that someone writes is going to necessarily get picked up to be published by a big publishing company. What do you think about self-publishing or going about writing a book that you’re going to sell online yourself or use as a tool and that’s not necessarily going to be published by anybody else?
Carolyn Warren: Good point. Self-publishing can be a good idea for some people. The main question is, do you have an idea that lends itself to self-publishing? That is, can you market your own book?
You need to ask yourself, “How will people know about my book so they can buy it?” Because you can have the best book in the world but nobody’s going to buy it if they don’t know it exists.
You can offer your book on Amazon.com, even if it’s self-published. And as a writer, you have the unique ability to write your own Web site copy to sell your book. So as long as you can market your own book, then self-publishing can be a wonderful idea. Some people who self-publish sell far more books than from the brick-and-mortar stores.
John: Yeah, you’re right. I know Ted Nicholas, he’s an extremely successful direct marketer, did a lot of self-publishing that way and made a lot of money doing it.
Carolyn Warren: And the nice thing about self-publishing is that you’re not making two dollars a book. Your profit margin is a lot higher, so you don’t have to sell as many copies to make the same amount of money.
One caution about self-publishing is that you need to do meticulous proofreading and have somebody else proofread for you, too. Because you know how it is, you can be the best writer but you read your own copy so many times, you don’t even notice that you left out “the” in a sentence. And make sure the layout looks professional.
Pick up the books that are for sale in the bookstores, and see, especially for non-fiction books, how they’ll have callout boxes, certain text in shaded gray, bullet points, so that when you open a page, it’s not just a sea of words. My book is a good example of that. The main thing that’s given self-published books a bad name is amateur writers who publish their books with spelling errors, grammar errors, all kinds of things that look so unprofessional.
John: Right. Great. Now if we could switch gears for a second here, I noticed a list of all the different places that your book has been promoted as far as – I mean, you’ve been in The Boston Globe, the Chicago Tribune, The Seattle Times, BusinessWeek. You’ve been on Bob Brinker’s Moneytalk radio show for almost an hour. I mean you’ve obviously gotten an enormous amount of press.
Carolyn Warren: And today at 2:00, I’ll be on The Gil Rose Show in San Francisco.
John: Oh really?
Carolyn Warren: I just got a call an hour ago. I’m very excited!
John: That’s great. How do you go about getting all this publicity for your book then?
Carolyn Warren: When my book came out, I called up my little local community newspaper, called The Bellevue Reporter, and I just said, “Hi, I’m a local author. My book just came out. It’s called Mortgage Rip-Offs and Money Savers. This is an interesting topic that’s in the news now. I wondered if you might like to do a story.” The reporter came out to my house and she brought her photographer with her, and they gave me a full-page write-up in the local community newspaper. So little local papers are always looking for stories, and if you’re a local author, then you’re pretty much a shoo-in.
John: Great.
Carolyn Warren: After that, I got in The Seattle Times, which is the big paper for my area. My publisher sent out 150 copies of my book to various members of the media. So if you’re self-publishing, you would need to do that yourself.
John: Okay. Yeah.
Carolyn Warren: Another secret is Inman News, which is a news source used by many papers. I went to their website and looked for an article that had something to do with my topic – mortgage. I found an article that was about the mortgage mess. So I posted a comment online at the end of the article and signed it "Carolyn Warren, author, Mortgage Rip-Offs and Money Savers." I included my Web site address as well. Because of that post, a reporter tracked me down. The book reviewer at Inman News wrote a beautiful review of my book and said that on a scale of 1 to 10, he’d give it an off-the-charts 12. That review was picked up by newspapers around the country and gave me a lot of free publicity.
John: Could you give us that Web address again?
Carolyn Warren: It’s InmanNews.com. Radio hosts read the newspapers, so that brought me calls from radio stations. Once you get publicity started, it just grows on its own. Anybody can go to major newspaper websites and post intelligent comments about their articles. You always list your real name, author and your book title, and then they’ll track you down.
John: That’s brilliant. That’s a really great tip.
Carolyn Warren: I recommend having a Web site with your name in the address, so if they Google your name they can find you easily.
John: Right. Yeah. That’s a great point. Did you write press releases or anything yourself?
Carolyn Warren: I was prepared to do that, but to my surprise and delight Wiley Publishing did that for me.
John: Well that’s great. But it seems like you’ve also been doing just what you were talking about, going to newspaper blogs and sites, and making sure that you post links; I mean you’re taking that responsibility to go out and do that, and just searching for articles related to your book, or to your expertise.
Carolyn Warren: Yes, for example, I went to ChicagoTribune.com and posted on their message board. Shortly thereafter, I received an e-mail from a reporter at the Chicago Tribune that was writing a story related to a different aspect of mortgage, and so I got a mention in the Chicago Tribune that way.
John: That’s great.
Carolyn Warren: Before we conclude, I have one more point for copywriters.
John: Okay. Great.
Carolyn Warren: One of the best secrets for getting your book proposal accepted – or if you’re going to self-publish, for getting your book sold – is to put into practice everything you learned about copywriting. For example, Clayton Makepeace is the master at hitting the emotional nerve, and that’s what you want to do when you’re writing your book.
Just because it’s non-fiction, it doesn’t mean you write it in a boring way, like you’re writing a college treatise. You still want to hit the emotional hot buttons. One of the things I did was read everything I could get my hands on that Clayton wrote just so that I could, you know, become infused with passionate writing. I have to say, get his newsletters, get his marketing and educational tools, and if you can, go to his conference. Then apply all of those principles into your book writing as well.
My editor said to me, “Carolyn, you make a dry topic interesting,” because, you know, writing about finance and mortgage, that seems rather dry to a lot of people. Here’s what I mean …
Instead of writing, “Mortgage CEO’s,” I wrote, “The fat cat sitting high in their fancy corporate offices.” And instead of saying, “Fees are negotiable,” I wrote, “You don’t have to pay these insane extra fees.” So I try to write with emotion, which is the secret to getting read by anybody, including editors and publishers.
John: Thanks for sharing that.
Carolyn Warren: I think that the best writers in the world are people that have learned copywriting skills. I would not trade my copywriting training for anything. It made me a better writer all the way around for everything I write.
John: That’s fantastic. Well you know, Carolyn, I really appreciate you taking the time to talk to us today about all of this because I think it’ll be really useful for a lot of us and just some great information. And I’ll let people know they can pick up a copy of Mortgage Rip-Offs and Money Savers at amazon.com or their local Barnes & Noble store.
And trust me; if you own a house, or ever plan on owning a house, you need to read her book. These are honest-to-goodness insider secrets about the mortgage industry that can put money back in your pocket. Check out www.mortgage-helper.com now.
To your faster success,
John Newtson
Editor, Life in the Fast Lane
THE TOTAL PACKAGE™
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2 Comments »
Join the Discussion!
Let us know what you think. Or ask us anything. Or offer your own sage advice.
The only rule: RESPECT THIS HOUSE! Postings that contain abusive language and/or personal attacks will be cheerfully VAPORIZED. One cross word and – POOF! – your well-thought-out post will be gone in a puff of smoke.
– Clayton
Comment by Markus Trauernicht — December 8, 2007 @ 12:12 pm
“If you don’t write this book now, someone else is going to beat you to it. When the timing is right for an idea, several people across the country will all have that idea at the same time. So if you want to do this, go fast and do it now.”
It is the first time I hear this thought somewhere else. And it is also the first time it makes sense to me. I have thought often that it is funny that the same idea pops up somewhere else. \”The timing beeing right\”, seems to be the key.
Regards
Markus Trauernicht from Berlin
Comment by Carolyn Warren — December 8, 2007 @ 2:42 pm
Yes, it\’s true about timing, Markus, and thanks for writing all the way from Berlin!
Another thing is that I found myself procrastinating because I was afraid of failing. Finally, I realized I would get nowhere by waiting, so I took the leap.
As writers, we want our copy to be perfect, but there comes a time when we have to say, \”This is good enough, because it\’s as good as I am able to do,\” and send it out.