Weekly update.
Greetings Journey Supporters! (especially the pre-publication founding members - you guys and gals are the best!)
For those of you who got on this ride early, your support and enthusiasm has brought us to where we are today (along with all you fine folks who are new to the project!)
This may be the relative calm before the storm and you can all feel the thrill of being an insider before this became a phenomenon (if it does reach the lofty heights for which it was designed.)
The latest reason for me to dare start believing that my book will become successful is that my national talk-radio show tour is picking up some serious steam. There are no shortcuts for a new writer (like myself) who is completely unknown, has no large social-media following or famous backers.
A small start-up publisher is not going to be able to get you on the Charlie Rose show. Once your book is out, it's mostly up to you to get attention and build a readership. To succeed (as an author) in talk radio, things usually need to happen in a certain sequence:
#1 - You need to have a topic of genuine interest and you need to have a unique take on the topic.
#2. If you pass that first test, One program manager (somewhere) needs to believe that your presentation is worthy of being put before that radio station's audience even though you have Zero experience on radio. (That person for me was Glenn Klein!) Getting that very first gig is a Big deal and the odds are long. Most program managers will throw your pitch in the trash if they see you have no experience and have not done Any radio or TV interviews.
#3. You most likely will start out at 1,000 watt stations, getting your feet wet and gaining experience in this unique media format. Your second appearance is almost as hard to get as the first, but at least you have something on your talk-radio resume.
#4 If you make it through those first three steps, and you have a few shows on your resume, then other program managers will give your pitch a brief 15 second glance - if they like that, they might listen to a few minutes of one of your previous interviews. You'd better hope they like what they hear.
#5 If you are still in the game at this point, you have a chance to move up to 5,000 watt stations, then 10,000 and 25,000. At each level, the stakes are higher and the scrutiny is increased.
#6 The ultimate place to land is on syndicated programs where your interview goes out to numerous stations around the country.
I did that first 1,000 watt interview with Glenn Klein on December 8 @ WRJN-AM 1400 in Milwaukee, WI. In the short space of one month, I moved through the ranks up to the 25,000 watt level and just this past week landed my first syndicated show appearance.
On Monday, I will do my second syndicated interview, this time with a show that is broadcast to [gulp] 196 radio stations across the country. (That's not a typo, it is 196 and I'm flabbergasted)
I would like to claim credit for the incredibly fast pace that this is happening, but if I did, it would be a lie.
The reason I've been able to do this is because of the intense media interest surrounding Donald Trump and my connection to him which is in my book. Without Trump, I'm just another chump hawking a book.
And I'll take that!
If you want to listen to any of my previous interviews, I have links o some of them at the bottom of the http://secretagentman.org/ homepage. Feel free to share this link, along with a comment or two on your social media pages.
If you haven't already, consider friending me on Facebook or following on Twitter.
https://www.facebook.com/RichFSaunders
https://twitter.com/RFSaunders or @RFSaunders
What follows is Very Important!
This is the broken-record section that I will include at the end of every weekly update, because it is soooo important to the success of a newly launched novel.
Only a fraction of people who hear me on a radio talk show will visit my book's page on Amazon. If they see only a few reviews, most will go no further - they will wait to see if the book becomes popular. It is like getting your first job or landing that first radio interview - it's hard because almost everyone wants to see proof that others like you or your work before they will hire you or buy your book.
So once again, I plead for you all to go to the Amazon page and Goodreads and leave a short review or even just click on some Stars - even if you haven't finished reading it yet, if you like it so far - or just want to help me out - try and find some time to do this! It is one of the most important keys in this process. I would love to see a bunch of new reviews or Star ratings before I do the nationally syndicated show on Monday:-)
Click Here for the Amazon page.
Click Here for the Goodreads page.
Thank you all for your continued support! Wish me luck on Monday!
Rich Saunders
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