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Pitch Book Idea To Publisher
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I took a course about how to sell a book to a publisher, and then crafted this letter. It produced an offer from a publisher who wanted to pay "royalties only," no advance fee, and my instructor said never to do that.

A year later, I wrote a similar letter to Ten Speed Press and sold them the manuscript for "200 Letters for Job Hunters." They paid a sizeable advance. That book sold 100,000 copies in print and online, and continues to flourish on www.cover-letters.com/. Bowkers is a publishing catalogue.


BOOK IDEA

Dick Bolles's "WHAT COLOR IS YOUR PARACHUTE?" is the best known career book in the world, selling between 18,000 and 90,000 copies per month. Yet few students actually finish the book. Many give up because it's too detailed. Too complex. They say either, "I  can't finish it alone," or "I did all the exercises and still don't know what I want to do!"

I know Dick Bolles personally, correspond with him, and offer my own 6 week seminar called "What Color is Your Parachute?" Career changers race to sign up because his book by itself isn't enough. People need more. They need something, something faster, quicker, better.

Something simple.

HOW TO OPEN YOUR PARACHUTE . . . capitalizes on this need and has a ready made market, one which Bolles himself created. His established audience is our market. My book doesn't compete with Bolles' book. It complements his, adds the missing pieces:

  1. Real life success stories
  2. The psychology of the job search
  3. Right brain, intuitive ways to make sense of your life puzzle
  4. Guidelines for starting your own job club
  5. Lessons from advertising, P.R., sales and marketing, and
  6. Ways to battle FEAR and rejection (to name a few)
Bowker's shows many career related books. Most deal with resumes, cover letters, and interviews. Few sparkle. Most compete head to head. No book even comes close to occupying the unique marketing position I am suggesting: linking with Bolles.  

This idea is hot. It sizzles. It will sell, sell, sell.

Besides running my own career management firm, I act as Vice President of P. R. for The Rocky Mountain Career Planning Association.

Highly visible in the media, I speak at association meetings, appear on radio and T.V. talk shows, lead "The Executive and Professional Job Finding Club," and write three regular career columns including one for "The Rocky Mountain News," Denver's largest newspaper (circulation 300,000+).

I have some very convincing material: a brochure, a newspaper article and a prospectus. May I send them?

Sincerely,

William S. Frank, M.A.

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William S. Frank, M.A., President/CEO
25 Reasons I love consulting.
by William S. Frank
  1. Brand. You are your own brand, and you can define it any way you want. For many years, I provided outplacement to the ex-employees of Schlumberger, the world's largest oilfield service corporation. When departing employees left the company, they didn't request outplacement in their severance package. They said, "I want Bill Frank."
  2. Demand. The world will always be full of terrible problems that need solving.
  3. White Hat. I can be a helper and get paid for it.
  4. Pay. I can be paid to do things I'd gladly do for nothing.
  5. Variety. Every day is different.
  6. Happiness. At this stage of my career, I only work for people I respect and care about. If a client micromanages me or is otherwise no fun, I complete the assignment and replace them.
  7. Talent. I'm using 110% of my talents and stretching myself to the max.
  8. Change. I can change my focus any day I want. If you're a McDonald's franchisee, you don't say, "Hey, I've got this great idea for a meatball sandwich—let's try it out today." In consulting you can adjust your focus hour-by-hour, as long as your clients still understand and appreciate what you do.
  9. Income. No one else would pay me as much as I pay myself.
  10. FUN. I can't think of anything I'd rather be doing.
  11. Retirement. I can write and consult as long as I am physically and mentally capable. Peter Drucker worked into his 90s, and when asked which book was his best, he said: "My next one."
  12. Job Security. Although clients come and go, no one can come into my office and say, "Pack up your stuff . . . You don't work here anymore." In 29 years, I've only had one employer: ME.
  13. Travel. I don't have to travel unless I decide to. I travel if it's both FUN and profitable—or at least FUN.
  14. Commute. I live five minutes from my office, a corner office in an upscale six-story tower. In winter, I leave a heated garage at home and drive to an underground heated garage at work. There's seldom time to hear even one song on the radio.
  15. Vacation. Consulting is more fun than vacation (except on Wailea Beach in Maui).
  16. Friends. I have developed hundreds of close acquaintances and several lifetime friends.
  17. Time. I can work as much or as little as I like: four-hour days or 18-hour days. (Of course, my income will reflect that.)
  18. Employees. I can work with employees, subcontractors, partners, or alone—I've done it all.
  19. Passive Income. I've developed several products that provide "mailbox money." I earn while I'm sleeping.
  20. Ethics. I've never had to violate my values or personal code of ethics. I've never had to lie, purposely deceive or harm others, or promise things I can't deliver. I go to bed with a clear conscience. That doesn't mean there's never any conflict. But the conflict is conducted according to generally accepted business practices.
  21. Virtual. My career is fairly portable. With the Internet, e-mail, cell phone, and FedEx, I can work nationally, even internationally from my office—or anywhere in the world.
  22. Purpose. I make a difference in peoples' lives every day. I see it in their faces, hear it in their voices, and read it in their thank-yous.
  23. Experience. Every painful or joyful life experience makes me a better consultant. So does every person I meet or book I read. Grey hair can be good in consulting.
  24. Structure. I have to work very hard, and the clients expect superb results—but I get to structure my days, weeks, months, and years.
  25. Boss. Most of the time, I love my boss.
As I was posting these letters online, I realized I want to communicate my love for consulting. It's just a great business. The single letters, taken together, may create a picture of enjoyment, but in a burst of creativity I listed some of the reasons consulting is such a good fit for me—and perhaps for you, too. They are not prioritized; this is just how they came out.