Club members describe their book-publishing successes to 'Lunch and Learn' attendees

It’s hard to make a living selling books unless your name is J.K. Rowling or Stephen King but becoming a published author may support other aspects of being a professional communicator, according to two accomplished authors who are also Club members.

At a recent “Lunch and Learn” session hosted by the Communicators Team, Ed Barks and Edward Segal discussed the business of writing a book instead of the craft of writing itself, and how publishing has advanced their consulting careers.

Barks and Segal are longtime Communicator members, and their combined publishing experience covers nearly a half-century. Through the years they have primarily written about communications. But they have taken separate paths to publishing to reach their audiences.

Segal has worked with well-known publishing houses to write two of his three books. He said partnering with a traditional publisher provides many resources for getting a book into the marketplace.

“I didn’t want to get bogged down with all the details I knew I would have to deal with by myself,” Segal said. “I was also concerned with all the costs related to hiring the people I would need to get the job done.”

Authors must have a literary agent and a book proposal to land a publishing contract, Segal said. And if they are lucky to find a publisher, it could take two years or longer to publish a book.

Barks, on the other hand, has independently published his four books, and the time it took to get them to market was faster, as quickly as two and a half months from start to finish.

“Indie authors and publishers manage their own publishing businesses rather than rely on agents and old-style, traditional publishing houses,” Barks said. “It gives added control of content and speed to market.”

While Segal’s publisher had a group of specialists supporting him, Barks assembled a team to deal with all aspects of the publishing business, such as editing, promotions and even selecting the title.

“If you have run a business or commit to learning what it takes to start a business, independent publishing may be a good fit for you,” Barks said. “However, you will need to get familiar with the industry.”

As president and founder of Barks Communications, a communications strategy firm and small business that is marking its 25th anniversary this year, Barks uses his books as calling cards to showcase his expertise and market his practice.

Bark’s latest book, “Insider Strategies for the Confident Communicator,” which describes the strategies savvy communicators practice every day to achieve their business and public policy goals, is available as a free download on his website. 

“Crisis Ahead: 101 Ways to Prepare for and Bounce Back from Disasters, Scandals, and Other Emergencies,"  is Segal’s handbook on how to prepare for, manage, and recover from crises. It was published by Nicholas Brealey, which is part of the Hachette Book Group, one of the world’s largest publishers of trade and educational books.

Named as one of the best crisis management books of all time by BookAuthority.org, Segal submitted the book as his writing sample to become a Leadership Strategy Senior Contributor for Forbes.com, where he covers late-breaking and crisis-related news, topics and issues.

During the session, both authors recommended resources that were helpful to their publishing careers.

Barks attended Robin Sullivan’s Washington, D.C. Write to Publish Meetup Group and reads publishing industry expert Jane Friedman’s blog. He also suggested technology entrepreneur and writer Guy Kawasaki’s book “APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur.”

Segal said there are two essential how-to books by author coach Michael Larsen that he has relied on: “How to Write a Book Proposal: The Insider's Step-by-Step Guide to Proposals that Get You Published” and “How to Get a Literary Agent.”

Both Barks and Segal encouraged the session’s attendees to start pursuing their dreams to write a book now.

“If you’re looking for immediate validation, immediate acceptance and immediate applause, don’t try to become an author,” Segal said. “But if you’re determined, persistent, disciplined and optimistic, and you think you have a good book and you know you have a good agent, if you go that route, don’t give up.”