Self-Published Author Interview – Diane Marentette of The New Brain for Business Institute

If you have questions about self-publishing your book, check out my interview today with Diane Marentette. She and Richard Trafton are the authors of “A New Brain For Business,” and Diane had some great information to share…

Tell us about your self-published book.

Our book is "A New Brain for Business: Leadership Practices that Unleash the Very Best from Your People and Your Business." We wrote the book to capture the work we had been doing with our clients, because they were asking for it (you may want to watch our video on our site to hear more about this)!

We published it in May of this year, and it is now available in three formats: a hard copy is available directly from our website at www.newbrainforbusiness.com and both a paperback copy and a Kindle version of the book are available at www.Amazon.com.

Why did you decide to self-publish?

We submitted eight or nine proposals to publishers or agents and ultimately spoke with five of them. In every case where we had a conversation, they were all interested in our completing an “author’s marketing plan” that would convince them that we would do what it takes to sell books.

At the time, that felt like it was taking us in a direction that would pull us away from our work with our clients, which is where our hearts are. In addition, a good friend had self-published a book and was very pleased with the results, so we decided to take that route.

What was your biggest challenge to overcome in self-publishing your book and why? How did you overcome that challenge?

We started with website providers who published “on-demand.” The company we started with turned out to be extremely unresponsive and unhelpful with technical problems (we work exclusively with Apple products, and that company only wanted Microsoft output).

We struggled with that for several weeks, finally got the book to “proof” and were very dissatisfied with the output. The big learning, however, was that “on-demand publishing” meant that if a client wanted to order a book, it could take literally weeks to receive a copy.

Once we realized that, it became pretty easy to shift gears. We then found a printer and a fulfillment house and got on with the process of publishing the book for sale on our website. (It was inexpensive and easy to then get a Kindle version on Amazon. We just made a paperback version available, too, and that was remarkably easy and fast!)

What has been the best part about self-publishing your book and why?

We were able to do it quickly and “control” the process and output. We got the book out and are able to use it in our business.

Getting it published has had a huge impact on our approach to our business and our future, a real milestone for us. So, there have been many “best” parts of self-publishing our book!

What advice do you have for other writers who are self-publishing their book?

Clarify your intentions and expectations. Are you hoping for a best seller? Are you hoping to make much money? Are you wanting to have a book available for any specific reason, such as supporting other work you do? Will you be satisfied if no one buys the book but you got it published? Are you willing to spend some money to get it published - although most self-publishing efforts are extremely inexpensive, they also do not get you much return.

Self-publishing is hard because of the potential “false” promises it holds - thinking through the promises you think self-publishing holds for you and asking questions to find out if they are real is the best advice we can give!

Is there anything else you would like to add?

If you want a “professional looking” book, get an editor to read and help you at least get the language and syntax correct. Get an illustrator for pictures and layout, and a great cover.

Think through every aspect of the book, and don’t accept your proof just because you are tired of the entire process! You’ve made it this far (written the book) but you are not done. Bring it home.


Fantastic advice Diane! For more information about Diane and Richard’s book, “A New Brain For Business,” and how to use your new brain for business success, visit http://www.newbrainforbusiness.com/.



And if you have questions about selling your book online, please write to me here or at www.jexbo.com. I’d love to hear from you!