Road tripping

I'm having the time of my life right now promoting my book. The sky is the limit in terms of thinking up ideas on how to do this successfully. I have book signings, travel talks, and a launch party in the works. I'm looking at buying tabletop displays, banners and postcards. I'm all over this on the Social Media Networks.

It certainly takes an open mind to embark on a project that seems overwhelming at first, not to mention never-ending. But I learned a long time ago--especially during the final few weeks of writing this book, when more tears than words spilled onto the page--to take big projects one little bit at a time. If you can do that, it makes a gargantuan task seem so much smaller, thus do-able.

Along that same line of thought, I'm hoping to get together with a few other Arizona guidebook authors to promote our books as a package. A gift basket, perhaps? A group signing? Share a table at a book festival? I'm not sure yet--maybe all of the above--but these are some ideas I'm hoping to discuss more seriously with the writers very soon.

We met last week and touched on these thoughts during that meeting. Now that I've had time to consider this more fully, I think whatever we do together could be a very worthwhile project for all of us. As you may already know, I'm all about working together for the good of all. That's why I'm road tripping--getting excited about the path ahead. It's been a great ride; it's only going to get better!

So tell me, what are you "tripping" on these days?

Countryman Press authors meet

Promoting your new book is easy amongst friends. That's what I'm reminded of as the big release day for mine approaches. I'm on the final countdown now--three days to go--and here I am with Kim Grant, acquisitions editor for Countryman Press (on the far left), my publisher.

She arrived in town yesterday on assignment at the Royal Palms and scheduled a meeting between the four of us pictured here--all Countryman Press authors. Sitting next to Grant is Christine Bailey (Phoenix, Scottsdale, Sedona and Central Arizona Great Destinations: A Complete Guide), then me (Backroads & Byways of Arizona) and Teresa Bitler (Great Escapes: Arizona). Grant answered so many questions for me about the promotional process, what we can do on our own, what we can do together, how we can cross-promote (Arizona gift baskets, anyone?)...

I wish we had several hours more to chat about the process, but since I'm the newest author in the group, I didn't have as many questions (aside from a few basics) as Christine did; she's on her second edition. It's been two or three years since her book came out. I was told when my second edition time rolls around, I'll need to add several more chapters to the guide. The first one includes 12 trips. I'll need to add six more to the next edition. That's fine with me. I've already got a few ideas for that, based on what early viewers have requested. But I think I'll focus on this first one for now. It's got to sell.

Grant shared with us the bad news: books aren't really selling in this market. But she also had good news: Countryman Press is still looking for pitches. Great! I have a few of those as well.

The road ahead? It's going to be a long one. But I'm definitely on it!

What big road lies ahead for you? Are you prepared to ride it all the way through? Share the steps you're taking here.

Authors: on finishing a long-term project

Well, I did it

I really did write my first book. Backroads & Byways of Arizona really is going to be published.

You've heard this before here, but now it truly and officially is complete on my end. I just sent the final proof copy (with a few minor edits) back to the publisher for printing. They responded with relief over the mistakes I caught, and I'm told I can expect to see a real copy in my hands by August. But, as they ran behind on the schedule as it is, I am thinking I'll see it in September. It's going to be on the shelves in October. You can already pre-order the book at places like Powell's bookstore online and also at Borders, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com. (Search for it under my name or the book's title. The link above is to an Arizona-based independent bookstore, Changing Hands.)

I'm feeling such a myriad of feelings. They fall somewhere between relief (Thank goodness that part's done!), elation (Wow, I wrote a real book! And it includes all my own photographs!), fear (Yikes, what if I made a huge error and didn't catch it?), hesitation (Will my readers like it, find it useful?) and worry (I hope the editor takes care of all the edits correctly.). Back and forth I go from one of those feelings to the next. It's been that way since I turned in the very first edit. We won't go into the feelings I had during the writing process, especially the end of it. Those are not fit to print here. But I've been bracing myself for each next step since, just moving forward in the process as best I could.

Curious to know how other other authors have felt at this moment, the moment when they, too, finished their long-term book project and turned it in to the publisher, I asked a few authors on Facebook and Twitter. Here are their responses:

• Brette Sember, author of Bad Apples: How to Manage Difficult Employees (Adams Media) and more than 35 other books, says about her first one, "I think I was nervous about what people would think of it, scared it wouldn't be received well." Long past those feelings now, Sember says she feels relief when she's completed another book project. She can actually feel "excitement to move on to the next."

• Andrew Hayes, a writer in the United Kingdom, says it was a bit weird after he finished his book, The Edinburgh Historic Walking Guide (Available next week, you can pre-order it now!) and turned it in to the publisher. "Perhaps surreal is the right word. I never thought I could accomplish such a task as writing a 50,000-word document in three months." After such intensity, relief set in as he realized how much time had passed. "...it wasn't until I saw the sample cover that I realized the reality of the situation. Success!" Now he says he "can't wait to get started on the next one." It's a walking guide to Amsterdam.

• If you were Dara Chadwick, author of an important new book out this year, You'd Be So Pretty If, which explores the mother-daughter relationship and how it affects body image, you'd feel quite the mixture: pride, fear, relief (there's that word again), "and something I can only describe as bittersweet." She explains why she felt all of this: "Pride because, hey, I just finished a book--and not only that, but it was MY book: my idea, my passion, my project from start to finish. Fear because it's a deeply personal book and a subject I care about. How would others respond? Would they understand what I'd written? I felt relief because signing a book contract was the biggest professional commitment I'd ever made and I'd met my commitment." The bittersweet feelings resulted from the fact that her book really was about her relationship with her now deceased mother. "She really would have been so proud," says Chadwick, who was also sad to say goodbye to the process of writing the book itself, adding, "Letting go of my 'baby' was difficult."

• Relief seems to be the common theme amongst authors, as Illinois-based Annie Logue, who wrote the Socially Responsible Investing for Dummies book for Wiley (published this year) felt that, too. "And now? She says she feels "like I need to start working on all the things that I put off while working on the book."

Have you written a book or worked on a long-term project which left you feeling at some point during the process that maybe it would never end? You know it took persistence to pull you through. You had to believe in yourself and what you were doing. If you've got a long-term project going on now, even if it isn't a book, maybe you can relate to what all of us here have experienced. Eventually, you can expect to see that sense of relief set in. And it's a great accomplishment, as Sam Greengard, author of Finding the Work You Love, says. But most of all, it's pretty damn cool to join the ranks of the published authors worldwide. I think I'll rest on that feeling, at least for today.

Tomorrow, I have work to do.

So much for relief, right? What do you think?

Partner with others

If you're having a difficult time moving forward in your career or personal life, no matter the challenge, sometimes it's helpful to partner with others.

Recently, I met with several women authors who are either getting ready to publish or have published new books. We all are looking for advice and direction on how to market our books. So we thought it would be helpful to get together and exchange ideas. Some of us are further along than others. Some of us are just getting started.

So we agreed to meet at a wine bar, and we spent that first evening learning a lot about each other's work. We each took turns sharing what our book projects are about, and it was truly an inspiring evening. One author's book helps her readers eat and live healthier, another author's book guides readers through techniques that lead you to become your authentic self, and mine (which isn't out yet) guides you through the Backroads & Byways of Arizona (Countryman Press, Fall 2009).

Just getting together like this made us each realize that together we can do good things, and the meeting led to a connection with someone I might not have spent time with otherwise.

But we've already run into our first snag--time. I've proposed a second meeting and hope it'll occur soon, but summer schedules are taking over, and I know that's going to be another challenge to overcome. I think what will happen is our group will become slightly smaller, but I do think we'll continue meeting.

I've already discovered that one of the authors is willing to drive around the state with me to promote our books together. So if nothing more comes out of this first meeting, that did. And that's something. It also solidifies my thoughts about creating partnerships wherever possible; it sure makes those daunting tasks ahead seem a lot easier to bear. Most importantly, you are reminded you're not alone.

So partner up! Find someone to help you through the challenges that crop up both normally and not so normally. Find a group of like-minded (or not) people who are working on something similar as yourself and could use outside input. The blogathon that's taking place this month here at BIKE WITH JACKIE is another good example of partnering benefits. I've seen my page hits go up. I'm attracting new readers. And, hopefully, I'm helping some of you out there handle your own headaches. Sometimes, it takes an aspirin. But other times, it just takes a little exercise--in positive action.

Now let's hear from you. Has there been a time when you've partnered up? What happened because of it? What lessons did you learn? If you'll share your stories here, your words might help someone else, and I always appreciate the input.

And thanks to Andrea Beaulieu for sending me the photo from our first authors' meeting. Can you tell we had a great time? And look at us proudly show off our work. Sweet!

Will a bad economy unleash the bullies?

As you know, I focus my BIKE work around challenges we face in our lives. One them may involve bullying.

It's been in the news a lot recently. Most of those stories, however, have centered around bullying children. An article I read online last week suggests bullying might even become more of a problem in the workplace now, because people are under stress from the economic downturn. This is happening worldwide. To get to the bottom of this issue and what we can do about it, I asked someone I know to see what she had to say.

The person I turned to, Jean McFarland, specializes in dealing with culture-based conflict among employees. She's recently published a book about the topic, called BULLIES AMONG US: What To Do When Work's No Fun, in which she addresses the topic, its challenges, and the possible solutions to combating what could be, if this news report is accurate, an escalating problem for employers in the coming months.

If you happen to be one of those employers, if you're an employee dealing with bullying, if you've ever been affected by bullying behavior, you might be interested in what Jean has to say:

Based on the article that suggests bullying in the workplace could become more of a problem now, what's your view?

I wouldn’t say bullying is caused by the current economic situation, but I would say the added stress of the economic situation aggravates already existing situations and intensifies bullying. We will see more and worse cases of bullying, but perhaps less action, both from a legislative standpoint and within organizations, as people focus on what they see as bigger problems [economic].

If, as your book states, two out of five employees experience bullying in the workplace, and if 64 percent of those targeted by bullies are driven to quit their jobs, why isn't this more of a concern to employers?

I think your underlying question is Why do employers keep bullies despite the fact that almost 40% of employees have experienced bullying and 64% of targets are driven out of their jobs? There are multiple reasons. Here are a few:

-The vast majority of workplace bullies are “bosses” of their targets. Therefore they have power and are more likely to be believed.

-The boss’ superior doesn’t want to admit he/she made a mistake in hiring the bully
-A blind eye is turned by all toward bullying behaviors as simply “differences in personality” or “that’s just the way he/she is.”
-Many organizations have no policy in place for dealing with bullies.
-Employers don’t know the real cost of workplace bullying.

As a target of bullying yourself, how did you respond?

When I was bullied in various workplaces, I didn’t know about workplace bullies. That seems strange to me now. How could I not know? But I find that people still don’t recognize the behavior they have tolerated as being bullying. People at my presentations make comments such as “I didn’t know I was bullied. I thought I just had a really mean boss.” Upper-management people who have read my book express their ah-ha’s when they realize that some really difficult people they have had to work with or for were actually bullies toward them.

My response was always to try harder to get along with the individual and to try to improve my productivity. Of course, that is exactly the wrong response toward bullies. In turn, they step up their bullying activities. As with the majority of targets, eventually I separated from the bully—either I left or, in one case, the bully left.

Do you see a correlation between those who are bullied at home and those who are bullied at work?

This is a difficult question. Workplace bullies generally target people or teams whom they find threatening and/or superior to them in some way. I believe domestic bullies are likely to be workplace bullies.

In one of your personal stories cited in the book, you mentioned that you'd lost respect for the boss. Does that make the situation worse for the target?

Does loss of respect for the boss make the situation worse? In the case you reference, I don’t know if my boss understood I had lost respect for him or if it made any difference to him. I believe he had been a bully before he met me and would be a bully to someone wherever he was. Many bullies are serial bullies. In fact, research shows that after targets leave, some bullies adopt a new target within 30 minutes.

For the 39 percent of those who are bullied, those who you say file complaints, what is the usual result of this? How encouraging is this for the target?

To date, results are discouraging. The situation is often made worse for the target. This is why I wrote BULLIES AMONG US. I want targets and managers to know they can take actions themselves against bullying, because they probably won’t receive much help.

What is the number one thing the target can do when first approached by a bully?

Of course, this varies with the situation. One of the 8 actions to take that I name in my book is to Make a Decision whether or not, given the situation, the target wants to confront the bully. If so, I suggest having witnesses. Definitely, I would suggest writing down all the details of the incident. In my book, I present a form that targets can use to keep a record of all encounters. For example, date and place, of course, but also witnesses, words spoken, behaviors, etc.

What is the number one thing an employer should do when made aware of bullying behavior in the workplace?

Take action. Believe that an incident occurred until proven otherwise. Get all the details. Talk with the involved parties together to try to understand what’s going on. Keep a record of the complaint, the meeting, and results. Definitely do not blow it off as a personality conflict.

If there’s no policy against workplace bullying, one should be instituted as quickly as possible. All employees should be informed the policy exists, how bullying is defined, bullying won’t be tolerated, what to do if bullying behaviors are witnessed or experienced. This information should be posted where employees of all levels will see it.

To read more, you can find Jean's book, BULLIES AMONG US: What To Do When Work's No Fun, online at Amazon.com and also at Barnes & Noble. If you have any questions of your own for Jean, post them here, and I'll ask her to respond. Otherwise, you can read more about Jean's thoughts on bullying at her blog.

If you like what you read here, let me know. I'll be including more author interviews or book reviews in the future. As Jean and I agree, awareness can help you combat the challenges in life. If it's not bullying, it might besomething else.

Thanks for visiting.

~Jackie

What are you reading right now?

I always have several books on my nightstand, on my coffee table, on my office desk that I'm reading. It used to be that I'd read one at a time, but I've learned to muti-task even my reading. The thought of this makes me want to know from you: What are you reading?

Are you delving into any of the books from my book list I posted again last week while I was out of town? Are you interested in self-help, history, biographies? What really sustains a high level of interest for you? Do you read the daily newspapers--your local one, regional pubs, the nationals?

My interests run the gamut, but I'm always reading consumer and travel magazines. I love the news weeklies, but I don't subscribe anymore. I generally read my news online these days. And, of course, I'm a big fan of books. I buy them by the armful, and some I get for free because of the type of work I do.

Most recently, I completed a colleague of mine's book: Am I Hungry? by Michelle May, M.D. (with Lisa Galper, Psy.D. and Janet Carr, M.S., R.D.). She gave me the copy so I could complete my research on a story I'm writing about her for a publication expanding into Phoenix called Better Health and Living.

I've also opened up and begun several more books, some of which I'm reading to review, some are for research I need to do, some are for pure pleasure. For the most part, these books are just recently published, a few of them were referrals, either directly or indirectly, the others are about topics I just need to know more about for various reasons. I'm not sure when I'll finish them. I'm sure one of them will sustain my interest more than another, and I'll finish it first and then move on to the next. But I flip through pages of books constantly. I am not a Kindle girl. I prefer the real book. And here's my current list:

Indignation by Philip Roth
The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs
Web 2.0: A Strategy Guide by Amy Shuen
The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss
Blogger: Beyond the Basics by Lee Jordan
The IT Girl's Guide to Blogging with Moxie by Joelle Reeder & Katherine Scoleri
The Complete Idiot's Guide to The Law of Attraction by Diane Ahlquist
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Mindfulness by Anne Ihnen and Carolynn Flynn
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Psychology of Happiness by Arelene Matthews Uhl
How We Lead Matters by Marilyn Carlson Nelson
You're Broke Because You Want to Be by Larry Winget
The Compassionate Samurai by Brian Klemmer

I'll be reviewing some of these books in the coming weeks or months ahead here. If you've read any of these, let us know what you think.