Jon Samsel

After several requests, I have decided to publish my eight stage website planning process. If you are a web designer or developer tasked with building a new website, or if you are a web executive contemplating a redesign of your corporate site, think of this outline as a handy checklist for each stage in the web planning process–from discovery through optimization.

I have also included a PowerPoint version of the 8 stage website planning process here.

Stage 1: Discover
Purpose of site
Top 5 business goals
Top 5 user goals
Approximate page count
Style, tone & brand positioning
Top 5 unique features
Traffic sources
Onsite advertising
Calls to action / lead routing
Domain name / URL
How site complements current strategy
How site augments current strategy
Websites this site might emulate
Competitive sites
Timeline / launch date(s)
Definition of successful launch

Stage 2: Plan
Project team & roles
Financial overview
Marketing overview
Communications overview
Project management process
Key project phases
Content requirements
Assumptions & dependencies
Visitor personas & task paths
Major site features & functionality
Design, navigation & architecture
Publishing platform/CMS
Databases, integration & technologies
Tracking & reporting
Natural search & ADA requirements
Hosting & service level agreements

Stage 3: Build
Wireframes & design mock-ups
New content / rights clearance
API’s and RSS feeds
Prototype pages
Usability testing
Searchability testing
Source codes & phone #’s
Landing pages / transactive pages
Legal & compliance
Change control process
Quality control
Staging & user acceptance testing

Stage 4: Publish
Article creation / RSS feeds
Asset management
Publishing sign off process
Syndication
Publishing calendar
Subject matter experts / moderators
User generated content
Multimedia publishing
Publishing platform/CMS
Legal & compliance sign off

Stage 5: Maintain
Up-time requirements
System administration
Software/hardware upgrades
Hosting/security
Documentation
Capacity
Page load times
System performance tuning
Back-up/archiving

Stage 6: Market
Paid campaigns
Natural campaigns
Inbound link building
Landing page overflow
Inter/Intra site linking
Syndication of content
Campaign tracking & reporting
Integrated / stand alone
URL promotion

Stage 7: Measure
Analytic packages
Tagging, tracking & reporting
Cookies & logic
Campaign set up / mods
Natural vs. paid breakout
Tracking to goals
Social / delayed response
Banner performance
LP funnel performance
Site load time / up time

Stage 8: Optimize
Direct response testing
Multivariate testing
Landing page testing
Banner ad testing
Best practice sharing

I was sorting through some old boxes in my garage the other day when I came across various mementos from my past–an old baseball signed by five or six members of the 1974 World Champion Oakland A’s baseball team (Rollie Fingers was my favorite player), a few old trophies, a tattered wallet, and a miniature book.

It was my first short story (really short, that is). “The Key to Life and Death.” I remember creating it one winter afternoon when I was home sick with the cold and flu. I was nine years old and stuck home alone, bored out of my mind. I wanted to do something creative–but what? No paint. No computer. Just me and my insatiable imagination.

The idea of writing a story sprang into my head. A mystery. Something eerie and unexpected. Something with my name on it as the author. Yeah!

My parents had a fairly new Smith Corona electric typewriter in the hall closet. I found an unused, Wells Fargo-branded 3″ x 4″ notepad in a desk drawer. Only about 10-15 small sheets were left–but I figured it would do. I dimmed the lights, placed a tan, felt Fedora on my head, inserted a piece of paper into the feed rack of the typewriter, and began writing.

Here is the actual mini-book for your viewing pleasure. It’s not a very good story, mind you. But ah, the memories! Enjoy.

Cover

Title page

Page 1

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Page 3

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Page 6

Writing a book is a marvelous adventure, and the only way to find out if you have the spirit for it is to take the plunge and do the book. It’s like having a child of your own and watching it grow. Does the idea of bringing something new into the world appeal to you? If so then you should gain real satisfaction from writing.

John Berendt was a magazine editor in New York. Then he answered the call of his adventurous spirit. He went to Savannah, Georgia with a tape recorder, walked the shady squares of that charming city, and soaked up some of the town’s flavor, atmosphere, and got to know its people. The result was a legal saga involving a killing. He called his book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Not too shabby for a book deemed “of limited regional interest” by certain publishers. Crucial point. Book publishers make mistakes and sometimes big whoppers. Never forget this truth as long as you write.

Darryl Wimberley, an unpublished author toiling away at his craft in Austin, Texas, could not arouse the interest of agents or editors in any of his five completed novels. He decided he could not wait around for his career to “happen” so he hired a woman to submit ten manuscripts at a time to agents and, selectively, to editors at a limited number of publishing houses. The woman he hired sent him a clipping of a writing contest. Darryl’s novels did not fit into any of the book categories the contest called for, but he figured, “What the heck, if I submit a manuscript, maybe it will spark the interest of one of the readers.” Darryl submitted a manuscript and a few weeks later, he received a telephone call from one of the contest organizers. His novel was not one of the semi-finalists. But one of the readers loved Darryl’s work and asked the contest organizers if they could put them in touch with the author. Two weeks later, Darryl had a two-book deal with St. Martin’s Press!

The late Jim Fixx wrote what he knew. He was a daily jogger and well able to do a first-rate book on the subject. He thought his book would sell 30,000 copies. It did far better. It brought him $1 million in royalties in only fifteen months. But Jim was lucky. His book came out just as the national jogging craze was hitting full force. It was great timing, and Jim’s book quickly became a blockbuster success.

This anything-can-happen feature of the book business generates an excitement, a gusto in its potential, and an aspect of romance. There is a sense of satisfaction in being a part of such an industry.

Despite being turned down, often by leading publishers, some books go on to become great successes and carve their own special places in the marketplace. This book in your hands definitely reflects the truth that you can’t keep a good book down. Agents and editors may give the heave-ho to certain books, only to see them still make it to the bestseller lists. The real lesson here, for every author, is that no one agent, or editor’s rejection, should ever be taken as the final word.

Every article writer needs a helping hand, from time to time, coming up with idea for a new article. Some stimulus, connection or link in a writer’s mind often leads to a new article. For example, you may feel lonely one rainy afternoon and because of this feeling decide to create an article about depression, suicide, or the end of a water shortage crisis. Perhaps a phrase you see in a magazine suggests an article. Or a blog posting like this one jump starts your creative thinking.

Here are 40 suggestions to jump-start ideas for articles:

1. An interesting fact. Here is an example: Yale Daily News reported that 41 percent of Yale undergraduates were women. This interesting fact could lead to an article on the increased number of women at top Ivy League schools such as Yale and Harvard.
2. An Event. School, civic, musical or sports events may all suggest a possible article. Example: You hear about a class reunion held by your old high school or college. After attending the reunion, you could write an article like “The Joy and Heartache of Class Reunions.”
3. A season of the year. Have you ever considered the miracle of spring and how it returns each year from March 21 to June 21? Pondering this time of the year could easily stimulate an article titled, ‘‘The Return of Spring” or “21 Ways to Get Ready For Spring Cleaning.
4. An observation. One day a friend happened to remark that he “could count the number of his real friends on the fingers of one hand.” This led to an article idea, “The Miracle of Friendship.”
5. You might also consider writing an article about a remark or statement you hear. Here is an example: One day I was watching my new car go through a supposedly reliable car wash. Two workers jumped inside the car to vacuum. Suddenly, they started joking with one another and engaging in a slap fight. When my car was ready to go, it was discovered that inside mirror was in a new position, the radio was set to a new channel, and one of the floor mats was missing. Right on the spot I decided to blog about the service of this local car wash in a humorous article. Do you see how a feeling, emotion, or mood can trigger a new article? No doubt many articles have been given life because a writer was shocked, angry, disgusted, or irritated about something.
6. A warning of danger. To begin, make a list of dangerous things. Some examples are: “Investing Can Be Dangerous to Your Wealth,” “Beware of the Little Green Mold Monster,” or “Ride the New Mega-Scream Rollercoaster at Your Own Risk.
7. Visiting a place––even vicariously. “Syracuse: Home of the Orangemen,” “The Place Where McDonald’s Was Born,” and “Nashville: A City for All Seasons” are a few examples.
8. A holiday. One way is to consider how various holidays affect people. How do prisoners feel on major holidays? What about poor people, those in hospitals, or those who live alone? Example: “Holidays Can Be the Loneliest Time of the Year,” or “Kwanza Decorating Secrets.”
9. An intriguing question. Here is an example: “Ever Dream of Becoming a Spy?” Other possibilities with this method are “Will Time Travel Be Possible in Our Lifetime?” and “Should the Big Three Automakers Get a Bailout or Face Bankruptcy?”
10. Advice someone offered, including your own. Example: Perhaps you would like to create an article that would help troubled readers facing difficulties in life. Possible titles might be: “10 Tips for Discovering Your True Purpose in Life,” or “How to Land a New Job in Less Than 30 Days.”
11. A quotation. Quotes have triggered hundreds of new articles and probably thousands over the years. Example: Oracle CEO Larry Ellison made the following remark: “Microsoft’s future is based on the idea of Windows everywhere. We think that will never happen. We think it will be the Web everywhere.” This seems like a natural article for someone hoping to write about the impact the Internet has had on our lives, or an article about Microsoft losing its dominance in the computer marketplace. A writer reads an enormous number of quotations during a career. So be alert for those quotes that may have the seeds of one or more articles. They are out there. Look between the words. Examine the quotations you like from all angles. You’ll be glad you did.
12. An obituary. For example, “Adrian Kantrowitz, 90, a doctor who performed the first human heart transplant in the United States, died from congestive heart failure Nov. 14 at the University of Michigan Medical Center.” Or this news headline: “Paul Newman, actor and philanthropist, died on September 27th, aged 83.” The passing of a celebrity or interesting person can trigger an article idea because readers out there always like summary-type articles about an unexpected death; a kind of memorial or tribute type article. Don’t overlook reading obits, for there are definite articles waiting to be written about the famous or well-known.
13. Statistical information. Intriguing, alarming, or surprising numerical reports may well suggest an article. This is one reason for not overlooking reports on all subjects. Example: “The average American’s household credit card debt in 1990 was $2,966. In 2007 is was $9,840.” These stats could be the seed for a number of articles about staying out of debt, not using credit cards, or limiting the use to one or two.
14. A belief held by many people. Reincarnation is a belief held by millions of people all over the world. Some reports have stated half of all Americans believe in it. Two possible titles for an article on reincarnation might be “Do We Live Again?” or “If Reincarnation Is True, There’s No Escape.” Another belief held by most children is that Santa Clause is real. Imagine articles such as “The Origins of Kris Kringle.” Or, “Economic Meltdown: Why Santa Clause Won’t Be Coming to Town This Year.”
15. A need to influence a certain business segment or career group. First choose the career group or discipline you’d like to direct your article to––such as sales managers or online traffic buyers––then develop a premise around solving a problem of fulfilling a need. Some examples are: “How to Motive Your Sales Staff,” “15 Ways to Optimize Online Media Campaigns,” and “How to Develop an Integrated Media Plan to Increase Revenue.”
16. A particular type of problem: business, family, or personal. Example: “Stop Snoring Forever.” Another one is “How to Avoid Bankruptcy in Five Simple Steps.”
17. A declarative statement. Declarative statements are everywhere––from the marketing copy on your breakfast cereal box, to the subtitle on that cookbook on the kitchen table, to that sales flyer tucked under your windshield wiper. Some declarative statements that might be used for articles include: “Delicious, healthy meals in 10 minutes or less,” “Landscaping can increase the value of your home” and “Bran is an excellent source of fiber.”
18. An idea. Example: Consider the often expressed idea that there will be much greater use of robots in the years ahead. This could well lead to an article. Here is another possibility: The idea that it pays for writers to know the business side, as well as the creative side, of their line of work. Such an article would be right on target for trade publications for writers or a creative writing blog.
19. A trait or quality shared by most people. Example: Millions of people are fans of Marilyn Monroe. A touching tribute was once published about her that discussed her childlike quality, which comes across on the screen. Members of the human family share this trait of being childlike. An article written about this subject might be titled: “The Child in All of Us.” Lots of people throughout the world have freckles. Why not an article for a woman’s magazine titled: “Freckles Are Fabulous.”
20. A dramatic, unusual or surprising phrase. We urge you to keep a special notebook of shocking phrases you might come across in your everyday life; they can often lead to article ideas. Keep your ears tuned for anything unusual, fresh, or captivating. For example, a veteran insurance agent claimed he got results selling insurance by asking prospects the following question: “Will your widow dress as well as your wife does?” Imagine an article with a similar title! “Surviving the Ups and Downs of a Tumultuous Market” is a title culled from today’s troubling financial headlines. “Are You Afraid to Die?” is another phrase that might perk a few ears. Or how about: “Rinsing with Vinegar Can Cure an Itchy Scalp.”

Click here to go to Part 2 of this article.

You’ve heard of the hot dog on a stick, right? Well, an entire website crammed on to a homepage is just as juicy and delicious. Check out TheRichKids.com or click on the image to the left. Hard to stomach, ain’t it?

Usually relegated to the design bowels of those annoying vitamin cures and weight loss scams, websites like this somehow manage to cram every direct response cliché into a single never-ending, vertically scrolling page.

I suppose some of these websites must be making money or else they would not be live for very long. Perhaps this type of site design is proof positive that direct response marketing really does work. Thank you Ronco!

Even though websites on a stick defy every rule of good web design, visitors must surely find themselves mousing down the elongated home page much like a driver caught in a traffic jam, rubbernecking a crash scene. Gotta…see…the…carnage.

Go direct response!

Every now and then you come across a zinger-of-an opening paragraph in a book that compels you to continue reading with great zeal. I can remember back when I was a boy, thumbing through one of my Hardy Boys mysteries in earnest, relishing each character, setting and clue and as they unfolded before my eyes. I haven’t forgotten how impactful those first impressions were, and how if the book didn’t grab me at the beginning, I would replace that tome with another, more engaging read.

I was cleaning out my office the other day when I came across a tattered edition of What Makes Sammy Run? by Budd Shulberg. It’s been one of my favorite books over the years. Something about the setting (Hollywood), the characters (so common, so real) and the dialog (so quotable), as well as the profound life lessons sprinkled throughout the work.

I opened the novel and read the first paragraph:

The first time I saw him he couldn’t have been much more than sixteen years old, a little ferret of a kid, sharp and quick. Sammy Glick. Used to run copy for me. Always ran. Always looked thirsty.

Wow. This is almost everything we need to know about the main subject of the novel without really knowing anything about him.

Then my mind got to thinking about other books and alternative opening paragraphs. I flipped open another favorite book of mine, Arthur Golden’s Memoirs of a Geisha:

Suppose that you and I were sitting in a quiet room overlooking a garden, chatting and sipping at our cups of green tea while we talked about something that happened a long while ago, and I said to you, “That afternoon when I met so-and-so…was the very best afternoon of my life, and also the very worst afternoon.” I expect you might put down your teacup and say, “Well, now which was it? Was it the best or the worst? Because it can’t possibly have been both!” Ordinarily I’d have to laugh at myself and agree with you. But the truth is that the afternoon when I met Mr. Tanaka Ichiro really was the best and the worst of my life. He seemed so fascinating to me, even the fish smell on his hands was a kind of perfume. If I had never known him, I’m sure I would not have become a geisha.

Another stunner of an opening paragraph can be found in J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye:

If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don’t feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth.

And who can forget this memorable, single line opening paragraph from Ray Bradbury’s novel, Fahrenheit 451:

It was a pleasure to burn.

A well-written opening paragraph hooks the reader and jetisons them further into the book. Often times great opening paragraphs become etched into a reader’s mind long after a book is finished. Isn’t that what helps separates a good book from a great read? I think so.

A good novel has five essentials, and without them the chances are less that your book will find a home. These five musts are conflict, character, dialogue, setting, and action. Be sure your novel has the five, and you may have a chance. Let’s take a look at each:

1.  Conflict
What is a story, a novel, without conflict? The answer is dull. Real life is saturated with conflict, and fiction needs it too. Think of the conflict in Wuthering Heights, Gone With the Wind, and other books. When Scarlett vowed she would ‘‘never be hungry again,’’ she was rising victoriously over the struggle of bouncing back from the ravages of the Civil War and all it had done to her, her family, and her beloved Tara.

2.  Character
Readers of novels enter the lives of fictional characters in a sense, and this is all the more reason to have an intriguing lead (major character) in a book. When you write fiction you are speaking with character and action, not about character and action.

What would Jane Eyre do next? That is what holds the reader’s attention and keeps them turning the pages. Think of the female lawyer in John Grisham’s  The Client, the retired country scholar turned knight-errant in Miguel de Cervantes’ Don Quixote de la Mancha, the copy boy turned studio mogul  in Budd Shulberg’s  What Makes Sammy Run?, the coal miner turned labor activist in Ken Follett’s A Place Called Freedom, the condemned adulteress in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlett Letter, the lowly rebel against society in George Orwell’s 1984, the young hard-boiled detective in Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon, and other unforgettable characters. In every case, particularly the classic novels, there is a very strong character smack in the middle of conflict.

3.  Dialogue
The words a character speaks is dialogue, and it reveals the on-going story. Any novel without enough dialogue simply dies on the vine because there is not enough going on between the characters. Can you imagine little or no dialogue in Oliver Twist or A Tale of Two Cities?

4.  Setting
Some authors believe the setting of a novel makes little difference. Others think it has an important bearing on the total result and keeping the author interested. Hemingway set one of his short stories, “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place,” in a favorite cafe he frequented. John Berendt’s Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil would not be the same book if the setting were anywhere else but Savannah. In fact, the book’s popularity is due, in part, to the author’s ability to breathe life into the setting itself.

5.  Action
What happens, the pace of events in the unfolding story is the action. If nothing much happens, there would be little action. Take the popular male hero action stories like the James Bond series and you have a good example of action in a novel. Daniel Silva’s razor-sharp suspense novel, The Mark of the Assassin, takes the reader on an action-packed journey around the world. In Ken Follett’s The Pillars of the Earth, readers are plunged into a brutal, 12th Century struggle for the succession of the English throne.

I have tried to impart an energy, a dynamic spirit, into the postings on this blog—not only to show the potential for today’s author, but also the changing nature of the publishing industry.

These postings should be of help and interest to students of writing, teachers, conferences for writers, college and university classes in writing and publishing, reviewers, editors, agents, booksellers, and anyone interested in the world of books.

A special feature of the blog is the specific guidance given on writing and selling all the major types of books including mass-market originals, romances, general interest titles, business and professional, children’s books, how-to’s, textbooks, scientific-technical works, computer books, humorous books, and more.

There are special blog posts on writing and selling the novel, the wide choice of nonfiction book ideas, finding material for potential best-sellers, testing a book idea before it’s developed, the importance of book outlines/proposals, the crucial importance of book promotion today, self-publishing, electronic books, the Internet as a sales and promotional tool, and finding the right publisher or agent.

Many changes are taking place in today’s book publishing industry, and authors of this era need to be aware of them. The conglomerate invasion has had its effects. These changes are having their impact on today’s methods of producing, marketing, and promoting books.

Whatever your interest in, or connection with, the book business may be, the articles on this blog are meant to guide and inform you, instruct, entertain, and above all inspire you. It will hopefully make you wonder at the happenings in the book business, astound you, make you laugh some, and enthuse you enough to try your hand at writing one or more books, if you have never participated in the great adventure of creating a book for publication.

In the words of David Dortorf, writer and book enthusiast, “Nothing is as lonely as the empty page. But the divine spirit moves us to fill it. Homer filled such a page three thousand years ago. We writers are custodians of a proud heritage. We are the bearers of the divine spirit. We must write and write whether it sells or not… or is proclaimed unpublished. Writers and authors keep the divine spirit alive. To dare to be creative is to keep the world in something of a state of grace.”

So you need to create, design or develop a landing page that converts  visits into sales–where do you begin?

First, let’s define what a landing page is. Typically, a landing page is a web page that supports an online marketing campaign and is designed to capture leads or convert visitors into sales. Often, landing pages are separate and distinct from a main website, have unique website addresses, and allow for end-to-end campaign tracking (via unique phone numbers and/or source code tracking appended to the URL).

Typical landing page elements are:

1. Header masthead (logo, tagline, phone number)
2. Hero shot (a graphic representation of the benefit of the product or service you are selling)
3. Headline text and supporting text
4. An offer (50% off your first order, free shipping)
5. A time ticker (limited time offer with an expiration date) to create a sense of urgency
6. Calls to action (call now with a phone number, fill out this form with a form on the page, engage in live chat with a link to start a chat session)
7. Direct response elements (red arrow that directs the eye to a specific action, yellow highlighter effect that draws the eye to an offer of benefit, big bold 1-800 number, etc)
8. Customer testimonials or product reviews (to build trust and re-enforce visitor’s purchase decision)
9. Trust marks such as BBB, McAfee or VeriSign
10. Product or service comparisons

Studying your competitor’s landing pages may seem like a logical place to start, but keep in mind that other companies may have created their landing pages with entirely different goals in mind. This may not be a simple apples to apples comparison, as your goals may be different than those of competing firms. It can’t hurt to know what your competitors are doing, just don’t copy them.

Additionally, competitive landing pages you identify may not be performing very well. The visit-to-lead ratios, for example, on company Y’s landing page may be 2%, far below your target goal of 7%, so copying what others are doing in not always the smartest move.

When you are ready to start a new landing page design and development process, I recommend you start by identifying of few important elements having to do with your goals and objectives.

10 step landing page development process:

1. Identify the baseline visit-to-lead ratio you are trying to beat (ie: 3%)
2. Spell out the desired mix of lead transaction type you want (ie: 70% phone, 30% form)
3. Name the optimal product mix (ie: 50% premium brand dogfood, 30% animal toys, 20% grooming products)
4. Recognize your desired customer mix (ie: 90% repeat/existing customers, 10% once-and-gone customers)
5. List the source of the traffic to your landing page (ie: paid search, banner ads, etc)
6. Identify the time of year this landing page will be used (to gauge whether or not this could/should impact the design)
7. Name your color choices such as background, accent, fonts, images, etc (evaluate brand must-have colors vs. those colors that we know stimulate user response online and consider new combinations)
8. Form placement: Place the entire form on the page vs. a multi-part form vs. a form that is one click away (any combination of which can radically impact results)
9. Smart forms & on-site help: Certain form elements, for example, are known to impact conversions
10. Think of additional ancillary elements you may need, such as live chat, audio, flash animation, video, calculators, click to call, collapsible design elements using AJAX or the like–which are all elements that can impact landing page performance

Once each of these steps is performed, design several new landing pages, varying the tone, style and layout. Then test your new pages. Only testing with a live audience will reveal the winning landing page design. Online visitors are a funny breed. Often, the ‘best’ design perform poorly and ‘ugly’ designs yield great results. From a brand perspective, try to find a landing page that you are proud to display to the world, yet one that fulfills your sales goals.

I encourage you to consider a wildcard design now and again that breaks all the rules. This is one way to radically out-perform, or lose to your control landing page. But breakthrough landing page designs often come about by trying something different. Good luck and happy testing!

Recently, I had the pleasure of interviewing someone I have known for over 15 years– author and marketer, Joyce Schwarz. She shared some insights into the making of her latest book, The Vision Board: The Secret to an Extraordinary Life.

Q: How did you come up with the idea for a book about vision boards?

A: The Vision Board concept evolved from more than 50,000 hours of personal coaching I’ve done with more than 4000 people. It includes such exercises as creating your “Vision Statement” (chapter 2), Visioning –cross between brainstorming, meditation and improv (chapter 1) and the famous Pre-board experience to find out where you are NOW. Specifically though I was watching Oprah in February, 2007 (just a week after getting out of the hospital for a brief stay for a stress-related illness) and I realized I wanted to change my own life — too much pressure! And to go back to what I really love: speaking and writing. So when I saw the Law of Attraction show on Oprah –just days after watching THE SECRET for the first time I realized how complementary this was to my own system of GRABS (explained later) and my work in guiding people to live extraordinary lives.

Q: Explain to the uninitiated what a vision board is and what it consists of?

A: A vision board is a visual map of your life’s dreams. It is a collage that enables you to use defining images to depict what’s ahead for you. It’s a way of empowering people to make positive choices in their own lives/work/family.

Q: How long does it take to assemble a typical vision board? What are some common creative elements?

A: The common elements include: A) pictures/images, photos  along with B) power words such as FREEDOM, Abundance, Prosperity along with C) positive affirmations D) inspiring quotes and e) Momentos that represent 1) what your grateful for 2) what you release from the past 3) what you intend to receive 4) acknowledging who you are 5) asking for your best possible life (or something better that the universe intends for you and S= sharing — basically the GRABS formula which is a spin-off of the Law of Attraction that has been taught in the past as simply ask/believe/receive and does not focus on the areas I realize are crucial — gratitude, receiving, acknowledgment and inspired action.

Q: Why do you feel so many people feel compelled to create their own vision boards?

A: We live in the time of screenagers– those of us weaned on Sesame Street, raised on MTV and connected to some kind of screen a majority of our day (computer, laptop, TV, or mobile phone). We are leaving behind the left brain generation of analytical, methodical and looking at combining with the right brain options of inquisitive and innovative etc. So that the vision boards provides an option for using both sides of our brain to plan our lives/work/family. No long lists, no extensive time schedules. No spread sheets– but Visuals that are defining images for our path to our future.

Q: Explain how you sold your book concept to Collins Design, a division of Harper Collins Publishing

A: I got the idea for the book when I was just out of the hospital for a brief stay as I mentioned, I sent out two emails to another publisher and got an immediate invite to go visit them. While there being wined and dined — I realized I needed an agent to negotiate this BIG book. I was ‘too involved’. So I asked a pal of mine who is an author who her agent was/is. My previous agent is off on another part of his own life. And she referred me to my agent in NYC. I called her from the hotel I was at after a meeting with the other publisher and I HIRED HER on the spot long distance. She urged me on to prepare a more formal book proposal and several months later it sold to Collins Design which is the prestigious coffee table division of Harper Collins Publishing (the second largest publisher in the world) owned by News Corps.

Q: How did you get Bob Proctor and Jack Canfield involved with your book?

A: I had been following Bob Proctor and Jack Canfield for years. In fact I was one of the first meeting planners nationwide to book Jack to speak on CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL after it was published in 1993 at the FIRST LA COMPUTER/ONLINE Conference. So when it came time to include names for a foreword and afterword they were my first choice. I’m grateful for both of them for lending their names to the book and glad they are both so pleased with how awesome the book is. As you may know the book is now #1 Spiritual best-seller on Amazon.com in its category — only 10 days after publication on 10/28/08.

Q: How did you approach writing this book?

A: Originally I was supposed to have 9 months to write the book from time of the sale of the book in September. But as the world turns, I got my formal contract in December, my first check from the six figure deal in December (they divide it into several parts). And then an editor was not assigned until Feb 15. They massaged the book outline and made some recommendations and I redid that and then we were off to the races. They suddenly decided they wanted it by May –for early fall publication. BUT as it turned out we ended up finishing writing and design in early August and the publisher was thank heavens able to find a USA printer to make the deadline so it is PRINTED IN THE USA something I’m VERY proud of.

And what really makes it different I had more than 75 wisdom leaders contribute quotes and tips on the chapters via podcast or personal interviews. PLUS I also included vision boards, wisdom collages and defining images (all variations on the same theme from more than 100 artists from 38 cities and 9 countries. The challenge was getting that down from more than 600 who submitted artwork and getting the ‘coffeetable’ high resolution quality that Collins Design demanded!

So basically I used social networking and what’s called crowdsourcing–Flickr, facebook and at the end Twitter.com and, my own blog www.visionboard.info and even MEETUP.com where I organized a f2f group that met at Jerry’s Deli in Marina Del Rey to get input from real people from all backgrounds and lifestyles.

Q: Where did you write the majority of this book?

A: Well, I’m very grateful I have a lovely office in my condo–it looks out at the Marina with all the yachts in Marina Del Rey– it is gorgeous! I can send a pix if you want. My agent gave me lots of great input. I had several pals who read chapters and gave great input.

Q: How did you stay focused/motivated?

A: Well, I tried to find inspiration instead of motivation. Inspiration comes from the inside and is part of the visioning process. I did a group visioning to jumpstart the writing process - described in chapter 1 and that was invaluable. I read more than 50 inspirational books including current bestsellers. I blogged, which helped clarify my own vision. And I trudged up the mountain kick step, kick step — which is how a mountain climber does it. Making sure my footing was secure before taking the next step forward.

Q: Did you ever find yourself facing writer’s block – and if so, how did you overcome it?

A: One of the great things about my own GRABS formula is when the writing stopped or was paused for any reason ie requests for edits that I did not agree with, deadlines that were moved up by the publisher despite previous agreements and my own personal challenges (illness in the family, suicide attempt by an extended family member, cancer diagnosis for a daughter of my personal assistant) I turned to being grateful. And I don’t really get blocked, I might get mad or frustrated but then I turn to being grateful and get OPM — other people’s minds involved like the MEETUP group — that evolved from a long week of frustration when I thought the publisher was just NOT getting how much the economy was changing and that we needed to look at multiple income streams not just full time jobs for chapter 7…and the Meetup group with real people (15 showed up that Sunday night) gave me power to move forward with what I believed was authentic and literally made the block ahead dissolve!

Q: What role did you play in gather various media, such as sample vision boards, for the making of this book?

A: I did hire an artist so that we could create vision boards for those people who were not a) satisfied with their current vision boards and b) show some sample boards ie: birthday, graduation, next20 years and Annie Kaycora did a beautiful job of working with me to create templates to inspire people to create their own boards. We also worked with several of the VIP’s and celebrities to create their new boards to meet the deadline we were on.

Q: Do you personally believe in vision boards? How many different boards have you created for yourself? How do you know they help people fulfill their personal aspirations?

A: I do believe. I also believe in the concept of visioning your life/work/family/relationships so that you’re coming from the inside out/versus the outside in as visualization is. I believe that each of us knows our true direction for our lives we just have to tap into it and grab destiny by the hand and lead it forward with our own visions!

How do I know? Take a look at the more than 75 case histories in the book for families, relationships, prosperity, health, fitness etc– they’ll convince you — I don’t have to say anything else!

Q: I heard that gymnast, Nastia Liukin, recently attributed her gold medal success at the recent Olympic Games, in part, to a vision board she created for herself – can you comment on this?

A: RIGHT isn’t that fun? In fact The Chicago Tribune actually said that Nastia was inspired by seeing Joyce Schwarz on the Oprah Show — with her book THE VISION BOARD: The secret to an extraordinary life — can you believe it. Alas I have not been on OPRAH yet, the writer of that article must have found my book online and thought that was what Nastia was thinking about. But in turn his article inspired a full column on my book and me as the author on FOXBUSINESS NEWS.

In my book I have stories of Jim Carrey and his ‘defining image’, and Aras Baskaskas, $1 million winner of SURVIVOR EXILE ISLAND and NBC’s DEAL OR NO DEAL briefcase model #16 who use visioning and vision boards to reach their own success. PLUS MANY MORE as I say 75 wisdom leaders, VIP’s and corporate leaders and entrepreneurs including mommy bloggers and homeschooling parents who tell why the vision boards work for them!

Contact Information
Joyce Schwarz
14004 Palawan Way, Penthouse 6
Marina Del Rey, CA 90292,
310-822-3119 (office phone)
310-822-6139 (24/7 fax)
www.joycecom.com