Write With Impact with Glenn Leibowitz

Today I’m pleased to share a conversation I had recently with Syd Goldsmith. Syd is the author of the new book, Hong Kong on the Brink: An American Diplomat Relives 1967's Darkest Days, published by Blacksmith Books. In 1967, Syd was stationed in the American Consulate General in Hong Kong, still a British colony at the time. This was an extraordinary moment in history: China was in the grips of the Cultural Revolution, which was rapidly spilling over into Hong Kong. In his book, Syd gives us an armchair view of his life and work as a diplomat at the very center of a dangerous political storm. The South China Morning Post calls it “an informative, engaging read filled with vivid historical detail.” This is Syd’s third book and his first memoir. His previous two books were novels, one of which was a finalist for the Lupton New Voices in Literature Award. Two of his three books have been acquired by traditional publishers. While he currently lives in Taipei, Taiwan, Syd continues to maintain active ties to the writing community in the US. He has attended writing workshops at the University of Iowa, the Maui Writer’s Festival, and at the Chautauqua Institution in upstate New York.  He’s active in the Literary Arts Center there, and has served as vice chairman of the Writers’ Center. In our conversation, which we conducted in person in Taipei, Syd shares how, despite never considering himself a writer for many years, he eventually became a published author. He explains why it’s never too late to publish your first book: He published his first novel at the age of 68, and his latest book at the age of 79. He underscores the importance of getting honest and critical feedback on your writing. He talks about the value of attending writer’s conferences, and he shares the story of how he found his agent at one of them. He describes the process he went through to pitch his book and land a publishing contract within just 9 days. And he gives us a peek into his own writing process—a question I like to ask all of my guests on this podcast. For more information about Syd, to find out how to reach him, and to purchase his book on Amazon, go to writewithimpact.com/episode64.   *The link to Syd's book on Amazon is an affiliate link, which means I earn a nominal commission on sales, at no additional cost to you.

I had the great pleasure to chat once again with Mark Vanhoenacker. Mark is a Senior First Officer for British Airways. He flies the Boeing 747 to major cities around the world. When he’s not hurtling through the air 35,000 feet above the earth, Mark writes for The New York Times, the Financial Times, Wired, and the Guardian. He’s also the author of the critically-acclaimed book, Skyfaring: A Journey with a Pilot, which he published three years ago. A huge international bestseller, the book has been translated into a dozen languages. I interviewed Mark back in 2015 shortly after his book was released. I would encourage you to go back and listen to that episode over at writewithimpact.com/episode23. In this conversation, I chat with Mark about his new book, How to Land a Plane. It’s a very different book from Skyfaring, which was a poetic meditation on the wonders of flying. In just 58 pages, How to Land a Plane teaches you the essentials of landing just about any type of aircraft. With his signature humor and poetic flair, Mark takes a complex topic and spells it out in language that anyone can readily understand. You can order the book by going to the show notes to this episode over at writewithimpact.com/episode63.  Or visit Mark’s website at skyfaring.com.    

Mei Fong is a journalist with more than a decade of reporting in Asia, most recently as China correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, which is where she was working when I met her several years ago in Beijing. Her stories on China’s transformative process in preparation for the 2008 Beijing Olympics formed part of the package that won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for international reporting, an honor she shared with her colleagues at the Journal. Her work has also won awards from Amnesty International, New York’s Society of Professional Journalists, and the Society of Publishers in Asia. Mei appears regularly as a China commentator on NPR, CBS, CNN, and PBS. She has taught at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism and at Shantou University in China.  And she is currently the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Fellow at New America, a think-tank in Washington, DC. Last year she published her first book, One Child: The Story of China’s Most Radical Experiment. The book recounts the history and after-effects of China’s one-child policy, the country's longest-running and most radical social experiment. Through a combination of in-depth research, on-the-ground reporting, and vivid storytelling that draws on her time as a reporter for the Wall Street Journal in China, One Child explores the far-reaching social and economic impact of the policy. In our conversation, Mei explains how she got the idea for the book, how she meticulously conducted the research that went into it, and the process she went through to pitch it to publishers, write it, and edit it. She also shares some inspiring and very practical advice for writers, and she reveals her favorite writing craft book—which happens to be one of my favorites as well! For more information about Mei, and to find a link to her book on Amazon, just head to writewithimpact.com/episode62.  You can also learn more about Mei on her website at meifong.org.  

Two years ago, I interviewed bestselling author Jeff Goins on my podcast about a book he had just published then, The Art of Work. That book was about finding your calling and figuring out how to pursue it, and it went on to become a USA Today bestseller. I invited Jeff back on the show to talk about his latest book, Real Artists Don’t Starve: Timeless Strategies for Thriving in the New Creative Age, which recently hit The Wall Street Journal bestseller list. In our conversation, Jeff shares a few of the practical and time-tested strategies that writers, artists, and other creative professionals can use to earn a living while pursuing their art. Jeff also dives deep into the exact process he followed when he wrote the book, from crafting the big question he wanted to answer, to conducting extensive research into the lives of some of the most successful artists of the past 500 years, like Michelangelo and Van Gogh. To buy Jeff’s book just head over to writewithimpact.com/artist. That will take you to Jeff's Amazon page where you can instantly download the book for your Kindle app, or purchase a print copy. You can also find out more about Jeff and find his other books over at his website, goinswriter.com. For more episodes of Write With Impact and to find my writing just head over to writewithimpact.com/episode61 Follow Write With Impact on Facebook here Follow Write With Impact on Twitter here

Robin Rice has been an online teacher for more than a decade. She’s an internationally published author of both fiction and non-fiction. And she has created social change projects that have been covered by media around the world. She’s also a professional thinking partner to leaders. In my conversation with Robin, we talk about how you can find your writing voice, a challenge that I had a few years ago when I just started to blog, and a challenge I see many others have as well.  What does it take to break-through the fears and mental blocks holding you back from sharing your writing with the world?  And what should you even write about? These and many other questions Robin addresses and helps you tackle in a new writing program she’s launching on Monday, May 1st. She calls it “Speaking Your Sage; Writing Your Wise.” It’s 28 days of writing and speaking practice and mentoring. Each day, you'll get a short mentoring video, a writing prompt that is paired with a professional photograph, and a range of opportunities to explore and practice speaking your truth around the subject of the day. You can share your work —or not —on her website, socially on Instagram or Facebook with a designated hashtag, on your own website or blog, or just privately with a friend. While live facilitation is limited to May 1st through the 28th, this course can be enjoyed at your own pace. So while you may be listening to this podcast conversation long after the live facilitation is over, you can still sign-up for it and benefit from it. Check out the show notes to this episode over at writewithimpact.com/episode60.   Or head over to Robin’s website, bewhoyouare.com, where you can find information about the course. Subscribe to Write With Impact on iTunes here.

I'm very pleased to introduce Laura Brown back to the show. Laura was my very first guest on the podcast two years ago. She had just published her encyclopaedic book on writing, How to Write Anything. You can listen to that first conversation over at writewithimpact.com/episode1. Please be kind when listening, that was my first episode after all! Two years after that first foray into the world of podcasting, Laura has returned to the show to share some good news: she just sold her second book about writing to her publisher, W.W. Norton.  I asked her to share everything she knows about how to write a book proposal that will make a publisher want to buy your book. While we talk a lot about how to sell your book to a traditional publisher, the practical tips she shares are useful for anyone planning to self-publish their book.  You can find the show notes with links to Laura’s first book and her website over at writewithimpact.com/episode59 Like Write With Impact on Facebook Follow Write With Impact on Twitter Subscribe to Write With Impact on iTunes

Just a quick thank you to everyone who read, liked, or shared my articles on LinkedIn over the past year. It’s because of your interest and support that I was recently named — for the second year in a row — a LinkedIn Top Voice in marketing and social media. You can find my articles on LinkedIn over at writewithimpact.com/linkedin. Please reach out and connect with me there. I’m very pleased to introduce my guest today, Professor Joshua Spodek, an Adjunct Professor of leadership at New York University.  Professor Spodek is a leadership expert and executive coach, an astrophysicist who built a satellite for NASA, an inventor with several patents to his name, and an entrepreneur. Professor Spodek is also a prolific writer and blogger, and he was recently named by medium.com as a Top Writer in three categories: leadership, inspiration, and self improvement.  He’s pulled together what he knows and teaches about becoming an exceptional leader into a new book, Leadership Step by Step: Become the Person Others Follow. In my conversation with Professor Spodek, he talks about some of the writing exercises that form the basis of his approach to cultivating effective leadership skills.  He also shares how he started a daily blogging habit six years ago. Since starting his blog back in January of 2011, he’s published over 2,400 posts, and he’s never gone a day without publishing an article. He also shares the strategy he developed to cultivate habits like his daily blogging routine. And he relates the story of how he once wrote 100 gratitude emails, and what he learned from the process. I’ve put a link to his new book on Amazon in the show notes to this episode over at writewithimpact.com/episode58.  There you can also find links to his blog, his online leadership academy, and his column on inc.com. And while you’re there, be sure to sign-up for my newsletter in which I share my advice on writing and the latest episodes of this podcast. Follow Write With Impact on Twitter. Like Write With Impact on Facebook.

Tom Morkes is a graduate of the US Military Academy at West Point, and served as an officer in the US Army in Iraq. After retiring from the military, he decided to pursue his passion for publishing and digital marketing. Today, Tom is the CEO of Insurgent Publishing, a book publishing and marketing company he founded a few years ago. In addition to having published half a dozen books, he provides book marketing services for authors. He recently worked with Neil Patel and his two co-authors on the marketing of their new book, Hustle, which hit the New York Times bestseller list. You might recall my recent conversation with Neil back on episode 54. In this episode of Write With Impact, Tom dives deep into some of the strategies you can use to build an audience of what he calls “superfans” for your book, and the approach you can use to reach out to influencers and persuade them to become ambassadors for your book. Whether you’re self-publishing or releasing your book with a traditional publisher, you’ll get some actionable marketing advice from Tom in this episode. Find out more about Tom and sign-up for my newsletter over at writewithimpact.com/episode57 Follow Write With Impact on Twitter Like Write With Impact on Facebook Subscribe to Write With Impact on iTunes

Clay Collins is Co-Founder and CEO of Leadpages, a powerful and easy-to-use software tool that allows marketers to build customized landing pages and opt-in forms to capture email addresses. Leadpages also lets you collect emails through email links and text messages. Clay shares the incredible story of how his lifestyle blog eventually turned into Leadpages, which has become a fast-growing, multi-million-dollar business with 46,000 customers and $38 million in venture financing. In our conversation, Clay explains why you should focus on first building what he calls a “Minimum Viable Audience” before you start to build a “Minimum Viable Product.” He also shares practical strategies you can use for building your email list. These are the same strategies his marketing team at Leadpages uses to build their massive email list. Clay also gives us a peek behind the doors of Leadpages, and he talks about how he runs one of the fastest-growing marketing software businesses around. Clay explains why Leadpages recently acquired Drip, another easy-to-use software tool that gives small businesses the chance to affordably use powerful marketing automation tools that were once only available to large companies with big marketing budgets. If you’re a writer or blogger trying to build your audience (and what writer doesn’t want to do that?), you’ll get a lot out of this conversation. If you’re an entrepreneur thinking of building a software product that customers will love and want to pay you money for, you’ll also get some great tips from Clay. I’d also encourage you to check out the excellent email marketing course that Leadpages offers completely for free.   It’s a 9-video course that takes you from start to finish through an email marketing campaign. Find out more about Clay, Leadpages, and Drip at writewithimpact.com/episode56.

Chris Fox is a bestselling novelist who quit his job as an iOS app developer earlier this year to write full-time. In addition to writing thriller and science fiction novels, Chris has published several excellent writing guides, a few of which I’ve discussed with him on earlier episodes of this podcast. In our conversation, Chris shares some of the practical tactics for developing a daily—and eventually lifelong—writing habit that he covers in his book, Lifelong Writing Habit: The Secret to Writing Every Day. He also tells the story of how he has reprogrammed his own writing habits to become the prolific, bestselling author that he is today. Find out more about Chris at writewithimpact.com/episode55 If you enjoyed this episode (or other episodes of this podcast), I'd be grateful if you shared a positive review on iTunes. And don't forget to subscribe!