Belle de Jour revelation shows why writers need to keep it real

News that blogger and call girl Belle de Jour has revealed her true identity this week after six years has sent a warning to anyone considering writing under a pseudonym that ultimately, they will be revealed as the author sooner or later.

Book Coach Mindy Gibbins-Klein aka The Book Midwife® is urging those considering writing anonymously to think carefully about the reasons they do not want to be identified and the consequences of people finding out their true identity later on, before they embark on writing anonymously.

“I’ve never been a fan of pseudo names or ghost writing, because I believe that you need to be authentic as a writer and part of this is about you as a person as much as the writing itself. But if you do feel the need to write under a different name, you just need to be aware that your true identity will come out at some point and then you’ll have to deal with any repercussions of that when it does,” says Ms. Gibbins-Klein.

Ms. Gibbins-Klein believes that like Belle de Jour author Dr Brooke Magnanti, it becomes increasingly difficult to continue with these parallel identities indefinitely and eventually, either the author chooses to reveal themselves or worse, they are ‘exposed’ by a third party. Either scenario could have dire consequences for the reputation of the author and their businesses if not managed carefully.

“The advent of the web and increasing use of blogging means that the world of writing has taken on a whole new persona and needs to be harnessed effectively. The Belle de Jour story illustrates the permanent nature of the web and how easy it is to bring past writings to the forefront, regardless of how the author’s situation may have changed. The best thing to do is ensure that everything you write has a reason and is working towards your overall writing strategy. If you want to be a published author in that area, great, but if your subject matter may be in conflict with your career aspirations, it would be foolish to assume it will just fade away, it could resurface at the worst possible time,” says Ms. Gibbins-Klein.

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Consultants advised to raise their literary game whilst market is down

As the city reports further job cuts, business experts at publisher Ecademy Press are advising consultants to radically up their game whilst the market is down in order to secure a winning position as experts in their field, before an influx of new consultants enter the market.

With reported job losses from the city set to reach 20,000 during this year and next, many of those facing unemployment will have a considerable set of skills and competencies with strong credentials to match, a combination which set them up well for a new career in consultancy, says Ecademy Press founder and business expert Andy Coote.

Coote predicts that the number of consultants is likely to soar in 2009, something which could be problematic for established consultants who risk getting lost in the haze of new entrants unless they act now to reinforce their positioning and credibility in the marketplace.

“Consultants across all sectors should be working now to build on their reputation and create a loyal customer base who trust them and will stick with them as the marketplace expands. We have found that many consultants have been able to achieve this differentiation through simple but effective marketing techniques, such as publishing a book”, explains Coote, an established business editor and author who co-founded Ecademy Press with executive communications strategist, speaker and author Mindy Gibbins-Klein a.k.a The Book Midwife.

 “Publishing a business book is an extremely cost effective route to market and encourages potential clients to literally try before they buy, getting a taster of your expertise without having to commit upfront to much larger consultancy budget”, explains Coote.

“Businesses simply wont risk spending their money on a product or services that they don’t fully trust” Coote says. “Being a published author provides a higher level of credibility, with clients more prepared to believe that consultants must know their subject if they have published a book on it.”

And whilst some consultants may be concerned with selling themselves out of potential consultancy work, Coote argues that publishing a book will actually improve their chances of securing higher paid contracts.

“If potential customers buy your book and like what they read, the hard sell has been done.” adds Coote. “Your book becomes a very potent reminder of what you can do for them. It only takes a few of your readers to come back to buy your services for you to start achieving a return on your investment.”

Ecademy Press offers an affordable, high quality publishing solution for business authors without the pressures and often long development times associated with mainstream publishing contracts. As a result, Ecademy Press business books can reach the market in as little as 12 weeks from initial manuscript. For further information please visit: http://www.ecademy-press.com/author.htm

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Press Release: Been there, done that, but will you ever write the book?

Half of all business experts want to generate extra income or enhance their credibility through writing and publishing their own book, but over 90% of those who start a book will probably never finish it, according to a recent survey by The Book Midwife™.

In the survey of 112 would-be authors of business and personal development books, 26% wanted to publish a book to boost their income, whilst 24% wanted to enhance their credibility in the industry.

But 31% admitted they had started but not yet finished their book, whilst 40% had not even started to write their book yet and according to The Book Midwife’s  Mindy Gibbins-Klein, around 90% of people who start a book will never get round to finishing it.

The survey found that the biggest barriers were finding the time, a lack of publishing and marketing knowledge and self-doubt and indecision. But racing at full speed into a ‘best-seller’ without any clear plan or direction can be equally as dangerous if the book ends up being more of a ‘brain-dump’ than a well thought through expression of the author’s values, experiences and beliefs suggests Gibbins-Klein, who has been a success coach for over 18 years.

Gibbins-Klein advises that anyone who is considering writing a book should first consider all the possibilities rather than homing in on one topic too soon. “I’ve had clients in the past come to me and say ‘I don’t know what I’m going to write about but I know the title!’ and this is a classic example of narrowing the focus too early on in the process.”

“Often this can mean the best ideas are disregarded from the onset, hampering the success of the book to really reflect the values and opinions of the thought leader,” says Gibbins-Klein, who is also a highly acclaimed publisher and author.

“Writing books is an extremely underrated exercise these days, and many successful business leaders simply don’t realise the value that it can bring, not only to their organisation and successors, but in raising their profile and credibility with their target audience too,” adds Gibbins-Klein.

The Book Midwife™ has helped over 300 people write and publish their books and twelve of their clients have been Amazon bestsellers. For more information  visit www.bookmidwife.com.

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See over for Editor’s Notes

Editor’s Notes

Mindy Gibbins-Klein, better known as The Book Midwife™, has helped hundreds of experts get their message out into the market by writing and publishing the best possible books, ebooks and articles, and through delivering high impact, relevant presentations and key note speeches.

An MBA graduate in International Business, Mindy is a trained coach and marketing consultant with over 18 years of experience in the corporate world, largely running marketing departments.

Mindy established The Book Midwife™ in 2001 so that she could fulfil her lifelong dream to provide personal and professional development services, and she has helped over 300 people to achieve their goals in writing their own books, articles and whitepapers quicker.

Publisher and founder of Ecademy Press, Mindy is the UK’s leading authority on writing and co-operative publishing, and passionately believes that every book deserves to be written and published, but only if it is the best book it can be.

Mindy is also co-author of Amazon’s number two best seller ‘BusinessWise’, has published her own book ‘A Dance in the Desert in 2001 and an e-book for people who are about to jump into self-publishing.

Mindy is a highly sought-after international keynote speaker and is a regular contributor to the business press on a variety of subjects, with an emphasis on the value of passing the expertise and experiences of current thought leaders on to the next generation of business leaders.

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