I’ll tell you, easily one of my LONGEST subject lines ever! But subject length aside, this is actually pretty awesome!

For those of you who missed this, here’s the low down from a blog post I published last October.  EMC Proven Knowledge Sharing Competition – Join Now! Abstracts Due 12NOV #EMCElect

And for what its worth, my marketing director has done an AWESOME coverage of events here Christopher Kusek earns EMC 2015 Knowledge Sharing Award!

So that got it all started… OMG A CONTEST! Well, not even so much as a contest, as it was a raw and heated COMPETITION! What it’d entail initially was submitting an abstract.   And from the Abstract alone you’d be informed whether you’d even be entitled to be ALLOWED to enter the competition.   In my case, my abstract was accepted, awesome.  But then it came down to, “Hey, it’s time to submit your paper!” Well, so there I was… writing my paper, and write it I did!   One thing in particular which was *very* cool, is the fact that the “Judges” of the papers have no idea who the authors are.  No, it’s not like they’re secluded and don’t stay in touch with industry, quite the opposite… They’re SHIELDED from who the submitters are, any type of information is shielded from them, and instead they’re judging the papers based upon the content and not the character of the authors!

Which ultimately is what brought me to this years 2015 EMC World!   I had been informed that I was a “finalist” which means, I’d be 1st, 2nd, 3rd or one of the Best of Tracks… All very secretive, all I knew was, “I WAS IN” I just didn’t know what position or place!

That is when it all fell into place! My name called, giving me the absolute honor of “Best of IT Transformation” it was an absolute blast to all happen at once!   Due to the power of… VideoLinkFail you can skip ahead to 16:45 and get to my part of the video :)  Otherwise watch it all the way through, it gives an interesting take and shares information on the EMC Proven Education Ecosystem!

That wasn’t even the half of it though! When I wasn’t on stage wearing horribly uncomfortably shoes (which looked great mind you!) and receiving an award… LOOK AT THAT THING! ITS 8LBS OF CRYSTAL!

I was spending the bulk of my time ON CAMERA giving individual interviews or group interviews or this and that!

But some of you are saying, “You know what? I don’t give a damn about any of that! Show me the money! err, Paper, I MEAN THE PAPER!”

That’s cool, totally respect that… :) Well, here are some links and copies of the paper!

Because I’m obviously a marketing whore (go me, right! :)) There’s also the Xiologix branded version which I actually like how it is formatted better… (Primarily because… I formatted it to make sure data presents on pages the way I prefer from having written a thing or two here and there!) so here are some links to BOTH versions! <3

Read Xiologix Version: Ten ways to reduce cost while modernizing your IT

Read EMC Version: Ten ways to reduce cost while modernizing your IT

To follow-up on updates to this presentation and other information around be sure to check out the updated page at our Xiologix site where we’re keeping it updated and current! Christopher Kusek earns EMC 2015 Knowledge Sharing Award!

Also there is a Presentation version of this paper which has been delivered to standing room only audiences across the Pacific Northwest (also regular sitting rooms of folks :)) So if you’re interested definitely reach out <3 :)

Keep on keeping on!

Wait, what what what?! Are you just trolling? What the hell is this post supposed to mean?!

Interesting point, I’ve gotten some (justifiably) upset emails from some people who had read one of my previous posts; The VCP-NV is your ticket to escaping the VCP “Class requirement” for VCP-DCV!

For those who haven’t read it, the gist is (or well, was) If you have a valid VCP credential you’re eligible to take ANY OTHER VCP Certification without being required to have the expensive (time and cost) classroom requirement.   That’s pretty awesome, especially for people who already had their CCNA/CCNP and were invested in the ‘family’ but didn’t want to pursue the classroom because your employer wouldn’t pay for it, or give you up for the time required to take the class (A common issue which plagues MANY)  Thus (until 28FEB2015) this was an awesome opportunity that VMware had left available for people to pursue!

Apparently this wasn’t an opportunity!

I mean, I haven’t seen VMware directly come out and SAY this but we’ll assume for the moment this was a ‘loophole’ or an opportunity they presented without realizing that OMG WE’RE CUTTING OFF ALL OF THIS CLASS REVENUE BY PEOPLE WHO CARE ABOUT THEIR ADVANCEMENT. Yea. Thanks VMware Education or whoever we have to thank for introducing THIS little gem. And just to give you a little context… I’ll quote some elements from the VCP-DCV Certification page…

BAM! Right there it says, if you have a valid VCP Certification* – You can just go on ahead, request authorization and take your exam! Bam, done! No problem!  This is very similar to what it was back in November, minus the *.

Scroll on down to the * section though, and lo and behold this beautiful little IN YOUR FACE NETWORK PEOPLE rears its ugly head.

I’m sorry, but WHAAAAATT???!

So, let me get this straight. I can take the VCP-DCV without requiring a Classroom requirement IF I have a valid VCP Certification, and I could have gotten my VCP-NV without a classroom requirement (until 28FEB2015) if I had an existing CCNA/CCNP, yet of all of the VCP’s available, the VCP-NV suddenly isn’t a “Valid Certification” ?  AM I BEING PUNKED?!?   I mean, let’s be honest here, this isn’t the first time that VMware Education has done something which is perceived and rightly so by the community to screw us over, so I doubt this will be the last time.

That said, I do apologize for those who (Post Asterisk) pursued their VCP-NV via the CCNA path (which was only available for a few months) and found themselves screwed by VMware here.  Having known several people who pursued their VCP-DCV through the Network Virtualization path, I know it to be a reality and for them I’m glad they got it before the ‘man’ has abruptly put us down.

It just goes to show, we can’t have nice things.

I’ve been meaning to publish this for a while as part of my ‘Troubleshooting various crap using the OSI Model’ so here is the first in this installment… Troubleshooting your resume with the OSI Model!  This is a bit circular in that you won’t exactly have to go from the top down, or the bottom up for this to work, in fact certain elements may apply more than others so troubleshoot as applicable!   Alright now lets get started! <3

Application

This can be both the FIRST and the LAST layer for you it really depends on how you use it! When it comes to a resume though you have to ask yourself, “Sweet, I have this awesome resume… Where do I actually want to APPLY to?!” That’s a very viable and valid question.  For some people they can have the pick of the crops, and others they have to fight tooth and nail for the position they want.  Irrespective of which camp you fall in to, you should have an idea of both what you want to do, and ideally where you want to do it; Especially if that ‘where’ is your dream job, which you should fight for tooth and nail!

So how and where should you apply?  This can be done via the website of the company you’d love to work for, through posting your resume or applying for positions on sites like Dice and Monster, and to having an active social profile on sites like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Your resume or CV will be an invaluable tool when the time comes to apply yourself to these organizations as you look to advance your career to the next stage!

Presentation

Presentation in this case will be broken down into two key areas, Presentation of your resume and Presentation of yourself when it comes to the interview!

Your resume are not pretty!

Ugly vs Pretty?

You ever look at someone’s resume and go “oh my god, this is an ugly mess!” Alright, now seriously, is that YOUR Resume? If you look at your resume and it looks ugly from a distance, can you imagine if someone sat down and read it?  I know some people will say, “The information speaks for itself, I don’t need it to look nice” Yea, that’s right certain management tool vendors, people DO care what the product looks like.  Interesting fact, if your resume looks like EVERYONE ELSES RESUME, chances are it will get lost on a desk or in email somewhere to be forgotten.  Now am I saying this is all about vanity? Mostly. But it isn’t ALL about vanity, it’s also about accuracy.   Take these few bullet points to home about why Presentation is important.

• Spelling errors say that you are not detail oriented and are less likely to get you hired
• Inaccurate information says that you are not truthful and you are less likely to get you hired
• An ugly resume says you lack creativity which can impact social or creative roles, ultimately impacting… Yes, getting hired :)
• Formatting errors say that you are not consistent while this won’t exactly prevent you from getting hired, it may get noticed
• Lengthy bullets denote that you have a hard time articulating what you mean, this can impact Sales or some Technical roles
• Terse bullets express that you lack the vernacular to engage at a higher level of thinking, this impacts higher paying positions
• Filler information is interpreted as not having enough content and padding the resume which can impact first impressions

So as you can see, if your resume is impacted with some of these errors, FIX THEM. It’s not that difficult, in fact the whole community is very supportive of others helping them grow, a caveat to that; We will help you by pointing out what is incorrect but we will not FIX it for you, If you can’t fix it yourself you lack the commitment to actually improve your station, so get on it! <3

Damn are you going to wear THAT?!

Would you go to an interview looking like crap? I certainly would hope not. First impressions can mean loads, and while I understand some responses like, “Well, in the valley, they expect me to wear a t-shirt, flip-flops and bring a poodle to the interview”, while it may be accurate, you should also dress for or above the position you’re interviewing for. It shows a sense of professionalism and that you also ‘clean up well’.   This carries itself a step further, in not only how you present yourself from your style of dress, but also in how you present yourself both physically and during the actual interview itself.

• Do not slouch, you come off as a sloth, lazy and not exactly a ‘go-getter’ if you are indeed a sloth, keep it under wraps, or just better your posture
• If you talk with your hands, talk with your hands; but be sure to use them to support whatever you’re talking about
• The same applies for any other kind of physical movement you may make during the interview
• It’s been said that leaning forward, making eye-contact and genuinely caring means a lot in an interview, it does because it is a relationship
• Choose your words wisely, but at the same time also speak with proper english and your respective grammar.  Coming across ignorant or using words which do not exist like ‘irregardless’ will stick in a number of peoples craw
• Do not lie during the interview. And going back to your resume preparation, if something is not true on your resume, REMOVE IT.
• Little tip, anything (and I mean anything) which you provide on your resume or application can be focused on, so lets keep it honest, k?
• Be comfortable, if you feel like it’s just two people talking you won’t be nervous and they’ll get to see the  better version of you vs the interview you
• Ask questions.  You don’t get the opportunity too often to interview the company, and if you have questions, ask them so you know if it’s a good fit

This is not an exhaustive list but this is a start which can help make the presentation activity of your interview a better experience for all parties involved!

Session

The session layer is typically focused on opening, closing and maintaining a semi-permanent dialogue, and in our particular context this applies most specifically to dealing with a Hiring Manager, Recruiter (External) or Corporate Recruiter (Internal).   Historically it has been found that most recruiters, SUCK at communication.  Feel free to disagree with this point if you are one of the FEW good ones, but a lot of recruiters like to shot-gun blast a lot of candidates, latch on to one and unless you keep the dialogue open, You may never hear from them again (Referring back to the prior, Recruiters suck :))

How you are able to ‘crack that nut’ so to speak is through some simple relationship building techniques, not all will work with all elements so choose appropriately. If a recruiter or hiring manager asks you for information (Resume, Filled out Application, other information) Provide it to them, and then follow-up as appropriate.   We can make believe that recruiters will follow-up with us when they have a lead but that would be naive, so it’s important to make an appropriate follow-up.  No need to be stalker or annoying about it, but a simple, “Hey I sent that information to you, did you receive it”, or “Is there any follow-up information you need, and any status on the matter” can go a long way.  Sometimes they get forgetful or lose track of time, or a squirrel ran by… The options may vary, so follow-up is key, remember this is your career make an investment in it. :)

The next item, whether you’ve met with a hiring manager or other elements of the chain, is said the personalized note thanking them for their time.   No, not a typed up note form letter, YOU SUCK. Seriously, Get out a pen and paper, and hand-write it.   Not only does it say, “Hey, I’m committed and take personal care of my relationships”, it also says that, “Wow, they took the time to actually hand-write, envelope, stamp and send something”, That is follow-through and means a lot to people, I mean like a serious lot, it will often surprise many people that candidates own a pen, paper and know how to hand-write.

And lastly, very similar to the first point, do not be the bottleneck.  If something is expected of you, DO IT. Don’t leave anyone hanging, unless you’re juggling multiple opportunities and you’re intentionally slow-rolling it because you’re gaming one against the other, in those circumstances I advise you still to get’er done and be honest because I’ve seen people go the ‘game the employers’ route with multiple options and ended up losing BOTH of the options, this also reads as, “Don’t be a dick”.

Transport

This mainly applies to when you’re actually going to the Interview and less so specifically on your resume itself.   You might think, “Transport implies what I’ll be driving, right?” Well, not exactly. It certainly can mean that but it’s a little higher than that.  Just like Transport itself natively, this focuses on the elements of Reliability and Congestion Avoidance.   That is to say, know where you are going and get there EARLY not on time.  People who are on time are LATE.   You should arrive at your scheduled interview (Phone or In Person) at least 5 minutes or 15 minutes early respectively.   Will the people you’re meeting with be ready? Doubtful.  But showing that you respect their time also shows you are reliable and have good time management skills. If they’re late or keep you waiting it just goes to show how valuable YOU would be to an organization since they clearly have poor time management skills. :)

Flow Control rears its head here a bit as well, which encourages you to slow down and articulate yourself and not rush.  There are a few keys here when it comes to controlling your flow of information and sharing with your interviewers.

• If they are inherently technical, feel free to let your geek-speed shine and talk fast if what you’re saying is something you know intimately and well, but it doesn’t hurt to slow down. It’s not a race
• Refrain from using filler words like, “like, uh, um, so, really, definitely”
• Refrain from using negative words like, “hate, expletives, etc…”
• Refrain from bashing vendors or former employers (or employees)
• Focus on yourself in the interview and what YOU can bring to the organization, not the team you were a part of (More “I” and less “We”)
• Hint: They’re not hiring your former company, they’re hiring you
• Use silence where appropriate.  This approach can work particularly well during Salary negotiations, the first person to speak will usually submit to fill the void and give up whatever compromise the situation calls for
• Note: Hiring Managers often attend Negotiation training where Silence is one of many tactics, so you’re playing with the masters here!

Again, not a definitive list, but certainly will get you started in levering these capabilities within the Transport layer of the Resume model. :)

Network

Network, or Networking plays especially relevant if you’re a member of any User Group organizations, Public or community groups, attend Conferences, etc.   Networking is how you meet people, get to know others, open up doors and opportunities for yourself and for others.   Sometimes you may meet someone and be, “Wow, they seem awesome, they’d be a great fit for MY organization”, and sometimes exactly the reverse happens.   So get out there and meet people, not just meet the same people you already know (That wouldn’t be networking… :)

Refer to a few of these past posts and their respective relevance; Recruiting Virtual Talent: Tips and Tricks to hire and get hired at #VMworld and Top Paying IT Certifications, Skills and Capabilities but to draw a few specific tips out.

• Be a rockstar.   Be confident in WHO you are, even if WHO you are is not confident the least you can do is be you. :)   I mean you’re looking to change roles right? You should have an idea of who you are and what you want to do/be [It’s okay if you don’t…. a lot of people don’t, let me know and we can work on that! ;)}
• Get to know other people.   You don’t have to be a social butterfly.   But you also need not be a social outcast or do something to make a fool of yourself (unless that works for you, I’m cool with that.  Side tip; wearing cat ears is not a fools game ;)

• Show your Passion.    Why are you passionate about your job? Are you? Are you passionate about another job but not so much what you’re currently doing?  Please don’t let the jaded bits leak into things.   You’re in the craziest city on earth for the show… surrounded by the top minds in virtualization and the best businesses transforming the future of IT.    Show your passion. BE that Guy/Girl!
• Be honest.    Be honest about who you are, about who you want to be if you’re not there yet.   You’re not a VCP because the class is too expensive? Totally understand that.  But don’t be this guy; “I’m not going to learn anything new unless my company invests in me to do that” Yea. I don’t want you, and neither will a lot of hiring managers because you become the guy who gets a LITTLE bit of training and jumps ship.    There is value in being opportunistic but invest in yourself and it will pay in loads
• If you’re not the best public speaker or are weary of it, attend Toastmasters it will improve you like no other

And you’ll note I also included the Top Paying IT Certification post as well.  Yes, your network will often grow by association and by certification.   The Certification and certified communities are often closely knit together and opportunities often overlap among them.   As you join the ranks of new and interesting certifications you’ll find your network continue to grow in that respect.  Leverage those networks respectively to lay those seeds for that future role of you being a rockstar. :)

Data Link

I’ll be honest, this section is likely to be a stretch so bear with me and maybe something viable will come from it. ;)  So when it comes to the Data Link layer there are so many possible avenues which have NOTHING to do with Jobs, Interviews, and respectively your resume so let’s focus as best as we can on some elements of it.   Some elements of Layer 2 are Quality of Service, Error control and Scheduling, we’ll hit on these items.

Quality of Service and Error Control are hand in hand when it comes to actually ensuring that the tactics and approach you’re taking to your resume and job hunt correctly.  Allow for an anecdote.   A friend had a resume which he was sending out, hundreds of resumes sent out but not a call back, or when he would receive a call back he would not get a second call back (sounds like dating, right?!).   While reviewing his resume I found that the information in his resume was ‘okay’, but the layout was terrible. I guided him towards a slightly better layout (keeping all of the information identical) and after ensuring that his resume had appropriate quality and quite frankly all of the errors were removed, he resumed sending out this new resume.  Within a DAY he received 3 interviews, and had two offers by the end of that week.   

Let’s cover a few points. The information was the SAME.  Nothing was different about it, just the way it was laid out (See Presentation above).   Sometimes all it takes is for your resume to ‘pop’, which is an iterative process.   One of validating that the actions you HAVE been taking have been working, if they haven’t it’s a matter of trying something new.   Additionally to that, if what you’re doing isn’t working, run it past someone else outside of your comfort zone so you can get feedback you otherwise might not get.    You can also request feedback from Interviewers about why it didn’t go the direction you were looking (They do not have to provide you feedback, but insightful and requested constructive feedback goes a long way to building a relationship and fixing what is ‘wrong’ with whatever isn’t working)  Oh, as a disclaimer and note, if you cannot accept feedback do not ask for it, because clearly you are not ready for self-discovery and repair as applicable.

And lastly, Scheduling.   Whether by phone, in person, in person taking a flight / etc, be sure you know WHERE you are going, WHEN you are supposed to be there, and if there is a specific dress code (See Presentation and how to dress) that you are appropriate for the matter. :)

Physical

This honestly is the lowest layer of the OSI model and it all really begins and ends with You.   None of the information above makes any difference if you are not healthy in body and mind and able to act accordingly on these matters.   Sometimes that involves taking a personal step back and looking at what it is you want, what it is you need, and what it will take to fulfill that.   

Does work stress you out? What if you love what you do, Does it stress you out then?  “Find something that you love to do, and you’ll never work a day in your life”.    While not everyone can find something to do that they absolutely love, sometimes your love will change as you grow and you evolve, listen to your heart, your body and your capabilities and if something is out of reach, figure out what will make it within reach and go for it.   *I* can’t make you do a damn thing, it’s really entirely up to you, it’s your choice. A decision.   Make one. And go for it.

Figure out what is most important to you in a job, “x miles away from home” “y salary” “z vacation days” Whatever the particular elements for you happen to be, some people really like titles, some people like working with people (others HATE working with people).  There are jobs for everyone, it’s just a matter of finding it, oh and be passionate about it.   You ever seen a passionate McDonalds worker? (Or McDowels – Coming to America).    It doesn’t matter what the JOB is, it is what and how you bring yourself to it.   I’m surrounded by laziness and complacency as I’m sure you are as well, don’t be that guy; be that example, Be the rockstar.   A little bit of passion, and I mean a LITTLE bit actually makes you stand head and shoulders above the rest. Seriously, the amount of complacency in this world sets the bar VERY low. It’s actually kind of sad.  Please don’t make me sad, Make me go, “Wow, you’re awesome” :)

Oh, and sometimes this also involves getting involved in your own personal health, diet, fitness regime and all of that. I won’t go into too much details on it, but if you’ve seen the successes of the Virtual Fitness groups, and how ripped and awesome so many within the Tech Community have become, it’s clearly possible you know it is, it’s just about making those little decisions to invest in your health and well-being.

Summary

I figure I may as well draw this to a close as I’ve been writing this over the past few weeks and I’m about to leave on R&R to head to VMworld in 15 hours.   Hopefully you find this valuable, useful, and ridiculously cute as it applies to the OSI Model.  If you have other tips do not hesitate to share them. :)

See you at VMworld, and of course back in the Americas… If only for a few weeks! <3

Whoa, whoa, whoa wait a minute WTF? FREE EXAMS? WHERE DO i SIGN UP?! Hold a minute. This isn’t just an arbitrary free exam.

This is an arbitrary exam which comes with a Prep Guide and a wealth of training and education to SUPPORT your taking and passing the exam! <3

Steps Steps Steps! Wow, it can’t get easier than this (Okay, it can!)

It all starts at the Learning Center which breaks down each portion of the exam into Exam Objectives with respective training, education, videos and webinars, books and reference material and a load of other resources like SolarWinds Labs to help prepare and educate you for success!

Registering for the Exam consists of sending an email to the SolarWinds folks providing some details and then M-F within a decent period of time (It took me less than a days time) I received the link and credential information to take the SolarWinds Certified Professional Exam!

And Poof, that’s it! Prepare, Register and then take the exam from the comfort of your own respective computer, no magical testing center to go to or lines to stand in!  If you think it can’t be this easy, I have to say, wow it is. So if you find yourself as someone who has or does work with SolarWinds or someone who WANTS to add that line item to their resume and career profile then look no further than this as a good way to progress!

One cool thing I learned recently is that SolarWinds model is “Try before you buy” and all of their products are available for a free 30 day trial to get your feet wet and see if it does what you want it to. Fast, Ready, and easy to work with spells awesome!

Well hello hello, if you’re reading this you may be a new author, or a prospective potential author, good times, right?!

As I sit here my 5th book published over the years I’ve noticed there are a few things which either isn’t done either through lack of awareness or otherwise from new authors and I thought, hey lets keep our community strong and grow ya’ll the best you can be.  Hopefully you find these tips useful because I sure as hell do each of these whenever I publish a new book. :)

Create an Amazon Author Central Profile

Whaaaaaat?! What is that?  Well new author you ever notice how the names of an Author on Amazon are clickable?!  And then you click on their name and it brings you to a page like this? It has an Author Bio, Copies of and details of your book(s), it can even pull your latest Tweets and Blog posts off of your blog!

This is definitely a good way to help build your readership, establish your authorship credibility and in general it’s a pretty cool way to keep track of things!

Setting it up is actually really easy! All you need to do is go to Author Central and setup your account – It’ll ask you to “Add” books which you can do by searching for them or by specifying your ISBN.  They’ll validate that indeed YOU ARE THE AUTHOR on said books and if so, BAM! It will be associated with your account and your name. It’s actually pretty cool and something which is often overlooked!

Create an Authorgraph Profile

Whoa whoa whoa, what is this AuthorGraph you speak of?! Yea I never heard of it either, but one day I said, “Wow, it’d be really cool if there were a way I could SIGN the digital copies of my books that people buy!” I noticed Amazon didn’t have a solution #FAIL, so I discovered the lovely joys of AuthorGraph. What it basically does is it allows you to register your books and people can request a digitally signed copy of their digital copies of your books! Awesome, right?!  Note: If you have non-digital versions of your books (e.g., ones without an ASIN) you will NOT be able to register them.

It is literally as easy as going to Author Graph, registering your name / identity, and then adding the ASIN of your books! BAM! Real easy, right?!

Include the book and ISBN in your resume and on LinkedIn

Wait. What does this have to do with my book? Well, This has more to do with your career and the respective advance of it.  If I’m reviewing your resume and it says, “This person is technical in nature and well-written” … And then follows that up with a published piece of work that I could peruse on Amazon or O’Reilly Safari? Well, hells yea I’ll give him more consideration as a technical expert in a particular field.   It’s just a viable way to continue to progress your career for your next big opportunity, I mean you’re an author you should be proud of that! :)

Oh yea this was added after the fact… LinkedIn has an option to list books, associate it with your ISBN and if you have Co-Authors, you can ‘tag’ them respectively there as well.  Do it. This is a business tool, use it to expand your business profile. Who knows, you may get some new readers just from them checking out your LinkedIn Profile. :)

Have your book rated and reviewed on Safari Books Online

Self-promotion starts with you (Okay, that seems sort of implied, but it is true. :)) If you have a subscription to Safari Books Online you should check the status, rating and any respective reviews you have of your book.   It is not the largest library in the world but it is one often frequented by the Tech community and people take reviews and ratings seriously if they’re perusing looking for the next tome of knowledge to check out.

Have your booked rated and reviews on Amazon!

That’s a given right? I mean people will obviously read your book and be so blown away that they will immediately go out and write an awesome review of the book.  Well, except for when they don’t, or they’re busy, or they forget, or they just don’t want to.   Consider it like surveys, less than 2% of people typically fill out a survey, how many are going to go out of their way to review your book?   There are ways around that covered in the next section…

Have your publishers marketing team get reviewers to review the book!

That is part of the game. You’re a tech superstar who is in the business of writing an awesome book because you rock.  Your publisher wants to get that book out, one way they do this is by contacting ‘influential bloggers’, podcasters, various this and that kind of people who they send a copy of the book to to read and write a review, blog post, Amazon review / etc.   This will happen, it’s all part of their job as a sales organization.   If they’re not taking the initiative to get that done, suggest it to them and supply some folks to distribute to! Worst thing they can do is say no!

Have your publisher give copies as giveaways for Conferences, User Groups, Podcasts

Let’s say you’re going to be presenting at a conference or user group, or you’re going to be on a Podcast, you know… Whatever it may be.   Contact your publisher and say, “Hey, I’m going to be doing ‘x’ at ‘y’, can I get ‘z’ number of copies or a case to help promote the book, etc?   Typically they’ll say “Where do I ship?” etc.  Again it’ll depend upon the publishing house you’re working with but promotion is promotion and if you don’t do it, they more often than not will not go out of the way to do it for you.   So ask and you may receive and help promote things out further!

BUT DAMNIT I’M NOT PUBLISHED YET! HOW DO i GET A SWEET BOOK DEAL!

Alright, let me make it clear here. Writing books (especially tech books) is not a get rich quick scheme. In fact it is not even a get moderately middle-classed slowly scheme.  It is a way to produce content to share and spread among the community to grow them as a whole.  All the while giving you a nice checkmark on your Life’s resume and career resume “Author… Check.” It is also not for the light hearted and may not be for everyone.   But that said, there are a number of steps which occur to get the ‘book deal’ as it were. 

One way to start is to talk to other authors, or known authors.  They may have a hook-up especially if you have a good book idea.  I know the Acquisition editors to three major publishers that when opportunities arise or new prospective authors are looking to get published, I will often make an introduction.

You’ll have to essentially submit a proposal helping to justify why the book should be published at all which the publisher will consider before they even accept the bid to have something written.   There are a series of steps involved I won’t go into too much detail here but the real key you should walk away with is, “What do I want to publish, Who is the audience for this book, Are there other books which exist like this already”.   The rest of it will really flow from that in a very formal and detailed document.

Hopefully this has helped you existing authors out a bit, and gives some hope to you prospective authors out there. If you have other suggestions please do not hesitate to include them in the comments! <3