Author Interview with Sherri Thomas (Author of "Career Smart -- 5 Steps to a Powerful Personal Brand.")
January 19th, 2007What was your motivation for writing a book?
I've had an exciting and enriching career and learned how to successfully transition into the radio, TV, professional sports, finance, and high tech industries, as well as advance up the corporate ladder. But I've also had some bumps and bruises along the way. One of the mistakes I made was putting my career in the hands of a manager or a company, and that's a career killer! I've learned some key career success strategies, which have also been very helpful to my clients in achieving their goals. I wrote the book because I wanted to teach other professionals about the importance of personal branding.
What was the hardest part about the experience?
I was blessed to be in a position where I could take 8 weeks
off to simply focus on writing the book. So I rented a corporate
apartment in Dublin, Ireland and was able to spend each day
writing. Since my main priority was writing the book, I had to
be extremely disciplined and not go sight seeing or enjoy the
pubs as much as I would have liked. 
How did you get a publisher?
I talked to a couple of publishers and found out that it takes 1-2 years to get a book published, which was a much longer than what I wanted. I also realized that the royalties were quite low, and some of the publishers required that I sign a waiver handing over all of my rights to my content. I quickly determined that I did not want to go through a traditional book publisher. I remembered reading an article in the Oprah magazine about a writer who had a good experience with self publishing. So I checked out Oprah's website and found 5 self publishing authors that Oprah's team recommended. I researched each of them and determined that one met all of my criteria which were: low cost, high royalties, experience in publishing my book's genre, and design services. It was a really great experience and I highly recommend it!
What are the takeaways that you hope people get from reading your book?
Those professionals who know how to showcase their strengths, talents, and accomplishments are the ones getting the bigger promotions, better clients, and higher salaries. By incorporating the 5 critical steps to attaining a strong personal brand you will stand above your competition, put yourself in high demand with clients, managers, and potential employers, and have a more gratifying and enriching career.
What advice would you give a reader who was thinking about writing a book?
Just do it! It's been such an awesome experience. The process helped me crystallize several concepts and strategies, which helped me strengthen my writing skills and be more effective in my presentations, and even sessions with my clients.
