Wayne Dyer has written a lot of nifty self-help books, and he has also starred in some very enjoyable public TV shows.

So, he has earned every bit of his success, and he has made, and continues to make great contributions to people’s lives.

But it isn’t his writing or his ideas or his performances that impress me as much as one thing he did when he was just breaking into publishing.

He tells the story about how he loaded his beat up station wagon with books and toured the countryside speaking at every bookstore and on every radio station that would have him. Literally, he put his own books onto the shelves at many of the nation’s bookstores.

Why did he go to this extreme?

Wouldn’t publishers have done the same thing for him, faster, with a lot less bother to him?

No.

He knew this. He had written what he thought was a fine book, one that would sell, but only if people: (1) Knew it existed; and (2) Could find it in bookstores.

So, he addressed those two challenges and PERSONALLY CREATED HIS FIRST BEST-SELLER, “Pulling Your Own Strings.”

When I was promoting my early books I got myself onto as many radio and TV stations as I could. I personally paid for a publicist, and I also did a lot of my own publicity, first hand.

I remember being on vacation in Hawaii, stuck in my hotel room, doing one “phoner”– telephone interview– after another back to the mainland. While the beach beckoned, I was stuck speaking to audiences in snow-socked Chicago and Detroit.

But it helped to put me and my books on the map.

If you’re serious about wanting to be an author I encourage you to read Dyer’s description of what he did to become known. Then, ask yourself: “What am I willing to do; what sacrifices will I make?”

Categories: Book reports