If you’re like me, the past week has flown by – and you still haven’t finished your holiday shopping for the brand-building author or entrepreneur in your life.
To help you with your last-minute holiday shopping, here’s a list of personally-recommended “best of 2010” writing and marketing books published this year that can contribute to a co-worker or loved-one’s personal branding success during the coming year – and beyond!
Even better, if you’re the lucky recipient of gift certificates or gift books that aren’t what you wanted, you may be able to exchange them for books that can help you build your personal brand during 2011!
Writing & finishing a brand-building book
The books in this section, organized alphabetically by author last name, help get books, blog posts, and other writing tasks finished as quickly as possible.
Belsky, Scott. Making ideas Happen: Overcoming the Obstacles Between Vision & Reality
According to Scott Belsky, nearly all new ideas die a premature death – and the reason new ideas die is not the economy or risk-averse bosses or clients. In his words:
The most potent forces that kill off new ideas are our own limitations.
Creative individuals are often distracted by what Scott calls “the lure of the new.” Writers jump from one new idea to another newer idea, so seduced by the exhilaration of new ideas that few ideas are translated to specific, actionable tasks.
Making Ideas Happen describes numerous ideas and work-arounds that brand-building authors or entrepreneurs can overcome our unwanted self-imposed limitations.
Clark, Roy Peter. The Glamour of Grammar: A Guide to the Magic and Mystery of Practical English
On the surface, grammar is hardly a fascinating topic, bringing back memories of teachers from the past droning on about scintillating topics like active verbs and dangling participles.
Yet, in Roy Peter Clark’s hands, grammar takes on a new relevance as he explains the logically explains the practical benefits of clear writing in 50 short, highly readable, example-filled chapters.
Like his previous book, Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer, Roy Peter Clark organized The Glamour of Grammar is based on 50 short, example-filled chapters organized into 5 sections. Each of the topics build upon previous topics, communicated in a conversational and friendly tone.
Levy, Mark. Accidental Genius: Using Writing to Generate Your Best Ideas, Insight, and Content.
I’ve recommended Mark Levy’s Accidental Genius to many of my book coaching clients, and all tell me it’s the most helpful book I’ve ever recommended.
Accidental Genius has helped many overcome their perfectionist impulses and self-imposed critical thinking, allowing them to unleash the ideas they’ve been unconsciously trapped inside for many years.
Accidental Genius is based on “write with a timer” set to ring in 7-minute increments. Start the timer, write anything until the alarm goes off. Then, restart the timer and write for another 7 minutes!
After a few cycles, take a break and review what you’ve written. Highlight the good ideas that are inevitably hidden inside the paragraphs you’ve written, and begin to expand your best ideas.
Mark has presented his Accidental Genius system during hundreds of corporate seminars and university workshops, helping authors get out of their own way and develop new writing habits and skills – by writing in 7-minute segments.
Presenting your ideas to others
Authors have to sell their ideas to others, in a variety of presentation formats, including meetings, speeches, teleseminars, and webinars. The following books shed helpful new light on effective real-time communications.
Duarte, Nancy. Resonate: Present Visual Ideas that Inspire Audiences
Resonate has important lessons for all authors, helping them take a fresh look at the way they’re organizing and presenting ideas in their book, their book proposal, and on their website.
Details and information are not enough to sell books and make sales. Resonate helps authors replace boring details and facts with engaging and memorable stories that will inspire readers and audiences to take action.
Nancy Duarte’s Resonate helps authors and entrepreneurs build their brand, attract and engage prospects, and generate new business and career opportunities by mastering classic story-telling approaches and techniques.
Harrison, Steve. IdeaSelling: Successfully Pitch Your Creative Ideas to Bosses, Clients and Other Decision Makers
An author’s journey to a published book involves successfully pitching book ideas and proposals to literary agents and members of a publisher’s acquisitions team.
Often, book ideas are stillborn, because authors present their books from their point of view – emphasizing what’s important to them – rather than emphasizing what’s important to agents or publishers.
An author’s selling never ends! The publication of their book presents authors with new challenges and opportunities to pitch themselves and their books to prospective clients, potential partners, readers, and the press.
Sam Harrison’s IdeaSelling presents hundreds of ideas, exercises, tips, and strategies, organized in 8 categories, presented one idea or strategy per page. This makes it easy for readers to locate desired information, while providing an ongoing object lesson in concise writing on each page.
Reynolds, Gar. Presentation Zen Design: Simple Design Principles & Techniques to Enhance Your Presentations
Gar Reynolds is a classic example of a “blog to book” case study. Soon after starting his Presentation Zen Blog in 2007, his blog attracted the attention of several book publishers who encouraged him to write a book.
When it appeared in 2008, Presentation Zen changed the way business professionals view presentations.
Presentation Zen Design builds on Gar’s Presentation Zen by providing more details, examples, and specific advice. Presentation Zen Design helps create presentations that provide a breath of fresh air to audiences used to sleeping through boring, bullet-chart-filled, PowerPoint presentations.
Branding and internet marketing
These books provide an up-to-date perspective on the realities and tools of marketing and personal branding today.
Godin, Seth. Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?
Seth Godin’s Linchpin is a wake-up call for individuals who have been hesitant to make substantive changes in the way the world operates. It’s a sober, but realistic, assessment of the impact of the changes taking place in economic, political, and technology have changed the job market.
Seth’s message is bluntly stated: to survive, you have to do more than perform; you have to become indispensable to your boss, your employer, and your clients.
Ultimately, though, Linchin’s message is positive. Seth’s recommendations are exciting in that his ideas can be the catalyst individuals need to take proactive measures, reacting sooner – rather than later – to the harsh career realities that are forced on unsuspecting employees and service providers every day.
As always, Seth introduces an entertaining new vocabulary in Linchpin, including terms like Lizard Brain.
Schawbel, Dan. Me 2.o: Revised and Updated Edition: 4 Steps to Building Your Future
Perhaps, like many of you, Me 2.0 provided my introduction to Dan Schawbel, when I discovered it on sale at my local Barnes & Noble. I was hooked by its candor and bought it on the spot.
Me 2.0 provoked me to take a fresh look at branding. The more I read, the more I liked. The next day, I returned and purchased additional copies for each of my sons.
Dan’s advice and perspective are invaluable; I encourage all parents to buy a copy of Me 2.0 for the college students, recent graduates, and career-oriented Gen Y’er in their lives.
Me 2.0 played a major role in my youngest son’s career, encouraging him to take greater control over his future by creating and leveraging brand-building opportunities within his firm and becoming active online.
Dan’s advice helped my son to the extent that, at 30, he was able to take a year-long leave of absence and move to Australia, confident that the firm would welcome him back upon his return!
Scott, David Meerman. Real Time Marketing & PR: How to Instantly Engage Your Market, Connect with Customers, and Create Products that Grow Your Business Now
David Meerman Scott’s Real Time Marketing & PR continues his analysis of how the Internet is – once again – changing everything.
David’s message is that businesses who fail to respond and adapt to the challenge of the Internet’s Real Time challenges are going to be missing more and more opportunities, and will be unable to effectively respond to threats from competitors or the media. David’s backs-up his ideas with numerous, up-to-date, examples and case studies.
As you read Real Time Marketing & PR, you’ll probably find yourself recalling viral marketing incidents that you had participated in by forwarding links to YouTube videos, etc. With David’s help, however, you’ll get the back-story as well as ideas for putting the power of Real Time to work promoting your book and your business.
Comments or suggestions?
Have I overlooked any of your favorite writing or marketing books published during 2010? Or, if you’ve read any of the above, do you have any additional observations or opinions you’d care to add as comments, below? BTW, the above links are for your convenience; they are not affiliate links.
Author:
Roger C. Parker wants to help you make right choices writing a brand-building book. He blogs every weekday. His latest book is #BOOK TITLE Tweet: 140 Bite-Sized Ideas for Compelling Article, Book, & Event Titles.
