Date: 2018 October 15
APOK News:
With thanksgiving barely in the rearview mirror, we are being hit by cold already. The green leaves are quickly changing colors and dropping, covering the ground. With only 16 days left in October we’re quickly closing in on the first KINDLE giveaway. You may have one more thing to be thankful for…in order to take advantage of this opportunity make sure you get your name on a ballot by following the instructions under the contest page, APOK Derailed. For those keen treasure seekers, I’ll be shooting out BONUS BALLOT opportunities more regularly, so stay tuned.
Before APOK Derailed taxis out to the runway to take flight, we have one last edit remaining. With ample time still on the clock, I decided to sneak in one more revision prior to sending it back to the publisher. With each read, I get more excited about releasing it. It’s like watching anything in life grow, plants, children, pets. Gradually, day by day with generous amounts of direction and attention, they develop into strong reliable independent life forms.
Again thank you to all those following the changes and developments on FACEBOOK. If there is anything that you would like to see or hear, let me know. The next segment, Behind the Dust Cover – The Making of APOK, features the Book Tour.
Till next week, have a great one,
Mike
Behind the Dust Cover – The Making of APOK – Book Tour
“I could never do what you do.” It seems to be theme I hear from people referring to my work as a Police Officer or as a writer. Typically I don’t stop and ask them the specific context of “What” exactly they could never do, I usually reply with, “Sure you can.” In the beginning, in either profession, the occupation forces you to be someone you’re not. While your heart and thoughts are racing, you must project a calm, confident exterior. This takes practice, and unfortunately there is only one way to get good at the job and that is being comfortable being uncomfortable.
How does this relate to a book tour? Walk through the densely filled aisles of a bookstore I found myself surrounded by countless works of art. As a writer it can be overwhelming. Among thousands of spines, it’s easy to rationalize the most obvious question, “How will anyone ever find book?” Pondering that question, I could think of only one way. It’s a new spin on an old idea that has worked for generations. I would have to transition from covert Police Officer to a walking billboard.
Echoes of famous book tours rumbled in my head, I thought, that may just work. Preventing pessimistic thoughts from overrunning my mind, I contacted the first store. Navigating blind, my approach was unrefined, but I stated my proposal and by the time I hung up the phone I was convinced that I could make this work. I documented what information worked best and took those lessons to contact the next store and so on. By the end not only had I filled up my calendar, I had tailored a store level corporate sales pitch.
With my heart racing, I pulled in front of the bookstore store. Why I am so nervous? I thought. After doing the high risk jobs I’ve done, this should be relatively easy. Gathering my courage, I stepped from my car. This is it, the moment of truth. It was time to greet the public. Entering the location, I met with the manager and immediately went to work setting up the sales table. A stack of books at my side, business cards in hand, and wearing my APOK shirt I welcomed each person walking by, inviting them to engage in an action packed journey.
Having the right perspective is so very important. Starting out I was clearly uncomfortable, my speech was rough and my confidence shaky, resulting in failure. However, when I examined why I wasn’t succeeding, it provided me hope and confidence to keep going. I looked at it like this; I am in a book store. For the most part, people who enter these places aren’t rude. They are polite people looking to buy a book. I recognized that if I keep my spirits high and introduce myself well and provide them a business card they leave with a good impression and promotional material to verify who I am and what I’m about. The next time they’re looking for a book to read they could very well buy mine.
Eventually finding my rhythm I decided to push the boundaries and broaden my horizon. I took to the sky leaving Canada to explore the southern United States.
Mike’s Thoughts
If you haven’t already noticed there is a reoccurring theme…self confidence. Attaining and maintaining self confidence can be delicate situation. It’s the most crucial thing in anything that you want to do. Self Confidence makes all the difference. But how do you develop self confidence in a field that you are new and know very little about? The answer is fairly simple, self reflection, it’s the execution that takes practice.
Self reflection doesn’t mean that you walk around carrying a mirror, it simply means paying attention to your past and building on your future. No matter who you are and where you’ve been or what you’ve been through, we all have victories. We have to remember those victories no matter how small. We have to remember that time in our life when we did something that we felt good about.
It’s through those small victories that we can build the confidence to chase our dreams.
Good Luck. Until next time,
Mike