A couple years back, I was approached to ghost write a book. It didn’t quite work out the way either of us planned, and so I became the co-author of the book. It’s a book about the modeling business.
Well, it’s really a marketing book for models. It’s the same advice I give to a lot of my other clients, couched in terms of the modeling industry, and sprinkled with liberal amounts of “personality” from my co-author and the star of the show.
The dirty little secret is: I’m re-writing the book for two other industries. Most of the info will be the same, just immersed in examples from that particular field the book’s targeted toward.
The elephant in the room: first, that I’ve got my name on a book covering an adult – possibly scandalous – topic. And I’ve written a number of articles to expand on topics I didn’t feel were adequately covered in the book.
The blind men and the elephant. We’re all familiar with the story of four blind men in a room with an elephant, each trying to guess at the whole by examining only a part with their limited senses. A snake, for the man holding the trunk. A boulder for the man feeling the side. A tree for the man wrapping his arms around the leg. And a palm frond for the man holding the ear.
In writing books exploring different aspects of marketing for different industries, I’m learning not only about those industries, but more about marketing as a whole. I’m seeing it from different angles, defining and testing different marketing principles. I’m practicing what I teach to interns: spend your career trying to prove the experts are wrong. In doing so, I become a much better advocate for my clients who have no association with the industries in which my books and articles are set.
