The Journey to a Best Seller with Paul Brodie

Jul 26, 2019, 11:00 AM

Have you ever had a story you wanted to tell but you had no idea how to get it out to the masses? Have you ever felt like you didn’t know where to start? My guest today did it on his own and took his book Eat Less and Move More to the best sellers list along with two more books that also had the same level of success. 

The journey made him realize that it's not easy to write a book, get it edited, published and marketed with limited resources. He thought why not do something that would help others in the same situation and so Brody Consulting Group was born.

Paul Brody is the founder and CEO of Brody Consulting Group. He works with his clients to write, publish and market their books with a proven system he designed. He is also the host of the Get Published podcast. 

We chat about his journey in writing his books and taking them to the best sellers list on his own steam and how that experience catapulted him into the business he leads today.

Show Notes:
  • [03:32] A health crisis caused Paul to reevaluate his life when his doctor told him if he didn’t lose weight and get his act together, he’d be dead in five years.
  • [04:14] He lost the weight, kept the weight off and beat the odds, he wanted to tell the story about his own journey.
  • [04:42] He had no idea how to get his story out there or get a book published.
  • [05:02] Sitting by the pool at the Mirage in Vegas everything started to flow, opened up his notes app on his phone and sketched out the entire outline for the book. A week later he wrote 20,000 words and that became his first draft.
  • [05:39] He spent 8 hours a day learning the publishing side but then he had to figure out the marketing side. He then spent more days learning how to launch a book successfully and how to evolve with a changing market.
  • [06:08] A month later, in August he launched the book “Eat Less and Move More.” It became his very first bestseller.
  • [06:24] Paul was also a motivational speaker and wanted to write a couple of books based on those seminars, he wrote Motivation 101 and Positivity Attracts. They both became best sellers.
  • [06:31] He started having other authors ask to be shown what he did to become successful so early on, how to market and publish their books.
  •  [06:52] He started coaching people one on one on writing, publishing and marketing their books. Within a year and a half, his company was up and running.
  • [07:03] They then expanded into hybrid publishing where they do, done for your publishing services, done for your book marketing and this last year they have added executive ghostwriting.
  • [07:31] One book from a health crisis completely changed his life. Everyone has a story you just have to get it out there.
  • [08:53] The most typical mistakes that first time authors make is trying to edit their own book.
  • [09:51] Always do a final proof even when you have an editor and always read the book out loud.  
  • [11:06] Paul’s company takes a holistic approach with writers, they don’t pitch ideas, they just want to know about your book, your situation and what you want to get out of it. He tells his clients that it's not a book launch, it’s a product launch.
  • [14:23] He tells people that he is a farmer because all he does is plant seeds.
  • [15:20] His proven system is breaking down everything into bite-size portions, simplify.
  • [18:05] Having a great looking professional book cover is very important for a successful book launch.
  • [23.37] He never even thought about starting a podcast until people around told him he should spread his knowledge and that it would be a great medium to do that.
  • [24:17] He started the podcast Get Published recording one episode a week, went to 5 episodes a week and at one point was doing four episodes a day. They have done 350 episodes in the year since the podcast was launched.
  • [26:15] After authors build their platform, having a podcast to get the information out to more people is definitely a great way to get their brand out there.
  • [27:33] Social media is a great way to drive brand awareness and push people towards your website to bring that traffic in.
  • [30:22] LinkedIn’s sales navigator is something he recommends for the ability to reach out to people and send traffic your way.
  • [31:30] The challenge he faces in his business is setting expectations early with clients, making it clear that they are not going to make millions of dollars on the front end with royalties.
  • [34:01] You can not be an introvert as an author and expect to sell tons of books, you have to get out there to keep the momentum going.
  • [36:24] Online speaking and virtual summits are great ways of getting out there without having to physically be in front of people.  
  • [38:50] Paul always says he gives his information away for free, clients pay for implementation.
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