Hit: So far, the feedback in particular the actions that some of the readers had taken were really encouraging such as taking classes that they always wanted to. As I mentioned before, I think it is the best feedback a self-help writer can ever get :>

Miss: Getting readers to write Amazon reviews was more challenging than I had thought.

Hit: Restaurant, café and hair saloon managers were very supportive allowing me to put my promotional posters and postcards there.

Miss: Promotional posters were too costly and not very effective on generating sales of my book as the audience were too diverse and might not be interested in the subject of my book.

I read a book today that offered an excellent elaboration on my point mentioned in my book (p.25) on ”training your emotional muscle to deal with down moment and negative energy”.

The book titled “The Coaching Manual – The Definitive Guide to the Process, Principles and Skills of Personal Coaching” by Julie Starr (p.150) suggests a three-step process:
1. Awareness: You notice that you’re doing or thinking something that is not working (negative energy).
2. Acknowledgement: You acknowledge that – and give it up (let the thought go).
3. Refocus: You shift your attention to a more effective thought or behavior (positive energy).

A great and concrete advice that I was compelled to share with all. It will be included in the next edition of my book.

Hit:  Branding was lot of fun.  With the help of my art director Damian, we came up with a series of promotional items under the same theme of “hour glass”. That included posters, promotional postcards, business cards, stickers and letter papers with logo.  Even the staff at the post office noticed the special sticker I used on the parcel.

Miss:  Too much thinking on the “bells and whistles” trying to enhance the current book cover.  At some point, I was thinking of adding a wire to “highlight” the moustache on the book cover. Fortunately, the idea was not materialized.  Nevertheless, time was not well-spent.

Continuing on the theme of “Hits and Misses” in 2014:

Hit: Personal Development – Through the self-publication and promotion of my book, I have learned a great deal on how to present myself in a more formal/corporate way. It was a great experience to take a day off from work going to independent bookstores to promote my book.

Miss: I under-estimated the time gap between the purchase of a book and the reading of it. It may take some time for some people to read my book (though it is by no means a lengthy one); therefore, feedback and “word of mouth” may come later than I expected.

Today a colleague of mine told me that she had read my book during the holidays and she found it useful. She likes in particular the part on transformation of negative energy into positive one (under the section “Kiss the negative energy goodbye”, p.24-26 of my book).

On a different note, I heard back from a prospective Chinese translator in Mainland China. She will review my book and discuss with me afterwards.

I had a drink this evening with a friend whom I “gently” persuaded to read my book over the holidays. He told me that he plans to pick up piano which he was taught and trained for during his childhood. After reading my book, he was very much encouraged to go for it again.

It was music to my ears (and not off key this time). The best feedback I can ever have on the book is to prompt someone to take action to learn!

Yesterday morning I was at church and the worship team on stage began to play one of my favorite hymns called Bless the Lord. Even though I am tone-deaf, I could tell there was something wrong and I just could not join in. I soon realized that they were singing at a much lower key that I was accustomed to. I promptly adjusted myself so that I could be part of worship instead of giving up and letting the hymn pass.
It dawned on me that the idea of tuning in and adjusting is applicable in other aspects of life. For example, management at work may change and it is critical for the affected employees to “tune in” and make the necessary adjustments in order to contribute continuously, perhaps in a different way. My advice is to keep your ears sharp for changes.

Today I was invited to a new year lunch at a friend’s house and happened to sit next to David Keys who is an established journalist and author of two books. Unfortunately, the subject of my own book was brought up quite late in our conversation and I did not manage to “squeeze in” a sales pitch. I made a swift exit after concluding that there was no end to a heated discussion on the U.K. tax system at the table.

Sales opportunity lost this time. I will have an entire year to get ready when I see him next year :>

Even though it is technically not a year end for the publication of my book (first published in Sep-14), as it is a good time of the year for reflection, let me start the year with a series of blogs on the “Hit and Miss” of my book publication so far. I will include one “hit” and one “miss” on each blog.

Hit: A great experience of developing and deepening my relationships with those who helped me in the process including my editor Geoff, art director Damian (nephew), marketing research assistant Cameron (niece), executive assistant Gary and photographer Yvanne.

Miss: Marketing my book to book stores was far more difficult than I had thought being an unknown author with no contacts.