You get to meet some very cool people when you’re part of the community of indie authors. Paul Rega has become a good friend. If his name sounds familiar it’s because Paul is the indie author who blew the doors off Amazon’s rankings recently with a non-fiction book! His first promotion was so successful that he’s giving his ebook away again for FREE.
So, Sat. May 26th and Sun. May 27th, “How To Get A Job When There Are No Jobs” will be free through Amazon. Right here http://www.amazon.com/How-Find-Job-Competitive-ebook/dp/B0056PFONW/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1337831957&sr=1-1
Paul, can you introduce yourself to us please.
This is where you get to make us envious by describing the beautiful area you live in, and you can talk about Heidi too.
I started writing very early while in high school and was influenced by my father who was also a writer. I can remember telling him that I would write a book someday. My first published writing was the result of working for my college newspaper, the Western Courier while attending Western Illinois University. After graduating, I landed my first job during the raging recession of 1981 and worked for the Fisher Scientific Company. I was abruptly laid off after almost three years due to an economic cut back and shortly afterwards started my own company, an executive search business in 1984. My fiancé and I currently live in a small town along the northern Gulf Coast of Florida after having lived in the Chicago area for over 50 years.
Paul, I’ve read your book and I must say that although it’s definitely a fantastic guide for any job seeker or anyone who’s making a career change, it’s more than that. It’s your own story too. Can you tell us a bit about your book and what prompted you to write it?
My career book is as you say much more than a job search book. It depicts a journey through life that we are all on or soon shall embark upon. It’s the story of my life as a recruiter and how my unique experience in that field has come into play as my own career has had its share of challenges. The book was the result of merging what I know as a recruiter and my 28 years of experience in the field of employment with the circumstances occurring in my life. A recurring theme throughout the book is that, “As your life changes, so often does your career.” I think it’s because of this unique combination that the book seems to be resonating with a lot of people currently suffering in this economy.
I know you want to talk about numbers because you’re a numbers guy, and you’re proud of the rankings that your book has achieved. You’ve knocked some pretty heavy competition off its perch; can you summarize your very impressive numbers for us Paul?
The book has done well since the 2012 edition was released and was in the Top 100 books in its category of Job Hunting and Resume books. However, after we ran the KDP promotion on Amazon, the book shot to #1 in Paid sales overtaking the iconic book “What Color is Your Parachute” in its 40th edition. My book has maintained its position in sales and has been bouncing between the #2 and #3 spots in its categories.
I know that for me, although it is fantastic to be able to sell books to lots of folks, the real blessing has been the reaction that I’ve gotten from real people who have read my work, and I know that you feel the same way. You’ve helped people make some huge changes, Paul, and there are readers who have left some really touching reviews on your Amazon book page. How did that make you feel?
The reviews are all very unique in their message to me and my readers. I feel as though I have made a real difference in people’s lives as they have read my book and have taken positive action towards bettering themselves despite a continued slow economy. That was my hope and one of the reasons I wrote the book.
As you mentioned already, things really seemed to catch fire when you joined KDP Select and ran your first free promotion, can you explain what happened when you did that, and perhaps share some advice with other writers out there?
I can tell you that watching my sales climb during that period of time that lasted three days while the FREE Promo was taking place was like watching a stock ticker, all in a positive direction. It was electric and I had not experienced that level of excitement since having started my karate school in college. The book took off and was downloaded over 13,700 times in three days. The rankings went through the roof where we hit #1 in Job Hunting, Careers and Resumes, #2 in Nonfiction #2 in Business & Investing and #14 overall in the Kindle Store. I would say that the single most important element to having a successful promotion in addition to having a good book and a good cover is to be prepared and plan far enough ahead for the sale by promoting the book to several sites that specialize in FREE Books. Use all of the social media sites not just one or two and promote your book before and after the sale.
By the way, congratulations on having the absolute best book title. It’s so catchy and totally explains what someone is going to get if they read your book. What’s next for “How To Find A Job When There Are No Jobs”, and what’s next for Paul Rega?
I appreciate your comments regarding the title as it was the original title I picked some 14 years ago when I first started to write the book on a note pad. I do plan on releasing a 2013 edition of the book with an additional chapter in negotiating primarily geared towards how to effectively negotiate a job offer and the many parts to that process. The book will also be sold in a hard cover for the new edition. I am currently working on a coming of age novel that I hope to complete in approximately 3-4 months. It’s a true story about 32 Boy Scouts that road their bicycles from Wood Dale IL to Florida in 1972 and the value systems established during that time.
Paul, can you talk for a moment about the community of independent authors and what help, if any, they’ve been in terms of supporting you and your book?
Well, that’s an easy one as you and Van Heerling are the two people I called for advice and you were both very gracious with your time. Without the guidance of Van and yourself, my book would not be doing as well as it is today. Thank you for all your continued help and support. My fiancée, Heidi who also happens to be a writer and has taken a real interest in Twitter has been a tremendous help in promoting my book. There are several other writers both independent and published that I owe a great deal of gratitude to and have been fantastic in their support and I can’t thank them enough.
And lastly, you’ve done so well as an indie writer, but what happens if a publisher or agent approaches you? Is there a way now that you could be traditionally published? Are you interested in being approached by a publisher or agent?
I was recently approached by McGraw Hill but am not sure what direction if any that may take as we continue our communication. I plan to always keep an open mind to a discussion with a publisher or agent as I feel it’s always wise to have several options to publish my work. If it were to make sense from a financial and promotional standpoint, I would definitely consider publishing with a traditional house.
“How To Find A Job When There Are No Jobs” is FREE Sat May 26th and Sun May 27th. In my opinion Paul’s book is destined to become the definitive job search self-help book. You can get your FREE copy right here http://www.amazon.com/How-Find-Job-Competitive-ebook/dp/B0056PFONW/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1337831957&sr=1-1