Category Archives: baseball

A Great (Success) Story

baseball, bestseller, John Grisham,
www.bostonglobe.com

John Grisham married a woman six years his junior. He grew up in Oxford, Mississippi, right next door to the girl he would go on to marry. The now famous author said when he came back from school, she had grown up! He went to Ole Miss after attending some smaller schools (he changed colleges three times before graduating). But her parents wouldn’t allow him to date her because he was too old. On their first date, her parents weren’t home and they went out to see a movie.

A Time to Kill was his breakout book. He also wrote The Pelican Brief and The Firm. Grisham has sold more books (nearly 300 million) than any other author. Aside from his children’s book series, he has penned a total of 33 books – 31 novels, one collection of short stories and one work of non-fiction.

To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, was a book that inspired him. Lee, like Grisham, was from the Deep South. In addition, he enjoyed reading Mark Twain’s Roughing It, John le Carre’s Little Drummer Girl and Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath.

As long as he can remember, however, he really wanted to be a professional baseball player. After that dream died, he built a $3.8 million stadium in Virginia. He is a St. Louis Cardinals fan and is involved with RBI (Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities). Combining his vocation and his avocation, he wrote the original screenplay for Mickey, a baseball drama movie which starred Harry Connick, Jr.

Old School Media

He said he gets most of his fodder from the newspaper. There is always a story there of a trial taking place. He postulates there is inevitably a “Crime of the Century” every two years or so.

He started writing early on in his life. Grisham said he was a terrible lawyer but was always dreaming of the big case. Because he was a young attorney, he felt that time was on his side. Knowing that writers like James Michener wouldn’t be around forever, he knew would have his day sooner or later.

It doesn’t take a speed reader to realize that many of his books start with the word “the.” The Runaway Jury, The Client, The Brethren, The Chamber, The Rainmaker, The Partner, The Street Lawyer, The Testament, The King of Torts, The Summons, The Broker, The Appeal, The Associate, The Confession, The Litigators and The Last Juror. Exceptions include Bleachers, Skipping Christmas, Playing for Pizza and A Painted House. Regardless, they have all become international bestsellers.

Start Before the Day Catches Fire

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He said that men don’t generally write women very well. Those who read Gray Mountain, which included a female lead character, would probably agree.

The Big Screen

His books have been adapted into screenplays, starring such notable actors as Tom Cruise, Julia Roberts and Gene Hackman. The books themselves have been translated into nearly 50 languages.

Lately, he has been writing for the kids market. Theodore Boone is a series of books that have gotten much attention. Theodore’s parents are both lawyers and are very smart. While the kid can’t practice law (because of his age), he knows it very well and imparts helpful information to friends and members of his community.

Wynwood Press picked up A Time to Kill (after it was rejected by 28 publishers) and gave it a modest print run. Doubleday ended up republishing it – and turned it into a blockbuster.

The Innocent Man marked his foray into non-fiction. Grisham boasts that, after 30 books, there’s still plenty to write about. He wishes he could write two or three books a year – but instead has been writing one a year for quite some time.

JG says “If what you are writing is good, it will eventually get noticed.” And perseverance is a big, big part of it.

About the Author

Frank Felsburg resides in Western North Carolina. He is a former college baseball player and an avid golfer.

What is Your Strategy?

baseball, publishing, writing

If you are an author or a speaker, you should have a strategy. Both industries are very competitive. And, unless you manage to stay head and shoulders above your competition, you, as they say, are a “nobody” in the marketplace.

Toward that end, there are some basic questions you should ask yourself (or have someone else ask you) that, once answered, give you a clearer direction of where you are headed. They can also serve to position you as a thought leader in the mind of decision makers.

Some of these questions might seem impertinent, unusual or downright annoying. But there is a reason why you should not let another minute go by without getting started answering them. Here we go:

What?

  1. Products & services are you selling? Do you know? Is it a “me too” product? Or does it disrupt the industry in a positive way?
  2. Makes you truly unique? Why should media planners hire you or readers invest their valuable time reading your book?
  3. Hard cover publications do you think your audience reads?
  4. Would be the ideal gig for you? Who would be in the audience? How large an audience would it be? What would you like to happen after you speak? A. Immediately B. Over the long run
  5. Marketing materials do you have? This should go without saying but, Do they cast you in a favorable light? Are the materials professional? For example, if you have video, make sure it is in a modern format (that means don’t give someone a cassette audiotape or VHS videotape in this day and age).
  6. Specifically makes you unique?
  7. Are some of the conferences you attended in the past? Would you still enjoy attending them if you could?

Why…?

  1. Should meeting planners hire you?
  2. Should someone buy your product/service?

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Additional Questions

  1. Are you open to media appearances? You may say “Of course,” but have you been trained in dealing with the press? They can be brutal and make you look real bad if you aren’t sure what you’re doing or who you are speaking to. Believe it or not, they might lead you to believe they are going to ask you about one thing and then while you are on the air in front of millions of people, put you on the spot and ask you about something else. As you could imagine, it could be devastating for your career as well as your confidence.
  2. Would you say the attendees of those shows are in your Target Market?
  3. I know you say you would do keynote speeches… Would you also consider doing break-out sessions?
  4. Are you checking out your local convention center (if you have one) to see what conferences are coming up in the future? Perhaps you can speak at the conference (or be available as a substitute in the event that a speaker doesn’t show up). Wally Pipp of the New York Yankees once missed a game at first base. The person who replaced him became a legend. Known as The Iron Horse. Lou Gehrig played in 2130 straight games.

What’s your strategy? Do you have one? If not, you might want to start thinking one through by asking yourself these questions.

How I Listened Myself onto My College Baseball Team

baseball, listening, Professional Development, ,

I played baseball when I was younger but didn’t make the high school team. I tried out for second base then but wasn’t very good. I couldn’t hit all that well and my second base proficiency was, well, second rate.

I tried all the positions growing up – pitcher, catcher, infielder and outfielder. Quite frankly, I may have decided on second base because it was the least dangerous. But I remembered that when I was a catcher in little league and elementary school, I’d won some accolades. I had a decent arm and good hands, and I felt less inhibited with all that gear (aka, the “tools of ignorance”) on.

Baseball-Field-at-Home1

When I decided to go to college, I had three goals: I wanted to (1) go away to school, (2) get my bachelor’s degree, and (3) play baseball (and not necessarily in that order). I was intent on accomplishing all three.

I was not very studious in high school My grades weren’t that good; somewhat miraculously, however, I got accepted at Loyola College in Baltimore. I had barely survived the first fall semester, when, all of a sudden, here came spring, when a young man’s thoughts turn to … well, in my case, baseball.

I tried out for the varsity team as a catcher, taking my lumps along the way. The pitchers were out to impress and they were throwing hard. Because it was February and cold outside, we were indoors. The other catchers handling the pitchers were catching without a mask, but after I’d had my nose bloodied a few times, I swallowed my pride and wore one.

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My hitting had improved the previous summer while playing softball, but I hadn’t witnessed any curve balls in that league. Here I would encounter plenty.

As I stood in the on-deck circle during an intra-squad scrimmage that day, my eyes met those of “Walt,” another prospect whom I knew from the dorm. He’d observed that “John” threw the ball right down the middle. I concurred, having seen his repertoire of pitches in the gym while catching him.

When it was my turn to bat, I dug in, remembering what Walt had told me. It was late in the game and my dream was on the line. Sure enough, one of the first pitches I saw was a fastball right down Broadway. I hammered it out into left field, driving in several runs in the process. It was at a crucial point in the game. Not only did I surprise myself, but I surprised the coach as well, who now had a harder time deciding whom to let go.

After the game, I passed all the defensive drills the coach put me through and made the team. In all honesty, it was the advice Walt gave me, and my putting it to good use, that enabled me to realize my dream of playing college baseball.

Anyway, I’ll be giving a listening workshop at various American Executive Centers in August. Come on out and join us. To register for it, go here: http://www.americanexecutivecenters.com/summer-learning-seminars/