Mitchell Levy

2. Tell us what inspired your book.

I had the opportunity to present the challenges that my publishing company had reaching its goals in 2009 to a group of CEOs. They turned to me and made the same suggestion that I make to everyone else: you must write a book. Four months later, it was on Amazon and in the marketplace.

3.    Can you share some inspirational stories from your book?

Jay Conrad Levinson used books to drive his career where he's sold over 24 million copies of books in his Guerrilla Marketing series. Marshall Goldsmith was able to drive credibility with his books and create a career that any management consultant would be jealous. Laura Lowell used her book to triple her income in 3 weeks.

4.    Who do you think would benefit from your book and why?

It ranges from the CMO of a large corporation, their evangelist and bloggers, to service providers that need to demonstrate thought leadership and drive lead generation.

5.    You think that every service provider should author a book and that every company should have a branded series of books. Bold statement! Why?

It's the #1 source of instant credibility today.

6.    What are some of the most common mistakes made in this industry?

There are three: 1) Having a press that takes 18-24 months to publish your book. 2) Writing the book and either hoping that it sells off the shelf or 3) hoping that it becomes your primary revenue stream.

7.    Please give us a little background on your experience.

I self-published a book in '93 and had a Prentice Hall imprint publish a book for me in 2000. Since 1997, I've created 13 companies/strategic partnerships and, 11 of which were service provider companies that could have used the services and capabilities that Happy About® provides. I am also a partner of the physical networking firm CXOnetworking, and sit on the board of directors of Rainmaker Systems, a sales and marketing service company.

Editor's note: CXOnetworking and Rainmaker Systems are also in the San Jose area.

8.    What do you think is the greatest challenge facing those who want to write and publish a book?

Having the "right" goal in mind and finding a partner to help you reach it.

9.    Talk a little bit about your company, Happy About.

Happy About books deliver wisdom. Our books are smaller, compact, high-impact reads that are typically 100-150 pages and are delivered in tradebook, eBook, or podbook format. 5x Faster Time to Market: We are approximately 5 times faster (3-4 months vs. 18-24) than a traditional publisher at getting a book to market. This allows you to deliver your message while it's still germane. For individuals or companies that need help writing, we have a pool of 137 ghostwriters that can help. Global Distribution: Happy About books are available through Amazon (US, UK, France, Germany, and Japan), BarnesandNoble.com and HappyAbout.info (plus affiliate sites) and through the largest distributors: Baker & Taylor and Ingram. The eBook is also available at up to 15,000 libraries throughout the US and at up to 50 e-tailors. Visit http://happyabout.info/books.php and http://42rules.com for more info.

10.    What inspired you to start this company?

To deliver the types of services that wasn't available in the marketplace when I wrote my previous books.

11.    What is your end goal for this book?

Awareness. Attract more infopreneurs to Happy About. Pick up 6 corporate and University presses.

12.    What’s the most important message that people should take away from it?

Not only can you do it quickly, it works!

13.     How can people get in contact with you and what is your Web site?

Visit us at http://happyabout.info/books.php or http://42rules.com or feel free to mail us at info@happyabout.info. Ask for the six questions which is the extent of our book proposal process.

14.    How can someone get your book?

Our books are available at Amazon, throughout the book chain and on Happy About http://happyabout.info