Did you get a "nice deal" on your book contract?

If you write books, you probably wonder about advances.

Your own advance.

And what other people get.

If you're wondering if you got "a good deal," there's a great resource for you called Publishers Lunch. It is an institution in the publishing industry -- everyone reads it.

They have lots of news and gossip about the industry.

Plus they list a few deals each week. Here's their key to understanding the deals:

"nice deal" $1 - $49,000
"very nice deal" $50,000 - $99,000
"good deal" $100,000 - $250,000
"significant deal" $251,000 - $499,000
"major deal" $500,000 and up

PR LEADS alum Michael Port got a "very nice deal" for his new book to be published by John Wiley, according to Publishers Lunch. The book's called " 'The Think Big Manifesto' in the tradition of Napoleon Hill, offering a paradigm of centered collaboration as a new path for business and personal growth that produces dramatic results over the small-thinking ways that plague our everyday experiences in work, relationships and society, again to Matt Holt at Wiley, in a very nice deal."

NSA invites Dan Janal to speak at annual conference

I'm honored to have been asked to speak at the National Speakers Associations' annual conference in New York on August 2.

I've been a member of NSA for more than 15 years. They are a great association that is characterized by members willingness to help other members. I'm flattered to have been asked to speak on negotiating and negotiations.

If you're going to the conference, let me know! Maybe we can get together for lunch!

PR LEADERS Continue to Get Top Tier Press!

From time to time I like to let you know of achievements of our PR LEADERS.

On Sunday, July 7, workplace expert BJ Gallagher was quoted in the New York Times Business Section, thanks to ProfNet and PR LEADS.

"PR LEADS is the BEST!!!" writes BJ. Thanks!

Relationship coach Mary Jo Fay was quoted in Cosmo in June and July!

PowerPoint Presentation Tips That Work - Really!

Dr. John Medina posted a funny and informative slide show on how to present ideas. This presentation is invaluable! Check it out now

You'll never do presentations the same way again!

Making the Most of Linked In

I have nearly 500 contacts on LinkedIn. Will you be the 500th? Invite me!

Linked In can be an important tool to grow your business and your influence.

When I spoke at the recent National Speakers Association Branding Lab in Boston, I learned about an ebook that Jill Konrath wrote called "Can LinkedIn Increase Your Sales?"

If you're wondering if you should be using LinkedIn - or even how - I think you'll find it helpful. You can download your copy at http://www.sellingtobigcompanies.com/linkedin

Improve productivity by cutting out spam

I love spamarrest. I couldn't live without it.

At the very best, I see only emails enter my email account that have been approved by me. Then I go to their website and quickly scan the mail it blocked -- 99 percent is junk. The one percent that should have gone through usually is from new clients who haven't clicked on the approval option.

I check the folder in the morning and then 2-3 times a day. It really works.

Here's another tip: I have a lot of domains (publicity for doctors, trainers, consultants, etc.) that I just post a page for, but don't have active emails addresses. The spammers found that sites and send me junk, so we disabled the email option on those sites. That cut down spam a lot. So if you have old sites, pointer sites, or sites that you really don't need mail from, you might want to do this.

I'd heartily recommend spam arrest (and I get an affiliate commission if you click on this link)

http://www.spamarrest.com/affl?4037403

Online press releases attract consumers: Study shows

Online press releases are an effective tool for attracting leads from consumers and business customers, a new study shows.

As reported in Shel Holtz' blog, Dr. MIhaela Vorvoreanu, with Clemson University’s Department of Communication Studies, presents the results of research conducted into the ROI of online press releases at the recent New Communication Forum in Santa Rosa, California. The study was developed conducted by the Society for New Communication Research for Vocus, which commissioned the research, The research team included Jiyan Wei from Vocus, Shel Holtz, SNCR Executive Director Jen McClure, and Dr. Vorvoreanu. TWI Surveys managed the online survey and produced the data that led to Dr. Vorvoreanu’s presentation on April 23, 2008.

Download the file here (MP3, 11.5Mb, 25:13).

If you'd like to get more leads from press releases, I'd recommend this service: Public Relations Software because Google indexes every press release sent by clients of this service. If you don't know how to write a press release, they will connect you with a writer who charges extremely reasonable rates, or you can find writers on elance.