10th June 2020
Don’t Sell was published one year ago and I’ve been looking at everything that has happened since then.
To say I was nervous was an absolute understatement. Publishing a book is relatively easy these days, anyone can do it, and I decided I was going to. When the order button was hit and I watched the cash ooze out of my bank account I panicked thinking something stupid had just happened. A huge amount of money spent on a whim, something that I’d probably end up regretting, after all who wants to buy a book called Don’t Sell that’s about selling written by an unknown author?
The book started life as a training presentation. that has been developed for Goldwell. I was lucky enough to be asked to go to Tenerife and deliver it to ‘The Hub’ a group of hairdressers getting together for business and pleasure.
At the end of my presentation, whilst basking in the sunshine on a ‘coffee’ break someone came up to me and said “you should write a book”. On my flight home I thought about what had been said and made the decision to give it a go.
I wrote and wrote, re-wrote and re-wrote, shaved off the stuff and nonsense and then called on the genius team at Cool Blue to turn my words into a real book. (they did a phenomenal job by the way, I’m eternally grateful).
In the first week, I sold 157 copies of the book, I was genuinely humbled and thrilled that so many hairdressers bought copies and gave amazing feedback.
I’m thrilled that over the last 12 months Don’t Sell has gone on to sell regularly every week and there is now at least 1 copy of the book on every continent on the planet. More importantly, I have almost sold out of the first run ….. so potentially a second edition might well have to be published, but I’ll still worry if I do order it and push that button once again, the cash will be depleted for a second time!
But most importantly, the outcome of publishing a book has been the connections and work it has brought my way. The interest shown by product companies has been brilliant, and I have been involved with lots of training and sales discussions with manufacturers keen to find a new way to engage with their clients. Salons have requested training based around the content of the book, and, and I think this is the thing that makes me most proud, hairdressers and sales people up and down the UK and across the globe, contact me to let me know that they use the book and refer back to it regularly to help keep them motivated and energised.
Overall it has been a great experience and the feedback and usage people get from the book have made me feel very humbled. Someone recently asked would there be a second book?
Well the answer is yes, it had actually started to take shape but has been scrapped because of the covid-19 pandemic ….. my belief is that salon life is going to change drastically once we settle into ‘the new norm’ and book 2 will have to address the changes and how we successfully maintain the level of creativity and excitement in the hairdressing industry.
So book 2 might be while away as yet.
Now I’m off to the post office, today I’m shipping to India, Mexico and Nottingham! The joys of being a [self] published author.
You can purchase Don’t sell here: THE BOOK
