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8 Ways to Increase Engagement on Facebook

Wednesday, February 27th, 2013

By Fauzia Burke

As of January 2013, Facebook has 1 billion users. 219 billion photos have been uploaded and there have been 140.3 billion friend connections. The average age of users is about 22.

Clearly Facebook is not going anywhere and although my teens hardly use it anymore, many of us visit the site daily. From a business purpose, engagement is more important than fans. You can have a 1,000 fans but if only 2 people are interacting with you very few people will see your posts on their feed. Take a look at the number of fans you have on your Facebook business page. Now note how many people are “talking about this.” Your goal should be to increase the “talking about” number.

Last year Facebook introduced EdgeRank (also known as News Feed Algorithm or why you see what you see on your news feed). It is important to understand how it works because it makes an impact on how many people see your page. Brittany Botti, Social Media Marketing Professional explained it simply: “The more your fans like, comment, share, or click through on your posts, the more often they will see your posts in their NewsFeed.”

Have you noticed you tend to see posts from the same people in your news feed? It’s probably the people you interact with most. For your business page to show up in more people’s feeds, you should improve the engagement by mixing up your posts.

Here’s a few ideas for increasing engagement:

  • According to a study by SocialCode, the best time to post on Facebook is after 7pm EST on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
  • Ask questions. Find out more about your fans
  • Post photos. It is the most popular type of post
  • Use quotes from books you love
  • Change the cover photo regularly. It’s more fun and keeps people engaged
  • Graphics from Pinterest (just make sure you give credit to the creator)
  • Post short “thoughts” or “comments” – Posts that are 5 -10 words perform best
  • I hear “Fill in the blank” gets lots of engagement. I have not tried it myself yet, but seems like fun

The most popular type of post is text only (short, funny, thoughtful ones). The least popular are updates with links. Add a link sparingly only when you need their attention and have a call to action. It’s important to be selective about the links you add as they are the least effective in promoting engagement.

If you are only on Facebook because you want to sell something, I am not sure any social networking will really work for you. Facebook allows us to know our “partners” better. Today partners are our clients, customers, and readers. It is because of them we are in business and by treating them with regard and respect, I think we’ll be in business longer. Of course, social networking is a business investment so you should totally promote your company/book/product, just mix it up. Hope this is helpful.

What have you found to be effective in encouraging engagement on Facebook?

© 2013 Fauzia Burke. All Rights Reserved.

Author Bio
Fauzia Burke is the Founder and President of FSB Associates, a digital publicity and marketing firm specializing in creating awareness for books and authors. For online publicity, book publishing and social media news, follow Fauzia on Twitter: @FauziaBurke. To talk with FSB and ask your book publicity questions, please join us on Facebook.

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Things I Got Wrong, and Things I Got Right in 2012

Wednesday, November 14th, 2012

By Fauzia Burke

As we wrap up 2012 and start to plan for the New Year I wanted to review the things I got right and the things I didn’t. In the past few years, there have been so many changes in the book industry, and in technology, that sometimes my only guide has been my intuition. Fortunately, our missteps can often teach us more than flawless execution. So here are the lessons I have learned in 2012:

Why Press Release Didn’t Work For Us. Working as the President of an online public relations firm, I relied on press releases to get the attention of editors. Over time, however, I noticed that they didn’t seem to be working as they once did. One reason is that the “one pitch fits all” approach was not working online. Bloggers are unique and so are their interests. For example I hear people talking about mommy bloggers or book bloggers, but in truth those communities are made up of people with very different interests.

I took a huge leap of faith and decided to stop doing press releases. Instead of taking the time to write them, proof them, wait for approval, print them and stuff them, we took that time to talk to the editors/bloggers and invest the time in social media. I thought I would get push-back from clients, but once I explained why I was making the change they agreed with the approach.

I am happy to report that this change we got right. It was the right decision and we’re moving into 2013 with no intention of doing the traditional press releases.

Delegating Social Media. I thought outsourcing social media was always wrong. Although it is best to keep your hands in your own social media, the only way for it to be effective is if it is consistent. A writer’s life is not consistent, which means they are sometimes more active on social media than other times. Trying to do it all themselves can be distracting. Of course, it is crucial to delegate this responsibility to someone trustworthy. I would also suggest having clear goals and to monitor activities very closely.

For 2013, we are exploring and open to creating a hybrid system for our clients.

People like to follow people, not books. I thought book websites and book Facebook pages were a good idea. Remember the days of microsites? Today, I believe that the only websites, Facebook pages and Twitter handles should be in the author’s name, no matter how diverse their list of books and activities. I would advise against a title or book site because people follow people not books. Authors are most effective when they work to build their brand, and can increasingly build a loyal following when readers feel connected to them.

In 2013, we will move away from book related digital assets and focus more on the author’s brand.


Keep Learning. Every single job in publishing should be a social job. I did not always think so. But the more people there are to amplify your message the better. Social media is not only a broadcasting tool, it is also one of the best learning and listening tools for you and your business. You have an open forum to observe and study the readers, their taste and comments. At a time when we need to be learning new skills all the time, social media can be a gateway to that learning.

This one I did get right. We shifted our entire staff to incorporate social media and social networking in everything they do: From searching for influencers, tracking numbers and word-of-mouth, to interacting with bloggers, and supporting our clients. In 2013, we will continue our focus on incorporating social media with our online publicity campaigns.

In the coming year, I only know one thing for sure. We’ll need to keep all options open and learn as we go. What have you learned in 2012? Please share your lessons.

© 2012 Fauzia Burke. All Rights Reserved.

Author Bio
Fauzia Burke is the Founder and President of FSB Associates, a digital publicity and marketing firm specializing in creating awareness for books and authors. For online publicity, book publishing and social media news, follow Fauzia on Twitter: @FauziaBurke. To talk with FSB and ask your book publicity questions, please join us on Facebook.

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New Marketing Mantra: Assess, Delete and Respond

Thursday, September 27th, 2012

By Fauzia Burke

Imagine if you opened your inbox, and saw only one email. Imagine if you only got a new one when you answered the current one. Without knowing how many emails you have in total you would take the time and respond with great care. Now imagine you open your inbox and get 200 emails (like most of us). Your process would have to be different. You would have to quickly assess what gets deleted, what can wait, and which emails are top priority. You should approach your job in the same way. Look at everything that needs doing, then assess, delete and respond.

It seems to me that the days of over designing, over thinking, and over obsessing are over. If you are an artist or a teacher, the more thoughtful and obsessed you are about doing your job, the better you will be at it. But marketers (and we are all marketers today) have to understand that there is no time to focus on the wrong things. Being super diligent was good when the world moved slowly, but today being diligent slows you down, and can slow down the people around you. Instead:

Think ahead. Where do you want to see your business in three years? To avoid getting stuck on details that ultimately won’t matter, decide where you want to be in three years. Each day assess key priorities against busy work so you can stay on track. As leadership expert Stephen Covey once said, “The key isn’t to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.” You can end up spinning your wheels if your day is consumed with little things and not on your most important objectives.

Make a decision. Sometimes procrastination or perfectionism can keep you stuck. Make a decision, any decision. It’s always better than no decision. Neglecting to make a decision for fear that you will make the wrong one will only ensure that you don’t make any progress. Any action is a step forward because even if it’s the wrong decision, you’ll learn something and that experience will give you information to move you in a better direction. Delete things that no longer work and make decisions to move forward on things that do.

Recognize team strengths. If you are working with a team, make sure you stay aligned with your core competencies and let other people lead with their core competencies. Respond to new challenges by delegating to the best qualified in your team. Let every member of your team work with their strengths and stay focused on your own areas of strength. When you try to control all the details or get into areas where other people should be leading, you can stall the progress of the entire team. If you don’t trust your team, you are working with the wrong people.

Work both jobs. Most of us are doing two jobs these days, the regular job and the start-up job. The regular job is anything we have been doing for years, and our start-up job is the job we will be doing in a few years. We all have to adapt to new ways of doing business to stay in business. There is a lot to learn, so be careful how you spend your time. There are some jobs where we can’t live with mistakes, brain surgery for one, but marketers have to live in a world where mistakes are made, and we need resilience and plans to recover from them.

When you keep your focus on what matters most, you will get more done in less time and you will be moving apace with our current fast world. So adopt a new marketing mantra: Assess, Delete and Respond.

© 2012 Fauzia Burke. All Rights Reserved.

Author Bio
Fauzia Burke is the Founder and President of FSB Associates, a online publicity and marketing firm specializing in creating awareness for books and authors. For online publicity, book publishing and social media news, follow Fauzia on Twitter: @FauziaBurke. To talk with FSB and ask your book publicity questions, please join us on Facebook.

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Books to Make the Best of Your Workplace

Sunday, September 11th, 2011

Labor Day signals the end of summer for most Americans which means it’s time to get back to business. The kids are in school and hopefully you’ve had enough time to recoup from family outings and vacation getaways to get your game face on. Done with rotating summer schedules and shorter hours, the office is a full house which means a lot of catching up with co-workers, swapping anecdotes from your holidays, and gearing up with team members to plan upcoming projects.

While we would all like to imagine the office as sunny as a trip to Montego Bay, the truth is, the typical work environment just isn’t so. In fact, sometimes the office can be downright stormy with torrential misunderstandings, high pressure competition, and raging rivals.

New books on our shelves this month focus on weakening those nasty office climates and alerting of any bad weather on the horizon. Whether you’re a leader, follower, or someone in between, the titles found below hold tremendous value as resources for creating and maintaining a company and office culture that’ll stretch those blue skies from your vacation right into your work.

The 11 Laws of Likability: Relationship Networking…Because People Do Busines with People They Like by Michelle Tillis Lederman

We all know that networking is important for success, but the networking tactics we read about take a lot of work — and can feel so phony! Wouldn’t it be great if you could network in a more relaxed, authentic way?

The 11 Laws of Likability reveals a painless new way to network that’s based on one simple truth: People do business with people they like. In this empowering book, you’ll learn how to identify and accentuate your most likable characteristics, and also how to:

  • Start conversations and keep them going with ease
  • Avoid coming across as manipulative or self-serving
  • Convert acquaintances into friends
  • Tweak your own personal style to enable engaging interactions with different kinds of people
  • Stay in others’ minds long after your initial meeting
  • And more.

Featuring real-life scenarios and packed with activities and self-assessment quizzes, this powerful yet down-to-earth book will help bring to light all of your natural likability — and give you easy, comfortable methods for creating honest, enjoyable interactions that become “wins” for you and for all parties involved.

Forming relationships is the foundation of success. And once you discover “The 11 Laws of Likability,” your road to success in any field will be faster and more enjoyable than you ever imagined.

The 11 Laws of Likability: Relationship Networking…Because People Do Busines with People They Like from Amacom is available in print and digital format from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

The Five Percent: Finding Solutions to Seemingly Impossible Conflicts by Dr. Peter T. Coleman

ONE IN EVERY TWENTY DIFFICULT CONFLICTS ends up not in a calm reconciliation or tolerable standoff but as an acute lasting antagonism. Such conflicts — the five percent — can be found among the diplomatic and political clashes we read about every day in the newspaper but also, and in a no less damaging and dangerous form, in our private and personal lives, within families, in work-places, and among neighbors. These self-perpetuating conflicts resist mediation, defy conventional wisdom, and drag on and on, worsening over time. Once we get pulled in, it is nearly impossible to escape. The five percent rules us.

So what can we do when we find ourselves ensnared? According to Dr. Peter T. Coleman, to contend with this destructive species of conflict we must understand the invisible dynamics at work. Coleman has extensively researched the essence of conflict in his “Intractable Conflict Lab,” the first research facility devoted to the study of polarizing conversations and seemingly unresolveable disagreements. Informed by lessons drawn from practical experience, advances in complexity theory, and the psychological and social currents that drive conflicts both international and domestic, Coleman offers innovative new strategies for dealing with disputes of all types, ranging from abortion debates to the enmity between Israelis and Palestinians.

A timely, paradigm-shifting look at conflict, The Five Percent is an invaluable guide to preventing even the most fractious negotiations from foundering.

The Five Percent: Finding Solutions to Seemingly Impossible Conflicts from Public Affairs – Perseus is available in print and digital format from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

The Big Enough Company: Creating a Business That Works for You by Adelaide Lancaster and Amy Abrams

A guide to building a business you enjoy running without caving under the pressure to grow.

After initially launching their company, small-business owners are bombarded with a flurry of “advice” on how to grow fast, be more profitable, and imitate other successful start-ups. While these tips may work for some people, they fail to consider the astounding variety of needs, motivations, and goals that each entrepreneur has for starting her business.

Entrepreneurs Abrams and Lancaster explore how to grow an enterprise that is not only successful but also sustains the owner’s personal goals and needs-in terms of size, culture, and level of involvement. Drawing on their experience as well as on interviews with more than one hundred successful women business owners, Abrams and Lancaster guide readers through the principles that matter most when you work for yourself.

More a supportive guide than a list of dos and don’ts, this book empowers entrepreneurs to ignore popular “wisdom” and peer pressure and take charge of their businesses in a way that will help them succeed on their own terms.

The Big Enough Company: Creating a Business That Works for You from Portfolio Hardcover is available in print and digital format from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

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Steve Jobs Makes Me Better

Wednesday, August 31st, 2011

by Fauzia Burke

Steve Jobs stepped down as the CEO of Apple on Aug. 24, 2011, and if you read the news on Twitter first, then you also saw the millions of tweets thanking him and feeling sad at the news of his departure. Think about that for a minute: we, the people, were thanking the CEO of a company for making us better.

Most of us don’t even know the CEOs of companies, but we know Steve Jobs. We know him because he was always on our side. His decisions about design, beauty and elegance were not about technology; they were about us.

Apple makes great products, but I was not always a Mac fan. Actually, until 2007, I was a PC user. I just assumed that Macs were for those creative types, the artists and graphic designers and photographers and movie makers. I am a publicist and a small business owner. I figured I could do with a PC.

Our family’s love affair started with the iPod, of course. John, my husband and our home and company CIO, had bought several MP3 players and told our tween girls that they were the same as an iPod, just a lot cheaper. Of course, that was not going over well, so we bought them iPods. Those were the first Apple products in our home.

Upon seeing the elegance of the design, both John and I got iPods, as well. Then John bought a Mac Mini for the home to test it out in June 2007. We thought our girls would enjoy the music, photo and movie programs. Not only did they enjoy them, but we loved them, as well.

In fall 2007, John then bought himself a MacBook Pro, and for our daughter’s 13th birthday we got her a MacBook (we owe our current Mac devotion to her love of Apple products). After seeing John’s laptop, I, of course, had Mac envy and wanted a MacBook Pro for myself.

Now our home was almost totally powered by Mac computers, and we were loving them. The programs and templates allowed me to do my best work. The laptops were effortless. Gone were the days of my laptops overheating (yes I am talking to you, HP) or freezing for no reason (that’s you, Microsoft). I could already feel that this laptop was about me. It just worked.

In our Web design department at FSB (our firm), we moved to Macs in the office. Now the Macs had started moving into the office, as well. We were switching our website development to Dreamweaver and did not want to buy the expensive program for PC, so in came the Macs. They were, of course, a big hit.

In the meantime, one of our publicists’ computer crashed from a virus (remember the blue screen of death?). By this point, John was frustrated by how much tech support was needed by the PCs and decided to get her a Mac Mini. This required our company to change our software needs, which were PC based, so we developed an awesome database that was Web-based. Now we were platform-agnostic and could work from anywhere. Fabulous!

By 2008 the entire FSB office was converted to Macs. Everyone loved them and felt that they were so much easier to work with. None of us was thinking about how to work with our computer. We were just doing our work, and the Macs were just working. It was all about us.

Then there is the classic story of getting our first iPhones. John really wanted one, but I figured a phone is a phone, and I did not care. But he convinced me that it would be a great anniversary present for each other. I rolled my eyes but went along with it. So on our wedding anniversary, we were standing in line at a Mac store waiting to buy our iPhones. I rolled my eyes and told him he owed me. Then we got the iPhones, and 24 hours later I was converted and was found saying, “You can take my iPhone from my cold, dead fingers.”

There was no turning back. We were Mac devotees. Yesterday I started to count how many Apple products we own, and I lost the count at 30. Our home and our office are completely powered by Apple products, and we could not be happier.

As a small business and a tech-savvy family, our Apple products have made our lives better. We do our best work on our Apple hardware and software. The Macs in the office, including the server, have saved us money and hours of frustration in tech support.

Like millions of others whose lives have been made better by your products, we, as a family and a business, thank you, Steve Jobs, for improving our family life, saving us money in our small business and giving us the tools to do our best work. We all wish you the best of health and continued success.

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Managers, Motivate!

Wednesday, April 27th, 2011

This week we have two business books specifically aimed at managers. It’s said that the best companies are those with the best managers. The pressure put on managers to succeed is an unrelenting force making informative resources critical to progress. Former CEO and President of Verizon Wireless, Denny Strigl, and business coach, Brian Tracy, are two authors featured here that have compiled essential methods that promise to supercharge business performance in managers and their teams everywhere.

Managers, Can You Hear Me Now?: Hard-Hitting Lessons on How to Get Real Results by Denny Strigl and Frank Swiatek

For managers, behavior is the real key to achievement. In order to stop struggling and start delivering, you need to close the gap between what you know and what you do. That’s been Denny Strigl’s method, and now it can be yours, too.

Among the most prominent architects of the wireless communications industry, the former Verizon Wireless president and CEO has had one of the most remarkable careers in modern business. In Managers, Can You Hear Me Now?, Strigl shares all the skills and techniques he used to build Verizon into one of the greatest growth companies in any industry. You’ll learn how to:

  • Create a corporate culture where trust, respect, and integrity flourish — and employees and customers alike are appropriately served
  • “Eliminate the fluff,” get focused, and stop wasting time on things that don’t matter
  • Address issues proactively before they become problems — even employee performance issues
  • Get past your “blind spots,” reinforce priorities consistently, and communicate with clarity
  • Master the Four Fundamentals of Management: growing revenue, getting new customers, keeping the customers you already have, and eliminating costs

Managers, Can You Hear Me Now? includes additional suggestions for bringing the best of your energy and passion into your work, helpful anedcotes from Strigl’s career, simple self-assessment questions, and even a look at how your business day as a successful manager should play out.

Whether you’re the CEO of a large corporation or run your own small business, the lessons from Managers, Can You Hear Me Now? are sure to come through — loud and clear.

Managers, Can You Hear Me Now?: Hard-Hitting Lessons on How to Get Real Results from McGraw-Hill is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Full Engagement!: Inspire, Motivate, and Bring Out the Best in Your People by Brian Tracy

As a manager, it’s your role to achieve the highest possible return on the physical, emotional, and mental efforts your people put forth. It’s not a return on investment. . . it’s a return on energy. But how are you supposed to light a fire under each employee when studies find that most of them are working at only a fraction of their potential?

In this essential guide, Brian Tracy, the Master of Motivation, shows you how to unlock superstar performance from every single member of your work team. Based on decades of research and thousands of hours invested in maximizing personal and organizational performance, the hard and fast secrets of what you can do (and what you should stop doing) to inspire your employees to peak performance are now available. Packed with powerful, practical ideas and strategies, Full Engagement! shows you how to:

  • create a high-trust work environment
  • drive out the fears that hold people back
  • set clear goals and objectives
  • unlock the potential of each person
  • motivate and inspire employees to greater heights than they ever believed themselves capable of
  • trigger the “X Factor” that maximizes productivity
  • recognize, reward, and reinforce their efforts in a way that energizes each and every one of your people

Your ability to channel the human energies of your staff into higher levels of productivity and performance is the yardstick by which your ability as an executive will be measured.

The great news is that now you have everything you need right in your hands. In this eye-opening book, you’ll learn how to do and say the things that will make your people feel confident, happy, and motivated. . . and allow you to deliver consistently outstanding results for your company.

In these tough economic times, everyone is expected to produce more with less. The only way to succeed is to consistently inspire your people to perform at their absolute best. Full Engagement! provides you with the keys to unlocking not just the hidden drive and abilities that exist within every one of your people. . . but also your own.

Full Engagement!: Inspire, Motivate, and Bring Out the Best in Your People from AMACOM is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

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Making It In America

Thursday, March 10th, 2011

What does it take to make it in America? There are so many business, economic, social, and cultural conditions to consider and arguments to be settled to know where to even begin. But the following books will get you on the path to understanding what makes this nation tick and who’s tugging at what ropes so that you can decide for yourself how you’re going to live within one of the most colorful nations in the world.

Divinity of Doubt: The God Question by Vincent Bugliosi

Vincent Bugliosi, whom many view as the nation’s foremost prosecutor, has successfully taken on, in court or on the pages of his books, the most notorious murderers of the last half century – Charles Manson, O.J. Simpson, and Lee Harvey Oswald.

Destined to be a classic, Bugliosi’s Divinity of Doubt sets a new course amid the explosion of bestselling books on atheism and theism – the middle path of agnosticism.  In recognizing the limits of what we know, Bugliosi demonstrates that agnosticism is the most intelligent and responsible position to take the eternal question of God’s existence.

Divinity of Doubt from Vanguard Press is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Where Does the Money Go? Rev Ed: Your Guided Tour to the Federal Budget Crisis by Scott Bittle and Jean Johnson

Now revised and updated to include current predictions about the effects of the Great Recession and President Obama’s healthcare overhaul, this guide to deciphering the jargon of the country’s budget problem covers everything from the country’s $12 trillion and growing debt to the fact that, for 31 out of the last 35 years, the country has spent more on government programs and services than it has collected in taxes. It also explores why elected leaders on every side of the fence have so far failed to effectively address this issue and explains what you can do to protect YOUR future.

Where Does the Money Go? Revised Edition from Harper is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Consider: Harnessing the Power of Reflective Thinking In Your Organization by Daniel Forrester

There’s an intangible and invisible marketplace within our lives today where the products traded are four fold: attention, distraction, data and meaning. The stories and examples within Consider demonstrate that the best decisions, insights, ideas and outcomes result when we take sufficient time to think and reflect. Including interviews with leaders such as General David Petraeus, attorney Brooksley Born and global investor Kyle Bass, Daniel Forrester shows us that taking time and giving ourselves the mental space for reflection can mean the difference between total success and total failure.

Consider from Palgrave Macmillan is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Boombustology: Spotting Financial Bubbles Before They Burst by Vikram Mansharamani

With the increased complexity and volatility surrounding financial bubbles, we need a more effective way to spot and understand these events. Based on his popular seminar at Yale University, Boombustology presents Vikram Mansharamani’s multi-lens framework for evaluating the extremely elaborate social phenomenon of financial market booms and busts.

The framework found within these pages offers a robust understanding of the dynamics that precede, fuel, and ultimately reverse financial market extremes. Regardless of your economic or financial background, Boombustology will put you in a better position to spot financial bubbles before they burst.

Boombustology from Wiley is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

What Could Happen If You Do Nothing? A Manager’s Handbook for Coaching Conversations by Jane Murphy

“What could happen if you do nothing?” offers managers clear, usable tools to enhance the way they listen and engage their people. Mini-dialogues, sample questions, listening tips, and suggestions use familiar situations to show how to transform business challenges into coaching opportunities. This is an essential resource for developing employees to their full potential and for fostering better working relationships for individuals, teams, and the business itself.

What Could Happen If You Do Nothing? from Giraffe Business Publishing is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

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Looking for Balance in a 24/7 World

Thursday, February 3rd, 2011

By Fauzia Burke

It is not uncommon for me to get business e-mails at 6:30 a.m. or 12:00 midnight. Until recently, it was also not uncommon for me to answer them. However, this year for my birthday I’ve decided to give myself the gift of balance.

We live in a culture of 24/7 work and it has become normal to many of us. We have raised the expectation of availability to a point that is unhealthy. Recently, a potential client wrote to me on a Saturday, then wrote back on Sunday wondering why I had not e-mailed him back. Another prospective client emailed me at 10:30 on a weeknight and by 8:30 the next morning had written again, a little frustrated, asking for a response. Another person asked to talk to me on a Saturday, and when I informed her that I don’t work on the weekends, she was irritated.

I realized that by trying to always play catch up and accommodate the 24/7 expectations, I was feeling exhausted, overwhelmed and unbalanced. To get some solutions, I turned to an author who has written a book on the challenges we face at work today. I asked Tony Schwartz, author of “The Way We’re Working Isn’t Working,” how to handle the 24/7 expectations. He said, “We can’t control the expectations of others, but we can seek to manage them. Above all, it makes sense to try to invest your energy in what you have the power to influence.”

What I am discovering is that living on this crazy cycle is a choice, being “open” 24/7 is a choice. We ourselves have set up these expectations. Everyone I know seems to be tired and overwhelmed because we are trying to stay ahead of the information overload.

And we are not alone. According to Daniel Patrick Forrester, a client and author of “Consider: Harnessing the Power of Reflective Thinking In Your Organization,” “25 percent of our workdays are spent immersed in information overload.” I asked him for some advice on how to tackle all of the information coming at us.

Information abounds and will forever compound as the world further connects. What we all can do is to force time into our habits and routines to simply think and value reflection as much as we value responding to the onslaught of data that will forever pour over us.

We are taking no time to think, to consider, to plan or to dream. All we are doing is trying to stay ahead of e-mails, Tweets, DM, status updates, LinkedIn invitations and more.

Seth Godin recently wrote a blog called Lost in a Digital World which was retweeted 952 times within 24 hours. He recommends that we turn off the noise and turn on the productivity.

One of the biggest disadvantages of technology is the lack of “thinking time.” Forrester tells us that the reason we have so little time to think is because, “our habitual use of technology and bias for immediacy and rapid response has contributed to fragmenting our attention across many issues at the cost of allowing deep exploration around any one issue.”

Many of us depend on multitasking as the only way to get everything done. However, there is a cost to all this multitasking, I worry that we are doing nothing to the best of our abilities. Schwartz talks about the myth of multitasking: “The brain can’t do cognitive tasks at the same time, so you end up dividing attention between them, as your brain switches back and forth. The result is that you do an injustice to everything, and everyone your splitting time between. We’re sequential beings, not simultaneous. One thing at a time: it’s been around as a basic principle since the dawn of time!”

In the last six months, I have made some small changes in my life. Twice I took two weeks off completely unplugged. To tell you the truth it takes a few days to find a rhythm, a few days to remember how to “be” without the noise, but after that it is blissful. And you know what? The world did not stop, nor did anyone miss me. I just slipped in and out of the river of digital information with no consequences. I found that when I returned I had better ideas, more energy and fully formed thoughts. This year I plan to take more steps for creating balance in my life. Like anything else it’s a choice and like anything new it will take some practice.

Why not join me? I say to my fellow workers, set some office hours and stick to them, take back your lunch hours and unplug during dinners, family times and vacations. We deserve our own time and even more importantly our own attention.

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Balancing New Books

Wednesday, January 26th, 2011

We’re nearing the end of the month, but there’s no slowing down for the crew here at FSB.  Our third week into the new year brings us four new projects that are spread across a range of topics including books in fiction thriller, health, adventure memoir, and business management.  Whether we’re getting wiser, healthier, laughing, crying, or gripping the edge of our seats, we’re sure to enjoy this busy balancing act.

From New York Times bestselling author and internationally renowned environmental and consumer advocate Erin Brockovich, comes Rock Bottom, a debut thriller and first in a series of novels that introduces one of the most fascinating and memorable characters in suspense fiction. In Rock Bottom, Erin Brockovich combines passionate intensity, first-rate story-telling, and her real-life experiences in a novel that will leave you breathless. Rock Bottom from Vanguard Press is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

If you’re one of the 13 million Americans who have survived a heart attack or been diagnosed with heart disease, Dr. Janet Bond Brill offers a delicious and foolproof plan that can lower your risk of a second heart attack by up to 70 percent.  Inspired by the heart-healthy Mediterranean diet, the Prevent a Second Heart Attack Plan is based on satisfaction, rather than deprivation. Prevent a Second Heart Attack: 8 Foods, 8 Weeks to Reversing Heart Disease from Crown/Three Rivers Press is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

For Conor Grennan, what began as a footloose adventure volunteering at the Little Princes Children’s Home in war-torn Nepal becomes a commitment to reunite children he had grown to love with their families, but this would be no small task. He would risk his life on a journey through the legendary mountains of Nepal, facing the dangers of a bloody civil war.

Little Princes is a true story of families and children, and what one person is capable of when faced with seemingly insurmountable odds. At turns tragic, joyful, and hilarious, Little Princes is a testament to the power of faith and the ability of love to carry us beyond our wildest expectations.  Little Princes: One Man’s Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal from William Morrow is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

What Could Happen if You Do Nothing? offers managers clear, usable tools to enhance the way they listen and engage their people. Mini-dialogues, sample questions, listening tips, and suggestions use familiar situations to show how to transform business challenges into coaching opportunities. This is an essential resource for developing employees to their full potential and for fostering better working relationships for individuals, teams, and the business itself. What Could Happen If You Do Nothing? A Manager’s Handbook for Coaching Conversations from Giraffe Business Publishing is available on Amazon.

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RIP Hardcovers … Long Live the Kindle

Wednesday, December 8th, 2010

By Fauzia Burke

I wonder if manufacturing hardcover books makes sense anymore? In talking with fellow publishing friends, we agree that the current publishing model is not ideal. For example, selling books essentially on consignment, taking huge returns, giving advances that don’t earn out, not having enough marketing dollars, all create huge challenges to the current model. The biggest threat to this model is not the e-book or the Internet, it is the hardcover book.

As a Kindle user I am noticing more and more that I am no longer buying hardcover books. I recently realized that I may never need to buy a hardcover book again, and this is shocking to me! I love books! My husband and I are “book people” — we have worked with books all of our careers. Like all us book people, we have huge bookshelves creaking under the weight of their contents. We have books in our bedroom, under our sofa, in our bathroom. I buy books every week and yet I still find myself wondering if I need to buy a hardcover.

I will, of course, never stop reading or buying books, but I now prefer to download them on my Kindle. Not that the experience of Kindle reading is better than the physical book. (It’s certainly not for me.) I do miss the paper and the feel of a book in my hands, but these days the convenience of a Kindle often dictates my decision. I love the convenience of having multiple books at my disposal. I love the fact that I don’t have to worry about how big or heavy a book is before I decide where I will read it. I love the fact that I can download a book the moment I want to read it. I recently downloaded a book on the train for my ride home. I am just never giving up that convenience. Clearly I am not alone as Amazon enjoyed a “69% surge in third-quarter profit, led by strong sales of its Kindle e-reader [in 2009]” according to CNN Money.

So I wonder, if a person like me won’t buy a hardcover, how soon before no one does? Brian Murray, chief executive of HarperCollins Publishers said in a recent WSJ interview that “hardcover sales in the industry are down 15%.” I have a small office. There are eight of us working together, and three of us have Kindles. All three of us are buying more ebooks than hardcovers. Even here, in my office, the publishing model is changing. We do not require book publishers to provide us with expensive book jackets, paper, transportation, warehouse storage, or bookstore space. We do ask for their word that the book is good, and worth our time and money.

How much energy and money can we save if we stop publishing hardcovers? Book publishing is not dying, it’s evolving. We need good editors and publishers more than ever to show us the best ideas, polish them, and give us books to think about and talk about.

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