If You’ve Ever Been Told You’re “Not Good Enough” to Do Something, Read This….
The odds of having a #1 bestselling book are over a million to one.
Here’s how an ordinary guy in Tennessee accomplished this nearly impossible feat – despite having the worst possible timing.
And for a moment in time directly beat JK Rowling and Stephen King, and indirectly beat Julia Roberts, Jennifer Aniston, and Tom Hanks.
Glenn self-published his first three books. Then in 2005, an executive editor with John Wiley & Sons in New York City sent him an email that would change his life. It read
“We’re interested in publishing your next book.”
This would be like Taylor Swift calling an unknown guitar player in an unknown dive bar she’d never been to and saying “I want you to join my band”.
Wiley is a literary giant that published legends including Charles Dickens, Edgar Allen Poe, Herman Melville, and Hans Christian Andersen in the 1800’s.
Today they’re the world’s largest publisher of scientific, academic, and business books, and have published over 450 Nobel Laureates.
So how does an ordinary guy in Tennessee get lucky enough to have an industry giant in New York City want to publish him, even they though they’d never met him or read his writing?
Glenn answers that question with this Thomas Jefferson quote:
“The harder I work, the more luck I have.”
Wiley was looking for a book on how to manage problem employees and Googled that term. Glenn’s name came up more than anyone else because he was on the road over 200 nights a year teaching a seminar by that name.
He still had to submit a proposal to win over the full publishing committee in New York City.
To help with that, the editor sent him a proposal from another author he’d discovered. His name was Larry Winget and his book was Shut Up, Stop Whining, and Get a Life.
Glenn patterned his 4,000 word proposal after Larry’s, but knew he was out of his league. So he added this sentence:
“I won’t be your best writing author, but I will be your hardest working and most reliable.”
That one sentence sealed his date with destiny in a way he could have never imagined.
The publishing committee voted unanimously to sign him and sent him a contract and his first advance the same day.
Then came the hard work.
The contract required Glenn to turn in a 60,000 word manuscript in only four months, which was a challenge because he was on the road giving seminars.
So on seminar days, he wrote from 4:00 am till 7:00 am, gave a seminar from 9:00 to 3:00, then drove to the next city, and then wrote in his hotel room till 10:00 pm every night.
On days he wasn’t travelling, he wrote nonstop all day.
His first book with Wiley was titled How to Manage Problem Employees.
It wasn’t a huge seller but was popular enough that it got picked up for foreign translations in India and Russia, giving Glenn an international audience for the first time.
His next book with Wiley was How to Make Performance Evaluations Really Work. It also wasn’t a huge seller but sold well enough that they offered him a third publishing deal.
His next book with Wiley was How to be the Employee Your Company Can’t Live Without.
By now, his confidence had soared and he set out to make this one a bestseller.
But his dream was shattered when he got some devastating news from his new publicist in San Francisco shortly before his new book was to be released.
A book titled Eat, Pray, Love had just been released and was being made into a movie starring the biggest movie star at that time, Julia Roberts.
Another titled Marley and Me had just been released and was being made into a movie starring Owen Wilson and Jennifer Anniston.
Another titled The Da Vinci Code had just been released and was being made into a movie starring Tom Hanks.
To make things even worse, mega authors Stephen King and James Patterson had just released their newest books, as had mega pastor Joel Olsteen. And to rub salt in the wounds, JK Rowling’s latest Harry Potter series was out.
To call this a David and Goliath story would be the understatement of the century.
The publicist wrote:
“Congratulations on making it to the big leagues, but we need to manage your expectations. You’re now a small fish in a very big sea, swimming with very big sharks. Trade paperbacks don’t become best sellers, and your timing couldn’t be worse.”
Glenn was devastated.
But being heartbroken and disappointed aren’t excuses not to try, so leaned on the only two things he had going for him:
1. His work ethic
2. His willingness to learn
He learned everything he could about promoting a book.
He took a class from Philadelphia book promoter Steve Harrison, who’d helped Robert Kiyosaki make Rich Dad, Poor Dad a best seller.
He drove to every Barnes and Noble store from Miami to Boston at his own expense, doing book signings.
He did non-stop radio interviews.
He sent an advanced manuscript to book reviewers at every major newspaper in America.
He also sent an advanced manuscript to 68 CEOs and asked them to endorse it.
Then came the rejections, and they ran the gambit.
The office of Bob Iger, CEO of Disney, returned the manuscript with a terse letter basically saying he was too busy to review books.
Glenn’s favorite was from FedEx founder Fred Smith, who personally faxed a handwritten note that he’d like to help but didn’t have time to read it because of family obligations. (Glenn calls this the kindest and best rejection letter ever.)
Most didn’t respond at all, including Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, and Michael Dell.
But the CEO of Office Depot, Staples, Cessna, Ruby Tuesday, and 1-800 Flowers did endorse the book, and the momentum built from there.
Chicken Soup for the Soul co-author Mark Victor Hansen helped Glenn promote his book.
(Mark is legendary for helping young authors because his book was rejected by over 140 publishers. The Chicken Soup series has now sold over 100,000,000 copies.)
David Riklan, who founded the world’s top self help website (selfgrowth.com) and had worked with such legends as Zig Ziglar, also helped Glenn promote his book.
And against all odds, How to Be the Employee Your Company Can’t Live Without became Glenn’s first #1 Best-Seller in the U.S.
And it didn’t stop there.
It was such a surprise success in the America that it went on to be translated into Spanish, Russian, Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, Korean, and Bulgarian.
Ironically, Glenn wrote this dedication in his first book with Wiley:
“For the man who gave me the most empowering and liberating gift anyone can give — a strong work ethic. Thanks, Dad!”
He had no idea what a self-fulfilling prophecy that would be.
When young authors today ask for Glenn’s advice on how to make a book a best seller, he responds with this quote from Zig Ziglar:
“If you’re not willing to learn, no one can help you. If you’re determined to learn, no one can stop you.”