FAQs

Do you work only with people who want to publish a book?
For many years, we worked primarily with people who needed to get published in order to advance their careers. Over time we noticed that the book proposal development process was having a huge impact on the careers of our clients long before the proposal was done. In fact, our clients were transforming their careers within two or three months.

That’s when we split out the book development process into a distinct executive power process. Based on the discovery of a client’s identity, capacities, and goals we can work with the client to bring their lives and careers into a powerful focus, and create the strategies that will result in the achievement of the client’s dreams.

How do I know if I’m a thought leader?
TLI works exclusively with the best original thought leaders. These are people that are intimately familiar with the existing body of knowledge in their field, and know where they depart from it. They know exactly what is wrong with an existing practice and are passionate about changing it. If they are organizational leaders, they know where their organizations are now and have a pretty good sense of where they want to go.

Our clients are idealistic. They are confident that they have found the answers to existing problems. They are generally also strong communicators and skilled public speakers. If this sounds like you, then you are a thought leader. If you are on your way to fitting into this portrait, then we might be able to help you get there.

What kinds of changes can I reasonably expect?
The process of exploring one’s identity, understanding one’s self, and choosing what to do with that knowledge is an enormous relief for most clients. They move from frustration and a diffused use of their energy into a highly-focused and even relaxed mode of being in life. Leaders quickly shift their vocabulary to one that precisely communicates a clearly differentiated vision. For many clients, this is the last major step as they move into full use of their capacities.

What will TLI require in terms of my time and commitment?
Working with TLI requires different levels of commitment at different stages of the process. We begin with one or more intensive sessions of two or more hours at least once a week. We then shift to an hour a week, or more as required by the client. Much of the initial impact will occur within two months. Clients can stop there, or continue, at their discretion for as long as they would like. Many clients who began with us ten years ago are still in regular contact.

How can I be assured of your discretion regarding me, my knowledge, and other highly confidential issues?
First, as one of the leading developers of intellectual property, we treasure our client’s knowledge, strategies, and privacy with the same passion we bring to bear on helping develop it. We will sign any NDA the client requires (or provide our own, which we think is a good model for our clients’ use elsewhere). Our reputation for confidentiality is among the major assets of our stock-in-trade, and we guard it carefully.

How do we begin?
We prefer to begin with a free consultation for a half-hour to an hour, in which both parties have the opportunity to get a feel for the chemistry of the relationship. If we then mutually decide to go forward, we ask the client for all kinds of materials to help us get up to speed on the client and his or her environment. We will ask for what the important influences have been on the client, and we will endeavor to find those materials if they exist as speeches, articles, or text, and read them.

We will look at your organization, press coverage of you, your products, marketing, and advertising. We will read your existing written work and the press releases of your organization.

We will do the same, if appropriate, with your competition.

All of this is done in preparation for the first work session.

Additional FAQs Specific to
Developing a Book Proposal and a Book:

What are the steps for a book proposal?
After we discover your identity, define and position your intellectual property, and target your audience, then we are ready to embark on a book proposal. A book proposal is comprised of an introduction, a comprehensive biography, a chapter outline, and a sample chapter. Once a book proposal is complete, then we submit it to agents. Your agent and TLI then work together to find a publisher for your book who will eventually set the publication date. The entire process can take anywhere from a year to 18 months.

How long does the process take?
Although the book proposal process can take three to twelve months, the returns begin immediately, even before your book proposal is complete. Once your IP is defined and differentiated, all of your collateral materials will come into focus, as well as your offering and your value to your client or the organization you lead.

What’s the advantage of using TLI versus trying to get published on my own?
Most people who have something important to say, and want to be known for their ideas, enter a process that can best be described as random publishing: they put together a book proposal, find an agent, hope the agent can sell the book, get a publisher, hope the publisher really gets behind the book in a major way, hope the book gets reviews, hope it finds a life in the market, and so on. TLI’s system takes all of these various vague steps and creates a carefully calibrated process, something we think of as intentional publishing that includes not only a plan for the book, but also a marketing plan that supports the author’s brand ensuring the author the highest possible profile.

Not every book can change the world. Not every book can be a bestseller. But every book has its maximum potential audience, and at the end of the day, for a Thought Leaders author, there will be no looking back at what might have been. Everything will have been done to ensure that the author’s ideas have reached their maximum potential audience. And in many, if not most instances, a Thought Leaders Intl. project will have successfully launched or enhanced a thought leader’s career on the world stage.

How do I get started?
If you are interested in learning more, then please do not hesitate to send us an email or pick up the phone and give us a call. You can Skype us from anywhere in the world (but not any time) at gsindell. We are on Pacific Time in the United States.