Amazon Author Central or Why don't my books sell in Springfield, Missouri, Evansville, Indiana or Davenport, Illinois?

The Amazon Author Website is a wonder to me. Every week on Friday morning, I log in to see how many books I have sold over the last week in the US. What I find most fascinating is the geography tab. The map graphic shows all the markets where my books have sold. There are 100 markets including what they call the "combined markets",  which must be the most unpopulated areas of the country and it is lumped together into one category for book sales.

Top ten markets for all my books: ( How to Mediate Like a Pro, How to Interview Like a Pro, and How to Negotiate Like a Pro)

1. Combined Areas
2. Orlando/Daytona/Melbourne
3. New York
4. Los Angeles
5. San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose
6. Washington, DC
7. Chicago
8. Atlanta
9. Dallas/Fort Worth
10. Boston,
11. Philadelphia

The combined areas is not too surprising since it covers such a large geographical area on the map. My number 2 is also not too surprising since I live in Orlando and I know that the University of Central Florida does frequent workshops with my book, How to Mediate Like a Pro.  I would have expected other Florida cities such as Miami since my books are geared somewhat to Florida law.

I thought it would be interesting to compare my top ten sales markets with Central Connecticut State University's ten most literate cities that was just released this week. Only three of the top literary cities matched my sales. I am not sure what it means, but it is still fascinating, Maybe Seattle and Minneapolis are not into "how to" books.
1. Seattle
2. Minneapolis
3. Pittsburgh
4. Denver
5. St. Paul
6. Boston *
7. Atlanta *
8. St. Louis
9. Portland, Oregon
10. San Francisco *

There are 3 markets out of the 100 where my books are not selling according to Author Central:
1. Springfield, Missouri
2. Evansville, Indiana
3. Davenport, Illinois

I have heard the expression, "Will it sell in Peoria?" Apparently my books do sell in Peoria but not in some of the other mid-west locations. I have no anecdotal information to know why my books aren't selling in the midwest. I am probably more surprised that they are selling in all the other 97 locations.

There is a lot of interesting information to be gleaned from the Author Central pages. I can't wait until next Friday to see if can crack one of the cities in the Midwest.

Mary Greenwood, Mediator, Attorney and Author of How To Negotiate LIke A Pro: 41 Rules for Resolving Disputes, Second Edition, Winner of 10 book awards Best How To Book, How To Mediate Like A Pro: 42 Rules for Mediating Disputes, Winner of 12 book awards, How to Interview Like a Pro, second edition, winner of 12 book awards. www.marygreenwood.org

How to Negotiate the Fiscal Cliff Like a Pro

How to Negotiate the Fiscal Cliff? What Did We Learn?

The Good, Bad, and the Ugly

It has been over a month since we did not go over the fiscal cliff. I have been mulling over what we learned from that near disaster. Here are my conclusions.

1. Relationships Matter

One reason that Vice-President and Senator McConnell were able to come together behind closed doors and knock out some agreements is that they knew each other as senators from way back and had a certain level of trust from that relationship. That is why it is usually easier to negotiate with people you know rather than people you don't know.

2. Bring in the Big Guns to Finish the Job
(See number one above.)

3. The Broken Record Approach Does Not Work
Saying the same thing (no more tax increases or no changes to Medicaid) over and over does not work. This is the take-it-or-leave-it approach which in union negotiations is an unfair labor practice, bargaining in bad faith. In order to succeed, there has to be some give and take and some compromise positions offered.

4. Think Big, but if you Can't Think Big, Think Small.
First the fiscal cliff was going to be fixed forever. Then it was going to be fixed for the fiscal year. Then it was going to be fixed for sixty days. Small is better than nothing at all and perhaps something can be built on the first compromise and agreement.

5. Kicking the Can Down the Road Usually Doesn't Work and Can Make Things Worse (especially if sequestration is involved).
We know why Congress didn't make a decision in the fall. They were waiting to see who was elected President. However, that inaction created the fiscal cliff and made things worse.

6. Plan B Doesn't Always Work
The Speaker of the House found this out the hard way. He kept on saying he had a Plan B in case Congress did not pass the first plan. However, he couldn't get the Republicans to agree to his Plan B. This goes with "Don't count your chickens until they are hatched."

7. Scheduling Negotiations at the 11th Hour Works
Most negotiators know if you schedule a session at 4:00 on a Friday, it probably won't go past 5:30 because everyone wants to eat and start their weekend and no one wants to come back on Monday morning to complete it. The Congress first had to complete their negotiations by Thanksgiving, then Christmas, then New Year's and then by January 3, the date the new Congress was sworn in. This really put pressure on Congress because who wants to be in Washington during the holidays? However, if a session is scheduled, a Congressman looks bad if he or she went home while everyone is working.

Mary Greenwood, Negotiator, Attorney and Author of How To Negotiate LIke A Pro: 41 Rules for Resolving Disputes, Second Edition, Winner of ten book awards, How to Interview Like a Pro, Second Edition, Winner of twelve book awards, How to Mediate Like A Pro: 42 Rules for Mediating Disputes Winner of twelve book awards Visit my website: www.marygreenwood.org
Email: mgreen464@aol.com

Mary Greenwood Wins Bronze Medal for How to Negotiate Like a Pro at Readers Favorite Book Award Ceremony

Here is a picture of the Readers Favorite Awards Ceremony in Miami as part of the Miami International Book Fair. Debra Gaynor, president of Readers Favorite, gave out the medals at the ceremony on November 17, 2012. I received a bronze medal for How to Negotiate Like a Pro and an Honorable Mention for How to Interview Like a Pro. It was a lot of fun meeting all the other authors

Mary Greenwood, Mediator, Attorney and Author of How To Negotiate LIke A Pro: 41 Rules for Resolving Disputes, Second Edition 2012, Winner of nine book award; How To Mediate Like A Pro: 42 Rules for Mediating Disputes, Winner of twelve book awards; and How to Interview Like a Pro: 43 Rules For Getting Your Next Job, winner of twelve book awards, Second Edition 2012, Visit www.MaryGreenwood.org.

How to Negotiate Like a Pro by Mary Greenwood wins bronze award and How to Interview Like a Pro wins Honorable Mention at Readers Favorite Book Awards Ceremony on November 17 in Miami.

Mary Greenwood's Books have Won 33 Book Awards

How to Negotiate Like a Pro wins the bronze medal  and How to Interview Like a Pro wins the Honorable Mention at the Readers Favorite Book Awards Ceremony held in Miami, Florida on November 7 at the Miami Regency Hotel. The ceremonies coincide with the Miami Book Fair.

How to Negotiate Like a Pro, How to Mediate Like a Pro and How to Interview Like a Pro have won a total of 33 book awards. 

Mary Greenwood's books are displayed at the South Florida Writers Association Booth, the Readers Favorite Booth and the iUniverse/Penguin Booth at the  Book Marketplace on  November 16-18.

Mary Greenwood, Mediator, Attorney and Author of How To Negotiate LIke A Pro: 41 Rules for Resolving Disputes, Winner of six book awards Best How To Book, DIY Festival Runner Up, New York Book Festival, E-Book and Self-Help Category Finalist ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Awards Finalist, Best National Book Awards, Self-Help Category Honorable Mention, London Book Festival How To Mediate Like A Pro: 42 Rules for Mediating Disputes Winner of five book awards Best National Book AWard, Law Category Best E-Book, New York Book Festival Best How To Book, Beach Book Festival Best E-Book, Indie Excellence Awards Spirit AWard, South Florida Writers Association Email: howtonegotiate@aol.com www.marygreenwood.org

Mary Greenwood will be displaying her books on Saturday November 10 at Jekyl Island Convention Center as part of the Georgia Literary Festival.

Mary  Greenwood will be displaying her books, How to Interview Like a Pro, How to Mediate  Like a Pro and How to Negotiate Like a Pro at the Jekyl Island Convention Center, booth 27, on Saturday November 10, from 9:00 to 6:00.

The Georgia Literary Festival is held in a different Georgia town every year.




Mary Greenwood, Mediator, Attorney and Author of How To Negotiate LIke A Pro: 41 Rules for Resolving Disputes, Winner of nine book awards; How To Mediate Like A Pro: 42 Rules for Mediating Disputes Winner of twelve book awards and How to Intyerview Like a Pro, winner of twelve book awards.

Five Star Clarion Review of How to Interview Like a Pro by Mary Greenwood

Clarion Review
SELF-HELP
How to Interview like a Pro: Forty-Three Rules for Getting Your Next Job

Mary Greenwood iUniverse 978-1-938908-06-4 Five Stars (out of Five)

With the unemployment rate refusing to sink below 8 percent, the United States’ Great Recession marches on, leaving many people scrambling for the limited job opportunities that exist. Those in the job market during this tough time want every advantage they can get. One excellent resource is Mary   Greenwood’s latest book, How to Interview Like a Pro: Forty-Three Rules for Getting Your Next Job.

An award-winning author of two previous how-to guides—How to Negotiate Like a Pro and How to Mediate Like a Pro—Greenwood continues her successful streak with this insider’s view of one of the most anxiety-provoking parts of the job-search process: the interview. Her professional experience as a human resources director and a labor attorney makes Greenwood an expert on all that goes into the interview process, from the first handshake to the hard questions.

Tricky questions don’t have to trip the interviewee up, says Greenwood. She uses her extensive background to explain which questions employers are not legally allowed to ask—questions regarding race, religion, and age, for example—and how to respond appropriately. She clearly and concisely defines complex legal terms like “disparate treatment” and “adverse impact” so that the average person can understand his or her rights in the interview room and not be caught off guard.

Some advice is fairly standard—dress appropriately for the workplace, arrive early, etc.—but Greenwood makes a convincing case for attending to the details. Wear flip-flops? No. Ask questions? Definitely. Stories of interview gaffes illustrate the need for explicit instruction. Greenwood does not want any of her readers to be the woman who brings her baby to the interview, or the man who tells an off-color joke to his potential boss.

Much of Greenwood’s attention focuses on what job seekers can do outside of the interview room, both before and after the big day. Research and rehearsal are essential, says Greenwood, and after giving the interview your best effort, it pays to debrief yourself. Evaluate your performance: what went well, and what you could improve. In the current economic

climate, it is likely that those searching for a job will go on many interviews before receiving an offer, so Greenwood encourages readers to see the whole process as a learning experience.

How to Interview Like a Pro is easy to read from cover-to-cover. Greenwood’s clean, uncluttered style flows from one idea to the next. The usefulness of the book extends beyond the first reading, however. Job seekers can refer to the glossary, indexes, and individual tips as they work their way through the hiring process.

Sheila M. Trask 

Mary Greenwood, Mediator, Attorney and Author of How To Negotiate LIke A Pro: 41 Rules for Resolving Disputes, Winner of nine book awards; How To Mediate Like A Pro: 42 Rules for Mediating Disputes Winner of twelve book awards, and How to Interview Like a Pro, Winner of twelve book awards.  Email: howtointerview@aol.com, website: www.marygreenwood.org

How to Negotiate Like a Pro Wins Bronze Award in Readers Favorite Book Awards Contest.

How to Interview Like a Pro Wins its Tenth Book Award

How to Interview Like a Pro wins a Bronze Book Award in the Readers Favorite Book Awards, it was announced on September 1, 2012. The awards ceremony will be held in Miami during the Miami Book Fair on November 18, 2012. This is the tenth book award for How to Negotiate Like a Pro.



http://readersfavorite.com/2012-award-contest-winners.htm#NonFiction-SelfHelp-aMary Greenwood, Mediator, Attorney and Author of How To Negotiate LIke A Pro: 41 Rules for Resolving Disputes, Winner of six book awards Best How To Book, DIY Festival Runner Up, New York Book Festival, E-Book and Self-Help Category Finalist ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Awards Finalist, Best National Book Awards, Self-Help Category Honorable Mention, London Book Festival How To Mediate Like A Pro: 42 Rules for Mediating Disputes Winner of five book awards Best National Book AWard, Law Category Best E-Book, New York Book Festival Best How To Book, Beach Book Festival Best E-Book, Indie Excellence Awards Spirit AWard, South Florida Writers Association Email: howtonegotiate@aol.com www.marygreenwood.com

Mary Greenwood, Award-Winning Author of How to Interview Like a Pro , will be signing books at the 2012 Georgia Literary Festival on November 9, 2012

The 2012 Georgia Literary Festival will be held November 9-10 at the new Jekyll Island Convention Center on the state’s beautiful southeastern coast. There will be a full day of free author programs at the beachfront Convention Center Saturday with additional special events Friday and Saturday at the nearby Jekyll Island Club Hotel. The festival is sponsored by the Georgia Center for the Book with funding from the Georgia Humanities Council and local sponsors.

On Saturday November 10, 2012, Mary Greenwood, author of How to Interview Like a Pro, winner of twelve book awards, How to Mediate Like a Pro, winner of twelve book awards and How to Negotiate Like a Pro, second edition, winner of nine book awards will be signing her books at the Marketplace at the Jekyl Island Convention Center.

The 14th annual festival, which celebrates writers and writing in a different part of the state each year, will be hosted by the College of Coastal Georgia, The Golden Isles Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Jekyll Island Authority. Representatives of area organizations including the Golden Isles Arts and Humanities Association, the Jekyll Island Club Hotel and the Georgia Sea Turtle Center have planned the event.

The exciting lineup of more than 30 authors includes Pulitzer Prize winning poet Natasha Trethewey, environmentalist and author Janisse Ray, popular author Mary Kay Andrews, bestselling thriller writer Steve Berry, nationally renown chefs Nathalie Dupree, Hugh Acheson and Damon Lee Fowler.

 www.marygreenwood.org

Who are the Winners of the Summer Book Awards

Who are the Winners of the Summer Book Awards?

1. The Independent Publisher Book Association Awards (IPPY)presented their awards at a ceremony on June 4. Although there is no grand prize winner, there are twelve Outstanding Authors prizes as well as winners in each category. Lord of Misrule by Jaimy Gordon (McPherson & Company) won in the Literary Fiction category and The Cult of Lego by John Baichtal and Joe Meno (No Starch Press) won in the Popular Culture/Leisure category.   
2. The Third Annual International Book Awards (IBA) announced their winners and finalists. (How to Interview Like a Pro and How to Negotiate Like a Pro, second edition, both were finalists.)   
3. The Indie Excellence Awards announced their winners in June. Wedlocked, A Novel, by Bonnie Trachtenberg (iUniverse), was the winner of the Chick-lit category, How to Negotiate Like a Pro (iUniverse) was the winner in the Self-Help category and After the Fog by Kathleen Shoop (CreateSpace) was the winner in Literary Fiction.
4. The ForeWord Book of the Year Awards (BOTYA) announced their book awards at the American Library Association's Annual Conference and Exhibit, which was held June 23, 2012 in Anaheim, California. The Editor’s Choice Award for fiction went to All Cry Chaos by Leonard Rosen (The Permanent Press) and the award for nonfiction went to Logodaedaly by Erzsebet Gilbert (Wolverine Farm Publishing). Chelsea Green Publishing was named the Independent Publisher of the Year.    
5. The Readers Favorite Book Awards Finalists were announced on July 1 and the winners will be announced on September 1, 2012. The awards ceremony will be held in Miami during the Miami Book Festival International in November. How to Negotiate Like a Pro is a finalist in the Self-Help category.
6.  The Next Generation Indie Book Awards Winners' gala was held at the Plaza Hotel in New York City. The first place winner in the fiction category was The Parsifal Pursuit by Michael McMenamin and Patrick McMenamin (Enigma Books.) The first place winner in the nonfiction category was Inner Visions, Grassroots Stories of Truth and Hope, by Jan Thrope (Orange Frazer Press.) Both winners won a cash award of $1500.00
7. The New York Book Festival announced its grand prize winner, Pot Farm by Mathew Gavin Frank (University of Nebraska Press) at the Grolier Club in New York City where he received grand prize of $1500.00 
8. The Ben Franklin Awards sponsored by the International Book Publishing Association (IBPA) announced their winners at a gala awards ceremony June 4. The award for popular fiction went to A Crooked Number, (Flat Rock Publishing) and for biography went to Damien, the Making of a Saint (Mutual Publishing.). There was no grand prize winner.                            
9. Congratulations to all the winners.  May these awards make you famous and help you sell lots of books. Hope you had a great summer.

_____

Mary Greenwood, Author of How to Interview Like a Pro, winner of 12 book awards; How to Mediate Like a Pro, winner of 12 book awards; How to Negotiate Like a Pro, winner of 9 book awards. Visit Marygreenwood.org

Mary Greenwood, Mediator, Attorney and Author of How To Negotiate LIke A Pro: 41 Rules for Resolving Disputes, Winner of six book awards Best How To Book, DIY Festival Runner Up, New York Book Festival, E-Book and Self-Help Category Finalist ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Awards Finalist, Best National Book Awards, Self-Help Category Honorable Mention, London Book Festival How To Mediate Like A Pro: 42 Rules for Mediating Disputes Winner of five book awards Best National Book AWard, Law Category Best E-Book, New York Book Festival Best How To Book, Beach Book Festival Best E-Book, Indie Excellence Awards Spirit AWard, South Florida Writers Association Email: howtonegotiate@aol.com www.marygreenwood.com

Press Release for Star Edition of How to Interview Like a Pro

Job candidates get helpful tips in new how-to book

Award-winning author Mary Greenwood announces the release of “How to Interview Like a Pro”

ORLANDO, Fla. – In the updated edition of “How to Interview Like a Pro: Forty-Three Rules for Getting Your Next Job” (published by iUniverse), one of the entries in her award-winning series of how-to books for professionals, Mary Greenwood gives readers a comprehensive collection of tips for interviewing and landing a job.

“How to Interview Like a Pro,” winner of 12 book awards, provides strategies and practical tips about how to prepare for job hunting, how to interview and how to seal the deal. Greenwood offers readers insight into how to get ready for an interview, how to answer those difficult questions, and how to negotiate salary. To help readers prepare for their interviews, she has included sample answers to interview questions, allowing applicants the opportunity to rehearse their answers.

An excerpt from “How to Interview Like a Pro”:

“You need to research the employer, the job itself, and the cutting-edge issues and concerns in this field. What did we do before the internet? Basically we had to go to the library, which often took too much time and effort for most of us. Now we just click, and the answers to our questions appear as if by magic. You know that the employer and HR staff are googling your name, so you should be googling them as well.”

Greenwood offers her book to readers at what she sees as a critical time in the history of the economy and employment. “As everyone knows, the economy is unstable and a lot of people are unemployed and looking for jobs,” she explains. “‘How to Interview Like a Pro’ is a book that will help applicants, especially new graduates or those who have not interviewed for a long time, gain the confidence to give the best interview they can.”

“How to Interview Like a Pro” has been selected for inclusion in the iUniverse Star program, which recognizes excellence in writing and commercial success.

About the Author

Mary Greenwood has worked as a human resources director, with a search firm, and as an employment and labor attorney for more than 25 years. She is also the author of “How to Negotiate Like a Pro,” winner of nine book awards, and “How to Mediate Like a Pro,” winner of 12 book awards. Greenwood lives in Florida.

Website: www.marygreenwood.org