Be Your Own Biggest Cheerleader

If you’ve been reading the weekly e-newsletter and/or following, say, on Instagram, for example, you know that I was recently out west, speaking at the 20th San Francisco Writers Conference, including, but not limited to, having put on a masterclass there.

This was my third consecutive year being a part of that event and for that I’m most grateful.  And I’m not only continually impressed with the event and all that the organizers put into it, but the passion demonstrated by the attendees.

There is a lesson to be learned from those hungry writers.

I remember being at the 2022 edition of the event and serving on a panel with an attorney who said that as much as a conference attendee might be looking to hire one of the professionals like those of us who were a part of the event’s “faculty,” it’s just as much a question, Are we taking on new clients.

To better explain this, I remind you that when someone is evaluating working with Now Hear This, I am just as much interviewing them to see if they’re a good fit.  Are they likeable?  Is the subject matter interesting and something we can get behind and be excited about helping them promote?  And (now here comes that lesson) do they show a deep commitment to what they're doing?



Indeed, someone approached me at the end of the aforementioned session, after I came down off the dais, and wanted to know if I was taking on new clients and if I would be his publicist.  While there were a lot of boxes being checked, my initial answer was, “No, it’s too early.  You don’t need a publicist yet.”  While he eventually wore me down and I did take him on as a client (still on the Now Hear This roster today), I loved his persistence that was clearly rooted in how much he believed in the book he was writing.

If you’re a performer and you sit on a stool on the stage and just go through the motions, how many people do you think will see excitement and enthusiasm that moves them to want to work with you?  After all, it really is true that you never know who’s going to be in the audience.  However, if someone with some influence is there and sees you with that posture, that perceived attitude, they won’t approach you at all.

I’ve seen people spend money to attend a podcasting conference – registration, transportation, hotel, meals – but not have a podcast and not start one after leaving the event.  Meanwhile, here I am having passed the ten-year anniversary of my weekly “Now Hear This Entertainment” podcast nine days ago.  The passion has to be there.  The fire has to be burning.

At the San Francisco Writers Conference, one of the many cool aspects of the event is attendees getting to sit with someone like me for a free eight-minute consultation.  That’s an environment where I can tell really quickly how enthusiastic you are (or aren’t) about your writing project.  Think of it this way.  If you don’t seem thrilled about what you’re going to sit down and talk to me about, why would you expect me to be?  If you’re not in a mode of creating buzz around what you’re doing, isn’t there a likelihood that I might reflect that same going-through-the-motions?


Is there someone you know who is the proverbial Debbie Downer?  They depress you and they suck energy out of you.  You need to be the opposite of that.  You need to be the biggest cheerleader for your project.  I commend the San Francisco Writers Conference attendees for having that kind of drive that inspired me to write this week’s blog and continue my excitement for the work that I do for the various clients that Now Hear This serves.  But I also hold them up as what you should be striving to mirror each time you’re talking with someone about whatever you’re creating.

Want to try out your pitch on me?  Let’s have a ten-minute call so I can hear your excitement as you tell me about what you’re working on (and lend any advice I have for you).  For twenty years now I have been helping indie music artists, authors, actors and actresses, small businesses, entrepreneurs, and podcasters from around the U.S.  Take advantage of all my experience to better position yourself to fuel the passion for your craft.