Last week I had the pleasure of speaking to the Michigan Education Association's Women.  I had presented two other programs for the Association ( Generations in the Workplace) and was asked to speak on the Seven Women Project at their annual event, Ladies Day at the MEA. Teri Battaglieri has been producing these events for the Association and she did a fantastic job. My session was to start at 1:30. Teri invited me to come early and have lunch.  I arrived at the MEA building a little before 12:30 and decided to set up the  books for the after program book sale.  A few women stopped by and before I knew it there was a line longer than I ever imagined- before I even spoke!  I needed help? and I got it! Deborah Garland jumped in and  saved the day. I forgot about lunch and singed over 100 books.

The underlying message of The Seven Women Project is Women helping and supporting other women.  This truly was a day of Women helping Women! Teri put a lot of thought and work into Ladies Day at the MEA and then Deborah jumps right in.  She got the lines organized, collected charges, made order lists for bracelets and because of her  the book singing was a huge success.  A big thanks goes out to Teri, Deborah and all of the fabulous women in the MEA.  You totally rock!

A book's success really depends on two things. First, it has to tell a good story that is relevant, interesting and useful. Second, you have to find an audience - and that is easier said than done. Meredith and I decided that we can grow an audience by building the Seven Women Project community through word of mouth (and mouse).  We have attracted almost 900 fans on The Seven Women Project Facebook Fanpage and that number is rising every minute thanks to our enthusiastic fans telling their friends, and their friends sharing with their friends... Sure we would love to be in Barns and Noble and Borders, but the reality is that small published books (Willard St. Publishers) like the Seven Women Project are not picked up by the brick and mortar until they sell over 5000 copies.

But Amazon is a different story - and maybe even a better choice!

First, Amazon sells the book at a discounted rate (bad for us, but really good for you), and secondly, Amazon reacts favorably to readers online reviews.  More positive reviews create more sales,  and the more sales the more  Amazon recommends your book to millions of people. The Amazon Recommendation goes like this: People who bought this book also bought... This suggested selleing is huge and can boost sales more than any other method. Readers are able to find books they want and even the smaller publishers have a great chance to sell their books! 

Amazon has removed the barries to book sales.

The Seven Women Project already has great reviews thanks to Karen Davis, Ren Resh, Aurelie Gallagher Krauss, Kim Zeiner, Bambi McCullough and Laura Lopez! Please go on and add your review before May 5th (If you read the Galley or pre-ordered). Help us grow the community and add your review! Putting a review up on Amazon also helps you in the SEO, so it's a win-win.

Then buy the book on May 5th! Cinco de Maya is the day to buy the Seven Women Project on line at Amazon.com! Spread the word and tell your frineds May 5th is the day: Seven Women Day!

As we get closer to the publication date for The Seven Women Project, I find myself pretty excited about the adventures that lie ahead. Excited, hopeful, even a little giddy. And now, thanks to a combination of lessons from Trendy Trudy, Super Sophia ... and James Cameron, I am also trying to be fearless.

Sophia is Fearlessness personified, but Trudy had to show me a little insight to calm my nerves. She did it through one of her favorite websites for promoting innovation, creativity, and inspiration: TED. TED is not a person, but an organization dedicated to “ideas worth spreading.”  I have become a big fan of the short videos posted on TED, and have seen some great ones. But this week the video talk that captured my attention came from someone who, for me, was an unlikely source – not a woman, not an inspirational speaker or a philosopher, but from the big Box Office Director-Man, James Cameron of Terminator, Titanic, and, most recently, Avatar fame.

Confession Time.  I never saw Titanic. Blasphemous, I know. My good friend Little Ray saw it 17 times (maybe more by now), but I resisted the hype. And since I was a late-comer to science fiction (big fan, now Mike P., no worries) I was also a late-comer to Terminator. But I did follow the same patterns with Avatar. Instead, i jumped in right away and loved it, hype and all.  And on this night of the "82nd Annual Academy Awards" we’ll see what happens to the wildly imaginative, “bewitching” world of Pandora with so many other great films also up for the Best Picture Award. Read More

Let me introduce myself to you. My name is Hanna and I am the woman on the team that is known for doing as little as possible. Now, please don’t think that I am lazy!   I just know that when things get rough, the best gift that you can give yourself is permission to take a personal time-out. That means that if you have had a tough week at work, take a break before you get back in there; or if your kids have been home with the crud and you’ve been serving up chicken soup and wiping runny noses all week, this might be your weekend to have your husband or mom take over and you take a break.

We live in crazy busy times where working all the time is the norm. I am the woman that gives you the courage to go against the grain and place value on rest and relaxation. I give you the strength to just say no, reboot and get your creative juices flowing.

I have been reading a lot lately about the power of rest. Did you know that children who sleep less get worse grades, have more trouble with tests, and don't remember as much as children that get a good night’s sleep.  Sleep more and you learn more!  New brain cells appear only during sleep. In fact, studies have shown that brief naps improve your memory.

So this weekend I give you permission to take a nap!

Hi everyone, my name is Donna, woman #3 in the book, The Seven Women Project.

I decided to jump out and be the first of the women to blog about myself. I am beautiful and bold. I am the  assertive and the most outgoing of all the seven women.  I am the woman that is full of self-assurance and positive vibes.  Some call me the "Diva of Confidence" and as you read the book you will discover that I believe in YOU and that I am your #1 fan. My role is to help you break away from the crowd and get noticed.

Think of me as your on call 24/7 public relations manager  working  with you to create a memorable personal brand. I am here to help you dig deep and discover the unique value that you bring to your organization and the marketplace.

Remember that when you provide value people listen!

bye for now - Donna

If you want to learn more, read the book!

When I asked my daughter Meredith to help me get started writing a book called The Seven Women back in 2000 I thought it was going to be a breeze. Actually, I thought that Meredith, being a Notre Dame graduate, and the news editor of ND’s daily paper, The Observer, was the perfect person to help with getting my thoughts down and get the ball rolling . The book was going to be about the seven fashion personalities of women. (Join our Facebook Fan Page)

As the project unfolded Meredith’s real job, technology consulting, took her far from Houston. She would check in with me periodically, talking very little about the book and fashion and more about her life’s challenges and work demands. At the same time my new career in business speaking was putting me in front of women who were facing similar work/life situation. Although we were generations apart in age, we were both going down the same path and the new book, The Seven Women Project, emerged. Read More

The Seven Women Project will be out in Mid- March. We are very excited to share our work with you, and we invite you to participate in its big revelation, that: inside every woman there are actually seven women. Seven extraordinary women, each one waiting, quite patiently, within each of us to be recognized, called upon, shared … and dressed.

Our path toward this auspicious discovery began nearly ten years ago as a simple conversation between mother and daughter. And since those kinds of conversations are never really quite so simple, it is no wonder that what emerged was a full-blown adventure.

When we first started this project, we were aiming to tell Karen’s story, and the stories that she had heard from behind the dressing room doors during her time as a local fashion guru in Houston, Texas. We thought that we were telling a story about fashion, about style, and about how to break out of our daily dressing ruts to literally “try on” something new. Ultimately, it turned out that dressing was only part of the equation. The Seven Women Project is about more, much more.

What has followed has been a decade of creative wrangling and a feisty collaboration that has meant countless hours sifting through memories, recalling experiences and retelling for each other what we have seen and heard out there beyond the dressing room doors. And since we have been growing and evolving ourselves over the years, a little self-reflection hasn’t hurt either. Read More