Type and hit ENTER

  • Home
  • Articles
  • About
  • The Book
  • Media
  • Speaking
  • Subscribe Free
  • Advisory
  • Contact
GET CONNECTED

 

"Witty, clever and extremely relevant in these godforsaken Zoom times." Zoë Foster Blake

Book on sale now from Penguin Random House.

  • Home
  • Articles
  • About
  • The Book
  • Media
  • Speaking
  • Subscribe Free
  • Advisory
  • Contact
Undisruptable’s first international publishing deal
Share
Undisruptable South Korea deal
Articles, Most Popular

Undisruptable’s first international publishing deal

January 31, 2022
-
Posted by Ian Whitworth

 

If you listen in a Chrome browser on a PC the embedded player will stop after 30 seconds and nobody knows why. If that’s you, listen direct on Spotify.

 


 

흥미로운 소식

 

Exciting news! I just signed Undisruptable’s first international deal through the nice people at Penguin Random House.

Getting it released in another country has been a long-term dream. I did not expect that first country to be … South Korea.

I love it all the more for its unexpectedness. How did it happen?

It’s been quite the journey, and instructive if you’re thinking about putting a book out. Or trying anything new and difficult.

 

The worst person you know just made a great point

 

I read a pile of business books over the holidays. I haven’t had much time to read in the last year. It’s important to keep an open mind, so I made sure to include some writers whose work generally makes my skin crawl.

Among the worst is Grant Cardone, a real estate hustler with a massive social presence built on nonstop posts of his’n’hers pimped Bentleys and Gulfstream G550s.

 

 

I listened to Cardone’s book The 10X Rule: The Only Difference Between Success and Failure. I came away from it with two main points:

1. What a dick.

2. Cardone’s main point is … right.

Time to roll out the useful meme The Worst Person You Know Just Made A Great Point :

 

 

Cardone’s core message is that everything is much harder and takes longer than you expect. So it will need ten times the effort you first thought, and you must smash into it with that expectation.

There’s no “hack”. You will have to do a lot more work than other people.

 

So much work, so little result

 

Launching a book into a pandemic is at least a 20x effort.

The book got epic PR coverage at launch in June, around $400K worth of media including  full-page appearances in The Australian and all the Newscorp dailies.

We went into lockdown that week, and all that PR benefit went in the bin. During lockdowns, nobody wants new authors or business advice. They want something escapist from writers they know.

So I spend the second half of 2021 mapping out rescue plans. My God it was a grind.

I remain eternally grateful to the blog readers who responded to my request for online reviews to crank up the algorithm. That got the book to #1 business book on Booktopia’s review ratings, where it’s stayed. But the sales there remained tens rather than hundreds.

I spent my entire book advance money on digital marketing. People clicked in their thousands, went through to the site and … did not buy the book.

My digital marketing guy, who has delivered solid campaign results across all our other businesses, remains mystified at how hard it is to get people to buy a book. The funnel fills up nicely. Then nothing comes out. It remains an ongoing mystery.

I tried a bunch of labour-intensive capers, like Fathers Day video shout-outs. 85K people watched my ibis video, but few copies sold.

 

Where many small steps gets you

 

As soon as the stores opened I visited dozens of them, signing copies and doing a sales pitch to the floor staff. I think it’s important to do projects where you have to go back to the bottom of the ladder.

In our own businesses I don’t do sales prospecting any more because we have better people to do that.

With the book, I’m just an inexperienced travelling sales rep. And I loved it. Book store people are my people. Getting direct feedback from the coalface was informative and energising.

 

The masked signer

 

All of this takes a ton of time and energy. There was not a moment I was awake during 2021 when I wasn’t thinking: HOW THE FUCK CAN I GET PEOPLE TO BUY THIS, IT’S A GOOD BOOK.

Not a single one of these tactics moved the dial much at all.

And yet the cumulative effect of all of them has been … nowhere near what I expected or hoped for.

Sorry that wasn’t the inspirational lesson you thought I’d drop there, was it?

The experience eats at away your entire sense of self-worth. Strong flashbacks to my Unpopular Kid At School years.

The people who like it, really like it. My spirits are lifted when I see people put glowing reviews on LinkedIn or wherever. The strength of that feeling is a good validation of the 1000 True Fans theory. I deeply appreciate every online share, every time you mention it in a conversation.

 

Random stuff you didn’t plan will happen

 

And yet, other random things that you hadn’t planned will happen. A big plug from Zoé Foster Blake was a major unplanned win.

 

Zoë Foster Blake Undisruptable review

I should have known it would be this way. Looking back, it was pretty much the same with our businesses. You have the grand vision. You put maniacal effort into all the tactics you think are going to get you there. And they don’t work much at all.

But then, after an eternity of stifled hopes, a trickle of other, random wins from no discernable source. And eventually it gets momentum if you keep working because Grant Cardone is right.

You can track the individual results of everything along the way and get really depressed. Be as accountable as you can, but you have to have faith that your efforts will be returned from strange directions.

 

Why South Korea bought the book

 

Anyway, South Korea! How great are their bookshops and libraries?

 

Starfield Library, Seoul

 

I love it, it’s so much cooler than being published in some regular whitebread country. How did we land the deal?

There was no strategy at all. The South Korean publishing team just got in touch with the Australians and asked if they could publish it.

I asked why they liked it. I imagined South Korea to be a great place to earn a reliable salary with one of their many huge global brands. Not so much any more.

Okhee Shin, the South Korean publisher, said:

“Lately, young people in South Korea tend to start their own business with low investment, since the mass unemployment became extended. Moreover, the number of people who retired early surges due to restructuring. The young generation literally cannot help but start a business. No matter what the initiative is, they have to be responsible for the outcomes. We find this book offering mindsets ranging from management to relationship skills.”

Not many Australian books make it to South Korea, which is an honour. Izzy Yates, Head of Penguin Publishing Lab, said:

“We are always thrilled to sell international rights to any of our books and it’s especially great to see an Australian business book transcend our market to find a home overseas. Having a book picked up in South Korea doesn’t happen every day, but I’m not surprised the publishers there loved Ian’s writing and colourful entrepreneurial tales.”

I’m so excited to learn more about South Korea.

 

Arc-n-Book Seoul

Why I do the writing

 

I don’t care about building my personal brand or whatever name you want to give it. From the start the two reasons for the blog/book have been:

1. I like writing

2. It will lead to meeting interesting people and unexpected adventures

South Korea ratchets the unexpected adventures up to 11. So many questions. Will the Australian humour bits in the book translate? Will I ever know? What will the PR experience be like?

As a friend pointed out,

“It’s essential you become massive in South Korea so that your posters will be all around the airports, and you will become their De Rucci man.”

South Korea, I’m ready to stand next to your bed.

 


 

If you’re not a blog regular and you haven’t bought a copy of Undisruptable, get in before you get replaced by smarter, more motivated talent from South Korea.

It’s still the #1 business book by Customer Review rating on Booktopia, check it out.

 

Undisruptable Booktopia Review Ratings

Also I write a story each Tuesday, drop your email here to get it in your inbox.

For those of you in geo-blocked countries, and Neil Young, here’s your non-Spotify audio:

https://ianwhitworth.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/South-Korea.mp3
January 31, 2022

Related News

Other posts that you should not miss.
Articles

The home loan nightmare for business owners: traps you should know

November 8, 2021
-
Posted by Ian Whitworth

I've just been through home loan hell after buying a place up the coast. I've learned a lot and here it is.

Read More
November 8, 2021
Posted by Ian Whitworth
Articles

Be An Insider: Crack The Management Jargon Code

August 12, 2019
-
Posted by Ian Whitworth

You don't know what management are up to unless you know their secret code words. A handy guide to what your boss really means.

Read More
August 12, 2019
Posted by Ian Whitworth
Articles

COVID 19: If You’re Still On Your Salary, Show Some Gratitude

August 17, 2020
-
Posted by Ian Whitworth

Why a lot of people need to harden the fuck up about their workplace stress right now. And why pivots are a media myth.

Read More
August 17, 2020
Posted by Ian Whitworth
← PREVIOUS POST
Cardone 10x vs Parkinson's Law: which makes you more cash?
NEXT POST →
Sort your payment terms out: your client's problems are not your problems
FREE E-BOOK

SUBSCRIBE
MOST POPULAR
  • Last-minute grocery businesses are a massive bag of dicks
    June 27, 2022

    It’s a business model that seems to have cherry-picked all the worst, hardest, most expensive elements of running a business.

  • Scotty Marketing
    3 post-Scotty lessons: good marketing is not like that
    May 30, 2022

    Don't be a product that people only buy once. How to make marketing a force for honesty and profitability in your business instead.

  • “An Australian business classic.” Reviews of Undisruptable
    July 12, 2021

    The reviews are in and they are very good.

  • Success Is Just 7 Basics, And Why Motivators Suck by Ian Whitworth
    Success Is Just 7 Basics, And Why Motivators Suck
    April 19, 2018

    To be a guaranteed success you only have to do 7 basic things. 63 words. Pay attention to the basics and you'll never need success seminars or Gary Vaynerchuk videos.

ABOUT IAN WHITWORTH

Ian Whitworth is a reformed advertising creative director turned entrepreneur with a successful national group of businesses that he doesn’t work in day to day. Read more

POPULAR TAGS
management
branding
Sales
Marketing
jargon
Persuasion
Covid 19
Nickelback
Pitching
Coronavirus
strategy
MBA
startup
Copywriting
Motivation
Business
CEO
Design
Graphic Design
Business Travel
Elon Musk
Frequent Flyer
David Attenborough
Advice
Lacey Filipich
Saxton Speakers
Scene Change
Penguin Random House
Gary Vaynerchuk
Sales Pitch
Tendering
Planning
Conversation Skills
Customers
Customer Service
AI
Shingy
LinkedIn
Simon Sinek
Success
Presentations
Mr Pigden
Motivators
Entrepreneur
Ian Wright
Archives
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
  • Privacy
  • Terms & Conditions
© Whitworth Communications 2020
Undisruptable's first international publishing deal - Undisruptable