Quick Case Study: Dr. Marlene Caroselli
The second in a series of posts that highlight one Expert Author who has achieved success by doing just one or two things exceptionally well.
Dr. Marlene Caroselli is the author of 60 business books and numerous curricula and articles. She has served as an adjunct professor at UCLA and National University, while conducting training for Fortune 100 companies and numerous federal agencies. In 1984, she founded the Center for Professional Development, an organization dedicated to helping working adults enhance their professional skills. She has served as a consultant to many Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, and educational institutions.
Dr. Caroselli brings her profound academic and professional expertise to a global Internet audience via EzineArticles as an Expert Author in communication and leadership growth. She recently shared her thoughts with us on what it means to her to be an author, speaker and educator.
Writing as an Art
She says, “I like to consider what makes me [similar to] other Expert Authors. We all share a love of the written word. We are drawn to the nuances, the finely wrought juxtapositions, the resonance that is created by les mots justs or ‘the exact words.’ Picasso asked, ‘Why do two colors, put one next to the other, sing?’ Writers wonder the same thing about words …”
A strong believer in recycling, regifting, reusing, Dr. Caroselli says, “I try to optimize everything I write. So if I’m writing a curriculum, I’ll convert parts of it into several articles. And, if the curriculum has enough meat, I’ll ‘flesh’ it out and create a book.”
She goes on to say, “I try to remain open to the world around me and let it suggest ideas. To illustrate, I saw a recent news article about the President buying shaved-ice cones for his daughters while vacationing in Hawaii. Immediately, a new American word was coined–‘Snowbamas.’ I used the word as the lead in to an article about portmanteaux (word blending) and the flexibility of our wondrous language.”
The Value of Knowledge
Ideas seem to come easily to Dr. Caroselli, but she tells us that this isn’t the result of creative luck, but more the fruits of an ongoing quest for knowledge. “I’m an old English teacher,” she says, “so writing about writing comes very easily for me. I discovered long ago that to survive as a corporate trainer, I had to learn more about business in order to expand my repertoire of course offerings. This knowledge in time translated into books and articles.”
Self-Marketing via Article Marketing
Moving on to the topic of self-marketing through EzineArticles, Dr Caroselli says, “My marketing centers on finding corporate/government clients interested in hiring me to conduct training. Submitting an article with my proposal affords me a credibility that my competitors usually don’t have. EzineArticles.com has made it easier for me to show prospective clients what my writing is like. When asked for a sample of my articles, I simply refer prospects to my articles on EzineArticles.com.”
In closing, she has some advice for newbie and veteran authors alike. “Try to find out what your clients or ideal clients are most interested in and then write to that need. Further, try to assemble articles around themes. In time, you may have a book virtually written via your themed articles.”
With most of our Expert Author Case Studies we can distill their thoughts and advice into key actionable items. That’s not the case with Dr. Caroselli. Instead, she brings a professional and academic mindset to article writing that is more about our attitude and less about the task. So take a few moments to dwell on your own personal perspective of Expert Authorship to determine if your thought process is aligned with what you’re trying to accomplish. If not, maybe it’s time for a little self-induced attitude adjustment.
As always, leave a comment for Dr. Caroselli. I’m sure she’d love to hear from you.
The idea of using some old articles to compose a new one seems to me very interesting.
I just think that this requires a lot of experience and quality .
Its like using “contents” as words, isn’t it ?
At this level, I think we are working with semantics at the level a beginner – like me – works with words.
Very good for me!
Jose
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