Key Business Partners, LLC

I had the opportunity to get a hold of Donna Cutting for a few moments in between her packed summer speaking schedule. This interview highlights a few neat things about her, her writing and speaking career, and her experience working with a major publishing house, Wiley & Sons.

Thanks Donna for taking time out of your SO busy schedule to answer these questions.

Please tell us a bit of background about yourself.

Here’s a few fun facts:
• Born and raised in Westport, Massachusetts
• Moved to Tampa Bay, Florida in 1991, met my husband, and never looked back
• My degree is in theater and communications, and I did some stage acting in summer stock, college and community theater.
• I worked in the senior living field for several years, planning creative programs for seniors, and learning and applying the principles of employee engagement.
• I’m married to my best friend, Jim, and we have a Maltese puppy named Snowball.
How did you get started in speaking?

I had been working with my boss in the last position I held on improving employee morale and engagement. We had such great results that I began speaking about our process to groups. Someone asked me how much I charged to speak, and a new career was born! I also began attending my local chapter of the National Speaker Association, which I would recommend to everyone wanting to pursue a career as a professional speaker.

What persuaded you to write your book, The Celebrity Experience?

After a conversation with a friend of mine, I began to question what “red-carpet service” really meant. I spent a couple of years interviewing people in Hollywood whose customers are celebrities to find out what it really took to give that level of service, and realized that there is much we can take from Hollywood and apply to business to treat our every day customers as if they were celebrities.

Were there pleasant surprises in writing the book?

The surprises came in the form of companies who do NOT serve celebrities, and yet are getting incredible bottom line results by delivering extraordinary customer experiences. They are varied in type – there’s a university, a small department in a hotel, an assisted living organization, and even a plumbing company! Learning about their innovations in service was indeed a pleasant surprise!

How long did it take you to write the book?
The research and proposal took me over 2 years to write. Once I obtained a publisher, I had a deadline of 6 months to write the book. Over those six months, I guess it took about 8 full weeks to write the actual book.

Did you use an editor to help with the book?

I hired Denise McCabe of McCabe editing to proofread my book, and then my publisher (Wiley) assigned me an editor who worked with me extensively to ensure we were putting out the best book possible.

What advice would you give someone who wishes to write a book?

Write a book when you are so excited about your topic and idea that you can hardly sleep! As a professional speaker there is always pressure to write a book to grow your business. I waited until I had an idea that was so compelling to me that I couldn’t NOT write the book. That passion came through in my proposal and I was able to secure an agent and a publisher right away.

Also – consider how you are going to market the book. Unless you are a celebrity author, you will be responsible for marketing and promoting your own book. Begin building your database and strategic alliances now.

And you were signed with Wiley & Sons as your publisher—can you share the experience working with a major publisher?

I was fortunate to be offered a contract with Wiley immediately after sending them my proposal. They assigned me a wonderful editor who guided this first time author through the process, and pushed me to write a great book. Major publishers also have the means to distribute books through the stores, and do some marketing for you – handling distribution in both the United States and other countries. It was a great experience working with them and I hope to do it again!

What role did Wiley & Sons take on with the book?

See above.

Do you feel that you perhaps have more leverage with your book because it was published by a major publisher rather than self publishing? Why or Why not?

There are reasons to go with a major publisher and reasons to self publish. Yes, there is a level of credibility that comes with publishing through a house rather than self-publishing. For instance, it’s easier to get your book reviewed, schedule book signings, etc. And, as I said, they have distribution means not easily available to the self published author.

Do you have plans to write another book?

Yes – although not this year. Perhaps next. I’m not quite ready to go public with the concept, but I’ll let you know when I am!

What other things do you have planned for 2009?

We’ve (my team at Donna Cutting Presents, Inc.) have been developing training programs and tools around the concept of The Celebrity Experience and those will be available from our website soon. Also, I’ll be partnering with the Innisbrook Leadership Institute to work with companies and organizations who truly want to commit to red-carpet service culture change. We’ve developed an exciting consulting model and we’ll be rolling it out shortly!

Please share with the readers where they can purchase your book.

Thanks for that opportunity. The best price can be found on Amazon.com, or if you want to purchase many copies, at 800CEORead.com. However, the book is available everywhere books are sold. If it’s sold out at your bookstore, they can easily order you a copy!