Skills

What can Lou do for you?

If you’re here, it’s probably because you’ve read one or more of my books and articles.

But some of my favorite work appears under other people’s names. These are articles and sections of books that I’ve edited, revised, or ghostwritten. I can’t take credit for this work, and until recently it had never really occurred to me to promote myself as a for-hire editor or ghostwriter.

That’s because what I do to other people’s work falls outside the normal duties of an editor or copywriter. A client will tell me they have some copy that needs “the Lou Schuler treatment,” I do my thing, and we all go away happy. No one else needs to know that the credited author didn’t actually write the zippy words that appear under his or her byline.

Another reason I haven’t promoted this peculiar line of work: I’m not cheap. There are only so many interesting sentences I can write on any given day, and every project I accept comes at the expense of other projects I have to put aside. Don’t get me wrong; I’m happy to put those projects aside as often as not. I enjoy new challenges, and I like the fast-turnaround nature of my assignments. I just need to point out that my work taps a finite resource for a premium price.

If you have a project that needs the Lou Schuler treatment, please contact me here.

Knowledge

The publishing industry is changing faster than anyone inside or outside of it can fully comprehend and appreciate. But much of it remains the same. Magazine editors assign articles to freelancers. Authors write book proposals, and their agents send the proposals to publishers. If the proposal is excellent and the stars align, the author gets a contract.

There are more ways than ever to bypass those editors, agents, and publishers and put your own work out there for readers to find, just as there more tools than ever to help readers find it. For many entry-level authors, skipping the middlemen and gatekeepers makes sense; you can make more money, and make it faster, if you have the writing and marketing skills required to self-publish your work and reach your target audience.

But few of us have both skills. Some of us can write, but we couldn’t draw a crowd to a port-a-potty in the middle of a pissing contest. Others have magnificent knowledge and talent for marketing and self-promotion, but their prose is off-putting to an audience used to reading material that’s been written and edited by English majors.

A handful of high-profile authors tout self-publishing as superior to the traditional model. These authors have high profiles for a reason. They have exceptional literary skill combined with business savvy and marketing expertise. Good for them. I wish I shared their talents. But I don’t. For guys like me — and, really, for almost every other author I know — traditional publishing remains the best way to produce a book that’s worthy of an audience. This is true despite all the frustrating inefficiencies of publishing a book the old-fashioned way.

I’m frequently asked how to break into the various levels of mainstream publishing, from getting your name in a fitness magazine to scoring a book deal. I’m happy to share what I know, and I’ve shared so much that I compiled it into a mini-book called “How to Get Published.”

It’s available by request at no charge to anyone who’s interested; just click here. As I’ve often said, it’s free advice, and worth every penny. All I ask in return is that you sign up for my mailing list, “like” my Facebook pages (even if you don’t really like them in the literal sense), follow me on Twitter, and marvel at my prescient answers on Quora. And if my advice actually works, let people know.

Presence

Need a keynote speaker for your next corporate meeting, seminar, or retreat? I suggest you hire a celebrity. Can’t afford one? Let’s talk.

Currently, I present several times a year for audiences of fitness and nutrition professionals and enthusiasts. My most popular presentations explore historical interest in health and nutrition and the link between classic storytelling and the quest for personal fitness.

Want to know how William Howard Taft, America’s fattest president, symbolized a period of intense interest in public health and self-improvement? Or why Jimmy Carter’s ambitious fitness routine paradoxically created an image of a man too small for his office? Book me for your next corporate retreat, and I’ll explain it.

What about the connection between Luke Skywalker and someone walking into a health club on January 2, trying to follow through on a new year’s resolution that in previous years has proved impervious to fulfillment? What can Harry Potter teach us about the courage and persistence it takes to become a lifelong exerciser? Book me for a different corporate event, and I’ll be happy to explain that as well.

As you probably guessed, I’m a fitness professional who’s also a history buff and an avid consumer of popular culture. Lots of people can talk about the nuts and bolts of exercise and nutrition, but if those basics inspired people to change their habits and embrace a healthier, more active life, we’d see a healthier, more active population.

I can put the pursuit of health – public and private – into a historic or even mythological context. In the process, I help audiences understand both the difficulty of this pursuit and the heroic qualities that emerge in those who stay with it.

Interested? Please contact me here.