AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Financial Guru and Author James Burns

James is a tax attorney who served honorably in the United States Marine Corps’ Force Reconnaissance (akin to Navy SEAL program). James brings the same commitment and loyalty to his clients that he exhibited when he served our country. He is also CEO of White Diamond Properties, Inc. a real property investment acquisition firm and is on the Advisory Board of Wave Uranium Holdings (WAVU.OB), a development stage company that engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of uranium properties in the United States.

James is on the Advisory Board of Sognari International www.sognari.com/james which is an entrepreneur platform that has famed Michael Gerber involved and they are creating opportunities that are discussed in the book.

You can visit his website at www.3pillarsofwealth.com.

Welcome to The Writer's Life, James. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and how long you’ve been writing?

I am an attorney and I have been writing professionally for nine years, mostly to take care of clients and have now stepped out with a book to demystify finances.

Can you please tell us about your book and why you wrote it?

The book demystifies finances and gives three tools that will act is guides for anyone trying to assess where the safest place for retirement funds or lifestyle cash flow is. I wrote it because I was sick and tired of all the get rich quick nonsense and some of the esoteric approaches that don’t serve the public.

What kind of research was involved in writing “The 3 Secrete Pillars of Wealth”?

The research continues because I am now working with a few people that want to be a part of my social experiment and become millionaires in the next three years.

I also recounted my experience living with a billionaire, observing their habits and examining what three self-made billionaires told Forbes was the best investment advice all three had ever learned. This confirmed my ideas and gave them certification but now I’m out to do it with a couple of people from scratch.

How much input did you have into the design of your book cover?

As much as I wanted. I gave a general idea and the graphic artist came back with something that just about nailed it. We made some slight modifications from the first offering and then it was where I wanted it to be.

Has it been a bumpy ride to becoming a published author or has it been pretty well smooth sailing?

That depends on each individual’s tolerance. I would say it was not without its bumps and slight disappointments. My inner perfectionist was the biggest obstacle to get out of the way. If I had stayed listening to that inner voice I wouldn’t be done yet and would have remained getting ready to get ready.

For this particular book, how long did it take from the time you signed the contract to its release?

11 months.

Do you have an agent and, if so, would you mind sharing who he/is is? If not, have you ever had an agent or do you even feel it’s necessary to have one?

I do not have one right now. I think it makes totals sense. One of the tools I discuss in the book from a financial perspective is leverage. When you have an agent you leverage your time which is something we can never get back. I am looking for the right agent or publicist at this time and believe everyone can be successful without one but how much time you have to put in it definitely determines how necessary it is to have one and getting through the learning curve of how to market a book properly.

Do you plan subsequent books?

Yes, the “3 Secret Pillar” brand will do several and we’ve started outline the second book to be entitled “The 3 Secret Pillars of Business – the art of the exit” which will be for entrepreneurs. Future installments included fitness, health, love, meditation and other self fulfillment topics.

Are you a morning writer or a night writer?

Anytime writer and it was mostly all day long on weekends as I have several businesses that I had to tend to during the week.

If money was no object, what would be the first thing you would invest in to promote your book?

Unlimited press release and radio. As you build the momentum and try and attract the best venues to promote your book, it is important that you have a press kit with samples of releases and a serious Google presence. I feel that sending out as many spins as you can in press releases will eventually hook a major media source as well as getting on the air waves is important. The idea of the virtual book tour is becoming essential as well and I highly recommend it.

How important do you think self-promotion is and in what ways have you been promoting your book offline and online?

I think it is critical. Even if we look at what celebrities do when they release a studio funded movie, they are expected to travel around the world promoting it. When you release a book you should be ready to get exhausted and frustrated and if success were easy, everyone would have it so it is a full time job.

I have a fantastic sponsored book signing where I sold 150 books in the night and that catapulted into other speaking engagements where I sold a lot of books. An author should enhance their speaking skills and learn to sell through their presentation and always have a call to action at the conclusion of the presentation. I can’t count the number of times I have watched an author who has been lucky enough to get on C-span for their book and they can’t speak very well and every other word is um or ah. This might still sell books if the content is extraordinary but that can go away and make the conversation richer.

Any final words of wisdom for those of us who would like to be published?

Yes, just do it. Get feedback and make sure it is content rich and then market, market, and market it because it is sometimes marketing over mastery.

Thank you for coming, James! Would you like to tell my readers where they can find you on the web and how everyone can buy your book?

Yes, you can buy it from my website which is www.jamesgburns.com. You can also find it at Amazon, Borders, Barnes and Noble and other fine book vendors. If they are interested in a taste of the book they can go to www.3pillarsofwealth.com and opt in for 12 mini-lessons on financial understanding.

ATTENTION: This interview is being brought to you by Pump Up Your Book Promotion. As a special promotion for James Burns' book, THE 3 SECRET PILLARS OF WEALTH: HOW TO CRACK YOUR WEALTH CODE USING THE TOOLS OF SELF-MADE BILLIONAIRES, Pump Up Your Book Promotion is giving away a FREE virtual book tour or $25 Amazon gift certificate to one lucky person who comments on our authors’ blog stops. Leave a comment below to have a chance to win one of these prizes! For more stops on James' blog tour, visit www.virtualbooktours.wordpress.com.

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