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You started
on the Internet very early, and chose to focus on the women's market. Also,
your first two books, Cybergrrl:
A Woman's
When I initially went online in 1987, as far as I could tell, there were only men in cyberspace other than a few signs of female life such as a list of feminist resources out of MIT. At first, I created the Cybergrrl.com site as my own personal website and the Webgrrls.com site as a way to link to the handful of women's personal sites that I was able to find.
People questioned why I started a women-oriented Internet company in January 1995 called Cybergrrl, Inc., because there "weren't any women online." I had gained so many personal and professional benefits from being connected to the Internet -- health information, professional networking, global marketing -- that I wanted to make sure other women benefited from the Internet as well.
All of these things happened organically so there wasn't really an "a-ha!" moment telling me I was onto something. I just did what my dad always said one should do to have a successful business: "Fill a Need."
Your third book, out in October 2001, is a motivational book: PowerTools for Women in Business: How to Succeed in Life and Work. How did you move from Internet topics to motivational ones?
The more I gave speeches about the Internet, I discovered that people were more interested in my own story -- how did I go from having no computer background to starting an Internet company, what was it like being a woman in the tech industry. My speeches began to morph into more personal accounts of my life and career path, and the audience reactions to my speeches became more emotional.
I wrote a speech called "Ten PowerTools for Women" based on advice I had been given over the years that I finally put into action, and I talked about how my life and career changed because of that. People kept telling me that the speech should be a book, but I was worried about making the transition from being an Internet expert to a motivational writer. But my book agent, Lisa Swayne, was very encouraging, and the first editor we told about the concept (Marla Markham at Entrepreneur Press) wanted the book immediately.
My biggest strategy when writing my first motivational book was to NOT read any motivational books or books for women in business until I finished the manuscript. I was afraid I'd subconsciously lift ideas from someone else, even though I already had the crux of the book mapped out. I wove together very personal stories of my own with those of businesswomen across the country and was able to maintain my style of sharing not only my own personal experiences and ideas, but those of other women, just as I had in my first two books.
What books influenced you early on in your career?
You are now on your 60-plus city promotional book tour and have mapped out the entire thing yourself. How did you learn how to do this?
I used to be in the music business, and would watch how the booking agents mapped out concert tours -- it was called "routing." Basically, after I decided where to go, I emailed the information to a friend of mine, Alison Morano, who I hired to actually call bookstores. Alison has her own online marketing and Web development business in Tampa, Fla., and works from home, so she has the ability to make calls and keep track of schedules (which is harder for me while I'm on the road and constantly mobile).
Speaking of book signings, what are you favorite bookstores so far? The indie bookstores I've been lucky enough to get into include Archives BookCafe in Ft. Lauderdale, FL; Books and Books in Miami, FL; Boadecia's in North Berkeley, CA; The Happy Bookseller in Columbia, SC; and Capitola Book Cafe in Capitola, CA.[1]
Do you get a chance to read while you're on the road and, if so, what are you reading?
As long as I don't turn on that TV/VCR unit in the RV, I read a lot. I'm currently reading Geisha by Liza Dalby. I'm fascinated by Japanese culture. I read a lot of women's adventure travel books, such as the ones put out by Traveler's Tales. And I just picked up several books at the Happy Bookseller: A Little More About Me by Pam Houston and On Mexican Time by Tony Cohan. I usually read predominantly female authors, but the book by Cohan is interesting to me because my mother is Mexican, and I'm longing to go to Mexico to see my grandmother's birthplace.
You mentioned that your next book will be about your road travels. What else do you have in the works?
I'm trying to get funding to translate a condensed version of my first two Internet books for women into Spanish. I really think Hispanic women could benefit from a smart guide to going online. And I'm learning how to be a freelance writer, or at least how to make a living from writing articles and essays. I thought I had it down to a science, but then every magazine and website where I had a regular assignment either closed or stopped using freelancers, so I'm back to the beginning!
I've also just written my first short story in over 10 years which is thrilling and scary. I hope to put out a collection of short stories within the next two years. Overall, I'm just cherishing the time I have created for myself to write. I'm living my lifelong dream, and it feels great!
Cybergrrl @ Work: Tips and Inspiration for the Professional You Look for Aliza Sherman's books on BookSense.com [1]
Archives BookCafe, 1948 E. Sunrise Blvd., Fort Lauderdale (954) 764-8212 Further Reading
Reclaiming our Communities |
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Internet
entrepreneur-turned-author and motivational speaker, 
Guide
to the World Wide Web
Top