Joe Kraynak

What I Do

I spent my first five years in the publishing business working in-house at Macmillan Computer Publishing. I started as a copy/production editor and worked my way toward becoming the first staff writer. I have written several computer books, primarily for beginners. My claim to fame in the computer book world is that I wrote the very first Complete Idiot’s Guide - The Complete Idiot’s Guide to PCs.

Soon after leaving Macmillan, I was brought in on a couple co-authoring projects. The first was The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Oceans. Another was The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Slam Poetry. Somewhere in between, I collaborated with a couple “sexperts” on Psychology Today Here to Help: The Secrets of Sexual Ecstasy - a book intended to show old married couples how to add some sizzle to the intimate side of their relationship.

I discovered that I really enjoyed working with experts in different fields. I was able to do what I love - writing - and basically take a high-level college course in a topic that interests me at the same time. I also had the rare opportunity to work with the top people in their fields - real estate investment and sales and marketing maven Ralph R. Roberts, foreclosure specialists Lois Maljak and Paul Doroh, food allergy expert Dr. Robert Wood, psychiatrist Dr. Candida Fink, slam poet Marc Kelly Smith, and sexperts Michael Broder and Arlene Goldman.

Over the past couple years, I have stopped writing my usual six computer books per year. Now, I usually team up with experts in different fields and assist them in the writing of books. Sometimes I find and select the experts I work with, but usually an agent (Neil Salkind of StudioB or Faith Hamlin of Sanford J. Greenburger & Associates) assists me in identifying a suitable co-author. Several acquisitions editors (who work on behalf of the publishers) have also done a great job finding co-authors for me, including Mikal Belicove who runs the Beliblog and introduced me to Marc Smith and Lindsay Lefevere who introduced me to Dr. Wood.

In 2005, I had a bit of an epiphany and realized just how important it is for authors to promote their books, so I now spend a good part of my time doing that. I have set up a Web site for Food Allergies For Dummies at DrRobertWood.com and helped Dr. Wood write much of the content that appears on the site. I also redesigned Dr. Fink’s Web site (FinkShrink.com) and added a WordPress blog we call the Bipolar Blog, where we provide information and support for people with bipolar disorder and their loved ones.

Most of the writing/co-writing I do to promote books I do with Ralph R. Roberts, who’s a marketing mastermind. He prefers to call himself a marketing madman and, quite frankly, he is a bit of a madman. We are constantly in a process of writing articles, press releases, and other material that soft-sell Ralph and the books we’ve written together. Again, my expert supplies the vision and content, I finesse the words, and he makes sure the material is published online or in print.

Our marketing machine is very effective. In addition to publishing articles on RISMedia and through Realty Times and other online outlets, we also have several Web sites and blogs that demand a constant supply of content. I assist Ralph in writing content for his real estate and mortgage fraud blog FlippingFrenzy.com, GetFlipping (a site we created to promote our books Flipping Houses For Dummies and Foreclosure Investing For Dummies), and AboutRalph.com. Ralph’s team is currently constructing additional Web sites and blogs, which will require even more content.

Well, that’s what I do. I am always interested in what others do, so please post something to let me know. It can be something you’re passionate about - your labor of love - or what you do for a living (money). And if those two are one and the same for you, lucky you!

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