The Purpose of the Exercise is...

It's a frequent event that booklet authors show their booklet manuscript to others in their life to get feedback. When I hear about this, my first question is always "What is the profile of the people involved?" Many times it's people who are unfamiliar with the intended purpose of the booklet and the path it is intended to travel. That means the feedback and evaluation are mismatched with what the booklet is supposed to do. That can leave the booklet author concerned, confused, and doubtful about the whole thing.

As soon as something is a published product, many people in the general population expect the booklet to be offered for sale as single copies in a bookstore. Nothing could be further from the intended purpose. These same folks are often unfamiliar with the notion of using booklets as a promotional tool, selling them in bulk to corporations, and having the booklet be the appetizer whetting the appetite of the reader to want more from the author.

That's in no way intended as a slam to the person giving the feedback. It's merely a different mindset and set of experiences. So next time you ask your circle of people for their thoughts about your booklet, unless it's a marketing-oriented person in line with what's described above, ask them to review it for accuracy of content, and leave it at that once you thank them for their time.

Until next time,
Paulette - encouraging you to keep a clear vision about the purpose of your booklet
www.tipsbooklets.com