Home » What Makes ME Qualified to Be Your Publisher?
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What makes me qualified to be your publisher?
It’s a fair question.
And it deserves a real answer rather than a soundbite. So, for those who are new around here, please allow me to introduce myself properly.
My name is Tracy Merda. And I live out in Dallas, Texas with my husband, two little girls, and two schnoodles named Max and Mini. I’m the Senior Project Manager here at Jacobs & Whitehall.
You might know me as the editor of Authoritas, a paid monthly magazine that is read by attorneys in just about every state and practice area.
However, that’s not my day job.
My day job is to oversee the creation, editing, publishing, and promotion of every book published by Jacobs & Whitehall. In other words, it’s my personal responsibility — and privilege — to jump on the phone with every attorney who decides to author a book with us, get their “raw” content down on paper, and see our entire Speak-a-Book process through from beginning to end.
Since 2015, I’ve helped author close to 150 books.
That’s ~150 attorneys who, when we first jumped on the phone, had just a loosely-formed idea of what they wanted their book to be about. Now, they have a polished, tangible book. A book that is officially published, with a registered ISBN and a Library of Congress Catalog number.
Why have so many attorneys trusted me with this?
What made me qualified to help them author a book about law?
And why should you trust me too?
Rather than toot my own horn, let me share with you something that one of our clients said. Because it perfectly summarizes the key factor.
Martin Asatrian, Esq. has done several books with us now. In fact, my boss, Richard Jacobs — who has a very particular sense of humor — describes Mr. Asatrian as a “serial Merda-rer”. Especially now that we’re about to start work on a third book together. Anyway, he contacted Mr. Asatrian to ask what he, as an attorney, believes makes me qualified to be his publisher.
Here’s what Attorney Asatrian wrote back:
Tracy has been outstanding. She is great, the format [i.e. Speak-a-Book] is good. Her questions really do make your book, and I think she puts a lot of time into it and she makes your life so much easier.
You see, it’s the questions that make the book.
Ask the wrong questions during the Deep Dive Interview, and you’ll get 90 pages of “fluff” content. Ask the right questions, though, and you’ll get a solid book that helps position you as a respected authority. It’s as simple as that.
No matter what practice area your new book is going to be about, I know exactly which questions are going to help draw out your best content.
How?
Because I’ve been through this process so many times.
My ability to step into your potential client’s shoes and quickly get to the heart of what makes you unique as an attorney — not only does it make for a more compelling book, it makes the entire process easy, even enjoyable.
Attorney Asatrian and I spoke about this again recently, and he added:
The way you handled it [i.e. the Deep Dive Interview] allowed a lot to come out of me. It’s almost like I was in the therapist’s room and it was really good.
It was so therapeutic and it helped out.
Quite frankly, my wife is disturbed about the relationship I have with you as my publisher.
You know way too much about me!
No… it was all delightful. I’m not just saying that. It was fun. I didn’t go into it saying, “This is going to be transformative”. But it was. It was transformative.
Authoring a book is a serious undertaking.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the process.
Please understand — I’m laying out my experience and sharing this praise not to brag or be pretentious, but to explain in clear terms why you can trust me to help you author your new book. The book you want and deserve.
