Sit Still and Look at the Camera

That's good advice if you're going to be a guest on a video podcast.

My most recent podcast was an appearance discussing my first book: Be Sincere Even When You Don't Mean It.

 Click the link to see the podcast:.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=llObycJPAx4

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What's with the shades?
I need to use a very bright ring light on the video, otherwise I look like a wrinkled 2,000 year old man. The bright lights cause problems, so I wear the shades; besides I always wanted to be a cool surfer dude.

Proof: here's an un-retouched photo of what I look like with the ring light turned off:

Being on a podcast is a great way to publicize a book. Good podcasts are looking for guests.

When I started making these appearances well-intentioned friends said, "Why don't you go on Joe Rogan's podcast?" They're the same well-intentioned people who suggested I send copies of my books to Steven Spielberg and Ron Howard. After all, those guys are always looking for new movie material, right?

Attention Well-Intentioned Friends: you can't start at the top with access to Joe Rogan's millions of viewer/listeners. To get on Joe's podcast it helps to already be famous, or to have written a New York Times bestseller. To those of you unfamiliar with Joe, he recently signed a $250 million contract with Spotify for his podcast.

There are zillions of podcasts, and I started on some dreadful shows. Poor quality, unprepared hosts, podcasts that were gone after a month. I did one show on which the host sheepishly admitted after 30 minutes that he had forgotten to hit "Record" at the beginning. Would I mind starting over? That guy did not recently sign a $250 million contract.

I've worked my way up, but have some work to do before the big time. Part of it is learning to be a better guest. I sit still and look at the camera now. 

Note: that's a cool picture of the old guy, huh? I made it using AI, then superimposed a sunglasses icon over the face. I think the picture would make a great book cover, I just have to write a book that matches the subject.

​It's in the planning stages. Working title: You Look Good for Your Age.
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