Besides operating his
Minneapolis-based business, Mackay has been busy as a motivational speaker and
an author. The first of his six books, Swim With the Sharks Without Being Eaten
Alive, was published in 1998 and has sold 4.5 million copies.
“I’ve learned that many great
books never see the light of day because of poor promotion—but all the money in
the world can’t sell a bad book. I also learned there is no substitute for word
of mouth if you want to sell a lot of books, and that you must start planning to
promote it early. I learned that the title is crucial, assuming you have good
content. In my contract for Swim With the Sharks, I had the title, and the
publishers fought me for four months because they said people would think it was
about deep-sea fishing.
You must interview everyone you know who is in the know. That is how I learned about promotion and colors—that red and white are the most powerful [cover] colors when you want to sell a book. I learned that endorsements are critically important. I got people from all walks of life to say, ‘Harvey wrote a great book.’ And I learned that making speeches to Fortune 500 companies could put a small business on the fast track. When speaking to a company, I get an obscene honorarium, then wait three months and go back and ask for their envelope business.”
