Even after writing A Networking Book a few years ago, I’m still amazed at the power of networking and the power of people.

My most recent challenge was to get my second book, Demigods, Aliens, and Ordinary People, into the hands of the Romanian people, given that I have lived here for so many years. It’s a known fact that it’s very difficult to get any publisher to pick up your book and promote it for you. If you’re writing a book, get ready to hear the word “NO.” Knowing this in advance, I opted to self-publish both books to save me the grief and pain of being turned down.

Yet, after promoting Demigods through a pandemic, I was now determined to face my first refusal from a publisher!

As part of my “Masters in Networking course” one of the easiest networking tools I suggest is to simply: Call a friend and ask WDYK (Who do you know?)” So, I call Bogdan, a dear friend of mine in advertising and I ask him WDYK and for advice on how to approach some of the biggest publishing houses in Romania.

He said: I have the answer for you!

Bogdan then referred me to Simone.

He has told her all about me and the books that I’d written. So, I wrote to her. So far, so good!

I got a response from Simone the following day telling me to send my English manuscript to two key people at the publishing house, Curtea Veche.

At this point, I was starting to feel like a kid in a candy store, yet I was still a bit skeptical.

A week or two later, I met the people at Curtea Veche to discuss publishing my latest book.

A few months later with the required translation, copy-editing, and proofreading done, Curtea Veche told me  it was going to print and how many copies did I want! Then it hits me…This was going to happen!

Did I know that it was going to be that easy?

Was this not the opposite of what I’d heard about publishers?

Was I blessed by the Universe in that moment?

The answer was… not really. Bogdan knew me well. He knows Simone quite well; she’s a successful author and authority in Romania.

Did I ever think I would meet Simone, a remarkable nonagenarian with a zest for living that would make people half her age envious? Did I ever think that she would have so much influence with publishers? Not really,  yet it’s a paradox, isn’t it? I was telling a group of bright students lately during a presentation that with Networking: “You just never know!”

Here was a lady who, although she didn’t know me, knew Bogdan. He gave me a good reference so she was willing to reach out and give a strong recommendation to her publishing partner (Curtea Veche).

So, there you have it: a very short story about the power of networking. I’m still in shock. But then again, I shouldn’t be.

Simone and I are planning to get together to properly thank her for rooting for someone she didn’t know and for giving me my first opportunity of publishing in a second language.

Simone, Multumesc din suflet!

 [MM1]Did you meet her? You don’t say….