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An Interview With Allen Giertz

Tell us a bit about yourself. What would you like us to know about you?

Married for six years and got married for the first time at the age of 52. Will be a grandfather for the first time in May 2007. Spending over 30 years as a technical specialist, leader, and trainer experienced in aircraft, mobile, and industrial fluid power applications. Have been laid-0ff, let go, or downsized six times in my career.Then in 1987 had a chance to get into personal finance, got licensed and certified in the areas of insurance, securities and debt consolidation. What I discovered was that there are many things out there that we have not learned or been told about. My passion now is in personal finance,to go out there and teach people what I have learned and what we should have been taught in high school, plus also to write one or two more books.

What are you doing now? (Career? Married? Single? Children? Pets?)

Went back to my old financial firm after a year with someone else. Leaving, made me realize some things about my old firm that I had to go back to.
Also, working on my second book about finance. Plus my wife and I do craft shows-she crotchets just about anything and I do silk flower arrangements, she also works full-time.

What is your favourite food?

Steak, fish, potatoes, and vegetables.

What is your favourite colour?

Blue

What is your favourite sound?

Waves splashing on a boat.

Who is your favourite person?

My wife

What is your favourite place?

Minocqua, Wisconsin

What is your favourite memory?

Fishing in northern Wisconsin, as a kid.

What is your favourite article of clothing?

Blue jeans for casual, suit and tie for dressing up.

What is your favourite word?

What is your favourite writers' quote and why?

For things to change, you have to change. Because it is so true.

What is your most favourite quality about yourself?

Sense of humor

What is the least favourite quality about yourself?

Listening to others, but trying to improve

If you could go anywhere in the world right now, where would it be and why?

Right where I am now, in Chicago, Illnois because of all of the possibilities that a big city has to offer.

What inspires you to write and why?

Because I discovered that I have some talent in writing, it flows easily for me most of the time and because sometimes stories have to be told a different way so people can see, learn, and understand the complete picture of what the book is trying to relate the readers to.

What is your favourite book and why?

Pushing Up People and All You Can Do Is All You Can Do, both by Art Williams. He has a new book out called Coach, which I have not read yet.

Why, they are very inspirational and true.

What is your favourite genre and why?

If I'm getting this right it would be non-fiction, inspirational. Because I like people who against all odds have a success story to tell.

List your three favourite authors (any genre) and why?

Allen Giertz, Art Williams and Jack Canfield. They just inspire me because of their story.

What do you think makes a writer successful?

A passionite story that comes from within. Who is down to earth, has common sense ideas and makes it easy for the reader to understand the first time.

Whta is it that makes you successful as a writer?

Same as above.

What are your goals as a writer?

To write about what I know, and have passion about. To find a publisher who sees the value of the story in a manuscript, to have a major publisher pick up the book from a smaller one, to sell 100,000 copies and to be on the best seller listings.

What is the best tip you can give to fellow writers?

Never give up no matter how bad it gets. There is a publisher out there who values your book, you just have to find the right one. It took me seventeen years to get my first one published and 99.99 percent of people would have given up.

What do you hope to provide your readers with through your writing?

Telling the whole story of a job search instead of just parts of it.

List your three favourite online writer-resource sites and why (include URLS).

Just started with this and only have one right now which is: www.authorsmarketinggroup.org which I belong to and it has a lot of helpful resources for picking up tips and ideas.

If you have published a book, tell us about your publishing success (title, publishing date and company, where it is available to purcahse).

Unemployed? No Problem! came out in Oct 2006 by VBW Publishing in Texas. It can be ordered from Borders, Barnes & Noble, Waldenbooks, Amazon.com and Virtualbookworm.com

How long did it take you to write your book(s)?

About two years to write the basic story, edit, and update. It has been an on and off process for me through the years, taking a total of seventeen years until I found a publisher who saw value in what I had wrote.

What would you do differently if you could repeat the same publishing experience?

Not to put it on the shelf for so long and not do anything with it. Many years included not doing anything with it.

What have you learned about the publishing world?

With new technology out, it is easier for a first time writer to get published.

This is your chance to 'Talk Back' to your readers. What would you like to say to them?

For unemployed people or people looking for another position, look at the whole picture and do a complete job search instead of just parts of it covered in other books. Major subjects that need to be covered: Stress on the wallet-your finances totally change when not working, I have a major chapter on this that no one else covers. Learn about unemployment benefits and what you are entitled to, what has the library got to offer, legal and illegal questions on applications-no one else talks about this, miracles are out there-spirtitual side of things no matter if you believe or not-no one even came close to this subject but a very important one for some people. I just saw some simple but important areas that needed to be covered.

What's the one thing that you want them to know about your writing?

Simple, easy to understand, makes sense, not lengthy, and does a complete job when searching for that next position.

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