My Best Clients
Often times people wonder what Lisa Brandt Creative Services does. Â I made the name deliberately vague so it could encompass a variety of things.
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Working
The Naked Word
An update on the media coverage of my ebook The Naked Truth.  I’ve been on radio in cities across the country and Friday was a very big day. …
Bias Dismissed
This is a blog posting I published at www.blackburnnews.com and www.981freefm.ca this week under my banner of Morning News Anchor. Â It just offers a little peek into something that can go on behind the scenes. Â …
The Secret to Writing a Book
The Naked Truth is my second book and it’s actually about half the length of my first, Celebrity Tantrums: The Official Dirt.  So people often ask me how I managed to get so much writing done with such a busy life.  Where did I find the time?  What’s the secret?  Whether you’re a prolific and successful writer like Stephen King or a little self-published hopeful like moi, the secret is exactly the same. I’m happy to share it now. …
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A “Naked Truth” Review
The Beat Magazine, aka publisher Richard Young, reviewed my book and gave it 4 out of 4 stars. I can hardly say that without shaking my head in a mix of disbelief and gratitude.  Without his permission (!) I’m adding the link to the review here and reprinting the text of it here. …
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The Naked Truth Takes the Nation
Okay that’s just a slight over-statement! But so far I’ve been on radio from Halifax to Chatham, from Wingham to St. Catharines.  And today, it’s CFRB 1010 Toronto. …
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Elise’s Last Day
This summer our newsroom grew from 3 to 4 people with the addition of Blackburn London’s paid summer news intern.  That person is Elise Copps-Smith and today is her last day as she goes back to Fanshawe College to finish her course. …
Change in Strategy
My goodness this whole ebook world is an education!  I’ve come to the conclusion that I don’t need to learn how to navigate Apple’s specific and special way of dealing with its iBooks store in order to make The Naked Truth available to anyone who wants it.  And that decision has taken a huge weight, about the size of a Mac computer, off my shoulders. …
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The Missing Link
A couple of years ago I wrote in this space about not understanding Linked In.  It’s a networking website where people link to other people for professional reasons.  They could be in a similar line of work, the same city, or simply want to hook into the other person’s contacts in hopes of expanding their contacts. I used to be skeptical of the website until a young, smart guy who’s dating a young, smart colleague of mine said that turning down an invitation to “link” is like turning your back to someone who says Hi at a networking function. …
Get a Real Job
More labour unrest is in the offing at college campuses over 28 issues including the instructors’ displeasure at being told how to teach.  Public school system teachers are miffed at being told they have to sign a contract that freezes their wages for 2 years and stops them from banking any more vacation days to cash out at retirement. MPPs are headed back to work Monday to debate the bill. Employees at the Big Three are holding out for a share of profits now that things have turned around and there actually are profits they say should be shared. …
I Hope You Can Judge a Book by Its Cover
Here’s mine! My brother-in-law David is so talented. He can sing, play guitar, he’s currently starring in a play in Nanaimo, B.C., but his main focus is on graphic art. So it was a no-brainer to hire him to create my ebook cover. …
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The Evolution of Journalism
Some days I really wonder if my industry has a future. Â Some radio newscasters are taking ownership of stories they haven’t checked out for themselves. Â Rampant laziness (apathy?) is running through journalism today and it’s almost acceptable in some circles. Â …
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Spam of the Summer
The spammers have been incredibly busy lately. Â On recent Saturday morning I woke up to 120 spam messages disguised as comments on this website. This is why there’s an approval system for comments. Â Â …
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The Chess Game: Radio
Here in London, one of the most competitive radio markets in the country, you can tell that fall ratings are almost upon us. Â In Toronto radio stations are now rated by People Meters but here we still go by the old spring/fall ratings periods and this fall is going to have more changes than any season in years. Â …
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Putting it Out There
A fair bit of anxiety has gone into planning to release my little ebook, The Naked Truth. Yesterday I posted the first chapter here and on Facebook and Twitter, just as a preview. One never really knows what will come of such a thing. It isn’t just my writing, it’s a piece of my life I’m putting out there. …
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Preview: The Naked Truth
I hope you’re prepared to sit a spell and enjoy a longer than usual blog post today! As promised, here’s a chapter from my forthcoming ebook, The Naked Truth, out September 1st. I flip-flopped on what I should post and finally decided to start at the beginning. This is chapter 1. …
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Verbal Crutches
Lots of people have them. Â In radio they’re particularly irritating. Â There’s a news anchor (and there have been others) who starts every story with a “well”. Â But it comes out: wool. It gets so you brace yourself for it. Â And it never fails to arrive. …
Increasing Traffic
When you’re about to self-publish, as I am, you’re also about to self-promote, self-represent and self-distribute your work. So I’ve been reading up on ways to improve the chances of my little book getting seen – keep in mind this is something I already know a thing or two about.  So I’m only going after tips from the masters. …
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