Ready...Fire...Aim! Gets Its First Negative Review
January 31, 2008
My new book, Ready, Fire, Aim: Zero to $100 Million in No Time Flat has been getting great reviews. First from colleagues in the industry. And then from critics. And then from readers.
So far RFA has received 18 reviews on Amazon. I was pleased to see that most of them were real people using real names. 17 of the 18 reviews were raves and rated 5 out of 5 stars. One was a panning...at one star.
G Treese - the one-star critic - provided a very different critique. Apparently, he (she?) didn't like it at all. I wanted to know why. So I read his critique very carefully. Here is what he said:
1. "Masterson should just launch an infomercial so he can be like Kevin Trudeau, but he doesn't because it is far less expensive to do viral marketing via the web."
Wrong. First, I don't want to be like Mr. Trudeau. I don't want to run his kind of business. And I don't want to promote myself on TV. I value my privacy. That's why I use a pseudonym.
2. "Look at his reviews for the book yourself; Most of them are very complimentary, yes, but several are from Agora, the publishing company that Masterson owns."
Wrong, again. I don't own Agora. I am happy to be a consultant for them. They keep me on only if I am helpful in growing their business. The year before I went to work for them they had revenues of $8 million. Last year they exceeded $300 million. This year they will top that.
Since Mr. Treese is confused about my relationship with Agora, he makes a statement that slanders those Agora publishers who gave the book good reviews. He implies that they are doing so to flatter their "boss." But they are my bosses. If I provided one of them with a flattering review, this charge - though false - could be made. I am very happy and flattered by the praise my clients gave the book. These are very independently minded people. They don't always give me five-star ratings.
3. "Further, the reviews from those who say they have 'worked' with Masterson are likely people who have paid Masterson to attend his workshops that cost in the thousands of dollars. I could be wrong here, but I searched the reviews and cannot find one that says, 'Masterson worked for me and did a great job.' For someone who is supposed to write outstanding copy and be a high priced expert consultant, it seems odd that there would not be a review from a satisfied employer."
Now Mr. Treese seems to be objecting to what he just criticized: that there are not enough testimonials from my clients. I thought this was an odd criticism... how would he know who my clients are? In any case, I looked at it again today and found that there were in fact several recommendations from clients, two of which are reprinted below.
"As a mentor and now consultant to my company, I have seen first hand how Michael Masterson can grow a business.
"Reading Ready, Fire, Aim was like a flashback to all the advice Michael has given me over the years. I know that advice is the only reason my company survived the initial startup and now has annual sales over $10 million. Now all that knowledge, experience and advice is put together in Michael's latest book. I highly recommend this book to anyone starting their own business, or for that matter, anyone who owns a business of any size.
"Fantastic!"
-Brian Sodi Delray Beach, Florida
"I recently read Ready, Fire, Aim: Zero to $100 Million in No Time Flat. I have to say that it actually surpassed my high expectations. To me, the thing that separates this book from other similar publications is that it's written by someone that has used these principles over and over to make a fortune. The book explains in crystal clear terms how to take specific actions to become rich. And I know that Michael Masterson knows what he's talking about. He's been a consultant for my business for only a month and sales have already doubled following his strategies. This book is a "must buy" for any serious entrepreneur."
-Paul LawrenceFt. Lauderdale, Florida
4. "Lastly, the biggest thorn in the side of a copy writing business (other than losing the reader's attention) are typos. If you read Masterson's self aggrandizing posts, under the heading 'A Good Way to Start the Day' dated 4 January 2008, second sentence. 'He thanked "me for sending me" a copy of Ready Fire Aim…"
I love this last criticism. First of all, it's clear to me that Mr. Treese hasn't read the book. Ready, Fire, Aim is not about copywriting. Neither are any of my other books. They are about starting and developing businesses and building wealth. I do teach copywriters how to write better copy. But I haven't published anything on that subject. When I do, I hope Mr. Treese buys one of the books and actually reads it. If he does, he will discover that typos are not, as he claims, the second biggest problem that copywriters face. In fact, I would not put typos among the top 100 problems.
But I love the fact that his last criticism of the book is a criticism of a single typo that he found among the thousands of articles I have written since ETR began publishing. A single typo! That's great.
But what is better is Mr. Treese's own writing. Notwithstanding the logical and factual mistakes that are so abundant in his critique, there are the following mistakes in punctuation, spelling and grammar:
- There is no need for a comma after Kevin Trudeau.
- There should be a colon, not a semi colon, after "Look at the reviews for this book yourself;"
- The use of the word "yourself" in that sentence is redundant. It should be deleted.
- The following sentence is ungrammatical. It is what grammarians call a "run on" sentence. It should be two sentences. And the "yes" should be omitted.
- "Further" should be deleted from the next sentence. It is unnecessary and makes the writing sound academic.
- That sentence is also too long.
- The next sentence is ungrammatical. There is a mistake in tense. Instead of "cannot find" it should be "could not find."
- In the following sentence "high priced" should be hyphenated.
- In the next sentence there is yet another grammatical blunder: "the biggest thorn…are typos."
- And in the same sentence another punctuation mistake: "self aggrandizing" should be hyphenated.
- The same mistake is made in the last sentence, but we are getting tired now. We must leave Mr. Treese alone.
I don't fault Mr. Treese for all his faults. I'm thankful to him for pointing out my failing: a single typo in an essay of more than 1000 words. The fact that he made 11 fairly serious grammatical, punctuation and usage mistakes doesn't make him an ineffective writer. But it does make his criticism difficult to take seriously.
I was not the only one who felt this way. In response to Mr. Treese's critique, Harry Brown said:
"It is quite odd that this reviewer comments more on other reviews than on the actual book... I have none of the above mentioned relationships with Mr. Masterson except that I'm fairly successful in business. And from my experience, no matter what business school you decide to go to, if you don't get up and actually do something with all your ideas... well that's all they'll be, ideas. And that is one of the things this book tries to pass across to the reader. Stop waiting for the perfect moment to come... ACT NOW!"
"Aspiring Wealth Builder" said:
"I agree with Harry Brown. This reviewer seems confused. Perhaps it's just me, but is she seriously suggesting that instead of spending $20 and a few hours with this book, you're better off spending $100,000+ and 2 years going to business school? Hmmm. that doesn't seem to make good business sense to me."
And "W. Fan" said:
"Masterson has the goods to back up his book, having built more than one significant business. Just my opinion but the price of the book seems an inexpensive way to access his insights given his accomplishments. On B-school, not that B-school has no value but if wealth and success are the goals here, how many of today's Fortune rich list completed B-school or even undergrad studies? If it were me, I'd spend the $20, take some action on Masterson's ideas and pay my way through B-school in cash instead of racking up the debt like most students end up doing."
After reading Mr. Treese's review, I am convinced that he hasn't read the book. Besides the major mistake of missing the book's good advice, he thinks the book is about copywriting. I guess he mistakenly assumed the book was about that. As I said earlier, I've never written a book on copywriting. (However, I am writing three of them now...) Some of my ideas are included in AWAI's programs, but I've never actually written a book on that important subject before. Ready, Fire, Aim is about entrepreneurship - about starting and growing small businesses. It contains most of the best ideas I have on the subject and highlights the most important principles and strategies I've used these past 25 years to help start and grow so many successful companies.
posted by M. Masterson @ 8:41 AM,
2 Comments:
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At 9:45 AM,
Marlon Sanders said...
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Hi Michael,
To counter that sole negative opinion, here is what I posted on Amazon:
Hello,
Michael's book did for me what no consultant could...
It showed me how to get beyond a plateau my business had reached.
I tried hiring consultants.
But it's very difficult to find people who have grown more than one
business to the 100 million+ level and can tell you HOW they did it.
In one chapter Michael explained to me clearly and simply what I
needed to do. He has this uncanny ability to take what can be very
complex and make it simple.
What's more, I believe I've purchased every book on Amazon about business
growth and growing a business. None of them had anything remotely resembling
the clarity in Ready, Fire, Aim.
Give me a moment of freakin' clarity. That's all I ask for.
Buy Michael's book and you'll have it. Oh, I don't know Michael personally and don't
work for him. But as someone who has read thousands of books about business and marketing,
I feel a rare gem deserves a glowing review.
I've created and written numerous marketing products and spoken around
the world on the topic. So I'm not an uninformed person on the topic.
But this book. Read it. Mark it up. Enjoy it. Live it. And you will
go to the next level or at least know how to.
Marlon Sanders -
At 11:26 AM,
said...
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Michael,
Your book is EXCEPTIONAL. Truly, a joy to have read. For one thing, it speaks from experience, not candy covered theory that is so common in most business books.
How can I spot the "real deal?" Because I have spent blood, sweat, and tears building a multi-million dollar online business over the past 5 years. I have seen the highs and the lows. So I can tell when someone knows what they are talking about. You do, without question.
For me, your book was also a pleasant reminder that I need to pull myself out of my business and not allow it to consume me in minutiae. Thanks for that.
By the way, it is easy for people to take pot shots from a distance, but after reading your book I can only assume there is some agenda or simply ignorance on the part of anyone who might not find value in it.
I am a diehard skeptic, and your book sailed through my B.S. detection system without a hitch.
Thanks again for sharing.
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