September 9, 2025 • 33 mins
In Episode 51 of Think Like a Pancreas—the Podcast, host Gary Scheiner speaks with Victor Van Beuren, director of book operations for the American Diabetes Association.
Victor shares how he moved from a career in geology to publishing in the diabetes space was a natural evolution. He highlights the importance of effective scientific communication to both individuals and clinicians.
Victor also shares with Gary how to identify trustworthy sources of information amid online clutter and what to consider if you want to get your diabetes story published.
Meet Your Host and His GuestGary Scheiner, MS, CDCES, is the award-winning author of Think Like a Pancreas as well as numerous other books that act as guides for people living with diabetes. A Certified Diabetes Care & Education, Masters-level Exercise Physiologist, and person living with type 1 diabetes since 1985, Gary was named 2014 Diabetes Educator of the Year by the American Association of Diabetes Educators. He trained at the Joslin Diabetes Center and has dedicated his career to helping others live well with diabetes through education, advocacy, and innovation.
Victor Van Beuren, MS, has dedicated more than 38 years to the publishing world. While publishing has shaped his career, his work with the American Diabetes Association over the past decade and a half has transformed it into his mission.
What you’ll learn:✔️The importance of effective scientific communication
✔️The evolution of book publishing in a digital age.
✔️ How to find reputable diabetes publications.
✔️The steps involved in publishing your diabetes book.
✔️The importance of a good hook for your diabetes book
✔️ Publishing is a business
Chapters:
00:15 Welcome and introduction
00:57 Meet Victor
3:40 How a geologist became an American Diabetes Association book publisher.
7:00 The importance of sharing medical information in a way that everyone can understand
7:56 ADA’s new focus in consumer publishing
14:02 Finding trustworthy authors and publications
17:00 Modern publishing options
18:20 Tips for book marketing
26:30 The value of communication
Resources Mentioned:Think Like a Pancreas—The Fourth Edition
Connect with Us
🔵Website: integrateddiabetes.com
🔵 Follow on Social Media: @integrated_diabetes_services and @ integrateddiabetesservices on Facebook
🔵To work with the Integrated Diabetes Services Team , visit https://integrateddiabetes.com/how-to-start-the-process/ , or email info@integrateddiabetes.com
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More great episodes like thisThink Like a Pancreas—The Book
Disclaimer
The information contained in this program is based on the experience and opinions of the Integrated Diabetes Services clinical team. Please discuss any changes to your treatment plan with your personal healthcare provider before implementing.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:13):
Welcome to Think Like a Pancreas,The Podcast where our goal is to keep
you informed, inspired, and a littleentertained on all things diabetes.
The information contained in thisprogram is based on the experience
and opinions of the IntegratedDiabetes Services clinical team.
Please discuss any changes to yourtreatment plan with your personal
(00:33):
healthcare provider before implementing.
Welcome to Think Like aPancreas, The Podcast.
I'm your host, Gary Scheiner, ownerand clinical director of Integrated
Diabetes Services, and I am ecstaticto have a special guest with me today.
Victor Van Beuren, who is Directorof Book Operations for the
(00:53):
American Diabetes Association.
Welcome, Victor.
Hey, Gary.
It's so good to see you.
Hey, you too.
I mean, I, I still recall forme the early days of diabetes
books going back over 40 years.
Right after my diagnosis, I went to themall and to the bookstore in the mall,
found myself a Joslin Diabetes manualthat explained all about what diabetes
(01:19):
is and how to manage and treat it.
Read it cover to cover.
And then, uh, I started gettingthe ADA's Magazine Diabetes
Forecast shortly after that.
I saved the first one that I ever got.
It happened to have BrettMichaels on the cover.
Yeah.
Um, yeah, he was an outstanding spokesman.
(01:41):
Which was pretty inspirationalto me being a hardcore rock and
roller and had an electric guitarback in the day and everything.
Remind me, do you play an instrument?
I do.
I play a few.
What do you play?
In fact... well, it's funny, aguitar, mandolin, but the instrument
that I actually play the best,and I don't embarrass myself by
(02:03):
doing by playing it is harmonica.
Neat.
It's kind of making a comeback these days.
A lot of people aregetting into harmonica.
It's, it really is.
And there's some outstanding playersout there and I'd like to put myself in
that category, but I don't think I can.
There's a science to blow a good harm..
Well, it, it really is.
It... there really is.
But I, I, I have a band and we playprobably about, uh, three or four paying
(02:28):
gigs a month, so it's kind of fun.
Neat.
Well, tell us a little bit about,about yourself and, and what got
you to the point of being directorof book operations at the ADA.
Well, we should have a background musicof the Beatles and the Long Winding Road.
It's been, it's, it'san interesting career.
It all makes sense when you kind ofconnect it, but if you take bits and
(02:48):
pieces, you kind of scratch your head.
My, my first career is I'm a geologist andI studied at the University of Cincinnati,
the University of Utah, the Universityof Texas at Austin sedimentology and
stratigraphy, and my specialty, my,all my research was in fine grain.
A deposition, shale, siltstones, and mudstones.
(03:11):
And I like to say that all theresearch I did is I made mud
pies and then analyzed them.
When I finished, uh, grad school,I, my first job was a petroleum
geologist for Atlantic Richfield.
So I did that for a while.
I enjoyed it.
I, I tell you, once you get geology inyour veins that you just, it never leaves.
It's just, it's the mostinteresting science.
(03:32):
It's an applied science.
But it's incredibly interesting becauseit gives you a view of the earth
that, that really few people have.
So how did, uh, publishing come your way?
Well, I decided that, uh, just the waythings work, I felt more interested.
Uh, I love the science and I learneda lot about communication, a lot about
(03:53):
how to convey information both to thescience peers, but also explaining a
complicated ideas to mostly my family.
And of course they would runout of the room as as when I
started talking about geology.
But, um, I started, uh,uh, publishing in 1985.
So I've been doing it for 40 years now.
Uh, all scholarly publishing.
(04:15):
Um, and I was...
That was the year I was diagnosed.
What was your firstpublication that you worked on?
I have it here.
This is one, I can never tellif it's back... if it's, uh.
Argillaceous Rock Atlas, right?
Yeah.
I know I'm mispronouncing it.
Pretty... You're really close to that.
That was a book I did with, uh, uh,Spring River Log when I worked for them.
(04:36):
But what happened is that I, at thetime, the, uh, domestic oil bubble
first, and so there weren't any jobsback in, in 1985 to get back into
geology, at least with the majors.
The minors were kind of closedfist at the time, you know, they
just were pulling things in.
So a good friend of mine, the wife ofmy thesis advisor at Cincinnati, she and
(04:57):
I were good friends, and she actuallydid work for the American Association of
Petroleum Geologist, and she called me up.
She knew I was looking, and she said, Hey,Victor, they're looking for a book editor.
You'd be perfect for that job.
And so I thought, well,that'd be interesting.
And so I applied and got the job.
Started out as a book editor andwithin a month I was director of
publications for the association.
(05:19):
And, uh ran their journals and theirbook program for a while then, and then
I got an offer for, uh, work with SpringRiver Log in New York, New York City.
And, uh, did that.
I worked for Elsevier for a numberof years and then my wife and I,
the, our joke is that we moved toNew York City as a couple and we
left with, uh, two and a half kids.
(05:40):
And, uh, got a job as the director of pubsfor the American Geological Institute in
Alexandria, Virginia, and then worked fora couple of other nonprofits associations.
Yeah, it was 20 years ago in,uh, 2005, hired on with this, uh,
the American Diabetes Associationas, uh, um, acquisition editor
(06:01):
for professional content.
I've been, I've been with ADAnow for, um, since my 21st year.
So it's been, it's beena long, a long run.
So from geology to a geologicalpublisher to ADA publishing.
Yeah and, and it all
That's quite a transition.
Well, it all, it is all connectedand the main thing is that,
(06:22):
is that science communication.
Whether it's to professional scientistsand researchers or consumers looking
for information like yourself.
You were desperate.
When you get diagnosed, you'redesperate for information.
All of that really is connected andit's, and it's pretty much the same.
What I learned in the physicalsciences could easily be, uh, for,
uh, communication and for presentingand getting information out to the
(06:48):
professional and the consumer community.
It really is the same withinthe medical publishing field.
And so the only thing that you havethat you're challenged with is you have
to learn a whole new list of acronyms.
But, uh, but beyond that.
I like what you said about,you know, putting things in
terms people can understand.
I think that that's theessence of, of teaching it.
(07:09):
It's taking information andputting it in terms people can
understand, relate to, and apply.
Yeah.
Which is, I guess what we tryto do in, in my business as
a diabetes care and educationspecialist, but also as a writer.
You know, some people writeto entertain, some do it to
just, you know, share a story.
Others do it to to teach.
(07:29):
I like to think mine's a kindof a combination of all three.
And so the ADA's gone through sometransition and it's publishing,
for a while it was publishingconsumer books as well as books
for the healthcare professional.
And for a while they were justdoing the healthcare professionals.
Now transitioning back to consumerpublishing . So what's, what's gonna
(07:51):
be your first project in the consumerfield once that's up and rolling again?
Because it has been quite the journeyand it's one of something that quite
honestly happens within associations.
So when you have changes inmanagement, you have changes in vision.
So that, uh, is applied-- thosevisions are applied to, to what,
(08:11):
the activities of the association.
So we did have a period when wewere doing both consumer and, a
long period for, we were doing bothconsumer and professional pubs.
A period of just like five years, now,recently, uh, of doing just professional
publications, but we've been given the goahead to, to bring consumer books back.
(08:32):
And I'm elated because that is suchan important part of our community,
is to communicate to people withdiabetes or their loved ones.
To give them information on how to dealwith diagnosis and then how to deal with,
how to structure their lives in waysthat are not, not strange and weird, but
familiar and comfortable and organized.
(08:53):
The first project we're working onbringing cookbooks back because that
has always been a very important partof the, of the ADA portfolio and,
and they're, they're so important andpeople, people love, love recipes, but
nutrition is such an important part ofdealing with diabetes and living with
diabetes that helping people learn howto cook with, with good ingredients.
(09:17):
Ingredients that are healthy, and thengive them tools to be able to plan meals
so they're not desperate and they'renot, they're not stuck in having,
Yeah, having that nutrient informationis, is pretty important, especially
for those of us who take insulin,have to match the insulin to the
carb counts in, in those foods.
I'm not a chef.
I wish I had creative recipes to share.
(09:39):
Do a heck of a barbecue.
I make really good popcorn on the stovetop, but those probably don't warrant the
kind of books you're putting together.
Anything you, you cook well
?In my house, if, if I'm hungry and I want to eat something, then I need to cook.
I'm sort of the designatedchef and that's just fine.
I can't say I, I, I eat a bit... Ieat a lot of everything and, and I,
(10:03):
but I try to balance as much as I can.
And, and that's, that's, I mean, I thinkthat's the key is just to know that there
are nutritious foods out there and thatyou really do need to, to incorporate
those into meals to create variety,which keeps your interest in eating.
And, and I think that's exciting.
I, I'll give a plug real quick.
(10:25):
Um, one of the, uh, one of the greatresources that the associate, that
the ADA has provided is somethingcalled the Diabetes Food Hub.
diabetesfoodhub.org.
And it's a, a free service,but if you register, it's.
Well, let me back up.
It's a repository of about,I think around 700 recipes at
(10:47):
the moment, but it's growing.
It's grown.
And the recipes,
We'll be sure to putthat in the show notes.
Well, thank you.
And, and I think it's an amazing service.
It provides a variety of cuisinesof recipes from different cultures.
There are recipes in Spanish.
All of them are analyzed forthe nutritional information.
As I said, it's free, but if youregister, you can actually save
(11:10):
recipes that you really like.
Mm-hmm.
And then there's a meal planning servicewhere you can actually take those favorite
recipes and put them into a week of meals.
A breakfast, lunch, dinner, a snack.
And you can do that just not only for oneweek, but you can do it for many weeks.
It creates grocery lists so when yougo to the store, you don't overspend.
And it's, it's, uh, there are cookingdemonstrations so that you can learn.
(11:33):
For me, learning how to boil waterwas a very important part of my
training, my culinary training.
Yeah.
But it's a great service and it's thetype of thing that can really help
people relax about, about nutrition andunderstanding how to create a nutrition
nutritious meal for themselves and alsoa great resource for family members.
(11:53):
And people probably come toyou all the time with book
ideas and I was no different.
I probably came to you seven, eight yearsago with an idea for a book about CGM,
which was sort of in, its not infancy,but just starting to come into its own.
There you go!
I got the back cover.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So.
You and I worked togetheron, uh, practical CGM.
(12:16):
Yeah, I had some other creative ideasfor the title, like OJ at 3:00 AM.
I thought that would've been a funtitle, but you know, it was a book
mainly for healthcare providersabout how to interpret CGM data
and how to coach patients on how touse the, the devices effectively.
Nowadays, it seems like books havegone... given way to podcasts and
(12:37):
blogs and websites and... do youfeel that book publishing is dead
or, or is it just taken on otherforms or does it still have a life?
Does it still have a pulse?
It has a pulse.
It's active.
It's running around.
No, it's not dead by any means.
It has taken other forms and theforms that it's taken has really been
based on, on matching the tools andthe interest of consumers of both
(13:02):
professional and the consumer audience.
So I, publishers now need contentthat, uh, that can be displayed
on, on a variety of devices, canbe listened to and watched on.
Podcasts can be downloaded and partof audio files, that type of thing.
Publishing, when you say that people,immediately, many people immediately think
(13:22):
of books, printed books, but publishingis really the process of, of writing,
acquiring, collating, editing, indexingcontent that people within a certain
segment of, of the community want to readand want to understand, use that material
to understand a topic more completely.
(13:42):
So publishing is not dead by any means.
Uh, it's just different formats.
Okay.
And with some of the formats, uh, withpeople, a often self-publishing, um,
or publishing through, uh, nonmedical,medically oriented publishers.
Um.
How do you know what you can trust?
(14:04):
Because there's a lot of questionand a debate out there about that.
You know, people with diabetes areoften looking to, for information
and anywhere they can get it.
So what should someone look forif they wanna know they're getting
information from a trustworthy source?
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(14:53):
4 and select option three.
And now back to our program.
Well, you have to do your research.
And there's a, there's a real differencein many ways of reading a story,
something reading fiction, as opposedto, to getting information about, uh, a
particular topic like, how-- I've beendiagnosed with diabetes, what do I do?
(15:18):
And so you can, you can enjoy a goodstory, but you also need reliable sources
to give you information about a particularquestion that deals with you directly.
Whether it's.
Whether it's physical health, whetherit's mental health, whether it's trying
to understand where resources are.
So you need to do your researchand you want to, you want to go to
(15:39):
sources that you can trust, like theCDC or, or the N or NIH or the...
International diabetes, uh, federation.
If you, if you go to those sources,you know that the information has
been vetted by, by panels of experts.
So you don't need a degree to, toreally understand how to deal with a
(16:00):
particular question about the diabetes.
You, you really need to look for sitesthat you can, that you know have experts
who have been researching and collatingand discussing and then presenting
recommendations on how to deal withparticular issues with the disease.
You have to do your research.
You can't just have for topics, everyonemight have their favorite author,
(16:22):
but for topics that are so inclusiveand important-- dealing with your
health, you just really need to geta, a variety of sources, compare the
information, and then from there you canmake, you can make informed decisions.
The American Diabetes Association wouldfall into that category where material is
reviewed and vetted before it's published.
(16:43):
Yes, I would totally agree.
The site, both say diabetes.organd professional diabetes.org.
They, they have different audiences,but the information is available to
everyone and the information is vetted.
Everything on the ADA sites complywith the ADA standards of care.
I'm contacted often by people whohave ideas for books or for a material
(17:06):
that they wanna publish in some way.
So what options are out there nowfor people who have a story to tell
or valuable information to share?
Well, there are a lot morethan there used to be.
In the past, if someone wanted topublish a book, the only option was
to go to a commercial publishing.
And, and that's still still an option.
It can be a good one, but now thereare options available, tools available
(17:30):
to self-publish and self-publishingis, is having either, um, a printed
book in hand or some type of videofile that is presented on a webpage.
The important thing is that getting tothe audience that you intend to talk to.
And in the past rely on the marketingteam at a commercial publishing
house or an association publishinghouse, but now you can actually
(17:53):
have tools to be able to do that.
And an example would be the explosionof platforms like TikTok or Instagram
where you have these influencerswho, some of 'em are kind of silly
and a little bit egotistical.
There is good information that you canglean from, uh, from many of those.
Are there any in particular thathave given you a good chuckle?
Well, a chuckle and a scare withsome of the information that's
(18:16):
coming out from about questioningthe validity and the expertise of
some of the panels of CDC and NIH.
Uh, to me, I find that it'sturned into quite the palm to
forehead moment many times.
Mm-hmm.
When you hear these officials statingsomething that you absolutely know
just by what we've read on through,learned through our communities
(18:40):
and read through our communitypublications are simply not true.
So sometimes you have to laughand not so you don't cry.
I'm not partial to, but because my wifehas cats, I usually look for cat little
reels and show to her and we laugh.
But it is something that, that it'sa real option now and, and it's,
it's not a defeat to self-publish byany means, but you do have to do it.
(19:03):
You have to really put someeffort into making it happen.
If you self-publish, don'ttry to do everything yourself.
Just don't get someone to, toreview the content you have.
Get someone to copy edit it, getsomeone to help, uh, get a good
illustrator to really help convey the,the points you're making visually.
So you have to really use those toolsto create a publication that actually
(19:28):
is effective and, and can be helpful tothe community you're, you're targeting.
You do need to put effort into marketing,whether you send emails out to, to a list
that have, you've been able to construct.
Or, the important thing is in any type ofself-publishing and self-marketing is you
have to have a dynamic and active website.
(19:50):
You can't have... put up awebsite and then just ignore
it and not change anything.
You really do need, you need tohave, change the videos, put in
demonstrations, put in comments,and do that absolutely on a weekly
basis, sometimes on a daily basis.
And the main reason for that is, um,you will, the people that are watching
(20:12):
your, subscribe to your website willappreciate that, but also you have
to remember that there are non peoplelooking at your site, and these web bot
will go out and they are going to beattracted to sites that have changed.
So if someone does a search on diabetesor does a search on Mediterranean
diet and has recipes there, andyou've put up new recipes, it's more
(20:36):
likely that those, that that linkwill be, will be a part of someone's
research, uh, the searching results.
So you have to, you have to stay dynamic.
I've known a number of peoplewho have, who have published,
uh, self-published successfully,but it does require some effort.
If your goal was just to provide a,a, a Christmas gift to your family
and, and neighbors saying, this ismy book, you've accomplished that.
(20:59):
But if you really wanna go out and bean advocate and really a strong, uh,
force within the community, you haveto put some effort into it publishing.
One more comment.
Publishing commercially isnot, is not out of the question.
Books like yours, Gary, are, are reallyimportant and the, if you do provide,
uh, based on your, on your experienceas, as a person with diabetes, but
(21:21):
also as an educator, then you can makea book part of your operation, your
brand, and that can be very helpful.
Like the book you did on how to help.
The one that we did a few years ago withADA, but also your book on Think Like
a Pancreas has been, it just resonates.
People are looking forthat type of information.
There is a story in there, but it's also,it's information on how to, how people
(21:46):
can get beyond the diagnosis and thrive.
So there, there are, personal stories arerarely published by commercial outfits,
but self-help guidebook and other bookssimilar to that are still very, are
sought after by, by commercial houses.
But you have to, your coverletter has to be explicit.
(22:06):
You have to have, uh, you haveto do your research, you have to,
you have to identify a market.
You have to do all of those thingsin your, in your cover letter.
You don't need an extensiveproposal, but you need to really
outline the, the project, the bookproject that you, you envision and
you would like them to take on.
Well, that's gold.
And that's coming from thehead of book operations at the
(22:28):
American Diabetes Association.
Anybody who's thinking about, uh,about writing a book and putting
something out there, listen.
I dunno if you saw it, I justdid a, I just did a finger stick
'cause I feel low, but my sensorwas saying I was in the eighties.
The meter said I was in the fifties.
So I'm popping some tab.
I'm popping some tablets as we speak.
(22:50):
So anything I say you gottatake with a grain of glucose.
'cause it may not make anysense at all after the fact.
If somebody is interested inputting their own book out there.
You said that, uh, the marketingeffort is obviously gonna have
to come from you since you don'thave a publisher behind it.
Specific ideas you can recommendfrom a marketing standpoint?
(23:11):
You have to have a title that's a hook.
That would get it.
I mean, I, I think, Think Like aPancreas is probably, is probably one
of the best titles because it catchesthe reader somewhat off guard, but
it conveys what needs to be done.
And so I think a title is importantand that's one of the hardest
things to, to create for a book.
And we always do it after the fact.
(23:32):
We have working titles, but the titlesthat we come up with at ADA books, we
discuss them with a number of peopletogether in a room and we just..
What makes, what makes agood title in your opinion?
Well.
One way is to, to surprisepeople with the title.
It's like if you, you can have very blandtitles that just describe into too much
(23:54):
detail about the content of the book.
Now, a title like that could be goodfor a professional publication, but it's
really not good for a consumer book.
You really do need to have, have a hook.
You need to, you need to get someone toread the title and go, wait a minute,
and then go back and read it again.
Because there was somethingin there that was unusual.
(24:16):
And I, I still come back to your, yourtitle of Think Like a Pancreas, because
it, it's, that catches people off guard.
They don't, they, they go.
What do you mean?
And so they'll go back and they'lllook at it again, and then they'll
look at the description that you havefor the book, whether it's a website,
whether it's back color copy, um, and,and pulling the book off the shelf at
(24:37):
Barnes and Noble or Books a Million.
So that's important.
The other thing is just to, uh, as Imentioned, is to make sure that you
have, you don't want to have encyclopedicinformation on describing the book.
You really just want to go and talkabout who should read it and give them
information about the content of the book.
You don't even have tolist the table of contents.
(24:59):
Sometimes it helps, but you don'thave necessarily to do that, but
you can just give them informationon what the reader will, will
get when they purchase the book.
I've seen people make verycreative use of subheadings.
Yeah.
To accomplish that, where they'll havethat attention grabbing, catch the
reader off guard kind of title, andthen a subhead that describes what
(25:22):
the book is about and who it's for.
Do you subscribe to that approach?
We do because it, it's a waywithin the title to, to describe
the book, but it can't be long.
It, it has to be, it has to be very,very, not necessarily short or cryptic,
but it has to be... it can't be a longsubtitle because what you wanna do
(25:45):
is you, you wanna lead people to thedescription of the book and not...
because that really will help them morethen trying to figure out the content
of the book through the subtitle.
But if you give them littlebullet points that can help.
Okay.
So looking back, you know, you'vehad a fairly long and distinguished
career, uh, in the publishing world,starting in the geology field, and
(26:07):
eventually winding up in diabetes.
How do you feel about your career choice?
Do you think you're doing the right thingfor you, or you think you would've been
better off choosing a different path?
No, I, you deal with circumstances.
In all of our lives, we, we, we,we come to forks in the road.
Like the Green Day song.
Yeah.
Another fork in the road
(26:27):
Another fork in the road.
And, you make decisions on which, ifyou go left or right or stand there.
And I, so my feeling as I lookback is my, I was so intrigued
with, with communicating ideas andwhether I did that as a teacher or
as I've done it now as a publisher.
(26:48):
Um.
Uh, I, I feel like I've had, uh, Ifulfilled my wishes in terms of career.
Mainly, I think the idea for me is,is I, and I would recommend this for
anyone in any career, but in publishingcertainly, and, and a writer too, I
would recommend is, I love listening.
(27:09):
I love, I love to listen to stories.
I to listen to um, the real storiesof people and what they've been, what
they've gone through and, and so I thinkit really helps if you're a publisher,
uh, to be empathetic and to understandand really appreciate someone's
willingness to tell you their story.
(27:29):
That, that-- have to have adeep appreciation for them.
You really do, and that's pretty helpful.
But I need to remind everyone,publishing is a business.
Publishing is a business, and soyou have to find the right publisher
or the right platform to conveyyour story, your information.
Sometimes publishers can, can, thetiming is great, and you hit them right
(27:52):
when they're looking for your book.
Other times they're not, and it'snot because the book is not good,
it's just that it, they, they, it'sa business and that they're investing
in this publication and they don'tsee the ability to make their money
back for that in that particular time.
It does not mean that thetopic, the writing is bad.
(28:13):
It's just, it's just,it's not the right time.
So just that little aside there,but I just, I, as I said, I really
love to hear people's stories.
Well, I know from my own personalexperience, working directly with
you as well as people I speak within the field that you are really good
at what you do and on so many levels.
(28:35):
I hope you're happy doing what you do.
I know that's not, that those two, twodon't always happen at the same time, but
you know, you deserve to be happy withwhat you're doing and I hope you are.
I appreciate, I'm a little embarrassed,but I appreciate that, that comment.
And that, that makes me feel good.
I mean, only because that's whatI've been trying to do all along and
(28:56):
one of the things that I love doingand, and I'm gonna be absolutely
frank and candid with people upfront.
'cause I don't wanna lead them downa road with false expectations if
I know that some, that they havesomething that we simply can't publish.
But what I have done in the past,I've tried and I've been successful
a few times-- act as a soundingboard for the idea and help folks,
(29:20):
and I don't mind doing this at all.
I've considered a major part of thejob is to help people hone their, their
proposal of craft to cover letter.
If someone has a book idea,can they reach you through the
American Diabetes Association?
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
Okay.
As I, well.
I'm more than happy to do that becauseI figured that's part of my job of
(29:40):
trying to help people fulfill their,their interests, sometimes their dreams.
You're mentoring the nextgeneration of great writers.
I would love to think that, and Ido think that and, uh, because in my
opinion, everyone has a book insideeveryone, and the, and the question
is, do they have the time and thepatience to make it a reality?
(30:04):
It doesn't always, you can, you canfind, you can find that reality, but
it does take some effort and it takesencouragement and it takes, it takes,
and you learn... no one ever has everpublished their first draft, but the issue
really is that it does require, uh, um,it requires a, a team and the team doesn't
(30:25):
have to be large, but I really love doingthat and I'm more than happy to do that.
I, and I, I'll be very frank, if I don'thave time, I, I, I'll let people know, but
I usually can find the time to do that.
Yeah, that's one of the things thatreally makes you special, Victor,
and thank you so much for all theinsight and wisdom you've shared.
(30:47):
Clearly publishing is more thanjust printed material nowadays.
It's, it's audio, it's electronic.
The formats vary.
But you know, regardless of whatformat people use, trust is important.
People need to be able to trust whatyou're putting out there so you have to
consider the medium that you're using.
Utilize editing services where possible,and consider using co-authors that
(31:10):
bring reputation to what you're doing.
If you do decide to self-publish,you know the marketing is is gonna
be extremely important as well.
Otherwise, no one's gonna know.
It's that trees that falls inthe forest and no one hears it.
So that's gonna requiresome work and some planning.
And there's probably some goodbooks out there on book marketing.
I imagine.
So those are some thingspeople can look for as well.
(31:32):
There are, but I, I do appreciate yourthoughts, Gary, and, and that, and it was
always, it's a pleasure to work with you.
It's always, and becausethere's an excitement and
there are recognized goals.
I always think about it as, as goingon a hike up a mountain, you're not
gonna make the top the first day.
(31:52):
You've got benchmarks along the wayand these benchmarks you, you stop
and think about what you've done.
How you can then learn from that soyou can go to the next benchmark and
eventually you'll reach your goal.
But it does take some time andit takes, it takes organization,
but it takes encouragement.
Very well put.
Well again, thank you, Victor.
(32:14):
We will have the links that you mentionedduring our discussion in the show notes.
And I'm Gary Scheiner remindingeveryone out there to keep
thinking like a pancreas.
Thanks for tuning in to ThinkLike a Pancreas, The Podcast.
If you enjoy today's episode, don'tforget to like, follow, or subscribe
on your favorite podcast app.
(32:34):
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Where experience meets expertise,passion meets compassion and diabetes
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(33:21):
to schedule a consultation.
On behalf of Think Likea Pancreas, the podcast.
I'm Gary Scheiner wishing you afantastic week ahead, and don't
forget to think like a pancreas.
Welcome to Think Like a Pancreas,The Podcast where our goal is to keep
you informed, inspired, and a littleentertained on all things diabetes.
The information contained in thisprogram is based on the experience
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Please discuss any changes to yourtreatment plan with your personal
(00:33):
healthcare provider before implementing.
Welcome to Think Like aPancreas, The Podcast.
I'm your host, Gary Scheiner, ownerand clinical director of Integrated
Diabetes Services, and I am ecstaticto have a special guest with me today.
Victor Van Beuren, who is Directorof Book Operations for the
(00:53):
American Diabetes Association.
Welcome, Victor.
Hey, Gary.
It's so good to see you.
Hey, you too.
I mean, I, I still recall forme the early days of diabetes
books going back over 40 years.
Right after my diagnosis, I went to themall and to the bookstore in the mall,
found myself a Joslin Diabetes manualthat explained all about what diabetes
(01:19):
is and how to manage and treat it.
Read it cover to cover.
And then, uh, I started gettingthe ADA's Magazine Diabetes
Forecast shortly after that.
I saved the first one that I ever got.
It happened to have BrettMichaels on the cover.
Yeah.
Um, yeah, he was an outstanding spokesman.
(01:41):
Which was pretty inspirationalto me being a hardcore rock and
roller and had an electric guitarback in the day and everything.
Remind me, do you play an instrument?
I do.
I play a few.
What do you play?
In fact... well, it's funny, aguitar, mandolin, but the instrument
that I actually play the best,and I don't embarrass myself by
(02:03):
doing by playing it is harmonica.
Neat.
It's kind of making a comeback these days.
A lot of people aregetting into harmonica.
It's, it really is.
And there's some outstanding playersout there and I'd like to put myself in
that category, but I don't think I can.
There's a science to blow a good harm..
Well, it, it really is.
It... there really is.
But I, I, I have a band and we playprobably about, uh, three or four paying
(02:28):
gigs a month, so it's kind of fun.
Neat.
Well, tell us a little bit about,about yourself and, and what got
you to the point of being directorof book operations at the ADA.
Well, we should have a background musicof the Beatles and the Long Winding Road.
It's been, it's, it'san interesting career.
It all makes sense when you kind ofconnect it, but if you take bits and
(02:48):
pieces, you kind of scratch your head.
My, my first career is I'm a geologist andI studied at the University of Cincinnati,
the University of Utah, the Universityof Texas at Austin sedimentology and
stratigraphy, and my specialty, my,all my research was in fine grain.
A deposition, shale, siltstones, and mudstones.
(03:11):
And I like to say that all theresearch I did is I made mud
pies and then analyzed them.
When I finished, uh, grad school,I, my first job was a petroleum
geologist for Atlantic Richfield.
So I did that for a while.
I enjoyed it.
I, I tell you, once you get geology inyour veins that you just, it never leaves.
It's just, it's the mostinteresting science.
(03:32):
It's an applied science.
But it's incredibly interesting becauseit gives you a view of the earth
that, that really few people have.
So how did, uh, publishing come your way?
Well, I decided that, uh, just the waythings work, I felt more interested.
Uh, I love the science and I learneda lot about communication, a lot about
(03:53):
how to convey information both to thescience peers, but also explaining a
complicated ideas to mostly my family.
And of course they would runout of the room as as when I
started talking about geology.
But, um, I started, uh,uh, publishing in 1985.
So I've been doing it for 40 years now.
Uh, all scholarly publishing.
(04:15):
Um, and I was...
That was the year I was diagnosed.
What was your firstpublication that you worked on?
I have it here.
This is one, I can never tellif it's back... if it's, uh.
Argillaceous Rock Atlas, right?
Yeah.
I know I'm mispronouncing it.
Pretty... You're really close to that.
That was a book I did with, uh, uh,Spring River Log when I worked for them.
(04:36):
But what happened is that I, at thetime, the, uh, domestic oil bubble
first, and so there weren't any jobsback in, in 1985 to get back into
geology, at least with the majors.
The minors were kind of closedfist at the time, you know, they
just were pulling things in.
So a good friend of mine, the wife ofmy thesis advisor at Cincinnati, she and
(04:57):
I were good friends, and she actuallydid work for the American Association of
Petroleum Geologist, and she called me up.
She knew I was looking, and she said, Hey,Victor, they're looking for a book editor.
You'd be perfect for that job.
And so I thought, well,that'd be interesting.
And so I applied and got the job.
Started out as a book editor andwithin a month I was director of
publications for the association.
(05:19):
And, uh ran their journals and theirbook program for a while then, and then
I got an offer for, uh, work with SpringRiver Log in New York, New York City.
And, uh, did that.
I worked for Elsevier for a numberof years and then my wife and I,
the, our joke is that we moved toNew York City as a couple and we
left with, uh, two and a half kids.
(05:40):
And, uh, got a job as the director of pubsfor the American Geological Institute in
Alexandria, Virginia, and then worked fora couple of other nonprofits associations.
Yeah, it was 20 years ago in,uh, 2005, hired on with this, uh,
the American Diabetes Associationas, uh, um, acquisition editor
(06:01):
for professional content.
I've been, I've been with ADAnow for, um, since my 21st year.
So it's been, it's beena long, a long run.
So from geology to a geologicalpublisher to ADA publishing.
Yeah and, and it all
That's quite a transition.
Well, it all, it is all connectedand the main thing is that,
(06:22):
is that science communication.
Whether it's to professional scientistsand researchers or consumers looking
for information like yourself.
You were desperate.
When you get diagnosed, you'redesperate for information.
All of that really is connected andit's, and it's pretty much the same.
What I learned in the physicalsciences could easily be, uh, for,
uh, communication and for presentingand getting information out to the
(06:48):
professional and the consumer community.
It really is the same withinthe medical publishing field.
And so the only thing that you havethat you're challenged with is you have
to learn a whole new list of acronyms.
But, uh, but beyond that.
I like what you said about,you know, putting things in
terms people can understand.
I think that that's theessence of, of teaching it.
(07:09):
It's taking information andputting it in terms people can
understand, relate to, and apply.
Yeah.
Which is, I guess what we tryto do in, in my business as
a diabetes care and educationspecialist, but also as a writer.
You know, some people writeto entertain, some do it to
just, you know, share a story.
Others do it to to teach.
(07:29):
I like to think mine's a kindof a combination of all three.
And so the ADA's gone through sometransition and it's publishing,
for a while it was publishingconsumer books as well as books
for the healthcare professional.
And for a while they were justdoing the healthcare professionals.
Now transitioning back to consumerpublishing . So what's, what's gonna
(07:51):
be your first project in the consumerfield once that's up and rolling again?
Because it has been quite the journeyand it's one of something that quite
honestly happens within associations.
So when you have changes inmanagement, you have changes in vision.
So that, uh, is applied-- thosevisions are applied to, to what,
(08:11):
the activities of the association.
So we did have a period when wewere doing both consumer and, a
long period for, we were doing bothconsumer and professional pubs.
A period of just like five years, now,recently, uh, of doing just professional
publications, but we've been given the goahead to, to bring consumer books back.
(08:32):
And I'm elated because that is suchan important part of our community,
is to communicate to people withdiabetes or their loved ones.
To give them information on how to dealwith diagnosis and then how to deal with,
how to structure their lives in waysthat are not, not strange and weird, but
familiar and comfortable and organized.
(08:53):
The first project we're working onbringing cookbooks back because that
has always been a very important partof the, of the ADA portfolio and,
and they're, they're so important andpeople, people love, love recipes, but
nutrition is such an important part ofdealing with diabetes and living with
diabetes that helping people learn howto cook with, with good ingredients.
(09:17):
Ingredients that are healthy, and thengive them tools to be able to plan meals
so they're not desperate and they'renot, they're not stuck in having,
Yeah, having that nutrient informationis, is pretty important, especially
for those of us who take insulin,have to match the insulin to the
carb counts in, in those foods.
I'm not a chef.
I wish I had creative recipes to share.
(09:39):
Do a heck of a barbecue.
I make really good popcorn on the stovetop, but those probably don't warrant the
kind of books you're putting together.
Anything you, you cook well
?In my house, if, if I'm hungry and I want to eat something, then I need to cook.
I'm sort of the designatedchef and that's just fine.
I can't say I, I, I eat a bit... Ieat a lot of everything and, and I,
(10:03):
but I try to balance as much as I can.
And, and that's, that's, I mean, I thinkthat's the key is just to know that there
are nutritious foods out there and thatyou really do need to, to incorporate
those into meals to create variety,which keeps your interest in eating.
And, and I think that's exciting.
I, I'll give a plug real quick.
(10:25):
Um, one of the, uh, one of the greatresources that the associate, that
the ADA has provided is somethingcalled the Diabetes Food Hub.
diabetesfoodhub.org.
And it's a, a free service,but if you register, it's.
Well, let me back up.
It's a repository of about,I think around 700 recipes at
(10:47):
the moment, but it's growing.
It's grown.
And the recipes,
We'll be sure to putthat in the show notes.
Well, thank you.
And, and I think it's an amazing service.
It provides a variety of cuisinesof recipes from different cultures.
There are recipes in Spanish.
All of them are analyzed forthe nutritional information.
As I said, it's free, but if youregister, you can actually save
(11:10):
recipes that you really like.
Mm-hmm.
And then there's a meal planning servicewhere you can actually take those favorite
recipes and put them into a week of meals.
A breakfast, lunch, dinner, a snack.
And you can do that just not only for oneweek, but you can do it for many weeks.
It creates grocery lists so when yougo to the store, you don't overspend.
And it's, it's, uh, there are cookingdemonstrations so that you can learn.
(11:33):
For me, learning how to boil waterwas a very important part of my
training, my culinary training.
Yeah.
But it's a great service and it's thetype of thing that can really help
people relax about, about nutrition andunderstanding how to create a nutrition
nutritious meal for themselves and alsoa great resource for family members.
(11:53):
And people probably come toyou all the time with book
ideas and I was no different.
I probably came to you seven, eight yearsago with an idea for a book about CGM,
which was sort of in, its not infancy,but just starting to come into its own.
There you go!
I got the back cover.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So.
You and I worked togetheron, uh, practical CGM.
(12:16):
Yeah, I had some other creative ideasfor the title, like OJ at 3:00 AM.
I thought that would've been a funtitle, but you know, it was a book
mainly for healthcare providersabout how to interpret CGM data
and how to coach patients on how touse the, the devices effectively.
Nowadays, it seems like books havegone... given way to podcasts and
(12:37):
blogs and websites and... do youfeel that book publishing is dead
or, or is it just taken on otherforms or does it still have a life?
Does it still have a pulse?
It has a pulse.
It's active.
It's running around.
No, it's not dead by any means.
It has taken other forms and theforms that it's taken has really been
based on, on matching the tools andthe interest of consumers of both
(13:02):
professional and the consumer audience.
So I, publishers now need contentthat, uh, that can be displayed
on, on a variety of devices, canbe listened to and watched on.
Podcasts can be downloaded and partof audio files, that type of thing.
Publishing, when you say that people,immediately, many people immediately think
(13:22):
of books, printed books, but publishingis really the process of, of writing,
acquiring, collating, editing, indexingcontent that people within a certain
segment of, of the community want to readand want to understand, use that material
to understand a topic more completely.
(13:42):
So publishing is not dead by any means.
Uh, it's just different formats.
Okay.
And with some of the formats, uh, withpeople, a often self-publishing, um,
or publishing through, uh, nonmedical,medically oriented publishers.
Um.
How do you know what you can trust?
(14:04):
Because there's a lot of questionand a debate out there about that.
You know, people with diabetes areoften looking to, for information
and anywhere they can get it.
So what should someone look forif they wanna know they're getting
information from a trustworthy source?
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(14:53):
4 and select option three.
And now back to our program.
Well, you have to do your research.
And there's a, there's a real differencein many ways of reading a story,
something reading fiction, as opposedto, to getting information about, uh, a
particular topic like, how-- I've beendiagnosed with diabetes, what do I do?
(15:18):
And so you can, you can enjoy a goodstory, but you also need reliable sources
to give you information about a particularquestion that deals with you directly.
Whether it's.
Whether it's physical health, whetherit's mental health, whether it's trying
to understand where resources are.
So you need to do your researchand you want to, you want to go to
(15:39):
sources that you can trust, like theCDC or, or the N or NIH or the...
International diabetes, uh, federation.
If you, if you go to those sources,you know that the information has
been vetted by, by panels of experts.
So you don't need a degree to, toreally understand how to deal with a
(16:00):
particular question about the diabetes.
You, you really need to look for sitesthat you can, that you know have experts
who have been researching and collatingand discussing and then presenting
recommendations on how to deal withparticular issues with the disease.
You have to do your research.
You can't just have for topics, everyonemight have their favorite author,
(16:22):
but for topics that are so inclusiveand important-- dealing with your
health, you just really need to geta, a variety of sources, compare the
information, and then from there you canmake, you can make informed decisions.
The American Diabetes Association wouldfall into that category where material is
reviewed and vetted before it's published.
(16:43):
Yes, I would totally agree.
The site, both say diabetes.organd professional diabetes.org.
They, they have different audiences,but the information is available to
everyone and the information is vetted.
Everything on the ADA sites complywith the ADA standards of care.
I'm contacted often by people whohave ideas for books or for a material
(17:06):
that they wanna publish in some way.
So what options are out there nowfor people who have a story to tell
or valuable information to share?
Well, there are a lot morethan there used to be.
In the past, if someone wanted topublish a book, the only option was
to go to a commercial publishing.
And, and that's still still an option.
It can be a good one, but now thereare options available, tools available
(17:30):
to self-publish and self-publishingis, is having either, um, a printed
book in hand or some type of videofile that is presented on a webpage.
The important thing is that getting tothe audience that you intend to talk to.
And in the past rely on the marketingteam at a commercial publishing
house or an association publishinghouse, but now you can actually
(17:53):
have tools to be able to do that.
And an example would be the explosionof platforms like TikTok or Instagram
where you have these influencerswho, some of 'em are kind of silly
and a little bit egotistical.
There is good information that you canglean from, uh, from many of those.
Are there any in particular thathave given you a good chuckle?
Well, a chuckle and a scare withsome of the information that's
(18:16):
coming out from about questioningthe validity and the expertise of
some of the panels of CDC and NIH.
Uh, to me, I find that it'sturned into quite the palm to
forehead moment many times.
Mm-hmm.
When you hear these officials statingsomething that you absolutely know
just by what we've read on through,learned through our communities
(18:40):
and read through our communitypublications are simply not true.
So sometimes you have to laughand not so you don't cry.
I'm not partial to, but because my wifehas cats, I usually look for cat little
reels and show to her and we laugh.
But it is something that, that it'sa real option now and, and it's,
it's not a defeat to self-publish byany means, but you do have to do it.
(19:03):
You have to really put someeffort into making it happen.
If you self-publish, don'ttry to do everything yourself.
Just don't get someone to, toreview the content you have.
Get someone to copy edit it, getsomeone to help, uh, get a good
illustrator to really help convey the,the points you're making visually.
So you have to really use those toolsto create a publication that actually
(19:28):
is effective and, and can be helpful tothe community you're, you're targeting.
You do need to put effort into marketing,whether you send emails out to, to a list
that have, you've been able to construct.
Or, the important thing is in any type ofself-publishing and self-marketing is you
have to have a dynamic and active website.
(19:50):
You can't have... put up awebsite and then just ignore
it and not change anything.
You really do need, you need tohave, change the videos, put in
demonstrations, put in comments,and do that absolutely on a weekly
basis, sometimes on a daily basis.
And the main reason for that is, um,you will, the people that are watching
(20:12):
your, subscribe to your website willappreciate that, but also you have
to remember that there are non peoplelooking at your site, and these web bot
will go out and they are going to beattracted to sites that have changed.
So if someone does a search on diabetesor does a search on Mediterranean
diet and has recipes there, andyou've put up new recipes, it's more
(20:36):
likely that those, that that linkwill be, will be a part of someone's
research, uh, the searching results.
So you have to, you have to stay dynamic.
I've known a number of peoplewho have, who have published,
uh, self-published successfully,but it does require some effort.
If your goal was just to provide a,a, a Christmas gift to your family
and, and neighbors saying, this ismy book, you've accomplished that.
(20:59):
But if you really wanna go out and bean advocate and really a strong, uh,
force within the community, you haveto put some effort into it publishing.
One more comment.
Publishing commercially isnot, is not out of the question.
Books like yours, Gary, are, are reallyimportant and the, if you do provide,
uh, based on your, on your experienceas, as a person with diabetes, but
(21:21):
also as an educator, then you can makea book part of your operation, your
brand, and that can be very helpful.
Like the book you did on how to help.
The one that we did a few years ago withADA, but also your book on Think Like
a Pancreas has been, it just resonates.
People are looking forthat type of information.
There is a story in there, but it's also,it's information on how to, how people
(21:46):
can get beyond the diagnosis and thrive.
So there, there are, personal stories arerarely published by commercial outfits,
but self-help guidebook and other bookssimilar to that are still very, are
sought after by, by commercial houses.
But you have to, your coverletter has to be explicit.
(22:06):
You have to have, uh, you haveto do your research, you have to,
you have to identify a market.
You have to do all of those thingsin your, in your cover letter.
You don't need an extensiveproposal, but you need to really
outline the, the project, the bookproject that you, you envision and
you would like them to take on.
Well, that's gold.
And that's coming from thehead of book operations at the
(22:28):
American Diabetes Association.
Anybody who's thinking about, uh,about writing a book and putting
something out there, listen.
I dunno if you saw it, I justdid a, I just did a finger stick
'cause I feel low, but my sensorwas saying I was in the eighties.
The meter said I was in the fifties.
So I'm popping some tab.
I'm popping some tablets as we speak.
(22:50):
So anything I say you gottatake with a grain of glucose.
'cause it may not make anysense at all after the fact.
If somebody is interested inputting their own book out there.
You said that, uh, the marketingeffort is obviously gonna have
to come from you since you don'thave a publisher behind it.
Specific ideas you can recommendfrom a marketing standpoint?
(23:11):
You have to have a title that's a hook.
That would get it.
I mean, I, I think, Think Like aPancreas is probably, is probably one
of the best titles because it catchesthe reader somewhat off guard, but
it conveys what needs to be done.
And so I think a title is importantand that's one of the hardest
things to, to create for a book.
And we always do it after the fact.
(23:32):
We have working titles, but the titlesthat we come up with at ADA books, we
discuss them with a number of peopletogether in a room and we just..
What makes, what makes agood title in your opinion?
Well.
One way is to, to surprisepeople with the title.
It's like if you, you can have very blandtitles that just describe into too much
(23:54):
detail about the content of the book.
Now, a title like that could be goodfor a professional publication, but it's
really not good for a consumer book.
You really do need to have, have a hook.
You need to, you need to get someone toread the title and go, wait a minute,
and then go back and read it again.
Because there was somethingin there that was unusual.
(24:16):
And I, I still come back to your, yourtitle of Think Like a Pancreas, because
it, it's, that catches people off guard.
They don't, they, they go.
What do you mean?
And so they'll go back and they'lllook at it again, and then they'll
look at the description that you havefor the book, whether it's a website,
whether it's back color copy, um, and,and pulling the book off the shelf at
(24:37):
Barnes and Noble or Books a Million.
So that's important.
The other thing is just to, uh, as Imentioned, is to make sure that you
have, you don't want to have encyclopedicinformation on describing the book.
You really just want to go and talkabout who should read it and give them
information about the content of the book.
You don't even have tolist the table of contents.
(24:59):
Sometimes it helps, but you don'thave necessarily to do that, but
you can just give them informationon what the reader will, will
get when they purchase the book.
I've seen people make verycreative use of subheadings.
Yeah.
To accomplish that, where they'll havethat attention grabbing, catch the
reader off guard kind of title, andthen a subhead that describes what
(25:22):
the book is about and who it's for.
Do you subscribe to that approach?
We do because it, it's a waywithin the title to, to describe
the book, but it can't be long.
It, it has to be, it has to be very,very, not necessarily short or cryptic,
but it has to be... it can't be a longsubtitle because what you wanna do
(25:45):
is you, you wanna lead people to thedescription of the book and not...
because that really will help them morethen trying to figure out the content
of the book through the subtitle.
But if you give them littlebullet points that can help.
Okay.
So looking back, you know, you'vehad a fairly long and distinguished
career, uh, in the publishing world,starting in the geology field, and
(26:07):
eventually winding up in diabetes.
How do you feel about your career choice?
Do you think you're doing the right thingfor you, or you think you would've been
better off choosing a different path?
No, I, you deal with circumstances.
In all of our lives, we, we, we,we come to forks in the road.
Like the Green Day song.
Yeah.
Another fork in the road
(26:27):
Another fork in the road.
And, you make decisions on which, ifyou go left or right or stand there.
And I, so my feeling as I lookback is my, I was so intrigued
with, with communicating ideas andwhether I did that as a teacher or
as I've done it now as a publisher.
(26:48):
Um.
Uh, I, I feel like I've had, uh, Ifulfilled my wishes in terms of career.
Mainly, I think the idea for me is,is I, and I would recommend this for
anyone in any career, but in publishingcertainly, and, and a writer too, I
would recommend is, I love listening.
(27:09):
I love, I love to listen to stories.
I to listen to um, the real storiesof people and what they've been, what
they've gone through and, and so I thinkit really helps if you're a publisher,
uh, to be empathetic and to understandand really appreciate someone's
willingness to tell you their story.
(27:29):
That, that-- have to have adeep appreciation for them.
You really do, and that's pretty helpful.
But I need to remind everyone,publishing is a business.
Publishing is a business, and soyou have to find the right publisher
or the right platform to conveyyour story, your information.
Sometimes publishers can, can, thetiming is great, and you hit them right
(27:52):
when they're looking for your book.
Other times they're not, and it'snot because the book is not good,
it's just that it, they, they, it'sa business and that they're investing
in this publication and they don'tsee the ability to make their money
back for that in that particular time.
It does not mean that thetopic, the writing is bad.
(28:13):
It's just, it's just,it's not the right time.
So just that little aside there,but I just, I, as I said, I really
love to hear people's stories.
Well, I know from my own personalexperience, working directly with
you as well as people I speak within the field that you are really good
at what you do and on so many levels.
(28:35):
I hope you're happy doing what you do.
I know that's not, that those two, twodon't always happen at the same time, but
you know, you deserve to be happy withwhat you're doing and I hope you are.
I appreciate, I'm a little embarrassed,but I appreciate that, that comment.
And that, that makes me feel good.
I mean, only because that's whatI've been trying to do all along and
(28:56):
one of the things that I love doingand, and I'm gonna be absolutely
frank and candid with people upfront.
'cause I don't wanna lead them downa road with false expectations if
I know that some, that they havesomething that we simply can't publish.
But what I have done in the past,I've tried and I've been successful
a few times-- act as a soundingboard for the idea and help folks,
(29:20):
and I don't mind doing this at all.
I've considered a major part of thejob is to help people hone their, their
proposal of craft to cover letter.
If someone has a book idea,can they reach you through the
American Diabetes Association?
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
Okay.
As I, well.
I'm more than happy to do that becauseI figured that's part of my job of
(29:40):
trying to help people fulfill their,their interests, sometimes their dreams.
You're mentoring the nextgeneration of great writers.
I would love to think that, and Ido think that and, uh, because in my
opinion, everyone has a book insideeveryone, and the, and the question
is, do they have the time and thepatience to make it a reality?
(30:04):
It doesn't always, you can, you canfind, you can find that reality, but
it does take some effort and it takesencouragement and it takes, it takes,
and you learn... no one ever has everpublished their first draft, but the issue
really is that it does require, uh, um,it requires a, a team and the team doesn't
(30:25):
have to be large, but I really love doingthat and I'm more than happy to do that.
I, and I, I'll be very frank, if I don'thave time, I, I, I'll let people know, but
I usually can find the time to do that.
Yeah, that's one of the things thatreally makes you special, Victor,
and thank you so much for all theinsight and wisdom you've shared.
(30:47):
Clearly publishing is more thanjust printed material nowadays.
It's, it's audio, it's electronic.
The formats vary.
But you know, regardless of whatformat people use, trust is important.
People need to be able to trust whatyou're putting out there so you have to
consider the medium that you're using.
Utilize editing services where possible,and consider using co-authors that
(31:10):
bring reputation to what you're doing.
If you do decide to self-publish,you know the marketing is is gonna
be extremely important as well.
Otherwise, no one's gonna know.
It's that trees that falls inthe forest and no one hears it.
So that's gonna requiresome work and some planning.
And there's probably some goodbooks out there on book marketing.
I imagine.
So those are some thingspeople can look for as well.
(31:32):
There are, but I, I do appreciate yourthoughts, Gary, and, and that, and it was
always, it's a pleasure to work with you.
It's always, and becausethere's an excitement and
there are recognized goals.
I always think about it as, as goingon a hike up a mountain, you're not
gonna make the top the first day.
(31:52):
You've got benchmarks along the wayand these benchmarks you, you stop
and think about what you've done.
How you can then learn from that soyou can go to the next benchmark and
eventually you'll reach your goal.
But it does take some time andit takes, it takes organization,
but it takes encouragement.
Very well put.
Well again, thank you, Victor.
(32:14):
We will have the links that you mentionedduring our discussion in the show notes.
And I'm Gary Scheiner remindingeveryone out there to keep
thinking like a pancreas.
Thanks for tuning in to ThinkLike a Pancreas, The Podcast.
If you enjoy today's episode, don'tforget to like, follow, or subscribe
on your favorite podcast app.
(32:34):
Think Like a Pancreas, ThePodcast is brought to you by
Integrated Diabetes Services.
Where experience meets expertise,passion meets compassion and diabetes
care is personal because we live it too.
Our team of clinicians, all livingwith type one diabetes understands
the challenges firsthand.
We're here to help no matterwhere you are in the world.
(32:55):
From glucose management, to self-carestrategies, the latest tech,
sports and exercise, weight loss,type one pregnancy and emotional
wellbeing, we've got you covered.
We offer consultations inEnglish and Spanish via phone,
video, chat, email and text.
Wanna learn more?
Visit integrateddiabetes.com oremail info@integrateddiabetes.com
(33:21):
to schedule a consultation.
On behalf of Think Likea Pancreas, the podcast.
I'm Gary Scheiner wishing you afantastic week ahead, and don't
forget to think like a pancreas.
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