February 7, 2024 • 30 mins
🎙️ Welcome to On Cam Ready with Jamie Maglietta! 🎥 Television writer and producer Nesta Lumpkin dishes on how to pitch the press successfully. She also talks with broadcast news veteran, Jamie Maglietta, about writing her first book and pivoting from news to entrepreneurship. Nesta Lumpkin is author of the best-selling book, "Not Your Average Baby Sleep Book," which immediately earner her media. BONUS: How she landed a television appearance without a publicist. Chapters00:00 Intro00:15 Nesta Lumpkin - Website: https://www.babysleepaccelerator.com/about01:00 Jamie Maglietta plugs www.oncamready.com her website02:00 Nesta's book: https://www.amazon.com/Your-Average-Baby-Sleep-Book/dp/B0CQSR6N4S 03:10 Conversation with Nesta, who reveals how she worked with Jamie at @CNN05:00 Nesta provides tips on how to pitch the press successfully07:55 What TV producers look for in an expert for broadcast news10:08 Talking in soundbites11:45 Nesta's journey, why she decided to pivot14:00 Mindset and how this helps parents sleep coach their children15:30 Jamie and Nesta share their parenting stories as media experts17:00 Nesta reflects on her path and provides advice to other working parents21:30 Nesta reflects on social media. Mentions how she is focuses on her clients and the book before leaning into social media24:00 Nesta, a professional writer, talks about writing her book and needing guidance28:00 Nesta sums up her tips to help you produce the press 🙏 Thank You A heartfelt thanks for supporting On Cam Ready! Your engagement makes a difference. Let's grow together!🔗 Stay ConnectedDon't miss out on exclusive content and updates. Click SUBSCRIBE to become a part of our community and fuel Jamie's motivation to keep creating valuable content for you. 📱 Connect with Jamie: LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-maglietta Instagram: www.instagram.com/jamie_theproducer 📧 Contact: For inquiries and collaborations, reach out to Jamie at jamie@oncamready.com. #OnCamReady #MediaTraining #PodcastingTips #ContentCreation
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Episode Transcript
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(00:05):
On this episode of On Cam Ready,a television producer, writer
and author on how you can elevate your expertise and also
perfect your pitch to the press.So make sure that you match.
Make sure that you're pitching to the right person and make
(00:26):
sure it's relevant. So make sure you match your
pitch to the show. Make sure that you are pitching
to the right person. Make sure the person is one of
the gatekeepers for the show andthat the person still works for
the show. And make sure that you know it
is relevant to the news cycle. And do not be surprised if you
(00:48):
don't get to talk about all, only about your books.
Like, if you're an expert, the producers on the show want you
to talk about the topic, not necessarily your book.
That is Nessa Lumpkin. She's a sleep coach, author, and
former broadcast news producer. On this episode, we'll talk
(01:10):
about how authors can leverage their expertise to attract the
press and use their content to dress up television
conversations once booked by themedia.
Hi everyone, I'm Jamie Magliettaand this is on Cam ready.
We have a lot to talk about withNesta.
But first, if you are listening to this or watching this on
(01:30):
YouTube and you like what you'rehearing, be sure to leave a
comment or review or like this video or subscribe and follow
this channel. And if you're looking to produce
your own podcast or YouTube channel or you're looking for
media consultant, please visit my website on camready.com.
Now let's turn to our guest. Again, it's Nesta Lumpkin.
(01:51):
She's author of the book Not Your Average Baby Sleep Book, 23
Tips to Get Your Baby to Sleep Through the Night and Your
Exhaustion and Live a More Balanced Life, Now in Full
transparency. I worked with Nesta at CNN and
you know the experiences we share are our experiences alone. 00:02:15,400 You know, knowing her work
(02:15):
ethic, I am personally intriguedby this conversation because she
has always been a thoughtful producer, very mindful.
So the fact that she wrote a book wasn't really surprising to
me, but I was able to ask her how she went about it.
So if you are interested in writing a book, please stick
around to the end. For that, we also offer some
(02:36):
incredible tips that will help you really stand out whenever
you pitch the press and when yousecure earned media.
So if you want to make your interviews really sing, be sure
to stick around for that part ofthe conversation.
OK, so let's get going again. Nesta is author of the book Not
Your Average Baby Sleep Book, 23Tips to Get Your Baby to Sleep
(03:00):
Through the Night and Your Exhaustion and Live a More
Balanced Life. Here's our conversation.
Nesta's with us now. Nesta, Why don't you start by
telling us a little bit more about who you are and your
background in television? So I am now an author, best
selling author, and a speaker and a baby sleep coach and my
(03:22):
background. I've worked in news at CN
various CNN networks for 17 years.
I started out from the bottom. I was a tour guide and then I
worked my way up into productionas an associate producer and
then a writer, and I worked withyou for several years.
It was great. We worked together in the
trenches and now we're here. Now we're here kind of taking
(03:48):
our own direction and going downour own paths, you know, as
entrepreneurs, which is really cool.
And I've loved seeing you blossom.
You've done so much online whereI remember at one point I think
you were doing videos on family coaching and relationship
guidance. And I thought, oh, that's just
like really broad. And you, you've really put
(04:09):
yourself out there online. And I think that, you know,
it's, it's commendable and not many producers put themselves in
front of the camera. So I think there's a lot to be
said about that and your confidence and what, you know as
a person you can offer, 'cause you have so much value, right,
that you can offer, and through this book you're offering a
offering tremendous value to parents, right?
(04:30):
And I want to deep dive onto your book, into your book and
how you got there. But one of the things that we
focus on in this in this podcastis really how to help people
pitch themselves and really elevate their content online and
draw the attention of televisionproducers so that when they are
pitching, it's hard for the press to say no.
(04:54):
So I really would love for you to explain more about what it
was like being a television producer and writer and if you
ever got pitches, what really would stand out to you from
those pitches that you can really help others when they're
pitching? Yeah, so being a producer, I was
slammed with emails from work, emails from people pitching, and
(05:18):
a lot of the emails I tried to read them from people pitching
their books or people pitching themselves to be a guest on the
show. The ones that really stood out
were people who understood the show that I was working on and
understood my position. So if you are trying to pitch to
a producer #1, make sure that they're a match.
(05:41):
Like make sure you're you're matching what you're pitching to
the show that the person is working on.
It's the worst if someone's pitching something just way left
field. You're working on a show that
deals with politics and someone's pitching you a show
about like how to do home makeovers.
So when you see things like that, you're just like this
(06:02):
person is being unreasonable. They didn't do the research.
There is no way this can fit into my show.
Dealing with politics, for example.
So just making sure that there is a match, you're reaching out
to the right person. Maybe the person left the
company or they moved to a different area.
They're working in, like tech, and you're pitching them for a
(06:22):
show. They're not going to have time
to to read your e-mail and pass it on to the right person.
Maybe if you're lucky and you know, just just doing your
research and making sure that you're you're staying on top of
the news, the news cycle, like what's going on in the news.
So if there's something, if you are like for me, I'm a baby
sleep coach. If there's a story about a new
(06:45):
study that was done about how sleep can help moms, I would
definitely pitch that to like a morning show or, you know, a
show that's talking about family, things like that.
And so to sum it up, you're saying, you know, make sure that
you're matching with the show, you're pitching the right person
and you're not being generic. And would you say that those
(07:07):
three points really kind of workfor any expert pitching
themselves to the news or to broadcast news?
Absolutely. And and don't be surprised if
they don't, the producer doesn'treally want to talk about your
book. Your book is just a vehicle to
get you on the show as an expert.
So. So yeah, they'll mention the
(07:27):
book, yeah. Yes, and that's the thing.
So many people probably think, OK, I'm an author, I want to get
booked and where I'm only talking about my book and yeah,
that could work on a on a seriesthat focuses on books.
But really people are looking. People in broadcast news or even
podcast hosts are looking for experts that can really provide
(07:49):
legitimate value. What do you have to say about
that? Like when we're looking for an
expert, what are we looking for really as TV producers?
Yeah, you're looking for someonewho has the authority and the
influence to talk about that that topic.
You're looking for someone who is a newsmaker.
You're looking for a celebrity, someone who can attract more
(08:09):
viewers. Someone your viewers can relate
to. So if you have like tons of
followers, that helps. It doesn't mean that you have to
have a ton of followers, so justjust being an authority, if your
book really dies into the the topic very well, or you wrote an
article somewhere else talking about your book or the topic and
(08:30):
you have really great quotes that could help get you booked.
Yeah, and pulling quotes as wellas tips.
You know, if you come, if you'rean author and you're gonna be on
a segment about, you know, like yourself sleep coaching and you
were to pull out a quote or somepoints to elevate your content,
(08:50):
you know, as the author, how would you go about doing that?
Would you would you kind of pulllike the the things that
everyone knows about, or would you try to make up new quotes or
new points from your book that you haven't really brought to
light? Like how would you do it as an
author who's also been ATV producer?
OK, so I guess I would just use my TV producer skills and look
(09:11):
for a sound bite in my book. Just go through, even if you
can't remember exactly what you said on each in each chapter,
just go through and use a highlighter and highlight, OK,
this is a zinger, you know, thiswould actually get people's
attention if I pull this quote out.
So things like that, pulling good quotes out.
(09:32):
If you have charts or diagrams, if you conducted a study and you
found like great results or something that could could
change how people think about a particular topic, something new
and fresh, I would highlight that.
Yes. And I would also say, you know,
she's coming to this conversation speaking in sound
(09:54):
bites, guys. You really want to be joining
any conversation, a podcast or ATV show or even when you're
being interviewed with the thought of being concise and
detailed and short, right? What would you say to that
Nesta? Yes.
Now that takes some practice andthat takes skill.
So for me, I can better pick outthe sound bite if I'm hearing
(10:18):
it. Now actually doing it is is
different and it takes practice and you just build on that.
We don't be too wordy to verbosein some settings, You know, the
the more flowery your languages the better.
But for for us, you know, comingfrom the media, it's just simple
language. If you can speak simply like
(10:39):
you're talking to a first graderor first to to 6th grader, that
would be great. Just to clearly list your points
out. You can throw in some big words,
do whatever, but, you know, think and sound bites.
Yes. And and I always say, you know,
a sound bite is 45 seconds at the most.
Really, You wanna be under 30? And the best ones are when it's
(11:02):
like 15 seconds. You're like, wow, that was a
really great comment or really good quote.
I'm gonna use that and pull it for, you know, another segment
or I'm gonna put it on social. As I mentioned in the intro,
she's author of the book, not your average baby sleep book.
And she's here to offer some advice about how to write books,
pitch your books and also tips for moms.
(11:23):
So keep listening. Nesta Lumpkins with us.
So, Nesta, why don't you start by telling us why you decided to
write this book? So I decided to write this book
because it was very personal. I like I said, I was working in
news media for 17 years in various roles, and at a point I
(11:43):
kind of got tired of just being an observer, writing about what
I'm seeing going on. And so I wanted to jump in and
help. I just had this need to teach
people what I've learned becauseI feel like I've been through
the trenches a lot in my life because I had to learn a lot of
(12:06):
things on my own and take classes and invest in myself.
So you mentioned I started out coaching about relationships and
then as I became a mom, became aparent, I realized how much is
needed to help working moms. It was such a challenge, like
having children. I had three children working
(12:27):
full time and like navigating the transition from maternity
leave, going back to work like 3different times under three
different circumstances because one of them was during the
pandemic in 2020 carrying over to 2021.
And just how do you navigate like breastfeeding while you
(12:47):
have to be in zoom meetings while you're working from home?
It was so challenging and so thethings that I learned,
especially with sleep coaching my my children, I wanted to pass
that on to moms and I thought a book would be a great vehicle
for them to learn. And it is a great way for you to
(13:07):
also elevate your expertise, right?
And if you have a book or if youhave a course, something like
that helps legitimize your offering.
So I think it's really smart foryou to have packaged what you've
learned in the form of a book. And it's also interesting that
you launched this book when I'vebeen reading that, you know,
(13:28):
social media experts say that 2024 is going to be the year
content creators in the space ofmindfulness thrive.
So I figured I would ask, you know, why don't you start off by
offering some tips for moms thatare, you know, maybe struggling,
trying to make a make sense of it all or just trying to balance
work and life that might be useful that are off from your
(13:51):
book. Yeah, absolutely.
So when I coach clients, I coachmoms and dads how to get their
babies to sleep through the night.
I tried to tell them that it's all about mindset.
Now you have to start thinking about the bigger picture.
As a parent, I know it's tough for moms, especially during the
first year. You're just trying to get
(14:13):
through the day. You're just trying to keep your
child alive and make sure that they're well fed and they're
sleeping and they're OK. But in the midst of that, you
have to have a vision, OK? That's the number one thing of
where you want your family to be, #2.
You have to use sleep coaching or find ways to use something.
But for me, I use sleep coachingas an organizational tool to
(14:36):
organize your day and for you totake care of your health.
So those are the three things. Having a vision, using sleep
coaching as an organizational tool and taking care of
yourself. So having a vision, it just
keeps you motivated to keep going with being consistent.
It keeps you going when things look tough and you just want to
(14:59):
give up. And you know, having sleep
coaching as an organizational tool, it's just a way to build
your day around something to give you structure and taking
care of your health. If mama's not OK, baby's not OK,
right? The whole family is going to be
off. So you have to invest in your
(15:20):
you have to eat healthy, go to the gym, you have to get better
sleep. And one of the ways to get
better sleep is to teach your child how they can sleep better. 00:15:32,400 I think it's great, you know,
And the points that she's makingreally bring up a point that,
you know, she and I didn't really talk about before.
But as producers and writers andtelevision broadcast news, we
(15:43):
are really, truly trained to work every single second of our
day, right? So it becomes really challenging
when you are giving your all at work and then you also find
yourself needing to go above andbeyond at home.
And it's exhausting. And so anyone who's listening,
who's a television producer, A journalist, and can really
(16:04):
relate to this, you know, it's it's important that you, you
really listen to these, these tips and even reach out to
Nesta. Because I remember as a mom, you
know, I would be super exhaustedand I was only sleeping five
hours because multiple times, you know, both she and I can
relate on schedules. You know, I'd work overnight or
(16:27):
I'd work weekends And you know, you're trying to reshuffle your
whole existence for that job andthen your children at the same
time and it's very, very tiring.And even if you don't work in
this field, you can really understand if you're trying to
balance life, work balance. And I find more people right now
are trying to work from home because of that.
(16:49):
You know, Nessa, if you were to do it all again, would you be,
Would you have changed your career path?
Or do you think you're glad you went through it and now you're
just trying to make a change forthe future for yourself?
That's a great question. You know, when I speak, like on
podcasts or like speak to women at conferences, I just try to
(17:11):
encourage women, especially momswith young kids, to own your
past. Like when you say what I've
chosen differently, I couldn't have.
So I just have to own the path that I took.
Was it challenging? Very.
Was it hard? Extremely.
Would I do it again? I would have to say yes, because
that's where I was supposed to be to get to where I am today.
(17:36):
So now that I've learned all that, it's just what do I do
now? Like to encourage moms who are,
like in the trenches. I like to call it being in the
trenches because that's what it felt like to me and you hit, you
hit the nail on the head. It was so challenging.
Like, how do I pursue this career and try to thrive and
like climb the ladder while still thrive at home and be
(17:59):
there for my children 100%. So what I started doing, I
started this concept of stealingtime.
So I would steal time in the morning when I was getting them
dressed to have fun. I would turn on YouTube a song
and we would just be dancing or singing while they're getting
dressed. So it was always like, while
they're doing something, how do I make it fun?
(18:21):
How do I be present and not showhow tired and exhausted and,
like, depleted I felt? So that's one way.
And then overall, that became like my joy because I was able
to have fun with them because without stealing time, there was
no way I could fit in everythinginto my day.
You know what it is you, what itwas like.
(18:41):
You'd come home after work, but you'd still be looking for
stories So you can pitch the next day or trying to stay on
top of everything, or how can I make tomorrow better?
So for moms who are in it right now, just going going through
the motions, try to steal time to have fun and like do things
that you love with your childrenwhile you're doing chores or
(19:02):
getting them ready. And just to add on to that, you
know, I worked in the office forall of my career, OK.
But in the last, well, well, I'll back that up a little bit
because during COVID I was even in the office.
So I hadn't really had the remote experience until my last
two years at CNN when I wound upworking for a show in New York
(19:26):
from Atlanta. And you know, you would think
I'm home, right? This is going to give me more
life, work balance. No, I felt like I would actually
work more because I was home. So there really is no way around
it without creating a balance and without putting yourself 1st
and and making time for yourselfand your kids an isolated time
(19:50):
outside of your work life, right.
So just just adding that becausesome people think their only way
out is by working from home and honestly up until 2-3 weeks ago,
I felt like, no, I was still working a lot from home.
It really is all about balance and being mindful.
And so I wanted to make sure that, you know, before I bring
(20:12):
up the fact that you were on Roland Martin's show talking
about your book, I wanted to bring up mindfulness and content
creating mindfully. You know, now that you have this
book and you can add to your coaching with this.
Elevated expertise. You know when you create content
and a book is creating content. Guys, when you're creating
(20:35):
content, how are you now proceeding?
Do you feel yourself being more tapped into the news as a former
producer or producer that you'recreating content that's more
relevant to what people are talking about?
Like how do you make it more mindful?
OK, so I have to be honest. So I did take a pause on how how
(21:01):
active I am on social media so Ican focus on the book.
So I guess I'm creating ideas from like the clients that I
coach. I get here straight like first
hand what they're going through so I I can use that as content
later. But right now, I guess I'm in
the research phase and like justtrying to help the clients get
(21:24):
the results that they're lookingfor.
And that's mindful though, I mean, you're being mindful with
your time. I am, So I had to prioritize.
Like, am I going on social mediaevery day just doing what I my
expertise like writing about thebook or do I actually like, help
the clients hear them out, hear what they're going through.
(21:46):
Then I can use that information as like raw, raw material to
then create even more content, like more focused content, more
relevant content. I do read news stories about
like what's going on, the trendsthat are happening, but in like
parenting, things that are affecting like Women's Health,
(22:08):
things like that. And I just tend to focus now
more on the clients. And.
And so let's talk about, you know, the fact that you wrote
this book. You know, I really want to know,
how did you get started? We're both writers.
You know, I could sit there and write forever, but I guess it
(22:28):
seems like a daunting task to write a book.
So how did you get started? So I always knew there was a
book inside of me. I've been wanting to write a
book for 10 years, and I'm sure a lot of people can relate to
that. It's just actually doing it.
And so a book is inside all of us, if that's what you really
want to do. So you just have to do it and
(22:51):
like you. Got it.
Right you. Really have to just create goals
and just go for a task every dayon just be determined.
Like I'm going to finish this. I'm not going for perfection.
I'm going for getting this done,doing what I need to do, learn
what I used to learn. I was on YouTube.
(23:11):
I I did get support from a friend who was also going down
the same path. And we were there for each other
to be an accountability partner,to support each other, right.
So being in the right space withthe right people, people who are
also driven. And she wrote her book.
(23:31):
I wrote my book and we were cheering for each other along
the way. So yeah, that was very important
and it was just just getting it done.
It was grueling, but I'm so glad.
Independent. Not to cut you off, but you
independently published this. So did you hire a copy editor?
Like, how did you go about? Like, did you organize it, have
(23:54):
like a copy editor go through it?
Or did you do that yourself as well?
Like how did you proceed? OK, great question.
That's so funny that you asked that.
So I was doing everything by myself and I independently
published using KDP, which is linked with Amazon, right.
So I thought, oh, I worked in news.
(24:15):
I used to be a writer. I can do everything by myself.
No, not do everything by yourself.
So I'm learning. I'm starting my business writing
this book that you have to invest in yourself.
You have to hire people. So I did hire a copy editor
after a friend who stood at CNN encouraged me.
(24:35):
Like you think you can see the mistakes, but you cannot
Absolutely. No, you can't you.
Can't. So that's your baby.
You can't see anything. You're like, this is great, This
is perfect. So I hired people, things that I
just didn't want to do or I justfelt like it's frustrating.
Some of the tech stuff, some of the artistic things.
(24:56):
I hired people. I, you know, it's great that you
did. I'm really glad because Nesta,
it is true. We all take on too much.
Especially in TV news. We think Oh well, I'm editing.
I'm writing my own script. I'm picking my own video.
I'm cutting the sod. I'm coming up with the
questions. I could do it all.
I'm writing the TS like I can write a book.
(25:16):
I can do it. So I'm glad you had that self
realization and hired someone tohelp you.
I really do like to hear that you use KDP.
I've been reading a lot about that, you know, myself.
I'm like, oh gosh, how do you even get started?
But what I loved most when I sawyou posting on, I think it was
Facebook, was that you wound up on Roland Martin's show.
(25:39):
And just because of our background, you know, we, we
know Roland through CNN. And I just was wondering like
how did you wind up getting on the show?
Did he see that you pitched or posted or did you pitch?
Like, how did you go about securing this earned media so
early on? Oh, like just posting on social
(26:00):
so they they found me, his team.That's so great.
They loved it. They got the CNN connection.
Yeah, I knew people who worked over there too.
But with beyond me just reachingout to the people that I knew,
they just saw the the social media postings and they're like,
this is great. We think this would be a good
fit for our show, for our audience.
And I was down for it. I was game and I said yes, that
(26:23):
was let's do it. So I just want to you, well, let
me just say this is a prime example of a lot of what I share
you, really. If you're an expert, you really
need to be posting on social. And it can't always be like,
hey, buy my book. It actually shouldn't be.
It should be more of a personal story.
Loved about the content you created around your Roland
(26:45):
Martin moment was you also did things that I tell people all
the time like behind the scenes waiting for it.
I'm about to go on like I just was on Oh my gosh, I can't
believe I did this moments kind of to your story.
And also I think I don't know ifyou posted it too, but I think
that that's what people really want.
They want to feel a part of it. And I thought you did a really
(27:08):
great job. And when I saw this all unfold,
I I knew we had to have a conversation and we had talked
about having one. But I thought it was just the
perfect timing because you really just exemplified what
every author should do. And even reading from your book
is another great one, if you haven't already, to record
yourself reading quotes or reading parts and posting that
(27:31):
on Facebook or to your story, because that also helps people
get beyond the link or the click.
You know you want them to buy the book.
So I hope that it is a true success for you.
You know, before we wrap it up, I really wanted to just get like
maybe your first three tips in like a sound bite that you
(27:51):
offered people on how to, you know, really connect with the
press if they're looking to secure earned media.
Would you mind just repeating those for me?
OK, yeah, absolutely. So make sure that you match.
Make sure that. You're pitching to the right
person and make sure it's relevant, so make sure you match
(28:14):
your pitch to the show. So if the show is about cooking
and like housekeeping things, don't pitch something talking
about, oh, you're an engineer and you're an expert.
Make it. Make it match.
At least if you can, find a way to link it and the producer
would definitely give you a yes.Let's do this, then try that.
(28:36):
Make sure that you are pitching to the right person.
Make sure the person is one of the gatekeepers for the show and
that the person still works for the show, and make sure that you
know it is relevant to the news cycle.
If you were an engineer, an expert on engineering, and the
show you wanted to get on was like Housekeeping matters, make
(28:58):
sure that there's something going on, like in the news that
puts the two of them together for you to pitch.
And do not be surprised if you don't get to talk about all,
only about your book. Like if you're an expert, they
want you. The producers on the show want
you to talk about the topic, notnecessarily your book.
(29:21):
And do you have any final thoughts that you would like to
share about your book or your experience or anything just that
you've learned that you want to just impart on others before we
wrap? Yeah, just.
Enjoy the journey of transitioning.
It can be very scary transitioning from one career to
the next or starting your own business.
(29:41):
But remember to invest. In yourself.
You will spend $10 now You learnand stop wasting time going
around in circles. And just to make sure that you
prepare for the camera being on camera, make sure you're looking
right. Make sure you already planned
(30:02):
out like some talking points andeven when they throw you a
curveball, be quick on your toesand just go back to some of the
talking points if you can't think of anything and try to
weave it and ask you. Thank you for repeating those
points and adding to the end because it's a lot of what I say
and I always love when others say it because it's like I'm not
(30:24):
the only one everybody let's get, let's get practicing on
camera and get your talking points in line.
Because if you don't you, you may miss out on further
opportunities, right? Like if you have an interview
and you vomit the press, see is that.
And the chances are they're not going to bring you back on any
other show. So you really need to nail those
on camera opportunities. And Nest, I'm really glad we
(30:45):
were able to get together onlineand bring this valuable
information to everybody. Good luck with the book and your
coaching. Thank you.
Thank you.
On this episode of On Cam Ready,a television producer, writer
and author on how you can elevate your expertise and also
perfect your pitch to the press.So make sure that you match.
Make sure that you're pitching to the right person and make
(00:26):
sure it's relevant. So make sure you match your
pitch to the show. Make sure that you are pitching
to the right person. Make sure the person is one of
the gatekeepers for the show andthat the person still works for
the show. And make sure that you know it
is relevant to the news cycle. And do not be surprised if you
(00:48):
don't get to talk about all, only about your books.
Like, if you're an expert, the producers on the show want you
to talk about the topic, not necessarily your book.
That is Nessa Lumpkin. She's a sleep coach, author, and
former broadcast news producer. On this episode, we'll talk
(01:10):
about how authors can leverage their expertise to attract the
press and use their content to dress up television
conversations once booked by themedia.
Hi everyone, I'm Jamie Magliettaand this is on Cam ready.
We have a lot to talk about withNesta.
But first, if you are listening to this or watching this on
(01:30):
YouTube and you like what you'rehearing, be sure to leave a
comment or review or like this video or subscribe and follow
this channel. And if you're looking to produce
your own podcast or YouTube channel or you're looking for
media consultant, please visit my website on camready.com.
Now let's turn to our guest. Again, it's Nesta Lumpkin.
(01:51):
She's author of the book Not Your Average Baby Sleep Book, 23
Tips to Get Your Baby to Sleep Through the Night and Your
Exhaustion and Live a More Balanced Life, Now in Full
transparency. I worked with Nesta at CNN and
you know the experiences we share are our experiences alone. 00:02:15,400 You know, knowing her work
(02:15):
ethic, I am personally intriguedby this conversation because she
has always been a thoughtful producer, very mindful.
So the fact that she wrote a book wasn't really surprising to
me, but I was able to ask her how she went about it.
So if you are interested in writing a book, please stick
around to the end. For that, we also offer some
(02:36):
incredible tips that will help you really stand out whenever
you pitch the press and when yousecure earned media.
So if you want to make your interviews really sing, be sure
to stick around for that part ofthe conversation.
OK, so let's get going again. Nesta is author of the book Not
Your Average Baby Sleep Book, 23Tips to Get Your Baby to Sleep
(03:00):
Through the Night and Your Exhaustion and Live a More
Balanced Life. Here's our conversation.
Nesta's with us now. Nesta, Why don't you start by
telling us a little bit more about who you are and your
background in television? So I am now an author, best
selling author, and a speaker and a baby sleep coach and my
(03:22):
background. I've worked in news at CN
various CNN networks for 17 years.
I started out from the bottom. I was a tour guide and then I
worked my way up into productionas an associate producer and
then a writer, and I worked withyou for several years.
It was great. We worked together in the
trenches and now we're here. Now we're here kind of taking
(03:48):
our own direction and going downour own paths, you know, as
entrepreneurs, which is really cool.
And I've loved seeing you blossom.
You've done so much online whereI remember at one point I think
you were doing videos on family coaching and relationship
guidance. And I thought, oh, that's just
like really broad. And you, you've really put
(04:09):
yourself out there online. And I think that, you know,
it's, it's commendable and not many producers put themselves in
front of the camera. So I think there's a lot to be
said about that and your confidence and what, you know as
a person you can offer, 'cause you have so much value, right,
that you can offer, and through this book you're offering a
offering tremendous value to parents, right?
(04:30):
And I want to deep dive onto your book, into your book and
how you got there. But one of the things that we
focus on in this in this podcastis really how to help people
pitch themselves and really elevate their content online and
draw the attention of televisionproducers so that when they are
pitching, it's hard for the press to say no.
(04:54):
So I really would love for you to explain more about what it
was like being a television producer and writer and if you
ever got pitches, what really would stand out to you from
those pitches that you can really help others when they're
pitching? Yeah, so being a producer, I was
slammed with emails from work, emails from people pitching, and
(05:18):
a lot of the emails I tried to read them from people pitching
their books or people pitching themselves to be a guest on the
show. The ones that really stood out
were people who understood the show that I was working on and
understood my position. So if you are trying to pitch to
a producer #1, make sure that they're a match.
(05:41):
Like make sure you're you're matching what you're pitching to
the show that the person is working on.
It's the worst if someone's pitching something just way left
field. You're working on a show that
deals with politics and someone's pitching you a show
about like how to do home makeovers.
So when you see things like that, you're just like this
(06:02):
person is being unreasonable. They didn't do the research.
There is no way this can fit into my show.
Dealing with politics, for example.
So just making sure that there is a match, you're reaching out
to the right person. Maybe the person left the
company or they moved to a different area.
They're working in, like tech, and you're pitching them for a
(06:22):
show. They're not going to have time
to to read your e-mail and pass it on to the right person.
Maybe if you're lucky and you know, just just doing your
research and making sure that you're you're staying on top of
the news, the news cycle, like what's going on in the news.
So if there's something, if you are like for me, I'm a baby
sleep coach. If there's a story about a new
(06:45):
study that was done about how sleep can help moms, I would
definitely pitch that to like a morning show or, you know, a
show that's talking about family, things like that.
And so to sum it up, you're saying, you know, make sure that
you're matching with the show, you're pitching the right person
and you're not being generic. And would you say that those
(07:07):
three points really kind of workfor any expert pitching
themselves to the news or to broadcast news?
Absolutely. And and don't be surprised if
they don't, the producer doesn'treally want to talk about your
book. Your book is just a vehicle to
get you on the show as an expert.
So. So yeah, they'll mention the
(07:27):
book, yeah. Yes, and that's the thing.
So many people probably think, OK, I'm an author, I want to get
booked and where I'm only talking about my book and yeah,
that could work on a on a seriesthat focuses on books.
But really people are looking. People in broadcast news or even
podcast hosts are looking for experts that can really provide
(07:49):
legitimate value. What do you have to say about
that? Like when we're looking for an
expert, what are we looking for really as TV producers?
Yeah, you're looking for someonewho has the authority and the
influence to talk about that that topic.
You're looking for someone who is a newsmaker.
You're looking for a celebrity, someone who can attract more
(08:09):
viewers. Someone your viewers can relate
to. So if you have like tons of
followers, that helps. It doesn't mean that you have to
have a ton of followers, so justjust being an authority, if your
book really dies into the the topic very well, or you wrote an
article somewhere else talking about your book or the topic and
(08:30):
you have really great quotes that could help get you booked.
Yeah, and pulling quotes as wellas tips.
You know, if you come, if you'rean author and you're gonna be on
a segment about, you know, like yourself sleep coaching and you
were to pull out a quote or somepoints to elevate your content,
(08:50):
you know, as the author, how would you go about doing that?
Would you would you kind of pulllike the the things that
everyone knows about, or would you try to make up new quotes or
new points from your book that you haven't really brought to
light? Like how would you do it as an
author who's also been ATV producer?
OK, so I guess I would just use my TV producer skills and look
(09:11):
for a sound bite in my book. Just go through, even if you
can't remember exactly what you said on each in each chapter,
just go through and use a highlighter and highlight, OK,
this is a zinger, you know, thiswould actually get people's
attention if I pull this quote out.
So things like that, pulling good quotes out.
(09:32):
If you have charts or diagrams, if you conducted a study and you
found like great results or something that could could
change how people think about a particular topic, something new
and fresh, I would highlight that.
Yes. And I would also say, you know,
she's coming to this conversation speaking in sound
(09:54):
bites, guys. You really want to be joining
any conversation, a podcast or ATV show or even when you're
being interviewed with the thought of being concise and
detailed and short, right? What would you say to that
Nesta? Yes.
Now that takes some practice andthat takes skill.
So for me, I can better pick outthe sound bite if I'm hearing
(10:18):
it. Now actually doing it is is
different and it takes practice and you just build on that.
We don't be too wordy to verbosein some settings, You know, the
the more flowery your languages the better.
But for for us, you know, comingfrom the media, it's just simple
language. If you can speak simply like
(10:39):
you're talking to a first graderor first to to 6th grader, that
would be great. Just to clearly list your points
out. You can throw in some big words,
do whatever, but, you know, think and sound bites.
Yes. And and I always say, you know,
a sound bite is 45 seconds at the most.
Really, You wanna be under 30? And the best ones are when it's
(11:02):
like 15 seconds. You're like, wow, that was a
really great comment or really good quote.
I'm gonna use that and pull it for, you know, another segment
or I'm gonna put it on social. As I mentioned in the intro,
she's author of the book, not your average baby sleep book.
And she's here to offer some advice about how to write books,
pitch your books and also tips for moms.
(11:23):
So keep listening. Nesta Lumpkins with us.
So, Nesta, why don't you start by telling us why you decided to
write this book? So I decided to write this book
because it was very personal. I like I said, I was working in
news media for 17 years in various roles, and at a point I
(11:43):
kind of got tired of just being an observer, writing about what
I'm seeing going on. And so I wanted to jump in and
help. I just had this need to teach
people what I've learned becauseI feel like I've been through
the trenches a lot in my life because I had to learn a lot of
(12:06):
things on my own and take classes and invest in myself.
So you mentioned I started out coaching about relationships and
then as I became a mom, became aparent, I realized how much is
needed to help working moms. It was such a challenge, like
having children. I had three children working
(12:27):
full time and like navigating the transition from maternity
leave, going back to work like 3different times under three
different circumstances because one of them was during the
pandemic in 2020 carrying over to 2021.
And just how do you navigate like breastfeeding while you
(12:47):
have to be in zoom meetings while you're working from home?
It was so challenging and so thethings that I learned,
especially with sleep coaching my my children, I wanted to pass
that on to moms and I thought a book would be a great vehicle
for them to learn. And it is a great way for you to
(13:07):
also elevate your expertise, right?
And if you have a book or if youhave a course, something like
that helps legitimize your offering.
So I think it's really smart foryou to have packaged what you've
learned in the form of a book. And it's also interesting that
you launched this book when I'vebeen reading that, you know,
(13:28):
social media experts say that 2024 is going to be the year
content creators in the space ofmindfulness thrive.
So I figured I would ask, you know, why don't you start off by
offering some tips for moms thatare, you know, maybe struggling,
trying to make a make sense of it all or just trying to balance
work and life that might be useful that are off from your
(13:51):
book. Yeah, absolutely.
So when I coach clients, I coachmoms and dads how to get their
babies to sleep through the night.
I tried to tell them that it's all about mindset.
Now you have to start thinking about the bigger picture.
As a parent, I know it's tough for moms, especially during the
first year. You're just trying to get
(14:13):
through the day. You're just trying to keep your
child alive and make sure that they're well fed and they're
sleeping and they're OK. But in the midst of that, you
have to have a vision, OK? That's the number one thing of
where you want your family to be, #2.
You have to use sleep coaching or find ways to use something.
But for me, I use sleep coachingas an organizational tool to
(14:36):
organize your day and for you totake care of your health.
So those are the three things. Having a vision, using sleep
coaching as an organizational tool and taking care of
yourself. So having a vision, it just
keeps you motivated to keep going with being consistent.
It keeps you going when things look tough and you just want to
(14:59):
give up. And you know, having sleep
coaching as an organizational tool, it's just a way to build
your day around something to give you structure and taking
care of your health. If mama's not OK, baby's not OK,
right? The whole family is going to be
off. So you have to invest in your
(15:20):
you have to eat healthy, go to the gym, you have to get better
sleep. And one of the ways to get
better sleep is to teach your child how they can sleep better. 00:15:32,400 I think it's great, you know,
And the points that she's makingreally bring up a point that,
you know, she and I didn't really talk about before.
But as producers and writers andtelevision broadcast news, we
(15:43):
are really, truly trained to work every single second of our
day, right? So it becomes really challenging
when you are giving your all at work and then you also find
yourself needing to go above andbeyond at home.
And it's exhausting. And so anyone who's listening,
who's a television producer, A journalist, and can really
(16:04):
relate to this, you know, it's it's important that you, you
really listen to these, these tips and even reach out to
Nesta. Because I remember as a mom, you
know, I would be super exhaustedand I was only sleeping five
hours because multiple times, you know, both she and I can
relate on schedules. You know, I'd work overnight or
(16:27):
I'd work weekends And you know, you're trying to reshuffle your
whole existence for that job andthen your children at the same
time and it's very, very tiring.And even if you don't work in
this field, you can really understand if you're trying to
balance life, work balance. And I find more people right now
are trying to work from home because of that.
(16:49):
You know, Nessa, if you were to do it all again, would you be,
Would you have changed your career path?
Or do you think you're glad you went through it and now you're
just trying to make a change forthe future for yourself?
That's a great question. You know, when I speak, like on
podcasts or like speak to women at conferences, I just try to
(17:11):
encourage women, especially momswith young kids, to own your
past. Like when you say what I've
chosen differently, I couldn't have.
So I just have to own the path that I took.
Was it challenging? Very.
Was it hard? Extremely.
Would I do it again? I would have to say yes, because
that's where I was supposed to be to get to where I am today.
(17:36):
So now that I've learned all that, it's just what do I do
now? Like to encourage moms who are,
like in the trenches. I like to call it being in the
trenches because that's what it felt like to me and you hit, you
hit the nail on the head. It was so challenging.
Like, how do I pursue this career and try to thrive and
like climb the ladder while still thrive at home and be
(17:59):
there for my children 100%. So what I started doing, I
started this concept of stealingtime.
So I would steal time in the morning when I was getting them
dressed to have fun. I would turn on YouTube a song
and we would just be dancing or singing while they're getting
dressed. So it was always like, while
they're doing something, how do I make it fun?
(18:21):
How do I be present and not showhow tired and exhausted and,
like, depleted I felt? So that's one way.
And then overall, that became like my joy because I was able
to have fun with them because without stealing time, there was
no way I could fit in everythinginto my day.
You know what it is you, what itwas like.
(18:41):
You'd come home after work, but you'd still be looking for
stories So you can pitch the next day or trying to stay on
top of everything, or how can I make tomorrow better?
So for moms who are in it right now, just going going through
the motions, try to steal time to have fun and like do things
that you love with your childrenwhile you're doing chores or
(19:02):
getting them ready. And just to add on to that, you
know, I worked in the office forall of my career, OK.
But in the last, well, well, I'll back that up a little bit
because during COVID I was even in the office.
So I hadn't really had the remote experience until my last
two years at CNN when I wound upworking for a show in New York
(19:26):
from Atlanta. And you know, you would think
I'm home, right? This is going to give me more
life, work balance. No, I felt like I would actually
work more because I was home. So there really is no way around
it without creating a balance and without putting yourself 1st
and and making time for yourselfand your kids an isolated time
(19:50):
outside of your work life, right.
So just just adding that becausesome people think their only way
out is by working from home and honestly up until 2-3 weeks ago,
I felt like, no, I was still working a lot from home.
It really is all about balance and being mindful.
And so I wanted to make sure that, you know, before I bring
(20:12):
up the fact that you were on Roland Martin's show talking
about your book, I wanted to bring up mindfulness and content
creating mindfully. You know, now that you have this
book and you can add to your coaching with this.
Elevated expertise. You know when you create content
and a book is creating content. Guys, when you're creating
(20:35):
content, how are you now proceeding?
Do you feel yourself being more tapped into the news as a former
producer or producer that you'recreating content that's more
relevant to what people are talking about?
Like how do you make it more mindful?
OK, so I have to be honest. So I did take a pause on how how
(21:01):
active I am on social media so Ican focus on the book.
So I guess I'm creating ideas from like the clients that I
coach. I get here straight like first
hand what they're going through so I I can use that as content
later. But right now, I guess I'm in
the research phase and like justtrying to help the clients get
(21:24):
the results that they're lookingfor.
And that's mindful though, I mean, you're being mindful with
your time. I am, So I had to prioritize.
Like, am I going on social mediaevery day just doing what I my
expertise like writing about thebook or do I actually like, help
the clients hear them out, hear what they're going through.
(21:46):
Then I can use that information as like raw, raw material to
then create even more content, like more focused content, more
relevant content. I do read news stories about
like what's going on, the trendsthat are happening, but in like
parenting, things that are affecting like Women's Health,
(22:08):
things like that. And I just tend to focus now
more on the clients. And.
And so let's talk about, you know, the fact that you wrote
this book. You know, I really want to know,
how did you get started? We're both writers.
You know, I could sit there and write forever, but I guess it
(22:28):
seems like a daunting task to write a book.
So how did you get started? So I always knew there was a
book inside of me. I've been wanting to write a
book for 10 years, and I'm sure a lot of people can relate to
that. It's just actually doing it.
And so a book is inside all of us, if that's what you really
want to do. So you just have to do it and
(22:51):
like you. Got it.
Right you. Really have to just create goals
and just go for a task every dayon just be determined.
Like I'm going to finish this. I'm not going for perfection.
I'm going for getting this done,doing what I need to do, learn
what I used to learn. I was on YouTube.
(23:11):
I I did get support from a friend who was also going down
the same path. And we were there for each other
to be an accountability partner,to support each other, right.
So being in the right space withthe right people, people who are
also driven. And she wrote her book.
(23:31):
I wrote my book and we were cheering for each other along
the way. So yeah, that was very important
and it was just just getting it done.
It was grueling, but I'm so glad.
Independent. Not to cut you off, but you
independently published this. So did you hire a copy editor?
Like, how did you go about? Like, did you organize it, have
(23:54):
like a copy editor go through it?
Or did you do that yourself as well?
Like how did you proceed? OK, great question.
That's so funny that you asked that.
So I was doing everything by myself and I independently
published using KDP, which is linked with Amazon, right.
So I thought, oh, I worked in news.
(24:15):
I used to be a writer. I can do everything by myself.
No, not do everything by yourself.
So I'm learning. I'm starting my business writing
this book that you have to invest in yourself.
You have to hire people. So I did hire a copy editor
after a friend who stood at CNN encouraged me.
(24:35):
Like you think you can see the mistakes, but you cannot
Absolutely. No, you can't you.
Can't. So that's your baby.
You can't see anything. You're like, this is great, This
is perfect. So I hired people, things that I
just didn't want to do or I justfelt like it's frustrating.
Some of the tech stuff, some of the artistic things.
(24:56):
I hired people. I, you know, it's great that you
did. I'm really glad because Nesta,
it is true. We all take on too much.
Especially in TV news. We think Oh well, I'm editing.
I'm writing my own script. I'm picking my own video.
I'm cutting the sod. I'm coming up with the
questions. I could do it all.
I'm writing the TS like I can write a book.
(25:16):
I can do it. So I'm glad you had that self
realization and hired someone tohelp you.
I really do like to hear that you use KDP.
I've been reading a lot about that, you know, myself.
I'm like, oh gosh, how do you even get started?
But what I loved most when I sawyou posting on, I think it was
Facebook, was that you wound up on Roland Martin's show.
(25:39):
And just because of our background, you know, we, we
know Roland through CNN. And I just was wondering like
how did you wind up getting on the show?
Did he see that you pitched or posted or did you pitch?
Like, how did you go about securing this earned media so
early on? Oh, like just posting on social
(26:00):
so they they found me, his team.That's so great.
They loved it. They got the CNN connection.
Yeah, I knew people who worked over there too.
But with beyond me just reachingout to the people that I knew,
they just saw the the social media postings and they're like,
this is great. We think this would be a good
fit for our show, for our audience.
And I was down for it. I was game and I said yes, that
(26:23):
was let's do it. So I just want to you, well, let
me just say this is a prime example of a lot of what I share
you, really. If you're an expert, you really
need to be posting on social. And it can't always be like,
hey, buy my book. It actually shouldn't be.
It should be more of a personal story.
Loved about the content you created around your Roland
(26:45):
Martin moment was you also did things that I tell people all
the time like behind the scenes waiting for it.
I'm about to go on like I just was on Oh my gosh, I can't
believe I did this moments kind of to your story.
And also I think I don't know ifyou posted it too, but I think
that that's what people really want.
They want to feel a part of it. And I thought you did a really
(27:08):
great job. And when I saw this all unfold,
I I knew we had to have a conversation and we had talked
about having one. But I thought it was just the
perfect timing because you really just exemplified what
every author should do. And even reading from your book
is another great one, if you haven't already, to record
yourself reading quotes or reading parts and posting that
(27:31):
on Facebook or to your story, because that also helps people
get beyond the link or the click.
You know you want them to buy the book.
So I hope that it is a true success for you.
You know, before we wrap it up, I really wanted to just get like
maybe your first three tips in like a sound bite that you
(27:51):
offered people on how to, you know, really connect with the
press if they're looking to secure earned media.
Would you mind just repeating those for me?
OK, yeah, absolutely. So make sure that you match.
Make sure that. You're pitching to the right
person and make sure it's relevant, so make sure you match
(28:14):
your pitch to the show. So if the show is about cooking
and like housekeeping things, don't pitch something talking
about, oh, you're an engineer and you're an expert.
Make it. Make it match.
At least if you can, find a way to link it and the producer
would definitely give you a yes.Let's do this, then try that.
(28:36):
Make sure that you are pitching to the right person.
Make sure the person is one of the gatekeepers for the show and
that the person still works for the show, and make sure that you
know it is relevant to the news cycle.
If you were an engineer, an expert on engineering, and the
show you wanted to get on was like Housekeeping matters, make
(28:58):
sure that there's something going on, like in the news that
puts the two of them together for you to pitch.
And do not be surprised if you don't get to talk about all,
only about your book. Like if you're an expert, they
want you. The producers on the show want
you to talk about the topic, notnecessarily your book.
(29:21):
And do you have any final thoughts that you would like to
share about your book or your experience or anything just that
you've learned that you want to just impart on others before we
wrap? Yeah, just.
Enjoy the journey of transitioning.
It can be very scary transitioning from one career to
the next or starting your own business.
(29:41):
But remember to invest. In yourself.
You will spend $10 now You learnand stop wasting time going
around in circles. And just to make sure that you
prepare for the camera being on camera, make sure you're looking
right. Make sure you already planned
(30:02):
out like some talking points andeven when they throw you a
curveball, be quick on your toesand just go back to some of the
talking points if you can't think of anything and try to
weave it and ask you. Thank you for repeating those
points and adding to the end because it's a lot of what I say
and I always love when others say it because it's like I'm not
(30:24):
the only one everybody let's get, let's get practicing on
camera and get your talking points in line.
Because if you don't you, you may miss out on further
opportunities, right? Like if you have an interview
and you vomit the press, see is that.
And the chances are they're not going to bring you back on any
other show. So you really need to nail those
on camera opportunities. And Nest, I'm really glad we
(30:45):
were able to get together onlineand bring this valuable
information to everybody. Good luck with the book and your
coaching. Thank you.
Thank you.
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