Dr. Nabil Fanous is a triple board-certified surgeon, a university teacher, and a renowned speaker at major international medical conferences.
After completing advanced training (Fellowship) in Boston with world renowned plastic surgeon Dr. Richard Webster, Dr. Fanous was offered a teaching position at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, where he is presently chief of the Division of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and associate professor at the Department of Head and Neck Surgery. As well, he is the president of The Canadian Institute of Cosmetic Surgery, a founding member of the Canadian Academy of Facial Plastic Surgery, and a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada.
Dr. Fanous is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. He has authored more than sixty scientific publications, introduced numerous new surgical techniques, and designed multiple surgical instruments. He is married with two children and lives in Montreal, Canada, where he continues to have a large surgical practice.
Tell us a little bit about your background and how you ended up writing a book?
I teach Facial Plastic surgery at McGill.
A few years ago, I started also giving an additional course that offers insights into time management, as well as professional and personal fulfillment.
It was an immediate success. So, I started giving it at different medical conferences, and finally decided to put it in a book.
What do you hope your readers take away from this book?
To the reader:
The Universal Rules of Life will offer you many amazingly effective tricks and tools that will reignite your life and give you valuable insights into the path to personal fulfillment and professional success
As you cruise from one paragraph to the next, you will uncover how to maximize your life skills in THREE crucial life spheres:
1– How to organize and totally master your time;
2- How to beat and eliminate stress; and..
3- How to handle and manage both the difficult and dear people in your life
What are the top three tools you are currently using to write, publish, and promote your books?
For writing:
- My best tool was my first universal rule:
- Do It Now, Perfect It Later: Stop the “I Will” Habit
I used the same principle while writing this book. I couldn’t do it all at once. I did it one or two pages at a time, whenever a free moment presented itself.
For publishing:
- Finding a publisher is difficult. Finding the ideal one is a huge hurdle.
- The trick: personal phone calls to the person in charge in each publishing house.
- Also, it is worth it sometimes to accept contributing financially.
For promoting:
- Finding a good publicist is tricky.
- Again, use personal phone calls
- And concentrating on amazon ads is key
What were the top three mistakes you made while publishing your book what did you learn from them?
So far, no obvious mistakes.
I was lucky to find a great publisher (forefront books)
However, you need to find the right publisher through tons of personal phone calls
When will you consider your book a success?
If it sells over 10,000 copies at a minimum!
Can you share a snippet that isn’t in the blurb or excerpt?
While you are writing the book, you need to get every chapter read and evaluated by at least 20 friends or colleagues, and listen to their criticisms, not their compliments!
I went much further.
Over a two-year period spent on writing the book, I hired a writer and three different proofreaders, in addition to the publisher’s valuable input.
It was somewhat costly but worth every penny.
How have the pandemic and Lockdown affected you or your new business?
My business (cosmetic surgery) closed for three months but saw a boom since. But the lockdown helped me finish the book on time!
What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?
I had only two challenges:
FIRST- The huge energy and enthusiasm required to sit, concentrate and write.
To overcome this, I followed diligently two of my Universal Rules:
Rule 1: Do It Now, Perfect It Later
Rule 16: Unitask, Don’t Multitask
SECOND- The huge time needed to write and rewrite the book.
Again, I followed diligently the three time-management secrets of my Rule 6:
Eliminate It, Delegate It, or Shrink It!
Please share one thing new self-publish authors can do to gain more reviews on Amazon.
Your message should be:
1- Brief
2- tells the readers what they will gain by reading your book
The front and back covers of my book are an example.
Can you share some of the marketing techniques that have worked for you when promoting your book?
By far, the best marketing secret to selling your book can be summarized in one single word: COVER!
Your book cover should attract the reader as follows, in order of priority:
The front cover- within 2 seconds!
The back cover- within 1 minute
The inside folds- within 2 minutes
You only got 2 seconds to hook the reader by your front cover.
Otherwise, you’re cooked: he won’t even bother to read your text or your add!
If you had the chance to start your career over again, what would you do differently?
I will not do anything differently!
Why?
Because I love my work!
NB: if you don’t, change your type or place of work. Now is a good time.
What’s a productivity tip you swear by?
My rules 1 and 16:
Rule 1: Do It Now, Perfect It Later
Rule 16: Unitask, Don’t Multitask
What helps you stay driven and motivated to finish writing your book?
The exciting expectation of seeing the printed product
By the way, my Rule 10 confirms this:
Your #1 Goal in Life Is Happiness
The Four Indispensable Secrets of Living Happily:
..
Having Exciting Expectations
..
..
If you only had $1000 dollars to promote a new book, knowing everything you know now, how would you spend it?
- Amazon ads
What’s your best piece of advice for aspiring and new authors?
Read my book! (honestly)
What is your favorite quote?
“Learn to ask for what you want. The worst people can do is not give you what you ask for, which is precisely where you were before you asked!”
– Peter McWilliams
What is your definition of success?
Success is achieving happiness
Because, as my Rule 10 says: Your #1 Goal in Life Is Happiness
How do you personally overcome fear?
By using two of my Rules:
- Rule 1- Put Your Problems on Paper: How to Solve Any Problem in Less Than 5 Minutes
- Rule 2- What’s the Worst-Case Scenario? And What’s the Most Probable One
How can readers get in touch with you?
NFanousMD@gmail.com
Dr. Nabil Fanous book: The Universal Rules of Life: 27 Secrets for Managing Time, Stress, and People
