In the Ask Omar section every month I will take readers questions and I will answer them directly. Send your questions to omartyree@ascendantstrategy.net Stay tuned the 15th of every month for the new questions. Our March issue features questions about my new book, The Equation, and also information on a publishing teleseminar occuring April 14, 2009 with myself and Pam Perry. Enjoy.

A Conversation with Omar Tyree

Q: You’ve retired from fiction and have published your first business book, The Equation. Can you tell us about that book?

A: The Equation is all about the 4 Components of every successful business in the world. I came up with The Equation back in 1997 as a tool to explain my entrepreneurship as a published author to high school students and college students. I basically came up with the four components being Love, Art, Support, and Business, and the basic concept is that the majority of successful people, whether they are self-employed or working for a company, they typically Love what they do. They love their professions, they love their careers, they love their jobs, and they love whatever it is they do, so they give 100% of their effort.

The second component is the Art factor. Art means that you are actually good at what you do, because you can Love it and not be good at it. And if you’re not good at it, chances are that you’re not going to be as successful. So your Love has to manifest itself in you being good at what you do, or thriving to be a #1 person in your field. So we also have that competition factor where you actually have to be good at what you do.

And then the Support factor became the third part of The Equation, where you love what you do, and you're good at it, but now you must go out and get other people to Support you for it, because if other people don’t Support you, then it’s just a hobby. You have a great hobby that you’re good at, and that you love doing, but in order to make your Art form and your Love and the passion into an employable situation, you must be able to get people to put dollar in your pocket, and that takes marketing, promoting, pitching, selling, talking people in to it, being in the right places, and making deals. That is the third part of The Equation.

Now, you have a lot of people out there who are artist and who love what they do, but they don’t know how to sell. Well, I have tough news for you; you’re going to have to learn how to sell or to employ a friend, family member, or someone else who can sell your products, services and your art form and passion. And then once you multiply how many sales you are able to get, that will determine or equal your Business. And once you develop that Business income, you then have to reinvest and keep it going. The first part of Business is busy, and so you have to be busy in that employable job situation or enterprise that you’re involved in to keep it going.

And those are the 4 Components. Every single enterprise in the world has the same 4 Components, where people love what they do, or a customer loving the product and services, where the product and services are good and valuable, so people will want to pay for it, and once individuals are supportive in major numbers, those major numbers will equal your business. Then you have to reinvest that into that business, create more of it, then spread it around and then open it up for others to invest in it as well. So The Equation book essentially becomes a valid bible of entrepreneurship.

Q: Why did you decide to write the book as a case study?

A: Well, case studies are the best way that people learn. One of the things that I’ve learned as a writer of fiction is that people want to know that other people were able to do. They are followers and they want to follow examples of success. I’m a leader in the sense that I can create my own entity, but a lot of other people have to see someone else do it first. That's why most of the business books are case studies, where you are studying what someone else did. So I have given all the case studies that I need to prove my point over and over again in 32 chapters.

Q: Why do think Art, Love, Support, and Business are the four components that are most important?

A: Well, you'll have to read the book and decide for yourself. And I would dare anyone to create any type of argument outside of those 4 Components to say that something else is more important, because I’m going to plug everything in to one of those Same 4 Components. There’s only four, and I wanted to simplify it. A lot of times people make things too complicated. But there are also 5 Elements of each component, which makes it 20 Elements and 4 Components.

But again, it's self-explanatory with a read of the book. I’m going to simplify all business into one of these 20 Elements in one of the 4 Components so that people can be very clear and focused on what’s going on in every single business.

Q: Speaking of business and business books, I know that people are always asking you how to get into the publishing game or how to get a major publishing deal, and I hear that you will be sharing this information on an upcoming tele-seminar. Tell me what attendees will learn?

A: You’ll learn how to publish a book, market a book, design a book, pitch a book, establish a book for a certain audience, and design marketing strategies for the audience you’re putting the book out for. You’ll also learn who reads what kinds of books, how the publishers, editors, and agents look at books, and much more. I’ve spent 17 years in the publishing industry, so I can talk about plenty of my experiences, and the experiences of other authors with plenty of know-how. Stay tuned to omartyree.com for more information.

Q: What cities will you visit for The Equation tour?

A: Right now we have events scheduled in Memphis, Santa Barbara, Des Moines, and Houston. The cities are still being developed, so stay tuned to the web site at (www.omartyree.com) for locations and dates. I will be visiting other countries as well, because The Equation applies internationally.

Q: Do you think you will ever write another fiction book?

A: Sure. Right now we are focusing on feature film deals. Feature film is very important right now to make the books into bigger, visual concepts for people to enjoy, just like people have been able to visualize comic books now as film. And I have to make those visions happen so people will be able to see, hear and feel what they’ve been able to read for so many years. Once I'm able to do so, my fiction books will become more impactful and marketable to larger audiences, which would make for a much stronger business Equation of my own for when I un-retire like Jay-Z, to write the new fiction titles that I would still like to write (smile).