A few days ago, my friend Kevin Madsen from SlimBooks sent me a copy of Sarah’s book Re[Frame] to get some comments. I told him that I would be on a plane on Tuesday and I would read it then. Kevin is smart and sneaky (in a good way) so he sent me a mail back asking me to just browse through the first 6-8 pages before Tuesday.

So, last Friday I started browsing through the book. In matter of minutes, I was hooked on the book. By the time I checked, I was more than half way through the book. It is one of those books I wish Sarah had written and published long ago. Now, it’s easier said than done. In my short conversation with Sarah, I found that it took her about ten years to write this book. I can believe that and relate to it – a book like this takes time and that makes it an even bigger treat for the readers.

First, those of you who don’t know Sarah, here is her quick bio:

Sarah Evans (@prsarahevans) is the is the Chief Evangelist at Tracky (www.tracky.com), an open social collaboration platform and the owner of Sevans Strategy, a public relations and new media consultancy. It’s her personal mission to engage and employ the use of emerging technologies in all communication that connects her with a rapidly growing base of more than 120,000 people. A “for good” advocate, Sarah worked with a local crisis center to raise more than $161K in three weeks via social media and is a team member of the Guinness Book World Record holding #beatcancer. Sarah can be seen in Vanity Fair’s Americas Tweethearts, Forbes’ 14 Power Women to Follow on Twitter and Entrepreneur’s Top 10 Hot Startups of 2010.

A quick interview with Sarah on her new book Re[Frame]

RS: Why this topic?

SE: In the last two years I was approached about writing a few different books, mostly related to public relations and social media. Going through the proposal process, I realized those weren’t topics I wanted to write books about–because it’s already been done. I decided to wait. I would write a book if and when there was something I was passionate about. [RE]FRAME: Little Inspirations For A Larger Purpose is one part personal journey and another part prescriptive steps to help people reconnect to their purpose. It reminds us all that in order to achieve something, you must first do. I’m kind of the queen of stating the obvious, but I believe sometimes it’s worth repeating.

I specifically chose to work with the  SlimBooks (@SlimBooks). team. Based on my experience, publishers tell writers books need to have a certain “width” in order to compete in a specific category. If a book you wrote gets to a publisher and it doesn’t meet a required page length you will be forced to write additional content regardless of whether or not the book needs it. It’s maddening. My writing style is informal and fits the “short and sweet” category quite nicely. I will not string together an endless list of adjectives for the sake of page length.

RS: Where did the inspiration come from?

SE: This is truly ten years of knowledge gleaned from mentors, experiences, family, etc… I used to jot down learning moments on post its or electronic notes and tweets and one day I realized I created quite a bit of content. When the co-founders of SlimBooks approached me about being on their advisory board, I realized this was the publisher I wanted to work with and this was the time to write the book I had waiting within.

RS: What will readers get from reading your book?

SE: I wrote [RE]FRAME with the philosophy that less is more. Each chapter averages one-and-a-half-pages making it a quick read for those with big ideas and little time. [RE]FRAME is one part personal journey and another part prescriptive steps to help people reconnect to their purpose. It reminds us all that in order to achieve something, you must first do. Whether you’re getting ready to graduate college or are at a crossroads in your career, it’s my hope that [RE]FRAME offers you that extra boost to keep you going.

RS: What are the images on each page?

SE: Each page is paired with a motivational image called an emoti-quote, perfect for sharing or posting on your favorite social networks. You can view a few emoti-quote teasers on Instagram or Pinterest. Of course, there’s Facebook page for that, too.

RS: How would you describe this book in three sentences or less?

SE: Sometimes you need a shot in the arm, and sometimes you need a kick in the pants. [RE]FRAME is a little bit of both, providing daily inspiration and advice for those times when you’re tackling a project that seems bigger than you are.