Pete Billac

Pete Billac, founder and CEO of Swan Publishing, is an author / lecturer / humorist and one of the most sought after speakers in the country. One of his books, HOW NOT TO BE LONELY, grossed over $58 MILLION. He has written 56 books with 46 reaching "best seller" status.

Pete makes his audiences laugh-hard. His speeches are entertaining, refreshing, and informative, and he plays mostly to standing-room-only audiences. He enjoys people and more so, he loves to help people. He makes time for almost everyone, and he likes what he does; you can feel the excitement as he charms all audiences with his winning smile, quick wit, and candor.

He conducts seminars at writers' conventions and for Fortune 500 companies. Cruise lines seek his services because he is able to mix messages with laughter. He has appeared before more than 5000 civic, social and business groups on marketing, writing, health, motivation, and money. Look at the list of but "some" of his books.

Pete attributes the success of his books to the fact that he writes for the MASSES, in LARGE letters, SMALL words, he researches his topics like Columbo, he CANDIDLY tells what he wants to convey, his books sell for under $10, and each can be read in a few hours.

"If you are familiar with my style of writing, you'll recognize that I want each book to 'tell a story' with hopes that it is both enjoyable to read, and that you understand what I’m saying. I like to 'slip in' the messages so it won't seem like preaching. I hate textbooks because it is always a chore to read them - like it's homework."

"And gosh, I get blasted by MANY writers, English teachers, and grammarians because of my CAPITAL letters, my italics, my quotation marks, my bold letters, and unmistakable (faulty) punctuation. I just want my readers to not MISINTERPRET what I'm saying! I've been scolded and 'bad rapped' by some of the best, NONE of whom have ever written a best seller!" the author smiles. "I’m so thrilled when another of my books sells a million copies that I pass a mirror, look in, and spit all over myself I’m so pleased. I thank God every day for my good fortune.

"I've written novels, but my HOW TO books sell best, fast, and have an extended shelf life. I decide on a topic and if it interests me, I research it thoroughly, and tell others about it in easy-to-understand words. I try to ‘talk’ to my readers as if I was talking with a close friend; few people want to read a book with a dictionary. In this hurried world, almost any of my books can be read from cover to cover on a short airplane ride."

"WRITING a book is fun and easy. SELLING them is work, but not for me, I LOVE work. I live for the challenge. 'A MONKEY can write a book, but it takes a TEAM of monkeys to SELL it!' I've published 192 books and lost on but THREE! The average of books published by major publishers is that 87% earn NO MONEY for the author, and the publisher either makes a little, breaks even, or loses money. Most new writers think they can write a book and sail away on their yacht to Tahiti. It does happen that way, but RARELY.

"The first year after I wrote my ...LONELY book I gave 677 talks to any group who would have me. FEW writers will work that hard. In the past 12 years I've spoken to over 5000 groups, appeared on about 200 national TV shows, thousands of radio shows, and as many newspaper interviews. NEW writer’s feel that EVERYONE wants to read THEIR book. WHY? Who ARE you? Absolutely NOBODY cares about YOUR life (or mine) unless we’re Mass murderers? Royalty? Celebrities of some sort?

For people to read what you write, you have to entertain and/or help; I try to do both. People want to know how can you help ME - lose weight, remove wrinkles, live longer, become healthy, make MONEY. NOBODY CARES unless you can HELP them or unless you’re famous or infamous. These are FACTS! Most new authors never understand that. They just don't know that they don't know! Yes, they think EVERYONE will read their book.

"I warn them of the work it takes; book store autograph sessions, the numerous radio, TV and newspaper interviews, (you hope you get), the speeches, meetings, seminars, the travel, waiting in airports, getting lost, renting cars, hotel rooms near the elevator shaft, meetings where only a handful of people show up, sleeping in your car, spending money you DON’T have trying to promote your book and make more. It's all part of the game.

"MOST books sit on the shelf in retail stores crammed (spine only showing) between a million other books. If people don't KNOW about your book, they will never buy it, and it sits there and is later returned to the distributor who returns it to you. You MUST find a way to 'get the word out' or your book will die. Yeah, it's work!

"I had been rich, but invested in two things in Texas; real estate and oil. Those who owed me money wrote their own books - Chapter 11, Chapter 7 and Chapter 13. I not only LOST whatever money I had, I lost what was a 'guaranteed' income for LIFE, and of course, dignity. I OWED over $800,000, and my creditors didn't want a story, they wanted money. They loaned me money and they wanted money back.

"People asked why I had written a book such as HOW NOT TO BE LONELY. My answer was, 'MONEY and TO HELP OTHERS' in that order. In the Green Room before one of the national talk shows I was against three psychiatrists. They wanted to know my relevant credentials, and WHY I thought I could write a book about relationships, not being a psychiatrist or psychologist. I answered them quickly: 'Twenty-seven wild, wonderful, fun-loving years (since MY divorce) I spent as a single person. I read most of what YOU guys read and I've also LIVED most of it, and I am 45 years old and DON’T still live with my mother.’"

PETE BILLAC is a maverick; he writes only what pleases him. He is truthful, candid, and fears little. He has either edited, published, written, or ghost written over 500 books about a variety of subjects as well as more than 1000 short stories, and jokes for some of America's top comedians. He has a Bachelor or Science degree in geology, and a masters in both physics and chemistry. He's never worked in either of those fields in his life. He chose a life of adventure.

He served stints in the US Navy and US Army, he earned an athletic scholarship to Tulane University, he worked as a salvage diver, taught 8th grade history and science for one year, set 31 world records in spear fishing, and did work with Jacques Cousteau. He won the US Army Triathlon (running 2 miles, swimming 200 yards, .45 caliber pistol shoot), and has trophies for tennis, golf, sky diving, Tai Kwon Do, boxing, and football. "STOP, "he says. "Sounds as if I never had a job!"

But, he has had jobs. He did stunt work in Hollywood, he was a real estate investor, he's owned a charter airline, a modeling agency, a string of art galleries, night clubs, drilled for oil, and owned a coconut plantation in Mexico. He taught snow skiing in Aspen, and water skiing and scuba diving in Miami. He now lives on a cattle ranch in the Texas Hill Country. He has, to be sure, lived a full life. "And it isn’t over yet," he smiles. And, it isn’t.

He writes three or four books a year that HELP people with health, life, or business. He flies to conventions around the world and, he truly does make his audiences laugh - HARD! He conducts daily radio interviews from his home to countries around the world, and his attitude is ALWAYS positive. "If you think you CAN, or think you CAN’T, you are right," this prolific author adds.

His Mafia vendetta book, THE ANNIHILATOR, sold over a million copies. His biography on war hero and Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, Roy P. Benavidez (no longer in print since Roy died in 1998) was a runaway best seller. Another, about light-heavyweight champion of the world, Willie Pastrano, has a great chance of becoming a movie, and well...look through the book catalog and see some of the books that Pete Billac has written.

"Pete Billac is an authority on dating and solving problems in relationships. All his books are best-sellers..."
Phil Donahue"

You can e-mail Pete Billac directly at swanbooks@ghg.net