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David Murray

David Murray

Chicago, Illinois

David Murray is a writer and journalist. He's editor and publisher of Vital Speeches of the Day magazine, and founder and executive director of the Professional Speechwriters Association.

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About the author

David Murray is editor and publisher of Vital Speeches of the Day, an 85-year-old collection of the best oral communication in the U.S. and the world. He’s also executive director of the Professional Speechwriters Association. He’s been a prominent commentator on communication issues for 25 years.

Murray cowrote the New York Times-bestselling memoir Tell My Sons (Random House, 2013) and a memoir about his advertising copywriter parents, Raised By Mad Men.

Murray’s writing on communication and other subjects has appeared in many media outlets including The New York Times, The Atlantic Monthly, the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Magazine, Advertising Age, Sailing Magazine, Golf Magazine, Car Collector Magazine, Vibe.com, the Huffington Post and Chicago Public Radio.

He lives with his wife and daughter in Chicago.
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Success! An Effort to Understand has already sold 498 pre-orders , was pitched to 12 publishers , and will be published by Disruption Books .
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• An invitation to the book launch and an ensuing Chicago Writer’s Pub Crawl led by David Murray.

• Exclusive access to publication updates.

• Upon publication, an invitation to join the exclusive Communicators Club—a community of "Effort to Understand" readers who want to carry on the conversation.

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• Upon publication, an invitation to join the exclusive Communicators Club—a community of "Effort to Understand" readers who want to carry on the conversation.

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• Upon publication, an invitation to join the exclusive Communicators Club—a community of "Effort to Understand" readers who want to carry on the conversation.

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• A free six-month digital subscription to Vital Speeches of the Day magazine.

• Exclusive access to publication updates.

• An invitation to the book launch and an ensuing Chicago Writer’s Pub Crawl led by David Murray.

• Upon publication, an invitation to join the exclusive Communicators Club—a community of "Effort to Understand" readers who want to carry on the conversation.

• An invitation to participate in a freewheeling webinar conversation with David Murray, about the implications of "An Effort to Understand." Ask him anything.

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• A free six-month digital subscription to Vital Speeches of the Day magazine.

• Exclusive access to publication updates.

• An invitation to the book launch and an ensuing Chicago Writer’s Pub Crawl led by David Murray.

• Upon publication, an invitation to join the exclusive Communicators Club—a community of "Effort to Understand" readers who want to carry on the conversation.

• An invitation to participate in a freewheeling webinar conversation with David Murray, about the implications of "An Effort to Understand." Ask him anything.

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Update #1 - Thank you from the bottom of my Boots. However ... Aug. 1, 2019

Dear Supporter of "An Effort to Understand"—

It's been a good week for morale here at Writing Boots headquarters. Thanks to your gracious pre-order and all the others (we're up to 232 after one week of the campaign!), things are really jumping around here.

Various Writing Boots employees who haven't so much has made eye contact with me in years—bureau chiefs, rewrite men, fact-checkers, proofreaders, pressmen and the ghostwriting team of Harry Kleekonk and Torlaminda Nudol—are suddenly falling all over themselves asking what they can do to help get the word out about the big book. It's Mr. Murray this, and Mr. Murray that.

I've even noticed a change of tone in the upstairs living quarters. "Great Scott," I overheard my teenage daughter whispering to my wife and one of our cooks on Tuesday, "maybe Dad isn't the nincompoop he appears to be." (I appeared in the doorway before my wife could answer.)

The only people not energized by the week's developments, it seems to me, are the people who put me up to this! These Publishizer goons, goddamn them, sound a lot like publishers! "Two thirty? Huh, nice start," my agent says to me, somehow spilling his cigar ashes on the email. I'd like to see HIM get 127 professionally discerning souls to buy 231 copies of a book he merely says he's written! 

And all the shared social media posts you've done! And the encouraging words I've received, like the writer I've known for a quarter century, who said, "Cheering you on from the bleachers is a privilege, believe me. How you have nurtured our profession so smartly and so long is remarkable."

My agent doesn't want to hear about any of that. It's all about quantity with these bastards! And odd quantities, at that!

"If An Effort to Understand hits 1000 pre-orders by Saturday 31 August 2019 noon CDT, then it will be pitched to 129 publishers when the campaign ends. ... If not reached, then it gets pitched to non-traditional publishers."

What if it gets 999 pre-orders? Maybe then, it will be pitched 128 traditional publishers? Or to one traditional publisher, who dresses funny and wears a monocle.

How would I know? As my adman dad used to say, "I'm just the dumb writer."

So if you know anyone else who might like to have an autographed copy of this book—(which IS off to a good start, as four publishers have already expressed interest in it, behind Publishizer's locked scenes)—I'd very much appreciate your passing on this link.

https://publishizer.com/an-eff... 

And if you have any social media networks you'd like to share it with, I'd appreciate that too.

Mostly, dear colleagues and correspondents, muses and sometime combatants (that's you, family and friends)—I appreciate you, for your belief in me and your stated and demonstrated support of my writing. No matter what happens, I'm looking forward to finishing this book, for you.

And for my agent, who will repossess my 2007 Subaru Outback, if I don't.

David Murray