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How to Decide if a Group Book is Right for You
Anthologies–group books–have become really popular over the past couple years. You might be looking for one to join or have been invited to one already! Of course, you have to decide if you want to do it, but that decision shouldn’t just be based on the dollar amount to participate (and no, it’s not unreasonable for an anthology leader to ask you to pay to join). There are several things to consider before signing the
When Should You Launch Your Book
If you’re dreaming of the day you have your book in your hands, then you may have an entire image in your head . . . the season, what you’re wearing, who is there. But before you dig too deep into this daydream, there are some things you have to consider about when the right time is to launch YOUR specific book! It’s different for everyone.
Telling a Story You Can’t Tell
It isn’t a problem when you are talking about someone who knows, understands, and approves of you telling your story. But sometimes, you need to share about something that involves people outside your immediate, supportive circle. Maybe it’s someone from an old job. A family member. Or a stranger. But here you are, wanting to share a story that may involve that person, wondering how you’re supposed to share it. Should you leave them out?
What’s the Best Way to Publish?
Writing a book is only the first part of a long journey. Once the book is done, you need to publish it to let people all over the world benefit from your brilliance. Fortunately, there are several different options for you to publish your book. The hard part? Choosing one. Watch this video to learn a little about the different types and how to choose what’s right for you and your audience.
The Return on Your Book Investment
No one wants to just flush money down the drain. Especially when you have a business, you need to know that what you’re working on and pouring your heart (and cash) into is going to have returns. A lot of people complain that you “can’t make any money from selling books,” but that’s simply not true. You might not sell enough books to quit your day job, but you can absolutely make money from your
Investing in Your Book is Investing in Your Business
Investing in your book is investing in your business, pure and simple. Like investing in doing a podcast. Like investing in a website. It’s a piece of the business that dovetails with what you already do. There is more to it than just deciding that you want a book and hoping that it pans out. Watch the video to learn more about how investing in your book works.
When is Your Book Ready for the Editor?
One of the most popular questions that new authors ask is, “How do I know when my book is ready for editing?” It’s not a simple question of how much space your story takes up. And it’s not as easy as doing a checklist. It takes a feeling within to know when it’s ready. And it’s not something that anyone else can really tell you. Watch the video to learn more about how you can
Is Your Book Aligned with Your Business?
One morning, I awoke with a sense of urgency. It was almost like being awakened by an alarm. I felt like I should rush to my desk and write. I had a really strange dream that was like a movie. And not like the normal dream that’s like a movie. I saw the title come up on the screen. I saw the camera angles change. I met the characters. I followed them. I was even
Use Your Business Book as an Evergreen Marketing Tool with these 4 Tips
Employ these methods now to avoid ups and downs due to sickness or crisis If you have a business, then you’ve likely seen challenges. Lack of clients, loss of staff, illness and more changed the landscape of many businesses quarantine during the spring of 2020 quarantine, and it’s left many looking for outside the box ways to bring stability and work in new ways. The beautiful thing about having a book for your business is
Why Leaders Need to be Honest About their Story
The first book I wrote is in the fantasy genre, and the most fun thing about it was that I could make up everything! I created a world, characters, rules about magic, etc., and if I couldn’t figure out how something happened, magic was an all too convenient culprit. Obviously, the same isn’t true with fiction. Though it may look like other people rose to the top like magic, we know that it didn’t happen
How to Narrow the Focus When Planning Your Book
Business owners have tons of ideas swirling around in their heads most of the time. Snatching onto a few and putting them in your outline should be pretty simple right? The problem is usually that we pull a lot more than “a few” when we sit down to plan that outline. The nice thing is that you should have plenty of ideas to populate that outline. When you do your brain dump, you can get
What is a Book Editor?
For this post, I’m answering the second half of the question on the differences between a writing coach and a book editor. While they both have a similar goal, helping you get a book published, they handle different parts of the process. To read about what a writing coach does, see the previous post. For the editor portion, see below. When writers think of editors, they often picture someone wearing a black pointed hat, devil
What is a Writing Coach?
This month, I’m tackling a topic that I get asked about a lot: what is the difference between a writing coach and a book editor? Though it seems like they would be doing the same thing, the jobs are very different. For starters, the writing coach’s job is to help you get the book out of your head and on paper, while the editor’s job is to clean up the text and make it publishable.
Create without Judgement
Have you ever watched children playing? It’s carefree. It’s not full of concern or doubt or fear. My kids play dress up a lot with various pieces of clothing that they decided make up a character’s costume. Usually, it looks nothing like that character, but they tell me that’s who they are. They name their dolls, animals we see, and people they don’t know. My oldest is a little more grounded (most of the time),
How to Serve by Writing a Book
When you work one-on-one with your clients, you want to help them as much as possible. I know that so many coaches give more than they have to just to make sure that the lesson sticks, that the mind shifts, that the client is able to get over that hurdle and achieve what they’ve been looking for. But you’re only one person, right? You can only give so much. And when you have a lot
How Connection Through Your Book Leads to Healing
I was doing an exercise suggested by a creative thought-leader I’m friends with when I stumbled upon an idea that I didn’t realize was at the heart of what I do. For this exercise, we were asked to write “I believe” statements about our work. My work is coaching writers and editing their books so they can create the best version of the book and connect optimally with readers. I want the coaches, speakers, and business
How to Write About a Topic that Triggers You
Writing is a very personal thing to do. It involves a lot of emotion, both negative and positive. It bares the soul. It’s an act of cleansing. An act of rebirth. Writing can bring out our best. It can heal. There is a very good reason why everyone from teachers to therapists to business coaches encourages people to write. Getting the words out of our heads and on paper can give us a new perspective
How to Do a Call-to-Action at the End of Your Book
The End You’ve told your story. You’ve analyzed. You’ve provided the reader with a path to take, guidance, solutions, and the knowledge that you can help them through to the end of their journey. Now what? Before you send to printing, take another look at that book. It’s really a marketing piece, not a stand alone. What do YOU want to get out of that book? A client, of course. So you need to have
Mosaic Writing: Working Backwards from Writing to Planning and Beyond
You know the feeling you get when you open a box and the puzzle pieces are already assembled into the perfect final puzzle? You don’t? Me either. Part of the beauty and the challenge of creating a puzzle is to look at all the pieces and figure out which pieces go where. Which parts are the frame? What about the basket? The butterfly? The giant hulking monster with crazy eyes and pointy teeth? Maybe we
How to Inspire Others with Your Story
You’re finally ready. Something has pushed you to write a book about your experience, your methods, your way of thinking. But why does it actually matter? And why would someone want to read it? People are often inspired by others who have overcome challenges or developed a plan of attack to help them out. They want to read stories that will show them that they can get through what they are going through, someone has