Adventures In Writing

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What I’m Learning from the 2nd Annual Brew Your Book Telesummit – Part 1

091316-bybsummitpromoIn 2015 I realized a HUGE goal of mine: to host a telesummit. It is a ton of work to get all the speakers lined up, the interviews scheduled, copy written, and making sure all the technology wants to play nice.

But it is oh-so-worth it!

The words of wisdom from my 13 experts have REALLY inspired me to step up my game – both professionally in my writing and also with making sure the WORLD knows about this event.

Dreaming of writing a #book? Find out how on Brew Your Book Summit starting 9/27! #BrewYourBook Click To Tweet
The summit is September 27 – 29, 2016. That’s three FULL days of training, stories, tips, and advice from published authors to help you STOP percolating on your book and FINALLY write it!

I wanted to share a “sneak peek” with you and invite you to register!

Esther Hatfield Miller

1-2estherhatfieldmillerEsther is a contributing author in an anthology (yes, that is STILL being a published author!) She wowed me when she mentioned she was able to write her chapter in just three days! Esther shares some powerful details about her writing practice – including writing longhand first. She goes deep into some must-know tips about shedding shame so you can write without fear. Not to mention how to not self-edit along the way!

 

Loren Fogelman1-3lorenfogelman

Loren used a ghostwriter to help her craft her book. Remember, it’s still YOUR message, even if it’s not YOUR fingers on the keys! She shares how writing her book – and using a ghostwriter – has really changed things for her personally and professionally. Loren’s transformation from writer to published author is moving and shows just how many lives can be touched through a book!

Learn how @lorenfogelman wrote a book for her business on the #BrewYourBook Summit. http://brewyourbook.com/ Click To Tweet

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What does it REALLY feel like to publish a book?

053116-DreamI remember the anticipation the most; I had spent weeks working on the project and I was 99.9% sure that the fruit of my labors was waiting for me in my PO Box. I leaned down to open my box; it’s only three rows up from the bottom. I took a deep breath and turned the key.

It was waiting for me. A nondescript brown cardboard package, deceptively lightweight. My mom was waiting for me in the truck; we were just about to head to town for a grocery shopping trip.

Do I open it here, in the Post Office, alone, or wait until I was in the truck, with an audience? I was sure I was going to cry. That decided it for me; if I was going to cry I wanted it to be with only my mom watching and not the whole of a small town Post Office. I didn’t bother to pick up the mail in the four other PO boxes I checked daily but walked quickly out into the late summer sunshine and back to the truck.

My hands were trembling as I pulled back the cardboard zipper. That surprised me. It wasn’t the first time, exactly. I had been here before, almost.

The package opened in my lap. I was glad I was sitting down.

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How Do You Write when the Story is Hard?

So just how do you write something that is… hard? Something that is hard to explain, it’s complicated, it resists breaking down into the elemental pieces of word, sentence, paragraph?

How do you approach a piece of writing that isn’t about the technical difficulty of a concept – but about the emotional side?

What do you do when the meaning behind the words, the message you want to share, is elusive?

And how do you handle the line between memoir and a how-to? Navigating the muddy channels of revealing the truths from your own story to bring peace, enlightenment, teaching to the readers?

How do you get into that and not walk away?

032916-HardWritingThere was an experience last week that changed me. I knew in the moment that I was being changed – I flung myself into it with open heart and bright-eyed excitement knowing it would happen, welcoming it in, understanding that the initial choice to even start would result in alterations.

But now…

Now I’m in an interesting place, one that is uncomfortable. One that is clearly showing the untaken steps of “Kim the Author” – and highlighting, rather painfully, the miles ahead of me on the writer’s journey. Miles, that frankly, I thought I’d already tread.

Humility isn’t one of my greatest virtues.

I’m working with three clients who are writing “teaching” books – that are really thinly-veiled memoirs. Three clients, three authors, who I’m in awe of as they bravely are unearthing their stories and their demons and laying their bones upon the page. Three people who are staring unflinchingly into the mirror of their message and not only bringing that message forth onto the page, are doing it with a literary aplomb that is enviable.
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What Non-Fiction Writers Can Learn From NaNoWriMo

102715-NovemberAhhhh. November.

The month when tens of thousands of writers around the world attempt to write a novel in 30-days. Welcome to National Novel Writing Month – NaNoWriMo.

The goal is writing a 50,000-word novel by 11:59 p.m. on November 30. The “rules” state that you can plan, outline, think, and research as much as you want in October, but on November 1, you start a brand-new novel with no words already written.

Writing a book is a great exercise in discipline, refining your thought processes, and creativity. Even if you have no desire to write a novel, November is a great month to do the writing you are interested in.

And this November, I’m holding a 5-part class about writing your book, Backpack Your Book: A Proven Book-Writing Trail to Minimize the Bumps and Get YOU from Trailhead to Summit

It’s not about novels – but we DO absorb some of the learning from fiction about how to craft a story!

1. Have a “plan”
102715-MapYou most likely have an idea about what book you want to write for your business. Start there! Unlike a novel which needs characters, plot, setting, mood, theme, etc. the book you need for your business has basic sections that are unique to the information you specialize in.

What's your plan for #NaNoWriMo? Click To TweetAs you create this plan, jot down all your ideas for chapters, topics, and sub-topics. After you have a page of ideas, you’ll organize them into sections. Don’t think too much! Just get all your ideas down. This will become the “plan” for your book.

(This isn’t an outline! It’s a writing plan. I’ll explain more in step 4.)

Are you stuck on your outline? Here’s a free training call: “Finally Write Your Book: 7 Steps to Easily Write a Kickass Book Outline”

2. Get it all out
My writing instructors used to call this “writing to silence the critic.” It’s when you just keep writing even if you know that you’re not making sense, contradicting yourself, missing steps, and most importantly, writing like crap!

Write anyway.

NaNoWriMo isn’t a slow and steady marathon! It’s a sprint to write an insane amount of words in just thirty days.

So get it all out of your head and onto the page. Don’t worry about grammar, flow, or false starts. Keep writing. You do, however, want to write clearly enough that when you look at it later that you can follow along. So it’s not jotting down notes; it is sentences and paragraphs and *gasp* chapters. But don’t worry if you don’t know how to bridge from one topic to the next.

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What I’m learning hosting the Brew Your Book Summit – Part 2

Square-Promo-1I can’t believe that in less than 24-hours a HUGE 2015 goal will be coming to fruition. Whew! What a roller-coaster ride to put on the Brew Your Book Summit!

The event is being held live, September 30 – October 2. That’s three FULL days of training, stories, and advice from published authors to help you go beyond percolating on your idea and FINALLY write your book.

I wanted to share a “sneak peek” with you – and invite you to register! Every single expert is a published author – and many have best-selling books!

Did you see last week’s “sneak peek”? Check it out here!

2JacinthTraceyDr. Jacinth Tracey
Jacinth powerfully shares her “coming of age” as an author – starting from needing to prove to people that she didn’t make a mistake reinventing herself as an entrepreneur to now writing books to empower other people – and change the world! Her message: Be FEARLESS in your writing!

2MicheleGundersonDr. Michèle Gunderson
Words have power – and Michele is a master of words! She dives deep into story – the way humans interpret our world, live our lives, and explain how our lives change. If you think “story” is only for non-fiction, think again! And taking the message above and beyond just what appears on the page, Michele also shares how story gets embodied – how it resides in your physical body.
2MatthewPollardMatthew Pollard
Matthew Pollard, aka the “Rapid Growth Guy” shares how to leverage the successes you already have into huge growth. Matthew already has FIVE multi-million dollar businesses to his name and now he’s adding “published author” to his resume. You’ll want to tune in to hear how he was able to take his right message to the right people at the right time. (Hint: I smell book deal!)
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What I’m learning hosting the Brew Your Book Summit – Part 1

It was a goal of mine to host a telesummit in 2015. It’s a big goal! Identifying, inviting, and organizing 14 speakers to share their wisdom about writing books was a challenge. Then add in keeping track of promotion, schedules, bios, links… oh my!

But let me tell you… It’s been oh-so-worth it! The words of wisdom from these experts have inspired me to step up my own game.

Dreaming of writing a #book? Find out how on Brew Your Book Summit starting 9/30! Click To Tweet

The summit is September 30 – October 2. That’s three FULL days of training, stories, and advice from published authors to help you go beyond percolating on your idea and FINALLY write your book.

I wanted to share a “sneak peek” with you – and invite you to register!

2KeithLeonKeith Leon
Keith Leon, aka “The Book Guy” learned quickly to “fail forward fast” as he was writing his books. But through it, he learned to recognize that his message was just as valid, important, and awesome as the “experts”. You’re going to want to tune into this interview for a MAGICAL story Keith tells about meeting a reader. It gave me chills!

 

2AmethystWyldfyreAmethyst Wyldfyre
Think about how many people you can SERVE with your book! When she was writing her book, Amethyst always kept this in the forefront of her mind so she was able to distill her message into “baby bird bites” so her audience could receive the information she was sharing.

 

2JJFlizanesJJ Flizanes
JJ was hired by a publisher to write a book in her field – and then realized that the book she was being paid to write wasn’t the one she was being called to write! So in a super short time, JJ wrote not one book, but two! (And became an Amazon best-selling author!)

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Self-care and the Writer’s Life

I have a confession to make…

I forgot to eat today. In all the hustle and bustle of running an errand I forgot to do yesterday, being on a training call (and missing the SECOND call because there wasn’t enough time), back-to-back interviews for my upcoming telesummit, delivering client work, and shuffling two loads of laundry through the machine and out onto the line, I forgot to eat.
Don't be this guy! Take care of yourself while you're writing!
And if you know me at all, you’ll know I NEVER miss a meal!

When anybody asks me if I’m hungry, they’re usually met with a withering stare and the snarky “That’s a dumb question! I’m ALWAYS hungry!”

(Only exaggerating a little bit about the snark…)

But today, I had second breakfast at 9:30 – before the back-to-back phone calls and then…

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