Mindset

You Don’t Have to Be the Expert

100% of my clients write their books to help people (i.e. their readers). 100% of my clients write their books to share their message with the world. A fair number of my clients ALSO write their books to grow their business – including as being seen as an expert in their field.

Which is great!

Until it isn’t…

Because there’s a huge difference between being an expert and having all the answers.

Today, I had a lovely call with one of my favorite clients. And I didn’t have all the answers. Her book is “done” – as in it’s fully written. AND there’s something wrong with the structure. She can see it, I can see it.

What I can’t see is exactly WHAT needs to be done. I know what isn’t working – and why. But what I can’t offer is what I really wanted to:

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I wanted the next step to be clear and easy. I wanted to BE that expert saying, “Yep, it’s not working but just do THIS and it will.”

And with much of my coaching, I CAN do that. Give a clear path to my authors.

But not always.

Keep Reading!

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Is Writing Your Guilty Pleasure?

Does your writing time feel like a “guilty pleasure”?

I get it. In a day that is filled with obligations – clients, family, chores, deadlines, bills to pay, trash to put out – anything that is for yourself can get pushed to the backburner. While we’re hammered from every side to “make time for self care” and we’re conscious of the need to eat, exercise, drink enough water, get enough sleep, and make time for play, it can be hard to justify time for writing your book.

Suddenly, that “I HAVE to write this book to share my message so that I can help people” drive … twists.

You’re called to write the book and yet, at the first hint of enjoyment in the writing process, writing your book suddenly becomes a “guilty pleasure.”

And it suddenly becomes oh-so-hard to find the time to write.

You find yourself writing in the evenings, not because there was “no time” to write during the day, but because you couldn’t JUSTIFY using the hours in your work day to concentrate on your project.

Me too.

I enjoy writing. I enjoy almost everything that I write – if that’s a client project, launch copy, a sales page, even posts for Facebook. It brings me pleasure. And it’s easy to do when I can justify spending the time because it’s “for a client.” Even this, my weekly article and newsletter, brings me great pleasure. And it’s easy to justify that I’m allowed to write it during work hours because it is for you, my beloved newsletter list.

Keep Reading!

5 Tips to Write More; Procrastinate Less

Following last week’s article about boosting your creativity, we need to talk about procrastination. There’s a line between waiting for inspiration to strike and sitting down to write – with or without the ever-illusive… inspiration.

When I was in college, my mom gave me a poster that said,

If your ship hasn’t come in, swim out to meet it.

And inspiration is a lot like that! Some days, you just won’t be feeling it. I’m sorry, it’s true. As a mom, MOST days I’m not feeling it when it comes to the Triple B’s (bath, books, bed.) I just want to skip ahead to the BED part and be done with it.

But as soon as the kids are happily splashing away – or as soon as we’re cuddled up with a book – it’s not so bad.

Here my PROVEN tips for beating procrastination in your writing!

1. Turn OFF Social Media
Do you remember life before Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok, and all the OTHER social distractions? I do! I remember when the Internet wasn’t always “ON” but was a privilege we bought as 100 minutes a month for $100 a month!

If you were still paying for Internet by the minute, I guarantee you’d spend a lot less time cruising Facebook!

There are a dozen apps that you can install that will lock you out of social media – if you need that. For me, just closing the Facebook tab is enough. (And I do NOT have the Facebook messenger app installed on my phone!) I’ve ALSO turned off all notifications (especially the sounds) for all my social media accounts. When you don’t have those “dings” chirping at you a million times a day, it’s easier to ignore your online social life.

If you need one more reason:

Take a look at the feed of somebody who’s life you envy. The one who looks PERFECT from the outside. The one who is always organized, lives in a neat and tidy house that is color-coordinated, and ALWAYS finishes projects. Then imagine that their life IS perfect… It’s exactly how it looks from the outside.

Wouldn’t you rather be the friend that OTHER friends are envious of – because of your PUBLISHED BOOK? Be the role model for getting.it.done so your other friends can think YOUR life is perfect. (It won’t be perfect, but having your book written and published can be the truth!)

2. Hone your Bullsh*t meter for when you’re working (or not!)
How often is your “research” just a fancy way of procrastinating? I completely understand that for most of us, especially writing non-fiction, a certain amount of research IS required.

But are you focused?
Is it necessary before you move on?

Or are you following the rabbit holes of the Internet and gobbling down click bait the way bugs eat insect poison… and then die leaving piles of little insect corpses in the corner of the room?

Because, trust me, watching a TV show is NOT research even if it IS remotely related to your topic… Here’s an advanced tip when you’re procrastinating your dreams: Imagine the actors in your FAVORITE show or movie. Imagine all they had to do to get to where they are. Send them an energetic “Thank You” for the entertainment they’ve brought you. Now imagine what YOUR life would be like if that same actor hadn’t pursued their dream… YOUR life would be the poorer for it – and by not writing, you’re making your reader’s life poorer!

3. Organize your space – then keep it that way!
Ahhhh, the clean desk. It has been proven that we do better in an environment that is neat and visually pleasing. So, take the time – the hour, the afternoon, the weekend and ORGANIZE your writing space.

Then keep it that way!

(This is me laughing at my own advice!)

Keep Reading!

Three Resources to Fire Up Your Creativity

This is something I don’t often talk about, frankly. I’m more of the “we write even when we’re NOT inspired” type of get ‘er done writing coach.

But for THIS week, I want you to do something that is unapologetically creative (and doesn’t serve a dual purpose for your book or business!)

Here are a few resources to help you out:

Coloring books

Sometimes it’s just too much to GENERATE creativity, especially if you’re going from the written word to something else. So here are my coloring books to get you started on creativity.

Guest Posts

Sometimes you need a different voice in your head. So here are TWO articles, written by guest experts, to get you started. Flex Your Creativity Muscle, by Kaylee White and Unlocking Your Creativity by Michelle Hamelin.

Take a Class

Two platforms I love are Domestika and Skillshare. Both offer classes in a variety of creative platforms (watercolor painting!) and can help you get out of your own head. Even if you don’t DO the projects but simply follow along, it can be enough to energize you and wake-up your creativity.

So I’m issuing you a challenge:

Put DOWN the “have to’s, should, and this-must-get-me-an-ROI” writing projects. Pick UP your pen, crayon, or paintbrush and just…

CREATE.

Anything goes.

Then, post it in the Facebook group for us to all enjoy. The only rule: it can’t do “double duty” for your work-in-progress or business!

Leave me a comment and let me know you’re favorite creativity-boosting resources.

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Three Lessons from a Dead Pine Tree

A few weeks ago, we had to have a beautiful, mature White Pine tree cut down. It had died in a combination of not enough water last summer and an insect or disease. Living in Arizona, mature trees are a huge value-add for our property AND take at least 20 years to get big.

I was heartbroken.

And guilty. Because I’M the one in charge of watering our landscaping. And frankly, last summer when the death knoll was rung, I was just too sick, dizzy, and pregnant to attend to this duty. (And Ben was away for work.)

There are some lessons to learn here:

1. Doors do close when you wait too long

I kept thinking: I’ll water it tomorrow. I KNEW that tree was stressed. But it was just “too hard” to go pull the hose out to it.

And now, it’s dead, cut down, and turning back into mulch at the dump. By the time I got around to it, it was too late to save the tree.

So when is it too late to start your book?

Honestly, much like trees, the BEST time to have written your book was “before” – last year, the year before, some time in the past.

And in facing the aftermath of the surgery-gone-sideways last October, I have had a personal glimpse into the danger of “later”.

It is NOT too late to start your book. Now is a PERFECT time.

Made all the sweeter by the knowledge that NOW is the last time you can enroll in the “Finally Write Your Book VIP Mentorship” at the current investment level. Because on May 1, that deal ends and the group will kick off on May 3.

Learn More Here and Enroll

2. Trees, like books, create legacy

We purchased this house six years ago (next month!) partly because of the beautiful mature trees. In fact, when we were touring the house, there was a picture of Mel, the previous owner, crouching next to a freshly planted evergreen tree. Was it THAT tree? I don’t know. But I thank her, and her husband, Burt, for every tree they planted.

Especially when, decades later, MY children are the recipients of a shady place to play.

I never met Burt and Mel. But I know their daughter and niece. (I’ve actually known their niece MOST of my life! Small world!)

These trees and the property are a legacy they left behind.

Books are also a legacy.

Keep Reading!

Is This Mental Monster Eating You? Mental Monster #1

So you’re stuck on your book…

Why?

Here’s a hint:

It has NOTHING to do with lack of willpower. It’s not a habit that needs forming, it’s not that you’re stupid, it’s not that you need to just block out your calendar.

Nope.

It’s because you’ve fallen victim to a Mental Monster. The beasties can crop up at any point in the writing process – sometimes alone and sometimes they bring a friend.

The good news?

There are only five Mental Monsters. Yes, for REAL. Your personal brand of worry, procrastination, freak-out, stress, avoidance, or other mental garbage will settle into just ONE of these five categories.

And the best news?

You can get rid of the Mental Monster. For good.

Keep Reading!

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Video: Quitting Day

Did you know that January 19th is also called Quitting Day? It’s the day when all those New Years resolutions, goals, and dreams go right out the window. And people give up.

That sounds TERRIBLE to me.

Since I’m not up to brining you a 90-minute workshop to set your writing goals, like I usually do in January, I recorded you a 9-minute training that will help you keep going in the face of Quitting Day.

And Little Bean makes a cameo!



Here’s the transcript of the video so you can be sure to understand what I’m conveying to you.

Welcome to Quitting Day. That’s right. January 19th is known as Quitting Day. This is the day where you decide to give up all of your happy resolutions and goals, like going out for a jog every day, or having this be the year that where you FINALLY write your book in favor of not… doing it.

I have to tell you, I’m not immune to this myself. I had this goal already this year, 2021, that I was going to listen a personally important podcast, three days a week. And here it is, January 19th, and guess how many times I’ve listened to it?

Big fat I haven’t.

Kind of makes you want to quit, right?

Why on earth do we want to give up nineteen days into the year? Why do we want to write off 2021 because the first nineteen days didn’t go the way you would thought? So what do you want to do? Don’t quit, right?

Here’s what I want you to do.

#1 forgive yourself and let it go.

Yes, the first nineteen days of the year, maybe you did great writing your book for a week, two, and you’ve gotten off track. Guess what? I don’t care. There’s so much left in the year that you shouldn’t care either. So forgive yourself and let it go. Maybe you’re still hung up on the goals you set for yourself in 2020, but didn’t do, or just what you wanted to do already this year. Let it go.

#2 I want you to set an amazing impossible goal for yourself.

Are you ready? Write seven days a week.

Yes, this is an impossible goal.

You’re not going to be able to write seven days a week from now until the end of the year. But here’s the importance of this “impossible” goal. Number one, it really gets you into motion. It really allows you to see what you can do if you tell yourself you’re going to write every day. Are you going to write every day? Of course, you’re not going to write every day. You’re not. But it gives you the opportunity to circle back to number one, forgive yourself, let it go, and start again. Now, if you followed me for any length of time, you know I have talked about the importance of mini goals.

So what’s a mini goal? A mini goal very simply is deciding that you’re going to rate every single day.

And here’s the way I like to break it down, that you’re either going to write 15 minutes a day at a minimum or a half a page at a minimum. And then you do it every single day because I’m not asking you to write pages and pages and hours and hours, it’s just something that can slot in. Everybody can find 15 minutes, even busy moms like me. But here’s the thing. What happens when you miss a day? Let it go and do it again the next day. A mini goal is not, and I’m going to repeat this for those in the back, a mini goal is not, “Oh, I missed a day. Tomorrow, I have to write half an hour instead of 15 minutes.” No, it isn’t. You don’t catch up, you just let it go and start again. I’ll pop a link in the comments on this video, in the description on this video for a whole article that I wrote about the power of mini goals. And I talk about these all the time.

#3 tools in order to be successful.

To make 2021 the year you finally write your book, and to give you some strength and space to get past Quitting Day, you need some tools.

Tool number one… shocking, pens, right? You don’t have to have fancy software. You don’t even have to use your computer. Don’t overcomplicate this, my friends. Grab your phone and do notes on your phone. I don’t typically recommend that one, but if that’s the one that works for you, go for it. Pen and paper is always my go-to. Use your computer. You don’t need fancy software, and you don’t need a fancy ritual.

Tool number two… my handy-dandy 15 minutes sand timer. Why do I prefer a sand timer as opposed to the timer on your phone? Here’s the awesome thing about a sand timer. When this runs out, it doesn’t make a noise. So when you are in the flow and you look up, you have no clue how much is really left on the sand timer, and you keep writing. And then you get into this writing flow when you’re writing and writing and writing, and you look up and the sand timer is empty.

Now, the only time I prefer a noisy timer over a silent timer is if you’re running up against the bookend like, “Oh, I have to stop in 17 minutes because I have a call. OR I’ve got to go pick up my kids from school. OR I have an appointment.” That’s the time when you need a noisy timer to click you on out, right?

Tool number three… The Writer’s Goal Setting Workbook, A Step-By-Step Process to Getting Your Writing Done. And this workbook, which is in full color, my loves, and these are tracking sheets for your mini goals. I wrote this by the way, and I wrote it just for you.

This is not a, “Write your book in this workbook,” type of workbook. This is a, “How do we release all of that history of letting yourself down, of not doing it, of saying that you were going to do it, and you didn’t, specifically around your writing?” And then looking at what are your writing goals? How much do you want to accomplish? Why? Why is this so important? Plus, you have all of this tracking for the mini goals, releasing any past writing trauma. And here’s the most amazing thing.

When you do not give in to Quitting Day, then it makes this the year that you finally write your book.

Happy January 19th. Don’t be a quitter.

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