goals

Did You Miss Quitter’s Day?

It’s the 18th of January. How are your writing efforts going so far for the year?

Let me guess:

  • You’re back at your everyday life.
  • Most of the Christmas decorations are safely stored away.
  • You’ve settled in to the “routine” of the 50 weeks out of the year that are NOT around Christmas and New Years.

And you’re occasionally thinking about the goals you set in early January, your goal for your book among them, but you’re not exactly taking action.

Right?

Yep, me too!

Quitter’s day is officially the second Friday in January.

And no, it’s not the day where you think to yourself, “Nope! I’m out. I quit.” And go back to the status quo. But it is the day – or weekend – where the goals you set for yourself quietly start to slip away.

I’ve got the BEST news for you though:

Neither January 1 NOR the second Friday in January ACTUALLY have any power in your life!

Neither one is a magical, mystical, mysterious Start or End date.

They are just that… days. Like any other.

It’s not too late to get into motion for your book (or any other goal!) in 2022. Or even in this year of your life. You’re not too old, the year isn’t too far gone, it’s not too close to the start of Q2 or March Madness or mercury retrograde or vacation season or National Banana Day. (That’s a “real” thing. It’s April 20.)

Keep Reading!

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Your Input Matters!

As I’m working on The Big Picture for my business for the rest of 2021 and into 2022, I want to make sure that I’m going to be serving you in the best way possible.

So can you take a couple of minutes and respond to these questions? You can email me OR leave the answers in the comment section below. I’ll randomly draw from the responses to send a $50 Amazon gift card!

Fine print:

  • You’ve got to respond to ALL the questions in order to be considered!
  • Deadline is 11/15/2021

Podcast:

As I announced yesterday, I’m going to be launching a podcast in December. Broad topics I’ll be talking about are your message, storytelling, and how to stay in the writing flow (i.e. getting your writing DONE.)

Inside of those three areas, what specific things do you want me to talk about?

 

Gift Guide:

I’m working on the 2021 Gift Guide for Authors. This is THE single biggest blog post/free thing that I do each year. And I want to make sure it’s valuable to YOU (or the people who buy gifts for you.)

See the 2019 guide.
No 2020 guide because I was too sick.

  • Is this gift guide valuable?
  • What types of gifts would you like to see on it? (Please, no pitches for your own products and services.)

 

Future lower-ticket products:

I’ll be adding a few more lower-ticket products to my offerings in the coming months. Which of these should I offer FIRST?

A. How to Use Your Email List (so it never goes cold!)

This isn’t about BUILDING a list, it’s about emailing them!

B. Pricing Your Book for Maximum Sales

This would be a companion to The Complete Self-Publishing Toolkit

C. First Aid for Writer’s Block: Never get stuck again!

This would be a rare tool that would be good for non-fiction AND fiction. (I’m usually 100% non-fiction)

Or something else? Is there a burning need you have for a smaller product-style offer? (These are home study products with no live teaching or live Q&A.)

 

Now, tell me about you!

I’ve noticed that my BEST clients have certain things in common. (That have nothing to do with demographics! It’s not an age, race, gender, location thing!)

And I want to know what YOU like and dislike, in general, so I can better target my copy, social media, and marketing to bring in more folks JUST LIKE YOU. These two questions are about you IN GENERAL. It doesn’t have you be about writing or business.

What do you like? (In general! Things that make you go YESSSSS!)

 

What do you dislike? (In general! I’m not looking for anything specific here.)

 

And one last set of questions:

Many of my newsletter subscribers come from various giveaway events that target people with online businesses. However, it seems that when I promote those same giveaways, MY folks don’t like them.

Does this mean that you’re not in business?

Or that you just don’t want ME to promote those types of events?

Where are you at in business?

IF I were going to bring you “business things” – free or paid – what are you looking for specifically?

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3 Tips to Make the Most Out of Your Next Trip Around the Sun

My birthday is next week – September 23. And I’ll be spending it with a world-wide group of authors at my live-but-virtual event “Brew Your Book: Stop ‘Percolating’ on Your Message and FINALLY Write Your Book.”

This is really exciting to me. Since this is a VIRTUAL event, I totally could have adjusted the dates of the event so it didn’t fall on my birthday.

But I WANT to spend it with you. You can still come – register here.

I use my birthday as another opportunity to check in – where am I on track for what I want for my life? My faith? My family? My business? My health? My recreation? And this year, added back in after many years absence, my art?

This morning, on my walk, I had to mentor myself through the “I’m not doing enough” train of thought. I had to consciously and purposefully remind myself that I spent seven of the last twelve months healing, another three building up my strength, and was only able to do much for two!

Let me tell you, I really hate copouts. And all that sitting and healing REALLY felt like a copout.

To make matters worse, I felt like I was robbed of one of the last two years in my thirties. Because, yes, I turn 39 on Thursday.

So, enough whining about the time that was lost. I can’t un-ring that bell – it’s gone.

And, my darling fellow author, you can’t un-ring the time bell for any time you’ve spent in the last year that didn’t (couldn’t) bring you closer to your writing goals. What we CAN do is use these three tips to make the most of YOUR next trip around the sun.

1. Assess – and Let It Go

Let’s be REALLY honest here, most of us don’t look back over a longer period of time, like a year, and easily see our successes. It’s all too easy to only see where we “failed” – where we didn’t do what we wanted.

I do this too.

Unless you have documented evidence of what you did and didn’t “do” – then move straight to the second part of this tip:

Let it go.

Forgive yourself and anyone else, and move on.
Today, on my walk, I was beating myself up for the fact I hadn’t walked in a couple of days. The shoulda coulda wouldas were playing loud in my head. And then I stopped myself:

I was walking IN THAT MOMENT.

Let the past go, move on and enjoy the walk (writing time) that was in front of me. Keep Reading!

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Kim’s Philosophy for Success in 2020: Build on Small Wins

As we’re now halfway through the rollercoaster that is 2020, I wanted to share with you my updated philosophy for the year:

Build on small wins.

Everyone has a rough go of it this year. Some of us more than others! After my personal challenges in February (hello a month of Influenza A and morning sickness) I felt like my momentum would NEVER recover.

I know I wasn’t the only one who felt like throwing in the towel 60 or 90 days into 2020.

But today, June 30, I feel full of possibility for the six months ahead. I feel like challenges are coming (because that’s life) but that I’ll rise to meet them – instead of being flattened.

So what changed?

I’ve been building on small wins.

And, my friend, sometimes those wins have been microscopic!

  • Folded a load of laundry (while feeling like crap) – CELEBRATE!
  • Sold a “Publish Your Cookbook Workbook” – CELEBRATE!
  • Finally sent off that nagging legal thing (today) – CELEBRATE!
  • Wrote for 15 minutes on my book – CELEBRATE!
  • Kid went to bed on time WITH eating a real dinner and taking a bath – CELEBRATE!
  • Every ticket sale to my life event – CELEBRATE!
  • Pulled out the trashcan for trash day – CELEBRATE!
  • Sold some stuff on Craigslist – CELEBRATE!

I know that all too often we’re only looking at the BIG wins:

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Sooner or Later… You’ve Gotta WRITE

I can’t write your book for you.

There, I said it. Whew!

Occasionally, I still get people who want to hire me to ghostwrite their book for them. I even get people who aren’t turned off by the $30K starting price.

But where they inevitably freak out is learning that even with MY fingers on the keys, they are still responsible for writing the book.

That means that the client (author) still has a lot of work involved. It’s still THEIR vision – their stories, their message, and they have to decide if I’m capturing their voice… or not.

Hiring a true ghostwriter, no matter how skilled, isn’t book-by-abdication. You (the author) still has to be MASSIVELY involved.

Here’s the other side of “I can’t write your book for you.”

Keep Reading!

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Is 2020 the Year of Your Book?

January (and all of 2020) is sparkly and new and you’ve made the resolution that yes, THIS is the year of your book.

Maybe you’ve even put words on a page already – and you’re pleased as punch that you’ve taken a step toward your goal.

Good job!

(What?! You thought I was going to say something else?)

Hey, I get it:

January 1 is a rather arbitrary date – but one that we hang so many hopes and dreams on. Wishes for a new start. A few days or weeks of actions moving us in the direction of our dreams.

And that’s a good thing!

The logic part of our brain says that we could draw that line anywhere – and make a fresh start no matter what the calendar says. But the emotional side loves the Big Fresh Start that happens on 1/1.

let’s look at the difference between a goal and a resolution.

A resolution is a decision (often with feelings of extreme resolve) to do or not do something.

It’s things like:

  • I WILL write every day for 2 hours.
  • I WON’T spend time on Facebook.
  • I WILL fold the laundry as soon as it comes out of the dryer.
  • I WON’T go to bed with the kitchen dirty.
  • I WILL walk every day.
  • I WON’T drink soda.

It’s the feeling of black and white of a resolution that give it all its power. For about a nanosecond—until you break the will/won’t phrasing and then it’s easy to throw in the towel.

A goal is your aim or desired result. And no matter how much you’ve studied about HOW to set goals (concrete, measurable, specific, etc.) goals can often feel too big and by nature undoable. Goals are usually phrased like:

  • FINALLY write my book in 2019.
  • Blog every week.
  • Not let the house turn into a disaster.
  • Declutter.
  • Get into shape.

Big ideas, right?

So how can we use the powerful differences between a goal and a resolution together to make 2020 the year where you do, actually, meet your writing dreams?

1. Become a member of “The Book Gameplan” Guided Process
You’re ready – RIGHT NOW so this is where you begin! If you’re struggling with your book, especially in the beginning stages, then you need support. And the best way to get that support for consistent writing, is to join The Book Gameplan Membership.

As a member, you get access to my PROVEN book-writing system, Q&A calls with me to make sure you’re on track, and a supportive group of fellow (non-fiction) authors who are committed to writing their book.

Join Today.

Keep Reading!

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Summer IS Now. Let’s FINALLY Write Your Book!

Ah, summer!

A colleague of mine, who specializes in overcoming procrastination, recently posed the question: “Are you more productive in summer, or less?”

I wasn’t surprised that so many people say they struggle during the summer months. It’s hard to resist the lure of the swimming pool, ice cold watermelon, and the magic of longer evenings watching the purple sky fade as the starts pop out.

With 2019 half over, it can feel like it’s time to throw in the towel for your goals. I understand that feeling too. I have a goal to be interviewed on 75 podcasts this year; I’ve completed four interviews. And there’s a part of me that feels like I should just give up. The difference between 4 and 75 feels huge.

Just like the difference between where you are now and “write my book” feels huge.

Here’s the thing though:

2019 isn’t over.

And NOW is the best time to write your book.

Summer doesn’t have to fade away in “lost” time and “lazy” days. Don’t throw in the towel for the whole year on July 1!

Let me tell you a story of starting in the middle of the year…

It was summer 2013. I’d been “playing” at my business for almost a year. I’d already invested $6000 in November 2012 to sponsor an event – where I’d gathered a total of 158 leads. And after an initial rush of activity to those people, I’d let my contact with them die out.

Keep Reading!

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