publishing

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Mistakes I’ve Made When Writing My Own Books

Quick Backstory:

I have written over 20 books with my name on the cover. (It’s not like I’ve written two books and now teach others how to write.)

I have a degree in Creative Writing from the University of Arizona. (I’ve studied the craft of writing my entire adult life.)

I have multiple books that have gone bestsellers in a variety of categories – including one that hit #4 out of ALL the books Amazon sells. (I’m not a one-hit wonder.)

I have coached my clients through writing and launching best-selling books. (Proven system to both write AND market books.)

Why This Matters:

Because if there’s a mistake out there… I’ve made it.

It also matters because I want you to know that I’m in this for the long haul. I didn’t write ONE book – and then teach others. I didn’t have ONE bestseller – and then teach others.

Here’s the BIGGEST mistake I’ve made when writing my books:

Not clearly identifying the next step for my readers.

It doesn’t mean that *I* have to take them on the next step – but I should have figured out what their next step WAS after reading my book (and assuming they got the transformation from the book I wanted them to have.)

Thankfully, YOU don’t have to make this mistake!

In my proven course, “Finally Write Your Book,” you’re going to do the lesson, “Hot Mess to Clarity Curve.”

In this lesson, you figure out exactly HOW your reader will transform over the course of your book. Yes, it matters if you’re writing a process book OR a memoir!

This is in Step 2: OUTLINING Your Message-Driven Book.

It also gets paired with my “Pizza Slices Process” that helps you figure out what goes in the book… and what doesn’t. The pizza slices that DON’T go in the book are hinted at – to create hunger and desire for your reader to take those next steps.

(If you’re a coach, this is where you can lead them to your program, system, or coaching!)

 

Then in Step 4: TARGETING Your Reader’s Experiences you pair these exercises with Reader’s Continuums to uncover how you need to reach your reader – what exact words and ideas will move her heart. And using the WIIFTR Decoder, you’ll know exactly how to put the reader first in your book. (Otherwise, your book is just about you!)

Plus, you’ll use the My Reader Worksheet you can print out and put next to your computer to ALWAYS know how to craft your words so the reader will feel seen, heard, and loved!

I created all these lessons because of the mistake I made:

  • Great book.
  • No follow-through.

That means not only will YOU know what next steps your reader should take after reading (and loving) your book, THEY will know as well.

PLUS, as a bonus to the course, you get my CTA Worksheet – so when you want your reader to take the action to get on your list, work with you further, or follow you on social media, you know how to weave that into your book so it’s neither an afterthought NOR makes your book feel like a long-form sales letter!

In fact, I’ve made sure that everything you need to successfully write your book is in this course (and delivered in a way that makes sense from one lesson to the next!)

Here’s what’s in the course:

  • Kim’s full “Story Path” System ($5000 value) this is the exact same PROVEN system that has helped authors JUST LIKE YOU write their books
  • Students-Only Facebook Community ($3750 value) where you can find your accountability buddy, access the group Q&A call, and have ongoing support
  • Monthly Group Q&A Call ($2000 value) so you have MY brain on your book — and hear from your fellow message-driven authors.
  • How to Take Author Headshots ($400 value) so that your readers can instantly connect with you.
  • About the Author Action Sheet ($500 value) so you can easily write your author bio for the book, your marketing, and speaking gigs!
  • Software Recommendations ($1000 value) so you know exactly what you need to write your book and don’t waste time “shopping” for programs.
  • CTA worksheet ($500 value) — so you can have your readers take actions (buying a course or getting on your list) without having your book read like a long-form sales letter OR leaving the “work with me” to be an afterthought.
  • And more!

Doors open soon for Finally Write Your Book – watch for the email OR get on the waitlist here.

3 Reasons You’re Hung Up on the “Unknowns” of Publishing Your Book (and what to do about it!)

99.9% of people want to KNOW about publishing their book. But only about 15% of them are actually READY to have that conversation. Mostly because the book isn’t done yet! In many cases, an aspiring author wanted to jump straight into asking me all about publishing and they hadn’t even STARTED their book.

Let me make a confession:

I used to accept people into my Assisted Self-Publishing service no matter where they were in the process. Yep, even if the book wasn’t written yet! They’d pay for the publishing services and we’d wait… and wait… and wait…

I finally figured out that this didn’t help ANYBODY. Books weren’t reaching the people they were meant to reach because THEY WEREN’T WRITTEN. Holding space for publishing is all well and good – except for a lot of really cool books, I’m still waiting.

I get it:

Publishing is exciting! It’s the final step in getting your words out into the world.

It’s fun to think about.

You can dream about having your book be on Oprah’s Book Club.

You can think about claiming your moment as a Best-Selling Author.

It IS fun.

But it can also be exactly what’s keeping you stuck, in this moment, and preventing you from writing your book.

There are three reasons why you might be attracted to publishing – and allowing yourself to be stuck and overwhelmed with your book:

1. You’re “Wasting” Time

In your heart of hearts, you know that all this “research” about publishing is a stalling tactic that you’re allowing to keep you from writing your book. You’re deep in the minutia of the publishing industry – and you know, on some level, that you don’t even NEED to know this information.

But continuing to spend endless hours on Google, researching how to publish your book, allows you to convince yourself that you’re “working” on your book.

Even when you know you’re not!

Keep Reading!

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Join Me for a Client Book Launch

Summer for me is a period of high activity. The longer days, extra time outside, and stupid-hot weather all create the perfect storm for me to Get. Things. Done.

And summer to me always makes me think of sitting in the truck, nondescript brown cardboard package in my lap, taking a deep breath before opening it to find the very first copy of my very first book. Mom and I cried.

Last week, one of my clients got to experience that feeling too.

I always wish I could be there for that moment…

When she saw the cover for the first time – her text message said she was in tears.

When get got the notification from Amazon that her book was live…

That moment, the first moment, when she held her book in her hands and IT WAS REAL.

My fellow author, nothing feels quite the same.

Keep Reading!

Should You Pay a Vanity Press OR Self-Publish?

First off, let’s take a look at the differences between a vanity press and self-publishing your book.

Vanity Press Recap:

  • You pay them to publish your book
  • They use an ISBN number that belongs to them
  • The vanity press takes a percentage of the cover price
  • Strict rules your book must adhere to, like title, cover design, and content
  • You’ll probably be charged for any and all changes
  • You will have to buy, store, market, and sell copies of your book
  • They may or may not own the rights to your book

I’ve never found a reason why using a Vanity Press is a better deal – time or money – than self-publishing. So to answer the question posed in the article title:

No, you should NOT pay a Vanity Press. Yes, you should self-publish your book.

After all, when you self-publish your book, all the rights are yours and so are all the profits. You completely own the work – and have all the business decisions like title, cover design, internal layout, sales price, and marketing.

Now, if you’re like many of the authors I work with, writing isn’t your only gig.

Which means that navigating the murky waters of self-publishing is something you know you need to do but you’re not excited about doing.

But don’t despair!

Just because you’re self-publishing doesn’t mean you’re on your own, flapping in the wind.

Keep Reading!

Let’s Talk About Perfectionism

There are two places where authors get tripped up by wanting to be “perfect.”

The first is when you’re writing your book. You want every word to sing on the page, to have the exact amount of gravity – and levity.

You want your writing to be clear, concise, witty, and professional.

And yet…

When you’re not actually that clear, concise, precise, etc. IN YOUR FIRST ATTEMPT, you give up.

Don’t believe me?

The average author who I speak with has been working on their book for MORE THAN TWO YEARS. Many as long as three or five. (And if you’re at this for more than ten… you probably will NEVER finish.)

So here’s a news flash for you, friend:

You book will NOT be perfect as you’re writing it.

You’ll struggle. You’ll lose interest. You’ll write in circles. You’ll be redundant. You’ll have bad habits all over the place.

Striving for perfection WHILE YOU’RE WRITING is a waste of time – and will drive you nuts.

I’m going to be talking about the writing process non-stop the ENTIRE month of August. AND I’ll be bringing you a special opportunity to improve your writing and get a jump on writing your book. No more waiting, wishing, wallowing.

Now here’s the OTHER place where authors mess up with the perfectionism…

Keep Reading!

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3 Self-Editing Tips to Catch the “Little” Things

I’m opening up sales for my all-new product, “The Complete Self-Publishing Toolkit: Easily Format & Publish Your Book for Print & Kindle” so I wanted to bring you a few editing tips.

When I was in the middle of editing one of my books, “Pitch Your Tent: A family’s guide to tent camping” I paid special attention to the “little” things that can mean the difference between a professional manuscript and looking like an amateur.

See if you can spot the problems:

  • Most public campgrounds in have paths between sites to the bathrooms, trash, etc.
  • When the sun begins to sweat you’ll get a chill.
  • Fist Aid Kit
  • I recommend packing in a duffle big.
  • And never underestimate the importance of a pair of slip of shoes.

None of the sentences (or chapter headings) above have any grammatical error that will be caught by a spelling or grammar checker. It’s up to a real editor who carefully reads each sentence to find them.

So how do you spot things like this in your own writing?

1. Read the manuscript backwards. I start with the last sentence (reading it from start to finish). And then the second to last sentence; the third to last sentence, etc. By reading the manuscript this way, I’m able to focus on one sentence at a time and my brain isn’t “assuming” it knows what will come next.

2. I print out the entire manuscript, grab my tea and red pen and go to town. Looking at the project in a different format really causes errors to jump out at me.

Keep Reading!

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Create a Plan BEFORE You Get a Bad Book Review

#truthbomb

Some people aren’t going to like your book.

Yes, that sucks. It’s hard to hear. But there it is.

Because I get it:

You’re really proud of that book. You know it (and your message) is here to change the world.

And you’ve done a good job in the whole process: rewriting, editing, getting feedback, and then writing some more. But there’s something really important that is never told to authors – and it really should be.

Somebody will hate it. They’ll hate it so much, they’ll leave you a one-star review. And IF you’re lucky, they’ll keep their comments to how dumb the book was (and maybe how much they didn’t like the writing.) If they’re a true Troll, or simply having a Really.Bad.Day, their one-star review will ALSO be a personal attack.

What happens when you get your first 1-star review?

Take a deep breath. Because let’s be perfectly honest here: it’s going to happen. Somebody is going to hate your book – and if you let it, that little 1-star review will have the power to obliterate all the 4- and 5-star reviews that came before it.

Your best defense is… a plan.

It’s not a plan for how you’ll plead with Amazon to remove it.

It’s not a blueprint for how you’ll hunt down the reviewer and make him change his mind – and publicly apologize.

It’s not a plan for how you’ll fire off a witty comeback that is not only the perfectly placed literary knife to the ribs but also makes you look brilliant, beautiful, and 15 pounds lighter.

Here’s the thing about reviews: there’s not a single way you can respond that leave you looking classy. If you argue with a “bad” review, you’re whiny; if you thank the reviewer for a “good” review, you’re a creepy stalker author.

#authortip Never respond to your Amazon reviews. Nothing you say will make you seem classy. Click To Tweet

Still, you need a plan for how you’re going to handle it.

Here are some tips:

1. Don’t check on your reviews right before bed.

I’ll admit, when my first book was newly published, I checked sales stats and if there were any new reviews about every three hours. All. Day. Long.

But I knew from past experience, a nasty email from a client had the power to ruin a good night’s sleep. A bad review from a stranger… no WAY I’d be able to sleep. Keep Reading!

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