Gabriella Goddard's Blog (author of "Gulp!: The 7 day crash course to master fear and break through any challenge"

Write That Book: How to build a powerful author's platform

If your Gulp! challenge is to write a book, or you've already written one and want to sell more books, then come and join us on this teleclass as part of Julia McCutchen's "Ask the Author" series.

Check out:  http://www.juliamccutchen.com/events/ask_the_author.php

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The Four Cornerstones of a Powerful Platform with Gabriella Goddard, author of Gulp! (Penguin)

Do you want to sell loads of books or would you rather be the best kept secret on the bookshelf? If you chose the latter then I’m afraid to say you’re in the wrong business!   Your success as an author depends to a large extent on how many books you sell. That’s why one of the first questions a publisher will ask is 'what sort of platform do you have?' … So what would your answer be?

Whether you’re just starting out, or whether you’re already published, developing a powerful platform is the secret to selling more books.  In this session we’ll explore the four cornerstones of building a powerful platform; your database, your profile, your relationships and your 'engine room'.

We’ll take a close look at each cornerstone and discuss why it’s important, what impact it has on your chances of success and practical ways that you can create it.

You’ll learn how to; quickly build a quality 'fan' base, raise your visibility in the local and national press, nurture long lasting relationships with your potential readers, journalists and key influencers, establish an 'engine room' that is efficient, effective and easy to manage, leverage your platform to expand your income potential.

Plus we’ll show you how to approach all this from a place of curiosity, fun and adventure! So obviously a session NOT to be missed!

Check out:  http://www.juliamccutchen.com/events/ask_the_author.php

Start That Business: Nick Williams's Top Tips

  Nick Williams is of course the best-selling author of "The Work We Were Born To Do". 







After a long and successful Marketing and Sales career he left the corporate world to set up his own business and write books.

Check out his blog at http://www.nick-williams.com/blog

Here are his top tips for budding entrepreneurs:

1.                 Use your sense of intuition, passion and inspiration to guide you to the business you would love to create – that is a large part of what will make you successful – your own authentic energy

2.                 Avoid dreambashers – people who are afraid to live their dreams and who are happiest telling you why you can’t live yours. You already have enough of them in your own head

3.                 Be aware of your own resistance – often what you’d most love to do is what you most avoid and procrastinate about – but through your resistance and start doing the things that are most meaningful to you

4.                 Find great business strategies and use them in your authentic way – find out what works for other people to attract clients and then find ways of authentically integrating those ideas into your business.

5.       Learn by doing – nothing breeds confidence like success – so start in tiny ways to make your dream come true. Don’t wait until you are ready – start and you become ready 

6.                 Know that the biggest factor in your success will be your ability to attract clients – develop at least six strategies for attracting clients

Nick Williams is an expert on fulfilment at work and helping people become inspired entrepreneurs. See http://www.nick-williams.com/blog

Start that Business : Top Tips to Getting Organised

The best way to move forward with your Gulp! is to take small steps every day.  If you do this, you'll be amazed when you look back two weeks later and see what you've been able to achieve.

Kate Bacon used to be my virtual assistant so she knows a thing or two about getting and staying organised and here are her top tips for getting yourself organised.

1.  De-clutter your office:  A clear working area not only gives you space on your desk it gives you invaluable space in your mind.  You’ll be amazed how much more you get done when your mind is clear!

2.  Write a daily To Do List:  Look (honestly) at what your priorities are for the week and then break them down into daily bite-sized chunks.  Keep the list do-able – too many tasks and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed.

3.  Create a filing system:  Putting papers away in an organised filing system both puts them at your fingertips when you need them, and keeps them from distracting you on a daily basis

4.  Clear out your email inbox regularly:  A cluttered inbox feels stressful.  Clear out junk mail immediately; clear out email once read (if you don’t need to keep it); set up a filing system for your email by creating folders for keeping essential emails.

5.  Keep your calendar up to date:  Whether you use a paper calendar or digital diary, ensure that it is current.  Viewing an updated calendar means you “know where you” are at a glance!

Kate Bacon
VA and founder of the VA Business Start Up Course: Helping you design a VA business to fit your life!
http://www.piertopeercoaching.com

Write That Book: Ruby's Tips for Creative Writing

1                    Aim to write your first draft as quickly as you can. It is not until you have completed the first draft that you can truly know what the story is.

2                    Forget trying to be a perfectionist. Allowing yourself to write badly and inelegantly is the only way you will reach the end of a draft.

3                    Write something every day otherwise you will quickly lose momentum and enthusiasm. Five minutes every day is better than nothing at all.

4                    Have a daily goal to aim for. Either a set word count or time period works best, but be flexible! Remember – something is better than nothing.

5                    Measure your progress. For example, if you are writing 300 words a day during your lunch-break, that adds up to 1,500 words a week (five days). That’s 6000 words a month. In six months time you will have written 36,000 words.

Ruby Speechley at www.advice4writers.com 

Start That Business: Janet's Words of Wisdom

Janet and I often chuckle about our first years at running our own business.  Oh the things you learn on the way!  Janet went from being a Finance Director in the NHS to being a healer and medium at the College of Psychic Studies (and a very good one at that).

Here are Janet's insider tips for anyone looking to start a business.  And if you already run your own business...have a read and reminisce!

1. Network , network , network
Advertising is expensive for small businesses and may not be that effective. Networking can be fun and cheap and is a great way to meet new people. My first client as a consultant came through a networking event and I have had 2 chunky pieces of consultancy work through a friend. I also met Gabriella through a networking event.  As a comparison 2 targeted mail drops of 40 contact letters each produced not a single client and wasted me about 3 days time.

2. Work out what you can do yourself and what you need to hire someone to do.
Starting your own business can be exhausting as suddenly you are responsible for everything , book keeping , marketing , buying the stationary. I was used to ringing the helpdesk to sort out all my computer problems for example.  Work out what you can reasonably do yourself and what you need help on.  I hired a cleaner as soon as I started my own business. The cost is fairly low compared to my daily rate and the time I used to spend on housework I now spend running my business.

3. Spend time talking to other self employed people who will inspire you.
When I announced to my friends I was leaving my job as an NHS Finance Director I got a round of negative comments.......... Then I realised that they were all still in the corporate world and corporate mindset - some of them were two afraid to take the big step that I was taking. I now have a good group of self employed friends who find self employment rewarding and enjoyable.  I have a much broader range of contacts from healers and mediums like me to a self employed musicians.

Write That Book: Jacqui's Tips on Novel Writing

Set aside regular time each week for your writing and make it sacred. 

For example, make Sunday evenings your writing time and put it in the diary.  Tell everybody you know that you’re busy and honour this time.  It may seem a small step, but it’s a way to signal to yourself and others that you are committed.  Once you can manage this, build more blocks of sacred time into your weekly schedule.

Have faith in the process. Works of art are organic things.  Don’t put off beginning because you don’t have the whole thing plotted out.  The final novel is not a thing that appears in one’s head fully formed.  The more you work on it, the more it will grow in your imagination.

Perfect your writing space.  Make sure that the place where you write is conducive to your work.  It’s difficult for anyone to work at a desk that’s strewn with bills or work-related reports.  Think carefully about what kind of space you would like to create for your writing.  Does it include a pin-board covered in inspirational post-cards?  A vase of flowers? Make this a space you long to return to.   It could even be a nearby café or the reading room of an art gallery. When you are outside your normal environment, away from distractions, it can be easier to focus on the task in hand.

Jacqui Lofthouse is a Novelist and Writing Coach. She has published three novels that have sold over 100,000 copies in the UK, the USA and Europe. She is also the author of an eBook The Writing Coach:  30 Days to Conquer Self-Doubt and Procrastination and Have 30,000 Words Under Your Belt.

http://www.thewritingcoach.co.uk

Write That Book: Mindy's Top Tips

Write it for the right reason. 

When I say ‘right’ reason, people immediately think I am being judgemental and saying that some reasons are right and some are wrong.  Not at all.  What I am saying is that some reasons are right for you and some reasons are wrong for you.  For example, I sometimes get clients who say, a bit sheepishly, that they really don’t want to make a lot of money from their books.  They are writing for very personal reasons, such as wanting to leave a legacy for their children or really wanting to help people. Why be sheepish about that?  Those are very altruistic reasons.  The other side of the spectrum has people saying that they have received some communication or attended some event where they heard they could make a lot of money by writing books and ebooks.  Yes, you can make a lot of money, but in my opinion, if that is the main driving force behind the project, the content won’t necessarily be the best that it can be.  Furthermore, if a writer feels s/he should be thinking commercially about the book and they don’t really feel that way, this can create a conflict and an unsatisfactory feeling, which makes it difficult to write much less promote one’s work.

Mindy Gibbins-Klein is a leading writing and publishing consultant better known as The Book Midwifeä.  A coach for over 18 years, Mindy has enabled hundreds of aspiring authors to start, and more importantly, finish their books.  She is always happy to have a short discussion free of charge about any writing or publishing ideas.

www.bookmidwife.com

Write That Book - Sarah Newton's Top Tips from a Debut Authors

Sarah Newton's debut book titled "Help! My Teenager is an Alien" published by Penguin, is due to hit the shelves on March 1st.  She shares with us her amazing and honest gems for getting that book written.  Thanks Sarah!

1. 1.  Start with the end in mind -  before you even put pen to paper, start with your idea of the finished book and the impact it will have.  What will it look like, feel like, how will people feel reading it? Truly get connected with the impact your book will have on the world. Go to bookstores and imagine your book on the shelves, build a vision board of images or write how people will be feeling when they read your book. This is so important and you will need it on the days when the energy is not so great. Just looking at these images, reading your vision and connecting with the readers you want to attract will motivate you.

2. Plan a general concept and framework of the book before you start to write – how many chapters will it have, how will it be written, what will make it different, what would you love to see in it? Get other books and incorporate ideas you like. Get the flow of the book planned before you write. I decided I wanted my book to read as if you were watching a television programme, so I knew I therefore needed to use case studies with pieces in between that were informational, like when the presenter speaks to camera on a TV programme.  Once you have the framework, you can then fill in the gaps.

 

Write That Book - More Top Tips from Julia McCutchen

4.  Just Do It!

How many people have said either out loud or to themselves that they will write a book ‘one day’? Yet, sadly for many people, that day simply never comes. Understand that getting started is the first step and the only time for that – or indeed anything at all really – is now! Don’t wait for the perfect moment. Life is too short not to realise your dreams so just start writing today!

5.  Get some professional guidance and support.

Many people feel isolated on their writing journey and unsure of how to move forwards to achieve their full potential as writers. For others, the world of publishing seems like a foreign country for which they have no map or guide! Yet it doesn’t have to be that way. Advice and feedback will make all the difference not only to your chances of finding a publisher but also to your experience of the journey. You don’t have to walk this path alone.

Write That Book - Top Tips from Book Guru Julia McCutchen

1.  Explore this question: who are you before the writing begins?

The real source of your writer’s voice lies in the deep place within yourself that is the truth of who you really are. We are not talking here about the roles you fulfill in life as a friend, partner, entrepreneur … or even as a writer. Through stillness you can discover that the space between your thoughts of who you think you are is a gateway to knowing your true self. And out of this space, the ultimate power of your writer’s voice arises.

2.  Nurture your creative spirit.

How much time each week do you allow for nurturing your inspiration, imagination and creativity? Do you know what your top 3 sources of inspiration are? Successful writers know that finding ways to ignite creativity form an essential part of the writing journey. Make time to go for a woodland walk, listen to an author talking about their writing at a bookshop event or literary festival, and spend time with other creative people regularly to nurture your own creative spirit.

3.  Investigate your motivation for writing and finding a publisher for your book.

If you give yourself the gift of time to consider what you are really aiming for – and why - it will provide you with a clear focus and a valuable resource that you can return to again and again when the path to publication feels challenging. Write your thoughts down and update them whenever necessary as your journey unfolds.

...more to come...

By Julia McCutchen ,

Author of "The Writer’s Journey: From Inspiration to Publication"

Click here for Julia's FREE Special Report on "Writing for Success" plus check out her new Masterclass and Coaching programmes