Guest Post Wednesday - Why Write?

We are very pleased to have for Our Little Books Guest Post Wednesday, a post from author Margaret Lambert. Marg is from Down Under (if you are from Up Above) and has a book, "Longing to Live: Journeying with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia," to be published later this year. So, in tune with the Sound of Music and “Let’s start at the very beginning”,  lets kick off Margaret's first blog titled: Why write? Enjoy.

Writing developed as an unintended interest for me when I became chronically unwell. Prior to that time, I engaged in writing for purposes of my professional work and study: writing submissions and reports, reviews and recommendations, assignments and papers; and writing to raise issues and present new ideas to staff or bosses. I enjoyed writing for work and study and had not considered broadening my perspective to write in other genres. Besides, when I wasn’t at work or studying, I was busy being physically active: with four children in tow, a full-time job, building our home on a farm in a remote location in Australia’s Northern Territory, raising cattle and growing pasture, I did not need to look too far afield to keep myself busy. Writing as a personal endeavour, and just for fun, was the furthest thing from my mind!

How things change - and without any planning on my part! Over the past 20 years I have had several lessons in my life nudging me to notice that I am not totally in the driver’s seat directing my own life. In former years I argued vehemently that we control our own destinies and we must direct our lives in whatever way that we choose for ourselves. I even taught others how to achieve their goals more efficiently when adopting a single focus. Well, that philosophy worked well up to a point… 

Repeatedly, the lesson that has been presented to me through the challenges of chronic illness, is that I am not alone in the driver’s seat, but rather that I need to work with whatever presents in my life each day. This may seem at odds with general coaching advice but it appears to be a necessary philosophical approach to life when living with an erratic and unpredictable health condition.

So what has this got to do with Why write? Absolutely everything! The very reason I have developed a love for writing is because I couldn’t do much else! Had I not become unwell with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS),which main symptom is erratic and low energy levels, I would have continued living a highly physical and active life and I would never have contemplated, or even had time for, the ‘leisurely’ pursuit of writing.

When I developed CFS, my busy lifestyle was brought to an abrupt halt. Being bedridden for long periods of time allowed me much time to think, although often my mind would not function sufficiently well enough to form a rational string of thoughts, a typical symptom of CFS. With reduced physical capacity and the inability to accomplish many tasks associated with my various roles, I was forced to find new ways to make sense of my life and carry out activities that were manageable from my bed. So began my pursuit of writing.

Why write? Writing commenced as a way to express the disappointment and grief associated with my reduced capacity to do things.  I was fortunate to have a dear friend and mentor who was interested in reading whatever I wrote and this was great encouragement for me to continue to write and express the physical and emotional battle of my experience with CFS.  Many years and millions of words later, I thought that some other sufferers may benefit from my expressions of struggle with CFS and the additional symptoms of Fibromyalgia that had become part of my experience, and so the concept of my book Longing to Live was born.  The book has been many years in the writing (that’s another blog topic!) and will finally be published this year.

Why write? For me it is to put words and expression to the inner journey, with the wonderful side-effects of gaining insights and developing greater awareness of myself and my reason for being here.  What is it for you?

Margaret Lambert is a Registered Psychologist specialising in the use of Energy Psychology techniques (EFT) for counselling and mentoring. She has lived and worked in remote Australia and currently is based in Darwin, Australia. Margaret writes on matters of personal and spiritual development and holistic health and her articles can be found at www.connectcounselling.com.au

Business Success- Process over Content

I spent the other day sitting in the wonderful Alison Mark’s one day event, Your Business Makeover: 6 Figure Home Office. I went to network, see old friends, meet new friends and support Alison who is one of our authors (The Little Book of Sanctuary and The Little Book of Freedom from Clutter). I didn’t expect to come away with a huge take-away for me. This take-away really solidified a major shift I was going through on how I was looking at running a successful business. I know I must have heard this message a million times before, but it never ‘clicked’. So I am grateful to Alison and her event and for the Universe for providing what I needed, when I finally was ready to hear it and put it all together!

I had actually started this revelation process a couple of weeks ago. As I’ve done for the past few years, I recently started working a project job with a company that sells reading programs.  I love the programs and always enjoyed talking to parents about their kids and how to use these great programs to get help for their kids. I was quite successful because I believed in the product. 

This year however, rather than sell the programs, they asked me to interview sales people for the job that I’d been doing for the past few years. Interviewing potential enrollment coordinators, and listening to them gush about what we do, I found myself constantly having to remind them, “yes, it is a wonderful program, but the bottom line is that it is still a sales call. You have to get the credit card.” I realized that the success of this 42 year old company that has enhanced millions of kids reading abilities over the years, is not because of their wonderful programs, but because they have a business process in place to promote these wonderful programs.

So, when I heard Alison say, “To be successful, you need to be committed to the process of the business as opposed to being committed to the content of the business,” it all fell into place. You can have the most wonderful products/services in the world, but if you are not set up with processes to run your business, it really doesn’t matter how wonderful you are. Yes, you definitely can achieve some success with just good content, but to have that 6 or 7-figure success, you must get your business processes in place.

Bottom line take-away for me? To run a successful business, you need process over content. 

Do you have your business processes in place? Have you experienced a recent revelation in the past few weeks?

Moving Forward Into Silence

I just took one of the first real vacations I've had in years. It was only a few days, but it was one that was not directly connected to any business needs, so for me, a REAL vacation. However, it was filled and fairly quick. Driving up with my son, we talked, listened to audio books, texted and various of other things to pass the time. In Seattle, I was visiting with relatives, driving around, walking, eating and just generally doing things that took my attention.

It was different on the trip home. I took a 22 hour train trip. I was not connected to wi-fi, or internet nor phone. I couldn't do anything except read, walk the aisles and look out the window. I can't remember when the last time I had almost a full day and night where no one wanted something from me or where I didn't have to do something.

At first I was a bit restless. Then, while sitting in the observation car watching the last of Puget Sound race by around 10 feet away from my window, seeing the snow capped mountains in the distance, my mind started to relax. The swirl of my 'need to dos' and 'next steps' and 'what ifs' slowly dissipated.

I watched a bald eagle soar and followed its path until we passed out of sight. Things around me became muted. I began to notice little things like broken limbs on most of the trees and small mud slides which made me think they must have had a violent storm recently. Instead of jumping from idea to idea, I was flowing into and out of each one without conscious thought.

I realized two things. First, once I quieted the storm of my mind, my mind was able to make decisions without my consciously trying to force a result. Things just slowly moved to the front of my mind and I became aware of what needed to be done. Once my mind quieted, it was able to sort through and see the right path without a struggle. My mind was able to move forward into silence.

The second thing I recognized was about my writing. I've written a couple books in the past. I've ghostwritten a book. I am currently working on two other books and so normally, writing is not an issue for me. However, I have been lax in writing in the past few months. I certainly wouldn't call it writer's block, but more a situation where I had lost the joy from my writing.

At one point in my trip, I was actually able to spend three whole uniterrupted hours reading a book! As my mind moved more and more forward into silence, I could enjoy reading without feeling guilty that I wasn't doing something else that needed to be done. For me, that actually translated into once more feeling the joy of writing. My books began to take more shape. They made more sense. I wanted to begin writing right then and there. It was fun to feel that again.

It is interesting because I work a lot with our authors on the process of writing their books for Our Little Books. Here then was a situation of "Healer, heal thyself", because one of the main issues we work on when I work with the authors is working through their procrastination and writer's block. I have a lot of different tips and suggestions we work on and it helps our authors move forward with their writing. Now after my recent personal experience, maybe all I should do is tell them to take a 22 hour train ride and watch what happens!

What do you do to bring joy back to your writing?

The Best Ah-Ha Moment on Ways to Repurpose Your Content

I had an Ah-ha moment this weekend. I spent the weekend at Brandy Mychals’ Cracking the Character Code seminar where she gave some really great content about not only the Character Codes she developed, but also a lot of additional information on moving your business forward. At one point she talked about doing business in a very predictable way vs. doing business in an innovative way.

Based on a comment by Vicki Dello Joio from the audience, my Ah-Ha moment was that our business, Our Little Books, is very innovative. As a publishing company, we have a wonderful and unique product in our little books, and the service we provide in helping to demystify the whole process of becoming a published author goes along with that. However, how Our Little Books is moving forward as a business is very predictable. So even though we have a very innovative business, we are getting very predictable results. Thus, a disconnect and my Ah-ha!

What is strange about my Ah-ha is that as part of my job as Publishing Consultant, I talk with authors on how they can innovatively repurpose the contents of their books. Whether you have a big or little book, the content in your book can be used in multiple ways and is an excellent way to attract the different people in your audience. When you package the content in different ways, not only can you reach more people but you can also bring in additional revenue streams while increasing your credibility as an expert.

For example, here are some innovative ways to repurpose your book content that will result in innovative results (including the innovative idea of more income!):

• E-books – If you have a print book, you can turn it into an e-book (and vice-versa, e-book into print book). But with an e-book, you open yourself up to those readers who now only read on an e-reader. You can give away a part of your book to get people interested in the whole book, which all goes to building your fan base.

• Audio – You can make an audio book out of your print/e-book. Or, you can take the content and make an audio training, which you use in webinars or teleseminars. The training program would enlarge upon or complement the message in your book. The recordings can then be downloaded as either a give-away or sold product.

• Worksheets and workbooks – This could be part of a webinar or teleseminar. You can offer complementary worksheets that go along with your book, webinar, or training. You can offer a free tip sheet from the information in your book to use if someone signs up on your site. This will give you a mailing list for future webinars, training and future books and we all know how important the list is! Or you can make an entire workbook program that you sell as an independent product.

• Public speaking – You can take the information in your book and take your message on the road. Design a program around your book. You can make worksheets and training manuals to go with your topic.

• Podcast  – Get on the radio. A podcast is a great way to offer trainings and your book content without the travel involved with public speaking.

And here is a bonus innovative thought. If you have or are doing any of the above but do NOT have a book, then just repurpose the content of what you have and what you are using into a book! Now how innovative is that!

So thanks to my weekend Ah-ha moment, I realize that I need to practice what I preach to our authors. By doing so, not only will we have innovative products, but the business will move forward in an innovative way.

What innovative ways have you repurposed your content and how is it moving your business forward in an innovative way?

Guest Post Wednesday - There's Never Been a Better Time to be a Writer

We are very pleased to have for Our Little Books Guest Post Wednesday, a post from author John Barlow. John published both traditionally and as an indie author, so he has seen both sides of the publishing picture. In this post, John reflects on both platforms and then comes to the conclusion that, despite the curent publishing turmoil, there has never been a better time to write! Enjoy.

There’s never been a better time to be a writer! Does that sound *suspiciously* positive, as if I’m about to sell you something? Well, in a sense I am. Writing a book is horribly difficult, time-consuming, and potentially soul-destroying. Then there’s the energy-sapping hunt for an agent, for a publisher, for sales... However, the current independent publishing revolution has turned the book business on its head, and new opportunities are opening up for writers. Suddenly, some of the pain has gone.

Independent digital publishing is not a literary Nirvana, but there’s some cause for optimism. My previous books have been published by big ‘traditional’ publishers, but for my latest book I’ve gone ‘indie’. It’s early days, but I’m pretty happy with the move. Here are some things I’ve learned from the experience so far.

I’m mid-list writer. I’ve always had to do other things to make a living, such as food journalism and ghost-writing. As time goes on, it’s getting more and more difficult to stay afloat in trad publishing. Even if your aim is simply to ‘get the book published’, you might find the process far harder than it used to be. And it was always a ball-breaker.

Self-publishing allows you to get your book out as an ebook and a POD paperback quickly and efficiently. Also, the stigma of ‘vanity’ pubbing has now vanished (or is rapidly doing so), with best-selling authors increasingly making the change. Have you read Lawrence Block’s latest? He’s doing it himself. Ditto a whole bunch of writers with solid careers in trad publishing.

The future of publishing is uncertain. Publishers are still reacting to the ebook revolution. They’re dragging their heels on ebook royalties (still very low) and there’ll probably be fewer opportunities for new/unpublished writers from hereon in. So if you’re busy writing your first book, why not start sniffing around to see what you think of indie publishing as a serious alternative to the trad route?

There are countless websites and blogs out there helping to show you the way. Writers like David Gaughran and Joe Konrath are good sources. Also, if you register with Kindle Boards, the place where indie writers go to compare notes and swap tips, you’ll pick up a sense of what serious indie publishing is all about. There’s a lot more to it than just finishing that damn book.

One particularly difficult area for many indie writers is doing publicity for their book. There are thousands of other indie writers now competing for visibility in an increasingly crowded market. Then again, if you really believe in your book, perhaps it’s not such a bad thing to have to stand up and shout about it. And remember, the traditional route has ts own issues here. There’s nothing worse than having a book out with a trad publisher and watching as, after a month or so, the publicity push fizzles out and your book dies. Doing it yourself means you can persevere; many successful indie ebook take between six months and year to gather momentum and start selling in large numbers. And who knows? You might find that you’ve got a talent for self-promotion! I’m only been an indie for a few weeks, but I’ve really enjoyed doing interviews, guest posts on book blogs, and generally trying to get people to notice my new novel.

Here’s the downside. Before you get to that stage you’ll have to take on some extra responsibilities... One huge advantage of big publishing houses is there is a bank of experts there to help get your book published. As an indie you either have to become your own editor, proof editor, cover artist, book designer and publicist, or pay people with those specific skills to help you. Increasingly, successful indie writers are paying good money for such services. A total of around $1000 for a book is not uncommon.

Shelling out a grand to get into print? The great thing for someone writing their first book is that, whatever you decide to do once it’s finished, these opportunities will all be there. In fact, there are new ones opening up all the time. Fiction streaming, Wattpad, enhanced books, Amazon Prime, a million forms of interactivity... The book world is changing at an incredible speed, and you can decide where you fit into it.

Convinced? If not, don’t worry. Trad publishing is not going to vanish, and who knows what opportunities might open up for new writers in trad publishing. Whatever, you’ll always have a fall-back position, because the ebook/indie sector is not going to go away any time soon.

John Barlow has published fiction and non-fiction with HarperCollins and FSG in the US and Canada, and has been translated into six languages. Contact John here:

http://www.johnbarlow.net/
http://twitter.com/John_Barlow_LS9

John’s crime mystery, HOPE ROAD, is set in his native West Yorkshire. Buy it here (or see other vendors on his website).