A first draft is NOT a book

I can’t believe what comes out of my mouth sometimes…

In the best way. Even though I’ve done today’s Non-fiction Book Publishing workshop before, sometimes the lessons just land different, you know?

Anyway, here’s what got the chat fired up today:

1. A first draft is NOT a book - With all the excitement of FINALLY! completing that first draft, some writers will think they’ve reached the end of the line. Alas, the end is only the beginning. In my experience, the editing phase is where the magic truly happens. So regardless of the book or your vision for it, be sure to build in time for a second set of eyes—at the very least—to read your book before it goes out to agents or you self-publish it. Beta readers, feedback partners and freelance editors can all help you see your blind spots and really contribute to polishing up that manuscript so it can shine.

2. Second draft is about craft. First draft is a mental game. The challenges you are facing as you move through your first draft have more to do with psychology, in my experience, than with the art of writing itself. That’s why having a coach  (hello!) is so great—to minimize the time you spend in the land of self-doubt, unworthiness and perfectionism. The best tool I’ve found is simple, really: Declare a deadline (how many words + by when) and don’t stop until you reach your goal.

3. Everyone gets stuck on outline. Seriously, it’s not just you. There are a billion books and courses on it, a ton of which I’ve read and taken. Suffice to say that the clearer you are on your through line, the sharper your eye for that, the easier it gets. But that’s easier said than done. And sometimes it takes talking it out with someone else, to help you see what it is you really want to say/write about. A great place to start, though, is: Problem-Solution-Result. A) What is the problem you/your protagonist/your reader is facing? B) What is the solution/breakthrough/lesson(s) you/your protagonist/your reader gets to have to reach the desired result? The journey from A to B is your through line.

I’ve got tips and tricks to help with all of these, that I’ve gathered and I’m sharing via my new membership website. 

And for those first founding members who sign up today, I’m throwing in a free one-hour book development call.

So who’s ready to play ball and make that book happen? Click here to sign up today.

PS:

If you missed my Non-fiction Book Publishing workshop but still want to check it out, I’m hosting another one next Monday March 27 at noon EST.

Click here to sign up.

Where have you been all this time? Plus other tips and tidbits...

Ewww, boy. I am sorry. I’ve been a bit busy 😬

What have I been busy with, because it sure isn’t my blog?

Well, just a little thing called The Future of Content Marketing, where I interviewed 22 experts on content strategy, content marketing, storytelling, business and branding, and so. much. more.

I won’t bore you with the details. Suffice to say that if you want to learn more or watch the video replays, you can click here.

I do want to share some of my favourite takeaways here with you, though. Because (and I know you’re not supposed to start a sentence with “because” but this is just one of the rules I love to break) no matter what you’re up to, dear reader, and I believe that is a lot, you’re gonna need great content strategy to get you there.

Whether that’s a book you want to write and publish, or a business you want to grow, or a stage you want to reach, or a podcast you want to be invited on—a great content strategy will help you figure out what to say, where, to whom and when, and then what to do after that.

So without further ado, here are 4 beautiful principles you can apply to just about everything:

✅ Founding stories stick--the trick is finding fresh ways to tell it to your various audiences and at different times in their customer journeys.

✅ Don't just think about what you want to say with your content--how do you want others to feel? Purchases are driven by emotion. It's also the secret to a powerful content experience.

✅ Community is power--most businesses and brands stop at audience reach. Your goal should be to go one step beyond that and create a place and sense of belonging, where you can nurture your greatest advocates through their shared passion for what you do and interests.

✅ Speak/write with one person in mind, or you'll lose everyone. Also: Be where you audience/customer is. It might not be the trendiest, most popular platform.

Want to hear/learn more? Visit The Future of Content Marketing VIP sign-up page to access the full library of interview replays.

And a few more things…

If you have an inspiring story to share. If you want to write your memoir or life story...

If you're an expert, a coach, a leader, a change maker, and you want to put your knowledge and experience into a book to share with others...

Comes join me for my free Non-fiction Book Publishing Workshop on March 22, 2023, where I'll break down what you need to get started, and how to finish strong.

Click here to register. 

Lastly…

I’m thrilled to share that I’ll be judging at the upcoming Page Turner Awards. I can’t wait to start reading submissions and encouraging new authors and screenwriters!

There’s still time to apply. Here’s the link for details: https://pageturnerawards.com/2023-judges/cat-margulis



#pageturnerawards #novels #screenplays #storytelling #storyteller #authors #authorsofinstagram #writerscommunity #writerlife #bookpublishing

You probably don’t realize it but you’re doing it right now…

You probably don’t realize it but you’re doing it right now:

Formulating a message, and then figuring out the best way to communicate and disseminate it.

It’s something us journalists and marketers call content strategy, and as it turns out, all of us already do it, and could be better at it.

 
I was thinking about that this weekend when I followed up on a question my son had for his teacher. I asked him whether he got the answer he needed from his teacher on Friday and he shared that he did—but he still didn’t understand.

 
Needless to say, I shared with him some tools to support him with gaining greater clarity from his teacher—things he could say, like “Can you give me an example?” and “Can you show me how that looks?”

 
Which made me think that teachers could use some help in content strategy too.

 
And if you’re an entrepreneur, author, creator, influencer, expert or thought leader, then you especially get to tune into my upcoming online show: The Future of Content Marketing, where we’ll be talking about everything from how to create successful email, social media and YouTube campaigns, to what audiences want now and how to get them to take action—and even how to achieve that with Chat GPT, Web3, live events and more.

 
But don’t take my word for it. 

I’ve lined up pretty much the top minds across all content strategy disciplines to share with you their top advice for content strategy and content marketing, so you can formulate your message and land your communications with greater success and achieve the results you want in your business, your brand and your passion projects.

People like:

Stu McLaren

Derral Eves

Ted Ruben

Randy Frisch

Mark Schaefer

Kate Bradley Chernis

Lindsey Gamble

Carl Weische

David Allison

Debra Jasper

Jonathon Colman

Robert Rose

Scott Kubie

And so many more!

So join us for The Future of Content Marketing, launching on March 1. The event is FREE when you register TODAY.

Sign up now to reserve your seat and receive exclusive access to the event. 

See you inside,

Cat xo

I don’t know who needs to hear this right now but…

I think God is speaking to me through my TV.

I was going to write about this yesterday, but then I got busy—calls, emails—and then my son’s school went into lockdown after a kid showed up with a weapon (no one got hurt, thankfully), and then I heard about the shootings in California where some people did get hurt and that got me thinking about other tragedies and how close we all are to losing everything we love, and how are those left behind faring right now, and also how can God let those things happen…

And then I landed back where I began, thinking about life. And how it’s just like a Choose Your Own Adventure book. Where everything is predetermined AND we have choice about how we reach the final destination.

Or like the mazes my kids used to love to do in their summer activity books. Where there is a clear beginning and end, but myriad routes in between, and some paths lead to dead ends, and so you keep U-turning and pivoting until you reach your final destination.

Everything is predetermined. And we have choice. And we’re being guided along the way.

That brings me back to God and my TV.

I’m working on a screenplay (Yes! I opened up my Celtx for the first time since 2016 and I’m so excited to play with it again), and a movie that gave me an idea for my script just happened to show up while I was browsing the TV guide the other day. This is a big deal because I never get to watch the only TV in our house that has cable. But my husband was at hockey with the twins and there was laundry to fold (FYI, I am always folding laundry), and so I picked up the converter, clicked Guide and there it was.

I’m taking it as a sign from God that I am on the right track. 

I guess what I want to say, and why I’m sharing this with you is that…our days are always being hijacked, and there are always bad things happening in the world, and if you’re not careful, they will suck you in and distract you from the thing you are being called to create, and that which fills your heart with so much joy, and which will surely bring joy, hope and love to the world.

So, a few tips for you writers/artists/creators out there (and yes, we are all creators, the question is are you intentional about that which you create):

1. Protect your time - I don’t take calls before noon and I try to control the content I consume as much as possible to protect my head space and my interests. Personally, I like mornings to be creative time—where I let my imagination run wild and I basically act like a child following my whims and fancies until I put my big girl hat on at noon sharp, which is why most of my emails are answered at night. (Except for today—today I was at Ikea. But only today.)

2. Mind your head space. It’s hard to create in an emotional vacuum, and so for the most part, I like to keep my head space clean and happy, using a secret sauce infusion made up of comedy (like the delicious Smartless podcast with Ricky Gervais I listened to this morning), the YouVersion Bible App (I love seeing what the Verse of the Day opens up for me) and Abraham-Hicks YouTube videos. I’m not sure if I’m breaking any rules here, but also…I don’t care.

3. Listen. Listen for God. Listen for dialogue. Listen for cues. Listen for scenes. Listen for story. Even in my business, I believe there are no accidents. And so even when the wrong person ends up in a Zoom room with me, I am still listening.

I’ll be honest with you—the screenplay I’m working on is not a religious story. It’s completely sexy and raunchy and hilarious (to me, anyway), and would probably make Jesus blush. But at the heart of it, there’s a story of friendship, love, forgiveness and redemption. (I’m actually a terrible sister and friend—and mother too, for that matter—which is why I think I try so hard to be better, at least in my fiction anyway.)

I think God is good with that.

This book changed my life

My first book got me signed to one of the top literary agents at one of the top literary agencies in the country.

But it didn’t sell to any of the top publishers.

It did do a whole bunch of other things in my life, however, that I never could have imagined when I started writing it:

• It made me a better writer. Draft after draft, one rewrite and writing course after another, I learned to tell a better story, even after 25+ years as a published writer and professional editor.

• It launched me on a journey of self discovery and self development that transformed my life, and helped me transform hundreds of other lives, which is pretty much the best thing in the world.

• It led to me to a whole other career, as a book coach, where I get to inspire and encourage other writers, sharing everything I learned along the way, so they can get where they’re going faster and easier, and reaching the end with a better book in hand.

Some other takeaways along the way, for you writers:

• Sometimes we write our books. Sometimes they write us. Most of the time, it’s a little of both. Stay curious. Stay open. Particularly to the fact that there may be an invisible co-writer up above who’s co-creating it with you.

• Make sure to have benchmarks: First Draft, Second Draft, To Editor/Feedback Partner, and so on. To keep you motivated and on track and moving forward. It’s pretty hard to run the race when you don’t know where it ends.

• Take the coaching. I say this to my kids all the time. You can bounce ideas around in the echo chamber of your mind, or profit from that most valuable thing of all, which is integral to growth and improvement: Feedback.

• That said, in order for the feedback and partnership to be fruitful, find a coach/mentor/agent/feedback partner who is as passionate about you and your book as you are, who is an active participant in your journey and committed to your success.

As for that first book? I’m looking at my options, including pitching smaller publishing houses and self-publishing. But first I want to make sure I’ve written the best book that I can. My latest Beta reader told me of my book’s most recent iteration: “If they like Firefly Lane, they’ll love this.” I haven’t read the book or seen the show, but I’ll take her word for it as a sign I’m on the right track ;)

On finding your voice, first and second drafts, and rewrites

This one’s a two-parter because why wait until next week to share? Life is now!

I always say, if it sounds like you, it’s good writing.

But what if you don’t sound like you on the page?

Me, I had the opposite problem growing up. I was so shy, I’d be tongue tied in person. Everything would come out wrong or I’d forget what I’d want to say and how I wanted to say it. There was a complete disconnect between the voice in my head and the sounds coming out of my mouth. I think it’s called Ego (or Super-Ego, if you want to get nitpicky).

Writing, however was my safe space. A place where I could say whatever I wanted without the glare of the spotlight of others’ attention. Over the years, I wrote and honed my craft, to the point that it became the easiest, most natural thing for me to do. Where my writing became my truest self, when everything else felt made up.

Eventually, I did some work on me so I could show up the way I felt on paper in person too.

But what if you haven’t found your voice yet?

I work with writers who sound so good over Zoom, I keep threatening to record and transcribe our calls and turn THAT into a book.

Sometimes, though, they struggle to sound like themselves on the written, or digital, page. Maybe because so many of us are used to writing the way we’ve been taught in school. Or writing the way we think we’re supposed to sound, on screen and on paper. 

So how do you get back to you? The real you? Before all that academic stuff and programming got in the way and cramped your style?

You write. And write. And write. Until eventually, through the sheer pressure of volume and practise and showing up day after day, messy or not, you begin to drop those inhibitions and bad writing habits and relax into a posture of complete don’t give a f*ck ease.  

That’s when YOU begin to show up on the page.

Then you realize you like the sound of you, and others like you too, so you do more of it, revealing even more of yourself, and now the crowds love it.

Now you’re writing.

Which brings me to…Part II:

I have a client who dutifully finished his first draft, just like I told him to.

“I don’t care how it sounds, just get it all down on the page, everything in your head, pour it out, we’ll deal with the rest later.”

And he did.

Problem was, he hadn’t found his voice yet, and so he thought it sounded like crap.

But guess what?

After all that, he finally found his voice. So he was left with a choice: 1) Adjust the book he’d already written to match his newfound voice? Or 2) Scrap the book and start over.

He was excited to see where Option 2 would take him and I encouraged him to go for it, even though I’d already spent weeks revising his first draft. The book comes first.

My point is, some people like to edit their work in layers. I’m like an oil painter: I keep adding and revising, back and forth, up and down, even though the story remains essentially the same. 

But I know plenty of writers who write their first draft. Scrap it. Then write their second draft from scratch, and they nail it. Something about working through it all with that messy first draft and then rewriting it from the POV of 20/20 hindsight works for them—even though it feels like torture to me.

When it comes to writing, there is no right way or wrong way. There’s just your way. And the only way you’re going to find out what works for you is trial and error. Which is pretty cool, when you think of it, don’t you think?

How to make 2023 the year you write that book

This is the time of year when we boldly make declarations, taking stock of regrets over the things we haven't yet accomplished on our bucket lists and proclaiming that this is the year we finally make it happen. 

If writing or launching a book is on your wish list for 2023, I've got some free resources to help you get started, or help you reboot any projects that get to be dusted off:

1) First, sign up for my Substack newsletter for regular tips and inspiration on how to write, finish and publish your book.

2) Subscribe to my YouTube channel where I share how I wrote a book in 30 days, to keep you motivated and inspired.

3) Listen to The Power of Story, a masterclass in storytelling from the top experts--now available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify!

Remember, Rome wasn't built in a day and neither will your book. Rather, think of it like football: A game won in inches. Every step forward is a step in the right direction.

Wishing you a dreams-come-true kind of year for 2023,

Cat xo

How to make 2023 the year you finish that book

This is the time of year when we boldly make declarations, taking stock of regrets over the things we haven't yet accomplished on our bucket lists and proclaiming that this is the year we finally make it happen. 

If writing or launching a book is on your wish list for 2023, I've got some free resources to help you get started, or help you reboot any projects that get to be dusted off:

1) First, sign up for my Substack newsletter for regular tips and inspiration on how to write, finish and publish your book.

2) Subscribe to my YouTube channel where I share how I wrote a book in 30 days, to keep you motivated and inspired.

3) Listen to The Power of Story, a masterclass in storytelling from the top experts--now available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify!

Remember, Rome wasn't built in a day and neither will your book. Rather, think of it like football: A game won in inches. Every step forward is a step in the right direction.

Wishing you a dreams-come-true kind of year for 2023,

Cat xo

Forget about new year’s resolutions

Forget about new year’s resolutions…

I’m discovering that December is really the time to plant your stake in the ground 👉🏼

Originally, I had booked off the last 2 weeks of December, thinking the kids would be home from school. We would bake cookies, go to the movies, I might even paint a room, you know, all the things. With the idea that I would hit the ground running as far as my business and books go come January.

Then I found out—just recently, in fact, embarrassingly enough—that the kids don’t finish school until just before Christmas and then they STAY home through the first week of January.

So much for hitting the ground running in January. 

Now I had a whole extra week of December to fill out. And that got me thinking…

Maybe, rather than waiting until January to follow up with potential clients, move forward with my own books, create new partnerships and even plan new events—maybe I could use that week in December to really set myself up. To plant seeds now, that I could continue to nurture and grow in the new year. To make the kind of progress that’s only possible when everyone else has checked out of the grind. To not only finish strong, but also get a head start on the new year. 

So my question for you is, have you already checked out for the holidays? Are you setting yourself up for an amazing new year? Are you planting seeds now to get even closer to making your dreams come true in 2023?

I’m all about enjoying the moment and the holidays (see note above about my earlier plans before things changed), but I gotta admit, I’m loving the momentum I’m creating now. And how much more excited and relaxed I feel about starting the new year in the best position possible. 

So what amazing thing are you planning for 2023, and what seeds can you plant now? Leave me a comment and let me know--I'd love to cheer you on.

PS, if writing/publishing/launching a book in 2023 is on your wish list, schedule a call with me. I still have a few spots available before I close shop for the holidays, and I’m happy to help get you set up for making it happen in the new year.

Cat xo

I love stand up comedy…

Something you don’t know about me is…

How much I love stand up comedy. 🎤

I love stand up comedy so much I love books about stand up comedians. I love books about stand up comedians interviewing other stand up comedians. I love podcasts with stand up comedians talking to other stand up comedians about other stand up comedians. And I sure as hell love shows about stand up comedians talking to other stand up comedians—in cars, drinking coffee, wherever, whatever. Seriously. It’s my favourite thing.

I love listening to them talk about the art of doing it. How they come up with the material. How they craft their bits. Who uses what approach. Just listening to Joe Rogen talk to Judd Apatow the other day, I found out Phil Hartman used to carry around a binder and dividers, he was so committed. I tell my writers all the time how Jerry Seinfeld collects his material.

I find it all so inspiring and fascinating that if you were a fly on a wall listening to me coach my writers, you would hear how much it comes into the conversation. How often I reference this or that comedian, and this or that stand up technique or takeaway.

Habits. Material. Feedback. Beats. Arch. Pacing. It’s all there.

You just have to listen for it.

What I learned from writing a book in 30 days

I did it! 🎉

I wrote a book in 30 days. And here’s what I learned:

👉🏼I am capable of so much more than I ever imagined. Three thousand words in a day? Are you kidding me? It turns out I have been letting myself off the hook too much, and for too long. Now that I know what I can do, like my parents used to say when it came to chores: “You did that so well, we’re going to let you do it again.”

👉🏼It’s easy to be prolific when you don’t take yourself so seriously. The higher the expectations, the bigger the blocks. Gamify the experience, and watch the words flow, baby.

👉🏼I love editing other peoples’ work—it satisfies the OCD in me. But my own writing? Not so much. This time, though, I can’t wait to roll up my sleeves and dig in—deconstruct it all so I can build it back better ;)

👉🏼Sharing the journey publicly has been a lesson in humility, authenticity and transparency. “Writing a book in 30 days,” might have been a stretch I would put myself on and tell no one about it, at the risk of not following through. Declaring it, sharing it and putting my ass and professional career on the line has been a real commitment stretch. And when we stretch ourselves and pull it off? That builds trust, with ourselves. And that builds confidence, and that builds resilience. And that, friends, is worth all the gold in the world.

Character motivation and back story

How often do we make things up about other people, based off the smallest pieces of evidence?

A random tweet.

A profile pic. 

A like.

A comment.

A follow. 

We are always making up stories about other people—and you can apply that to your fiction and non-fiction too.

Revealing character and character motivation one tweet, photo and comment at a time.

You can even be playful about it—leading the reader to make up their own stories about what they think they saw, heard, felt. Who they think this character/person is.

You can use back story and misdirection to create suspense and engage the reader. 

Even in non-fiction, you can play with how predictable/unpredictable you/the narrator/the reader are.

As you do, you might find you know less about other people than you thought you did. 

You might even learn a thing or two about you.

Writing tip of the day: Moments like these

My daughter left for school today carrying her bejewelled notebook and fluffy pink pen. 

I told her she reminded me of one of my favourite characters growing up: Harriet the Spy.

Just like Harriet, I still walk around with a notebook and pen—only these days, I mostly take and save notes to my iPhone: interesting conversations, things overheard and captured. I file them away under “Misc” on my computer and take a peek every now and again when I’m short of ideas.

In that folder, I collect other things: Newspaper headlines, interesting facts, thoughts, pictures, impressions. Anything that makes me wonder. Makes me want to come back to it again. 

Like I did today.

Whether you’re writing fiction or non-fiction, these little scraps of memories, recollections, things witnessed, read and overheard, can provide inspiration and also help you flesh out what you’ve currently got going on on the page.

Some people throw away moments like these, but to me, they are everything. 

There’s no time like now to meet your reader

Nanowrimo is coming to a close and I would be remiss if I didn’t bring up the point OF ALL THIS…

To reach your ideal reader.

The fact is, you don’t need a published book to start creating a relationship with your audience. You don’t need a finished first draft, even, to attract your ideal reader.

You can start doing that now. Today. Right after you finish reading this post ;)

So take a moment and connect with your reader right now: Who do you envision picking your book up off the shelf? Who’s that person typing your topic into an Amazon search that brings up your book’s listing?

And beyond that, where do they hang out? What social media platform do they spend the most time on? Which podcasts do they listen to? What shows are they watching?

Where does your reader LIVE and what do they like to talk about?

Meet them there.

You can start engaging, cultivating your audience and nurturing your readership long before you finish your first draft—using everything from social media to blogs, newsletters, and beyond.

If you plan to publish your book traditionally, your book deal might depend on it.

And if you plan to self-publish, your ability to market and sell your book definitely does.

So start now.

You might find, even, that your conversations inspire your book as you write it. And your book, inversely, if it’s done right, ought to offer plenty of things to talk about well before it's out.

Sometimes writing doesn’t look like writing

The truth is, sometimes writing doesn’t look like writing.

It looks like walks on a nature trail. 

Googling books and movies you love/hate, thinking about what you liked/didn’t like, what your book has in common/how it’s different and unique, and what you would like to try. 

Lying around dreaming, scheming, problem solving, contemplating, reminiscing.

It can look a lot like procrastinating, or wasting time or navel gazing. 

And if it doesn’t lead to any words on the page, it probably is 👆🏼

But sometimes—oftentimes, in my case—it leads to something wonderful that could only have been imagined in the space of nothingness and everythingness that is creativity. 

Sometimes writing doesn’t look like writing. And trust that it still is.

On beginnings and endings

Where do you start?

I’ve done enough transformational and self-development work to know that beginnings—the roots of things—aren’t always what we think they are. 

Is it mom, dad? Ourselves? God?

Was it when we were 3, 5, 7? Or did it happen in the womb? What about generational trauma?

Fortunately, the beginnings of books are easier to solve, and remedy.

In medias res is the term used when a narrative work begins in the middle of things—when it opens in the middle of the plot.

And that’s certainly a solid place to start your book.

In Little Fires Everywhere, it’s a house fire. 

In Fight Club, the protagonist is being held hostage with a gun in his mouth atop a building rigged with explosives. How’s that for attention grabbing?

But it’s not always the loudest beginnings that make the most impact. I worked with a writer once who was telling his own story—his life story—and he couldn’t figure out where to start the book. We workshopped some scenes and one memory he shared was so quiet, you could hear a pin drop.

“That’s the beginning of your book,” I told him. 

I can’t tell you what the beginning of your book is from here, but I can tell you that when you find it, you’ll know it. Until then, keep seeking. Keep writing. The answer is there, waiting for you to catch up.

Opening and Closing Loops

What’s so great about foreplay?

The tease.

Writing a book is like that. Luring the reader in with enticing questions that they want answered, and delaying the answer.

No matter the book, no matter the genre, consider the loops you’re opening and closing.

Have you planted enough questions? Have you answered them too soon? Is there a compelling reason for the reader to read on? Does your story/book follow through on its promise?

Creating open loops can also help you maintain momentum as you write your book—making note of the things you get to come back to and figure out later so you can keep writing now while you’re in the zone.

Just be sure to come back to those points after first draft and close the loop 😉

Mindset Mastery

They don’t call it a “head game” for nothing…

How do you run the race? Do you start strong and fizzle out from there? Are you a strong finisher? Or are you someone who has a bunch of half-started/half-finished projects lying around?

I’m asking because writing a book is a lot like running a marathon…only with your brain.

In fact, I would chaulk up 50% of the effort that goes into writing a book, especially for new authors, to be about mastering the mind…

The self-doubt (“I’m not a good enough writer”)

The fear of rejection (particularly you memoir writers/life story tellers out there)

The scarcity (“I don’t have the time/money to invest in writing a book”)

Writing a book, I feel, takes more mental endurance than anything else—more than writing skill, proficiency with language, professional expertise, etc.

One of the ways I make writing a book manageable for my clients is breaking down the writing into regular, small increments. (“You mean, all I have to do is write 500 words/one hour a day? Five times a week? I can do that!”)

I tackle the easy/fun stuff first. (Hence writing the beginning, middle and end—or any of your favourite scenes/chapters—early on, if not first.)

So that I’ve got major momentum by the time I hit my first wall—which is much smaller now that I’ve already clocked in 25K-plus words and written the beginning, middle and end of my book. At this point, I’m so invested in my book I CAN’T NOT write it.

You feel me?

A word about feedback

A word about feedback…

First I love it. I mean, who loves any feedback that equals rejection? Me neither.

But feedback as in INFORMATION. Now that, I adore. Giving and receiving it.

Now like any game, I like to have some ground rules. Boundaries. Parameters. ESPECIALLY when it comes to writing.

Personally? I love feedback that looks for the opportunities. What’s working? What do I want to see more of?

I love feedback that’s exploratory, curious: What would it look like if —? Have you ever thought of —?

Ultimately, you’re going to resonate with whomever you’re meant to resonate with. Some people are going to like you/your book, some people just won’t. And that’s okay. We’re not out to please everyone.

We’re here to reach the people only you can reach. And to do that, we get to ask questions. To make sure everything you want to say, make your reader feel, is landing on the page.

So choose wisely: Someone you know who has your best interests at heart, but who is also curious, adventurous and willing to go on the self-improvement journey with you, which also includes acknowledging everything you’re doing right.

Walking the (through) line

Sometimes the answer to our questions, our problems, is sitting right there in front of us…

Sometimes we look all over the place, turn ourselves inside out upside down, seeking love, confidence, knowledge, when everything we need is right here.

Kind of like your book’s through line ;)

The people who come to me to help them write their book often can’t see the forest for the trees. There’s so much they want to say, so much they want to achieve, that they literally lose the plot.

(FYI, this happens to me too.)

As an outsider, though, in an instant, I can see it plain as day—their hero’s journey, 3 act structure, 5 act structure and Save the Cat beat sheet, regardless of genre.

And so what I’m telling you today is YOU already know what your book is about. You might not have it all figured out, certainly, but you know what journey you want to take your readers on.

THAT’S your through line.

Trust it. Follow it. Write it.

Go there.