5 Ways Writing a Book Will Help You to Unshackle Your Latent Creative Genius

How often have you told yourself, “I’m not a creative person?” Have you gaped at the creativity of young kids playing together, wondering where on earth they conjure up these fantastic ideas? Creativity doesn’t wither and die completely as we grow up; we just don’t use it quite as much as we did as children. Mainstream schooling also doesn’t place a priority on creative arts because teachers are made to prioritise the curriculum and marking papers. If you want to kindle your creative juices once again, write a book.

Naturally, before you start writing a best-selling epic fantasy series, it helps to prepare an outline and know what topic you’ll write about. You get pantsers and plotters.  Pantsers make it up by the seat of their pants.  Plotters like structure and a skeleton outline so they can fill in the blanks.   I recommend you use the latter approach.  If you’re knowledgeable in a particular area, it makes sense to write about your expertise so your business will grow. But even if you want to try your hand at a fictional novel, its best to approach writing a book [like any other project] with a solid plan.

Here are five ways you can ignite your latent creative muse by writing a book:

1. Use the brain dump method to empty your head of too many ideas. 

Studies have proven that multitasking actually diminishes productivity, so rather than trying to write your book while all these other great ideas are floating around in there, take a notebook and just start writing everything down. Capture EVERYTHING, including calling the dentist for an appointment to calling your mother for a chat. Whatever is taking up space in your brainbox should be downloaded onto that paper. A great phrase I heard years ago – “Llet paper remember so you can forget”.  Now that you’ve released these thoughts onto paper, focus solely on writing your book. You’ll discover the writing process is easier when you’re able to focus on just one task instead of two dozen to dos.

2. Open the creativity box to release other ideas. 

So often we get stuck with one idea in our minds and it’s difficult to focus on anything else. Transform that one great idea into a book… then pay attention to related creative ideas that bubble to the surface afterward. There’s an unconscious reason why you can’t move past your book idea and focus on other things; it’s your mind’s way of telling you to follow through and see where it takes you. When your book is finished and you have some time to chill out is often when you’ll get your next inspirational eureka moment.

3. Writing itself is a creative problem-solving process. 

When was the last time you made a pros/cons list to help you make a decision? Or a to-do list to track your daily tasks? Or mind mapping to plan the growth of your business? These are simple examples of how writing is used to solve challenges. Writing out the details of our problem allows us to clarify exactly what has to happen when and it’s then easier to see connections and solutions to these problems.  I mindmap everything!

4. Practice makes perfect. 

Even though there’s no such thing as perfection, this old adage holds true. The more you write, the easier the process becomes. Writing content for your audience will become easier because you have the practice and you’ve done the research to know what your audience is seeking. TIP – what are your prospects’ top five headaches?  Write about that.

5. Embrace the idea of learning something new every day. 

The best books are those that are well researched, so embrace that research phase to unleash your creativity. Discover new facts, new resources, or new theories. Carry this idea over into your personal life and mix up your daily routines to try new things. Listen to audiobooks on Audible.  Read Kindle books on your phone.  Explore your surroundings, take the long way route from the gym, or explore a new town you randomly choose from a map. Your brain will thank you for making it work differently, simply because you stirred things up.

Creativity is latent inside all of us. The process of igniting that creativity and using it to create a business you love will be unique for every person but promises to yield great rewards.

We have a way to get a non-fiction book written and ready to sell on Amazon in 3 hours.  Get in touch if you’d like to talk to me about how that’s done.

5 Ways to Become a Local Celebrity with Your New Book

Even if you have built your business mainly online and that’s where you uncover the bulk of your clients, local marketing should not be overlooked. In addition to your online marketing strategy, promoting your new book in the local area can bring you “local celebrity” status while boosting your following.

Bear in mind, these tips may not bring in boatloads of book sales but they’ll go a long way to growing your name recognition within your local community. As well as book sales, you might attract some new clients and you’ll definitely gain more social media fans.

1. Hold local book signings at libraries or book stores. Don’t forget your hometown roots! Publishing a book is quite an achievement not everyone can claim, so blow your own trumpet to the people who know you best. Meet and greets at any location allow you to promote your book while also building your fan base.

2. Appear at Community events. Many local communities or towns hold Community events and festivals during the summer and autumn months. Review those calendars well in advance and be prepared to invest a small fee to set up a table with your book available for purchase. Print out bookmarks or other handouts that include your social media handles so they can connect with you after the event; I always found that raffles and prize draws offering your book as the prize gets the best types of leads.

3. Speak at local schools about your journey to becoming an author. Many schools hold career days so watch for those events or call the schools directly to volunteer. This isn’t so much a chance to sell your book but to talk about your path to becoming an author. Carry handouts with your name, book title, and social media handles so the kids can pass them along to their parents. This is also a great opportunity to leave information at the schools for the faculty. You just never know where your next client will come from!  It's all about visibility.

4. Volunteer locally with your Chamber of Commerce or other business networking groups. Many Chambers have different committees on which to serve and other business networking groups (such as Club Five55) have top table positions available every year. Again, these types of positions are not about selling books but offer you the chance to contribute to your community while expanding your name recognition.  Local business networking groups are bringing money into that community.

5. Use your book as a fundraiser. Choose a cause that’s dear to your heart and dedicate a percentage of sales to be donated. Donating to a local charity or hospice may stir more interest because of the hometown roots. Or donate a copy or two of your books to auction events held by local PTAs, scouting troops, or religious organisations. Very often these organisations will distribute a list of their benefactors, so that’s yet another way to increase your name recognition.

Marketing your book should be a continuous discipline, both online and offline. The more people you can reach through the differing avenues, the more likely you’ll see increases in sales, new clients, and social media fans.

At The Instant Edge we help authors whose books aren't the spectacular success they hoped they would be, and budding authors who want to get published and build a platform so they can get paid well to share a message and make a difference.  Learn more at http://www.instantedge.co.uk/

Congratulations, 2019 NaNoWriMo Winner!

Very proud of myself - 55,000 word novel written in November during National Novel Writing Month, all very late at night and at weekends.

 

5 Ways to Get 1,000 New Fans with Your New Book

Now that you’ve got your book written, you might be wondering what comes next. Now is the time to start shouting from the rooftops about your new baby because if you don’t tell folk about it, they simply won’t know it exists. And contrary to popular belief, just because your book is available on Amazon doesn’t mean it will show up in gazillions of Amazon searches.

Part of becoming an author nowadays also means becoming a marketing expert. Most authors think that all they have to do is write a book and gold bullion will fly out of their laptops! WRONG! You need to market for as long and as hard as you wrote the blooming thing! Hiring a public relations Company is certainly one option, but for many authors – especially first time authors – PR firms are just not affordable. The key is to gain recognition and get your name seen by as many people as possible, which means writing pitches to those influencers who have access to your ideal audience.

 1. Schedule a real or "virtual" book tour. This "take a deep breath" campaign requires lots of footwork and research combined with some travel expertise to be successful. Target big bookstores as well as independent bookstores in areas where your ideal readers are located. Bookstores are interested in how your book will bring people in to their shops so include a synopsis of your book in your pitch. Also outline your social media plans and how they will align with their current social media campaigns. Bear this in mind: Scheduling tours in big cities is best done well in advance because big name authors do a lot of these. "Virtual" book tours are webinars or Facebook lives held every week for a set number of weeks and the whole thing is done online. No travel, no seedy hotels and no sore feet.

 2. Schedule television and radio interviews. While planning your book tour, make the effort to reach out to local television and radio stations to land interviews; of course, finding the best contact is paramount so you’re not wasting time. Decide which type of segment or topic you’re best suited for and do your research on specific programmes, hosts, and producers. Most of this will be available online, or start listening to local channels in the car more! Make yourself stand out from the rest of the pitches by including any relevant fun facts or ties to that local area. And don’t think any show is too big for you to land; I know a virtual assistant who landed a an interview spot on a major radio show simply because she took a punt and answered an open call specific to her niche

 3. Arrange blog tours and podcast tours. This is another version of the "virtual" tour - Don’t discount blogs or podcasts as part of your promotional campaign. A blog tour is simply a written interview which is published on a blog but they usually include contact links to your website. Podcasts are audio recordings, similar to traditional radio talk shows, available for free from platforms such as iTunes and Anchor. Research who the influencers are in your industry and check out their numbers of readers and listeners. Many blogs or podcasts have national reach so those are the ones to target with your pitch.

 4. Create social media events around your book launch. You already have a following so don’t forget about inviting them to watch parties or other local live events. Tell them about your new book; go live and read a chapter aloud to build interest; create custom hashtags and ask you followers to share about your book and live events; create an online panel discussion with other authors or colleagues to discuss your book’s topic. Being consistent and present on social media when your book launches is vitally important to build up your momentum. All of your fans want to know more about you so don’t disappear.

 5. Embrace new social media platforms and/or advertising avenues. Utilising as many social media platforms as possible will greatly increase your chances of gaining new fans but only if your target audience uses those platforms. The first rule of fishing is to find a river with fish in it. Perform some market research first before learning another platform. If you’re happy with your current social media accounts, focus instead on their advertising features. Facebook, for example, offers ads along with Sponsored Posts. Knowing the difference and how best to use them to target your audience will find you many more fans. You have an awesome book, now it’s time to show the world how much you know on the subject and how much you can help your audience with this information. Planning any kind of national publicity is time consuming but a worthwhile effort when you think about how many people you’ll attract to your brand.

 And yes we can help you do all of this as part of our Guru Factory programme. Take a look and let's chat http://www.instantedge.co.uk/

Glasgow business coaching