Blogger To Author

Writer’s block strikes fear into even the most seasoned writer. Nothing saps your confidence like sitting in front of a blank screen or piece of paper for what seems like eons, failing to come up with any words to fill it. And, unfortunately, writer’s block is incredibly common. Even professional writers have off days when they struggle to come up with the words they need. In this episode, I’m sharing six strategies that you can use to overcome writer’s block. These are strategies that have worked for me personally, and I know they’ve worked for other writers, too. I know that writer’s block can feel like a deep pit of frustration. But, there are ways to work your way out of that pit. So, instead of getting all worked up about your writer’s block, let’s come up with some solutions to help you overcome it! Show notes: bloggertoauthor.com/103

One of the biggest problems that I hear writers struggle with is not having time to write. This is particularly true for those of you who are also business owners and who are busy running your businesses, creating content, staying active on social media, and a dozen other things. When you’re trying to write a book but you’re crunched for time, it helps to be able to get more written in the time you do have. So, to help you get more words onto the page when you sit down to write, I’m sharing five tips to help you speed up your writing. (Several of these tips definitely apply to fiction writers, but I’m primarily aiming the tips at nonfiction writers.) If you find yourself saying, “But I don’t have time to write” or, “I can’t seem to finish my book because I’m too busy,” this episode is for you! I hope that at least one or two of these tips will help you finally finish your book and become an author. Show notes: bloggertoauthor.com/102

I’m going to be honest with you for a minute. The publishing space is getting pretty crowded, especially in popular niches like business or health and wellness or even cookbooks. That means that your book is competing for attention with many other books out there. How do you get the attention of potential book buyers? How can you make your nonfiction book stand out from the crowd and make it onto readers’ bookshelves? There are three big places where you can make your nonfiction book stand out: writing, design, and marketing. In today’s episode, I’ll walk you through a few tips to help you make your book stand out in each of these three areas. You’ll get some food for thought, and hopefully you’ll come up with a few action items that you can follow to improve your book. My goal is that by the end of the episode, you’ll have an action item or two that you can implement right away to make your nonfiction book stand out. Show notes: bloggertoauthor.com/101

Sometimes, you need to take a break from your book. Maybe life got crazy and you simply didn’t have time to write. (It happens—don’t beat yourself up if you’ve needed to shift gears away from your book.) Or, maybe you just didn’t feel like writing for a while. Sometimes we get burnt out or overwhelmed or we just need a break from things. Again, it happens. But, if you want to become an author, you have to finish your book. You have to start writing again. So, how do you start writing again after a break? How do you get back into the swing of writing so you can finally finish your manuscript? The process isn’t always easy, but it’s always worth it. In this episode, I’ll walk you through the steps that I think you should take to get back to your book manuscript. These steps will help you get reacquainted with your manuscript and get back into the rhythm of writing so you can finish your book and become an author. Show notes: bloggertoauthor.com/100 Free 5-day writing challenge: bloggertoauthor.com/writingchalle

How successful can your self-published book really be? And, what do you actually need to do to create and market your book to reach that level of success? From the outside, it can be difficult to know what to expect from your self-published book. Will it be a total flop, or will you consistently sell copies? Will bookstores want to sell your book? Will your book have an impact on your business? From time to time, I like to bring you interviews with real, successful self-published authors. I think hearing from these authors helps us get a better idea of what we need to do to make our books a success. And, hearing what other people are doing to market their books and use those books to build their business might inspire you to do the same. In this episode, I’m very excited to be interviewing Lyn Lindbergh, author of COUCH to ACTIVE. I first spoke with Lyn on the podcast last summer in Episode 70: Hiring Help for Your Book. I’m grateful that Lyn is back with us today to talk about everything that she’s done to m

It’s a fear that I think every author-to-be has at one point: you work your tail off to write and publish a book…and no one buys it. It’s terrifying to think that you could put so much effort into creating a book that readers don’t want to read. And, if you’re hiring editors, designers, or other professionals to help with the production of your book, zero book sales could result in a big financial loss for you. So, how do you tell if readers will buy your book? How can you help relieve your fears and prove to yourself that yes, people will want to read your book? In this episode, I’ll walk you through four important steps that you should take to figure out whether people will want to buy your book. These steps will help you think through some very important questions you should be asking yourself if you want to estimate how successful your book will be. At the end, I think you’ll have the answer you’re looking for. Show notes: bloggertoauthor.com/98

So, you’ve decided you want to publish a cookbook. Now what do you do? The idea of having to write and produce an entire cookbook can be overwhelming, especially when you look at the project as a whole. But, when you break things down and just focus on the next step in front of you, it’s much more manageable. That’s why today I’ll be walking you through the steps you’ll need to take to publish your cookbook. If you’re still trying to decide whether you want to create a cookbook, I encourage you to go back and listen to Episode 96, which is a deep dive into whether you should publish a cookbook and if it’s actually worth the effort. But, if you’re ready to go, this episode will serve as a checklist with the steps to go through when you’re ready to make your cookbook a reality. Show notes: bloggertoauthor.com/97

I’ve been working with and hearing from a lot of food bloggers lately, food bloggers who are interested in publish a cookbook. But, they’re often unsure about whether they actually want to go through with it. I totally get it—producing a cookbook can take a lot of time, and it can be difficult to know whether your effort is going to pay off in the end. In today’s episode, I’ll walk you through some of the frequently-asked questions I get from food bloggers who are trying to decide whether they should self-publish a cookbook. I’ll answer questions like, “is it worth it?” and, “how much will it cost?” You’ll learn more about choosing between traditional and self-publishing, whether you should publish your cookbook in print, if you’ll actually make money from your book, and how much time the whole process can take. My hope is that by the end of the episode, you’ll have the tools and insight you’ll need to help you decide whether you should self-publish your cookbook. Show notes: bloggertoauthor.com/96

If you’re like me, you’ve started a big project only to get busy or distracted and the project sits and sits until you’ve totally forgotten about it. But, if that project is important enough, you’ll eventually come back to it and finish what you’ve started. This happened to me with my second book: I wrote maybe a third or a half of the content, then I moved 800 miles across the country and had a baby. That book manuscript sat on my hard drive for almost a year before I finally picked it back up and self-published it. But, I’m really glad that I did come back and finish the book. It fits a unique space in my business—it’s a low-cost way for my audience to get a lot of information—and it definitely is helping people. But, there are times when it doesn’t make sense to keep writing a book you’ve been working on. There’s a season for everything in your business, and sometimes it’s the season to temporarily shelve your book manuscript…or to put it aside entirely. In some cases, your book may actually bring you furt

In some ways, mindset is everything. Having the wrong mindset and looking at your work and career the wrong way can really hold you back. If you keep looping back to the same negative thoughts or limiting beliefs, you can limit your success. Conversely, if you look at your book and your writing through the right lens, it will help you become much more successful. In this episode, I’ll primarily be speaking to nonfiction authors, but I think fiction authors can and will get a lot out of these mindset shifts, too. I’ll walk you through the five big mindset shifts that I think authors should make to be more successful. I’ve worked with and talked to many aspiring and published authors, and there are a few beliefs and mental habits that hold many of them back. I want to help you overcome these five major blocks so you can have a great author mindset and ultimately have more success as an author. Show notes: bloggertoauthor.com/94

When you’re writing a nonfiction book, it’s very common to get started…and then get stuck. And, let’s be honest: if it were easy to write a book, everyone who’s ever said, “I want to write a book someday” would already be an author. With that said, it’s also not impossible to write and finish a book. People publish books and become authors every day. But, what makes the people who successfully finish different? Having finished writing many books, both for myself and for my clients, I’ve learned a few strategies that have really helped me finish books…and finish them relatively quickly. I also see many of the same habits popping up with my clients who successfully write and publish their books. There are a few traits that people who finish their nonfiction books all share. So, today I’m sharing what I think are the traits that have the biggest impact on whether an author will finish his or her book. Whether you’re just starting to write your book or you’re feeling frustrated because you’re stuck somewhere in t

Deciding to self-publish your book and get it into print is just the first step in a long journey. You’ll spend time writing and editing your manuscript, and when you’re done, you’ll get it typeset or designed so it looks great for your readers. Then comes the process of actually getting your book printed. In theory, it should be relatively easy, but it can be really hard to choose where you want to print your book with so many options available. If the process of printing your self-published book has you feeling confused and overwhelmed, I’m here to help. And, I’m pulling in my friend and colleague LeAnna Weller Smith of Weller-Smith Design for her perspective, too. LeAnna has worked in the publishing industry for many years, and she knows a lot of the ins and outs of self-publishing. In this episode, LeAnna and I talk about the printing services we recommend for most of our clients. We also run through the big print-on-demand options and talk about the pros and cons of each service to help you pick the righ

As a business owner, you're incredibly busy. You're working to keep up with clients, create new content to attract new followers, stay engaged on social media, and more. It's no wonder that so many of my audience members struggle to get their books written because they're so busy. If you've been trying to write your book for a while but you're feeling stuck, I think this strategy will help. In this episode of the Blogger to Author Podcast, you'll learn how you can use your content calendar to write your book. Whether you write blog posts, film videos, have a podcast, write long social media posts, or write amazing emails to your list, you can reuse that content to help write the first draft of your book. And, with some careful planning, you can write that first draft by filling in your content calendar with the topics you'll be covering in your book. Just listen to learn how to do it! Show notes: bloggertoauthor.com/91

Is writing and self-publishing a nonfiction book on your list of goals for 2019? If you really want to make sure you follow through and achieve that goal, it's time to start planning NOW. There are three big things you should be doing now to make sure your dream of self-publishing a nonfiction book in 2019 becomes a reality. Listen to the episode to learn what those three things are, and to learn about some great free resources I have to help you get there. Show notes: bloggertoauthor.com/90

In this episode, I'm talking about where current and future self-published authors should be spending their money on services like hiring a designer or an editor. I've been getting a lot of questions lately about what tasks authors should hire out and what they should DIY. I know a lot of you don't have a budget to necessarily pay someone to do every single part of the process, but maybe you recognize that there are some places where you might benefit from actually paying somebody to help you out. So, here I'll walk you through a decision matrix that you can work through to help you figure out where you should spend money if you are going to hire someone to help with your book. Really, what it comes down to is figuring out what services should you prioritize, where should you spend your money first (and then second and then third), and using the money you've budgeted accordingly. This episode will help you do just that! Show notes: bloggertoauthor.com/89

Black Friday is coming up quickly, which means that if you want to offer a deal and sell more books, you need to have a marketing plan in place. But, with so many deals popping up in social media feeds and email inboxes, it can be tough to make sure people see your deal…and take advantage of it. In this episode, I’ll walk you through the basics of planning out your Black Friday (or Cyber Monday) book promotion. At the end of the episode, you’ll have a better idea of what you’ll need to do to run a successful Black Friday book sale, and you’ll know how to create an implementable Black Friday marketing plan. Show notes: bloggertoauthor.com/88

What does it take to make a self-published nonfiction book a success? Writing and producing a book takes a lot of time. And, if you're going to hire someone to help you with your book, you need to know whether it's worth investing the money, too. To help you make that decision, I'm sharing what has helped my most successful clients make their books profitable. From writing to marketing, you'll hear what has worked for other self-published nonfiction authors. Show notes: bloggertoauthor.com/87

This episode is being released on November 1st, when holiday shopping season is upon us. That begs the question: how can you make sure your book makes it into gift bags and stockings this year? Many authors will offer sales on their books on Black Friday or Cyber Monday. And, although price cut can definitely entice shoppers to buy your book, sometimes you need to sweeten the deal even more to actually make the sale. Today’s episode will walk you through some ideas for how you can get a Black Friday boost for your book sales, beyond simply marking your book down for a day or two. If you find the right offer that your audience really wants, you’ll sell so many more books than you would have by just offering 20 or 30% off your book. And, toward the end of the episode, I’ll walk you through the steps that you should take NOW in the beginning of November so you’re prepared for your sale when it happens. Show notes: bloggertoauthor.com/86

There’s a reason why self-publishing is so big right now, especially for entrepreneurs—a book can give you instant authority and credibility. Your book instantly sets you above other people in your niche who don’t have books. It shows that you’re serious about what you do and your business. And, it shows people that you are a thought leader in your space. In this episode, I want to dig deep into the idea of thought leadership and how your book will help you become a thought leader in your niche. If your goal is to become a go-to person in your field, to get speaking gigs, or even just to be seen as an expert, thought leadership is KEY. So, I’ll walk you through the biggest reasons why your book will help you become a thought leader in your niche, and then I’ll tell you how you can get started on your book…FAST. Show notes: bloggertoauthor.com/85

I often get asked about the differences between traditional publishing and self-publishing. In particular, many entrepreneurs and bloggers want to know which direction they should take. They know that there are pros and cons of both traditional publishing and self-publishing, but they're not sure what the right choice is for them and their businesses. In this episode, I'm featuring an interview with Bonnie Taub-Dix. Bonnie has a unique perspective because she initially published her book with a traditional publisher. Then, years down the road when she decided the book needed to be updated, she acquired the rights from her publisher and self-published her second edition. That means that Bonnie has some great insight into both sides of the publishing game. A little more about Bonnie: Bonnie Taub-Dix, MA,RDN,CDN is the award-winning author of, Read It Before You Eat It – Taking You from Label to Table, and creator of the website and blog called, BetterThanDieting.com. Bonnie is a media personality, media trainer