Brand Architect

This time I’ll talk about something that seems to be important to many of us. I’ll share my thoughts about being a writer and how you get there. Every year, here in Armenia we have the TEDx Yerevan. I truly enjoy those events because every time they end up being really inspiring and uplifting experience. I’ve been there for three years.

Usually at similar events During coffee breaks and lunchtime, the most common question people ask each other is, “So what do you do?” At the conference in 2012, when people asked that question it was very hard for me to answer. At that time I had quit my job and just started writing my first novel called Highfall. Back then I did not even have the title, so it was just a novel. Maybe that is why I answered to that question with insecure and lame phrases, such as “I am trying to write”, “I write a bit” and “I want to be a writer.” 

Sound familiar? I’m sure it does.

The next year at Tedx event it was completely different. That time was different because my life had gone through an important change over the past year. That year I had no problem saying, “I am a writer” believing in every single word.

The last time, which was this September, when I went there again, people were already introducing me to others saying – “This is Ani. She’s a writer”. That sounded like music to my ears.

So let’s get back to the very beginning.

Those insecure phrases with “I’m trying to write…” “I write a bit…”. What keeps us from saying “I’m a writer?”

It seems like we need permission to write. We are looking for someone (preferably a publisher or a famous writer) to tell that what we write is good, so we can keep on doing that.

What do all those insecure phrases mean? Who is “aspiring writer,”? Who is “pre-published writer,”? Who is “undiscovered writer,”? Who is “almost a writer,”? What are those words we put before writer for?

To me personally, Someone is either a writer or he is not.

Jeff Goins in his book You Are a Writer (So Start Acting Like One) says Becoming a writer begins with a simple but important belief: You are a writer; you just need to write. And I completely agree with him.

You don’t need to seek anyone’s permission to write. You don’t need to pass an exam to be called a writer and be able to share your story. You don’t need to obtain any license for that. You don’t have to want to become a writer… You simply need to be one.

Writers write. And no one can take it away from them. Whether what you’ve written is liked by many or only few is another question. You will never write a book, which will be liked by everyone, so don’t even try.

By trying to please every single reader you will only lose your unique voice. After all it’s better to be loved and adored by few than simply liked by many.

There will always be writer’s doubts and you will always have different challenges along the way. But that does not mean that you are not a real writer. In fact there are no real or unreal writers.

Don’t WANT to be a writer. Don’t decide to BECOME a writer – decide to BE one.

I’m sure that if you are here now listening to me, then you have decided to be a writer. And you are… You ARE a writer!

Don’t wait for someone to acknowledge that fact. Don’t waste time waiting for others permitting you to call yourself a writer. Do your thing – write.

And please do me a favor. When someone asks what you do – gather all your confidence and faith and reply “I am a writer!”

That was all I wanted to tell to you today. Hopefully I managed to pass my message through.

Have a nice day and be writers!

Please feel free to connect with me and other Write 2B Read listeners in the closed Facebook Group.

Click Here to Download

Today I am talking to Farnoosh Brock. I've been following her online since few tears already. Farnoosh is an inspiring online entrepreneur. She quit her 6 figure job and now is the passionate founder and president of Prolific Living. She has also been published by a major publishing house - twice!

Farnoosh had a long 11+ years corporate career. She had everything you could imagine for a perfect dream corporate job. But she wasn't happy. She was looking for something that would fulfill her. She was looking for distractions to keep her busy - so Farnoosh started blogging. And blogging took off for her. Maybe that's because Farnoosh was passionate writer. For several years Farnoosh's blog was a hobby, but it grew with the time and more it grew more she was interested in blogging and less interested in her corporate job.

In 2010 Farnoosh attended the bloggers conference the Blogworld event in Las Vegas.

At that conference I saw people, who have turned their online blog into a full time business.

She came back home from there and started looking at her blog as business. She started her newsletter, thought about launching her first product and write her first book - Writing Manifesto. She gave it away to her readers, but it did not do well because they were coming to her blog for personal development.

At that point Farnoosh was assigned a project she did not want to work on. She also felt so unhappy at work. That is why Farnoosh resigned. 2 years after that she even hired her husband to come on board and together they are running their online business now.

Farnoosh told:

"My company was my identity – my corporate job. Not a minute of this three years I have regretted my decision. Have I missed anything – anything at all. I’ve almost forgotten that I was part of that corporation. This is so the right thing for me. There has never been that looking back and thinking that I should have staid – ever!

There’s leaving where you’ve been miserable and there’s arriving to that next place. And that has been very difficult.

Even before the publishing deal came, I was self-publishing my own books and creating my own products. There have been products which did not do well. In fact the very first product I was in love with myself it didn’t do well at all and it was too hard to come to terms with that.

And it’s so necessary – it has to happen. You have to fail and to deal with it. And to learn from it and to see that it’s part of the process. You just don’t quit something and jump to a series of success. It does not happen that way to anyone.

Everyone that you admire has had struggles. It was a shift to being very much on your own. It is a lonely journey – so you have to create opportunity to connect. You have to be part of mastermind, support communities, etc that will help you. The one thing that helped me get me through was the support of my husband.

When you see online entrepreneurs, writers, bloggers – the people who are really successful, they get help. They hire mentors, they hire coaches. They invest in themselves, they put money on the table. Be willing to invest in yourself.

There is no secret formula. You just have to follow the road. If this is your road you have to take it."

Farnoosh said:

"At first I published 5 self-published non-fiction books on Kindle. Most successful book on Kindle store was the green juicing guide. It was selling 100s of copies a month at $9.99. You plan your entrepreneurship journey and something completely different happens. So that success was quite unexpected.

That book was actually how traditional publishers found us. They contacted us. At first they refused. When they came and persisted and we agreed to write a new book. It was…. And I had only 6 weeks to write that book, which by now have sold around 30k copies.

Self-publishing opens doors of opportunities. When you publish on Kindle store and get natural readers and good reviews publishers come to you. Being traditionally published was not about money – it was about the credibility, which still comes when you have a traditionally published book.

If you have not published take your opportunity to publish using self-publishing. Otherwise you are wasting your time. Your book has to come out today for your readers.

If you are writing to be read as opposed to be published by fancy publisher then you have to publish."

Farnoosh told:

"For us both – self publishing route and the traditional publishing route have been successful. The reason we had the 2nd deal from the traditional publisher was because we worked with them as equal partners. When the book was handed over for editing I started working on the marketing to help them sell the book. I used my platform online to promote my book.

The distribution power of the traditional publishers is so much bigger. Many people who otherwise would never see your book otherwise. It can be a lead generation for you.

Self publishing has given us the opportunity – it has opened a door.

For every book it’s different, for every person it’s different. The first door you can have absolute control on is the Kindle door. If you don’t have a literary agent or traditional publisher then self publish on Amazon and do your best to promote the book."

A year from now you will wish you had started today! Just start now!

Whatever you focus on – grows!

Focus on 1 thing but don’t give up on all other dreams and work them in at some point later.

Deadlines are great motivators.

Set deadlines and get accountability partners.

Practice daily writing.

Farnoosh's website - Prolific Living

Farnoosh Brock's Amazon author page where you can find all her books

Smart Exit Blueprint Course

Write 2B Read podcast interview with Joanna Penn - How to be an Author Entrepreneur

Cathy Presland's online course - "How to Publish an eBook on Kindle - eBook Publishing Course"

750 Words

Get 100+ Twitter Hashtags Successful Writers Use

Find out where to get professional book covers WHEN MONEY IS TIGHT

You Wrote a Book: Now What?

Please feel free to connect with me and other Write 2B Read listeners in the closed Facebook Group.

I will start the show notes of today's episode with the official version of my guest's introduction, which states the following:

David Ralph is the host and creator of the top ranked seven day per week show “Join Up Dots”. Based on the words of the late Steve Jobs, David take his guests through an emotional dissection of their lives, culminating in a conversation with their younger self.

What mistakes would they rectify? What success would they class as their “Big dots” to the achieving the life of their dreams?.

With a daily audience of over 18,000 listeners, David has truly found his path in life.But this is the pinnacle of nearly thirty years based in corporations around London and the United Kingdom, where David didn’t know his path, and like so many of us followed the route that was expected. The route that was not his.

And to that I will add my non-official version of who David is:

David is extremely hard working person, who is ready to sacrifice almost everything in order to get where he's headed for. He is almost never unhappy and the energy he radiates from his microphone, along with his pleasant British accent is simply amazing.

Up to now only few people, knew that David has written a book. Only two people have seen it up to now, but that doesn't matter. The fact that he has written and completed a book already makes him a writer.

Why did he do that?

It seems like he wanted to prove to himself that he could do it and also leave a mark in the world. David wanted to write a page, which sounded like a book... but then his words started flowing and the page grew into a chapter and that in its turn into a book. David wrote the book while he was at work - putting 1k words a day.

David was editing on the go, so I am quite surprised that he reached the end to be honest.

When the book was ready and David read it, he did not like it. Maybe that is why it ended up being abandoned by him.

Now, after some time David went back and read the book again. This time, he liked what he read and seems that at some point he might even consider sharing that story with the world.

In this interview we talk about pretty much everything. We discuss difficult bosses, escape from the corporate world, finding what you love doing, writing processes, the muse and the life itself.

At some point you may even get confused about who interviews whom...

If you love doing something you find a way of doing it.

We've only got one life, so let's make most of it.

I'm a believer in the belief.

Everything we do in life is about challenging ourselves to overcome something that we don't believe we could do.

I don't want to earn money doing something I don't love.

Please feel free to connect with me and other Write 2B Read listeners in the closed Facebook Group.

Tom Morkes is a West Point grad, Iraq War veteran and CEO of Insurgent Publishing. He is the author of the new book Collaborate: The New Rules for Launching a Business Online. You can get early access to the book and bonuses by supporting his crowdfunding campaign here: http://publishizer.com/collaborate

In this interview we talk about book publishing, crowdfunding and collaboration.

Get 100+ Twitter Hashtags Successful Writers Use

Find out where to get professional book covers WHEN MONEY IS TIGHT

You Wrote a Book: Now What?

Please feel free to connect with me and other Write 2B Read listeners in the closed Facebook Group.

Inkshare is a platform, which is designed for a diverse range of authors, from young journalists looking to build a career in investigative reporting, to established writers that want better alternatives to traditional publishing.

Authors Pitch,

The Crowd Funds,

They Publish.

In this interview I talk with the co-founder of Inkshares Adam Gomolin. We discuss how Inkshares works and what benefits does it offer to writers.

Get 100+ Twitter Hashtags Successful Writers Use

Find out where to get professional book covers WHEN MONEY IS TIGHT You Wrote a Book: Now What?

Throughout his adult life Ian has helped people move through huge challenges. From his varied experience as a Business Owner, Sports Coach, Trainer, Sales Manager and Therapist; he has developed a deep understanding of the fears, anxieties and mindsets that can hold you back. He has helped countless individuals to lose weight, stop smoking and rid themselves of unwanted phobias. Ian  is also the author of Escape the Mind Trap: how to conquer your inner demons. You can connect with Ian through Twitter (@Ianmaxijackson)

In this interview we talk about writer's doubt, fear of failure, criticism and his book.

If the reason you have not written a book yet is that you have doubts or you simply don’t know where to start, then I am here for you. Please check out my coaching page to see what I can help you with. Please feel free to connect with me and other Write 2B Read listeners in the closed Facebook Group.

Get 100+ Twitter Hashtags Successful Writers Use

Paul Colaianni is the founder and host of The Overwhelmed Brain - personal growth podcast designed for critical thinkers. In this interview we discuss his very first Kindle book called Clear The Path To Happiness: Powerful, Practical Steps To Become Happier, Feel Better, And Enjoy Living.

Paul's Website

Paul's Podcast

Podcast Answer Man

Podcast Incubator

Goodreads

If the reason you have not written a book yet is that you have doubts or you simply don’t know where to start, then I am here for you. Please check out my coaching page to see what I can help you with.

Please feel free to connect with me and other Write 2B Read listeners in the closed Facebook Group.

Nick Loper is the founder of the Side Hustle Nation. It's a community for aspiring & part-time entrepreneurs, who are looking to make money outside their day job. One of Nick's side hustle is publishing.

In this interview we  discuss side hustle, entrepreneurship and kindle book marketing. Nick shares very unexpected and effective place to sell books!

The last thing you need is the second job that you hate! Opportunities are not visible until you're already in motion.

Don't let your manuscript collect dust! Download this book and find your readers.

Side Hustle Nation (Nick's website)

The Side Hustle Show (Nick's podcast)

Nick's Amazon Author Page

Slideshare

Fiverr

Kindle Countdown Deals

If the reason you have not written a book yet is that you have doubts or you simply don’t know where to start, then I am here for you. Please check out my coaching page to see what I can help you with.

Please feel free to connect with me and other Write 2B Read listeners in the closed Facebook Group.

Today we are going to have very different and special interview. Today I am talking to Sadie Nastor. She is Avid reader, soon to be writer and blogger. She also has a podcast called Between Two Worlds.

Ah, nothing extraordinary you may think and yes I agree there are many people who do that, right? But – there is a big but in here. Now I will state a fact and it will trigger a paradigm shift. So here it is…

Sadie Nastor is Only 9 years old!

In this episode I am trying to see how is such a young person dealing with so many things at once and on top of it all is planning to start writing her very first NaNoWriMo novel!

In case you already have written a book and are overwhelmed and confused about what to do next Don't forget to download my e book "You Wrote A Book: Now What?" for free

Sean Platt is an author entrepreneur, founder of Sterling & Stone, and co-founder of the Collective Inkwell and Realm & Sands imprints.

In this interview we talk about writing, creativity and productivity.

1+1 = 3 or more

We don't get good ideas, we make ideas good!

Be consistent and then add to it.

Quality and volume are related and dependent on each other.

All the details about the Indie Author Pack

Fiction unboxed

The Self-Publishing Podcast

My free ebook"You Wrote A Book: Now What?"