The Daily Writer

People write books for all kinds of reasons. Some write to teach what they know, some write to tell made-up stories, some write to promote their business, and some write because they’re passionate about a particular topic… just to name a few reasons.

On this episode, I’m excited to feature a conversation with a friend of mine who’s written a book to tell her story of surviving cancer. Her name is Helen Bullen, and we’re talking about her fantastic new book, Agnes, Bea, Cancer and Me: Life with a Breast Cancer Diagnosis. A powerful, humorous, kindly blunt, inspirational and moving true story of strength and resilience.

Helen is a kindly blunt cheerleader of all small business owners. She is also a retired Osteopath and former owner of a successful Multi-healthcare brick-and-mortar clinic. She runs The HBClub (group mentoring), HBInspired (VIP Mastermind), and HBBox (luxury stationery boxes) and holds HBretreats in both the UK and abroad. 

Helen also has online courses to help as many business owners as she can. Her previous work as a qualified lecturer led her to many senior teaching/examining roles both in the UK and Europe. Over the years, she has won multiple awards for both her clinic business and her business acumen.

I’ve gotten to know Helen over the last couple of years as fellow members of Honorée Corder’s Empire Builders Mastermind. I can attest that Helen is a fireball of energy, yet also a kind, empathetic, and brave human being.

In our conversation, Helen and I talk about her memoir, why she structured it as a diary, her process of writing, how the book has changed her, and her tips for authors.

📚 Download your FREE Daily Writer Starter Kit at https://dailywriterlife.com/free

✉️ Want writing tips and inspiration delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Writer email at https://dailywriterlife.com/dailyemail

🚀 Want to grow your writing business and accelerate your success? Check out our Daily Writer Club.

📱 Follow us: Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter

📚 Download your FREE Daily Writer Starter Kit at https://dailywriterlife.com/free

✉️ Want writing tips and inspiration delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Writer email at https://dailywriterlife.com/dailyemail

🚀 Want to grow your writing business and accelerate your success? Check out our Daily Writer Club.

📱 Follow us: Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter

📚 Download your FREE Daily Writer Starter Kit at https://dailywriterlife.com/free

✉️ Want writing tips and inspiration delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Writer email at https://dailywriterlife.com/dailyemail

🚀 Want to grow your writing business and accelerate your success? Check out our Daily Writer Club.

📱 Follow us: Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter

📚 Download your FREE Daily Writer Starter Kit at https://dailywriterlife.com/free

✉️ Want writing tips and inspiration delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Writer email at https://dailywriterlife.com/dailyemail

🚀 Want to grow your writing business and accelerate your success? Check out our Daily Writer Club.

📱 Follow us: Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter

📚 Download your FREE Daily Writer Starter Kit at https://dailywriterlife.com/free

✉️ Want writing tips and inspiration delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Writer email at https://dailywriterlife.com/dailyemail

🚀 Want to grow your writing business and accelerate your success? Check out our Daily Writer Club.

📱 Follow us: Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter

📚 Download your FREE Daily Writer Starter Kit at https://dailywriterlife.com/free

✉️ Want writing tips and inspiration delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Writer email at https://dailywriterlife.com/dailyemail

🚀 Want to grow your writing business and accelerate your success? Check out our Daily Writer Club.

📱 Follow us: Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter

📚 Download your FREE Daily Writer Starter Kit at https://dailywriterlife.com/free

✉️ Want writing tips and inspiration delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Writer email at https://dailywriterlife.com/dailyemail

🚀 Want to grow your writing business and accelerate your success? Check out our Daily Writer Club.

📱 Follow us: Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter

Over the course of my life, I’ve had the incredible privilege of sitting at the feet of world-class teachers. When you spend time with someone who is truly a master of their subject, and they know how to teach and communicate it, you walk away a little bit taller because you’ve been in the presence of greatness.

That’s how I feel every time I get to talk with John David Mann—a master author and storyteller. John is the award-winning coauthor of over 30 books, including 9 New York Times and national bestsellers. His classic, The Go-Giver (written with Bob Burg), won the Living Now Book Award’s Evergreen Medal for its “contribution to positive global change.”

John’s first novel, Steel Fear (written with Brandon Webb) was named one of the “best books of 2021” by Publishers Weekly. His new novel, Blind Fear, comes out next month, and his latest leadership parable, The Vagrant (written with Dan Rockwell), comes out in September. John also leads a training and coaching program called Writing Mastery Mentorship.

You can find out more about John by visiting https://johndavidmann.com, as well as his series with Brandon Webb by visiting https://webbandmann.com.

One more thing before we get to the interview: I am thrilled to be part of an author event for John at the Daniel Boone Branch of the St. Louis County Library on Wednesday, August 9 at 8pm, in partnership with Left Bank books. This is part of John’s national book tour for Bind Fear. If you’re in the St. Louis area, I invite you to come meet us in person and help support John’s new book.

In today’s conversation, recorded a few weeks ago, John talks about a variety of topics related to storytelling, including his process for co-writing with different authors, how he handles transitions and chapter breaks in fiction, how he approaches thrillers and parables differently, and much more.

📚 Download your FREE Daily Writer Starter Kit at https://dailywriterlife.com/free

✉️ Want writing tips and inspiration delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Writer email at https://dailywriterlife.com/dailyemail

🚀 Want to grow your writing business and accelerate your success? Check out our Daily Writer Club.

📱 Follow us: Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter

📚 Download your FREE Daily Writer Starter Kit at https://dailywriterlife.com/free

✉️ Want writing tips and inspiration delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Writer email at https://dailywriterlife.com/dailyemail

🚀 Want to grow your writing business and accelerate your success? Check out our Daily Writer Club.

📱 Follow us: Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter

📚 Download your FREE Daily Writer Starter Kit at https://dailywriterlife.com/free

✉️ Want writing tips and inspiration delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Writer email at https://dailywriterlife.com/dailyemail

🚀 Want to grow your writing business and accelerate your success? Check out our Daily Writer Club.

📱 Follow us: Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter

Today’s podcast episode also includes an interview with one of our Daily Writer Club members, Micheal Woodruff!

Micheal Woodruff is a Neurodivergent Ghostwriter who has been writing fiction and non-fiction for over three decades. His “out of the box” approach gives him a unique perspective on characters and subjects for his projects. You can find more info about Micheal’s work at https://affectachange.org or https://neurodivergentlife.substack.com. You can also find him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter (@mdwoodruff).

* * *

Today’s episode is sponsored by editor Karen Hunsanger, also known as “The Word Wizard.” I’ve worked with Karen many times, and she is your secret weapon for crafting the highest-quality book possible. Visit the link above for a free sample edit.