032 - Writing A Book to Pivot Your Business

Hey Guys! Nicole Gabriel here!

So… we have a lot of time on our hands and if we can get right with ourselves in this strange time it’s a perfect time to write a book...because we have time! And if fear or emotions are high...well this can be great too! Writing can be very therapeutic!

Not all of us have the gift of alone time right now as kids and spouses may be home and your normal routine and quiet time is hindered. But, if you’ve found a new normal and have now found yourself with some extra time you may have begun perusing the internet for the right method or coach or program to get you started on writing your book.

I can tell you that I’m very well aware of the other coaching systems out there and I’m also very well aware of what they are selling and the carrots they are dangling in front of you to get your business. I’m also aware that my appeal as a coach isn’t flashy sales or false promises. I’m a seeker of truth and I’m a grounded realist. I’m an author and an artist and an ex executive turned entrepreneur. I’m even a yogi and a shaman. I’ve worked in publishing for many years and I’ve seen it all! I also have an extensive career in executive management and have been surrounded with some of the most influential brands and celebrities in various parts of my career. I study people and systems. I seek truth in all my efforts as a person, as a coach, and in how I do business. 

I will tell you there is no fast track easy formula or secret back door to writing a book for fortune and fame. I don’t care what anyone tells you, it’s good old fashion hard work that will get you ahead in life and in all things book. 

The best book you can write is one that has a purpose. I don’t generally work with creative novel writers, but I can...as the system is the same. I generally work with budding authors that understand the importance of aligning their book with other initiatives. If you’ve listened to my earlier podcasts you will hear much the same about aligning with purpose. I see so many authors that come to me in a panic about visions they’ve had about the success of their book and no matter how many times you tell them to be sure to align it with a purpose outside of the book they beat to their own drum. They publish their book and sell a few and then sit wondering what to do next. Why haven’t I reached my visions of fortune and fame? I see it day after day. But, the ones that stop and listen are the ones that really take the time to get it. See I also work with other coaching systems and people are also referred to me for book cover design and layout. Many times I see the author for the first time after they have already written their book and they don’t want to be told to align the cover of the book and the content with goals, values, visions, and objectives after they’ve already written it. After all, they view me as “just a designer” and I get that. But, I watch the same book get produced one after another and each author comes with the same level of excitement and producing the same book and then sits afterward wondering why they haven’t been successful. 

I have also been this author. My first two books were these books. I needed to learn and several books and authors and years later I have! 

After many years of watching this I finally built my book publishing program and system. I know the importance of aligning your book with goals and objectives outside the book because the book is really just one communication tool in your entire platform.

So, with this all said...how do we do this? How do we write a purposeful and aligned book? And what are the logistical steps from concept to publication?

Perhaps you’ve heard the new buzz word “pivot”. “Let’s pivot your business” they say. So we have a new challenge working at home or perhaps we’ve lost our job or we are laid off temporarily. So we learn to pivot into that new thing. Now of course this pivoting is either in panic mode or it’s with some savings in the bank and setting smart new objectives. I’m guessing that you wouldn’t care to write a book right now if you were in panic mode. So you’ve got a bit of extra money set aside and now you’ve got some free time. Good for you for your smart planning! Great work! 

So now let’s talk about how a book can be a part of this pivot. A book can help position you as you move into something new. You can use it as a part of an interview process on the other side of the open door of all things coronavirus or you can use it to expand your platform. 

I have two new clients this week that are aware they are writing books that will emerge on the other side of this virus. A book on new leadership and another on transformation the other side of trauma. Both books in perfect timing for this pandemic. We are currently working on cover designs and then into book layout. 

As we sit noodling concepts and ideas I want to give you a few strategies to break through and get the content flowing.

First let’s look at what we are going through now during this pandemic. How can you relate to this current situation as this will be meaningful as a common element to hook in your reader. Your book has an opportunity to grab a large audience that can relate. The entire planet is in the same place right now. So, what is your proposed solution? How do you see things now and in the future? What can you offer? Now how does this relate to your particular strengths? How does this relate to how you earn an income? Are there any parallels that can come together? Do you have some old tools that can be leveraged? How about some new ones? What do you suppose will be helpful for people to know as we move out of this challenging time in human history? Let’s look at a few subjects that we can project to be popular and trending now and in the aftermath of this pandemic...lemme just rattle off a few...

1. Healthcare management
2. Government policy or procedures 
3. Spiritual awakening
4. Alternative healing
5. Crisis management
6. Public safety
7. Working from home
8. Transforming your career
9. Rebounding financially
10. Repositioning your career

So if you can provide any value to either these subjects or other topics you believe will have emerged from this remarkable time in human history you are likely to do better with your book. But you are only as good as the platform you build behind it. 

Publishers will of course look to pop culture and current events for their next authors as well. But they want to make money on you so they will bank on picking up authors with a really hot topic and great book but they also want you out blazing a trail. And honestly, if your doing that why would you work with a publisher? You can keep all your profits. Unless of course you want to waste time shopping for publishers and now your book is off topic because too much time passed. In order to be on trend you have to have some foresight, write and publish quickly, or you might get lucky and you wrote the right book at the right time. Or you can focus on the right book for you regardless of what’s trending. 

I may not have mentioned it before but when I wrote my Healing Your Dog Naturally book I was first trying to compile two and a half decades of miscellaneous napkin and index card notes I had scattered all over my house because I was tired of trying to find the right reference when a dog emergency presented itself. I also became very ill and I was so worried about the care and well-being of my dogs that I wanted to leave their care and instructions behind...one is allergic to this and the other that. Now I’m aware that completing that book actually helped me stay alive and push through my health issues. Sometimes amazing things happen to us writers...our own books transform us. 

I have some tools in my Let’s Get Your Book Published book that will help you break obstacles. I now have the free ebook available for download on my website. The book walks you through all the major phases of publishing and gives you some great tools for breaking obstacles too. The online book publishing program follows along with the book but also expands on each concept... further defining your material with more exercises and supplemental materials. 

Ok guys...make sure you check out the wealth of information I have on my website in my blogs and all the cheat sheet downloads. I’m here to guide you when you’re ready. 

Make sure your taking your vitamins, eating natural healthy foods, loving everyone around you despite our obvious indifferences, and put politics and conspiracy theories aside and just be present with one another. Be kind. I’m wishing you peace, love, and light!