To-Do List Overwhelm? Try This Powerful – And Surprisingly Joyful – Tip to Tackle It

September 24, 2019 by Kimberley Grabas

Eilat Aviram is a Follow-Your-Truth Catalyst. During her twenty-three years as a sought-after clinical psychologist, energy-healing teacher, author and speaker, she’s discovered something surprising: life actually DOES come with an instruction manual! It’s inside us. Below, Eilat offers her insight on how to tackle your to-dos, no matter how intimidating that list may be.

Is your To-Do List like a wizard’s beard?

Mine is. Since I decided to self-publish my book, my To-Do List is long and hairy and no matter how much I cut off, within seconds it grows back to the length it was before.

I have however, discovered a magical method of managing my To-Dos in a way that’s actually fun! I’m going to share it with you here so your dreaded list can also become less dreadful. I don’t blame you if you don’t believe me, but keep reading and see how empowered you feel to try this by the end of the article.

Why is my to-do list so long?

I’ve just launched my first book, ‘If You Loved Yourself, What Would You Do Now?’ first locally in print, then as a paperback on Amazon and this past weekend as an eBook on Kindle.

It went really well – I ran a free promotion over 48-hours and more than 800 people from over 12 countries downloaded a copy. The Kindle launch cost me a total of $35 but HOURS of my time and labor. (The $35 was to have Ebooster post it onto 45+ sites that advertise free book promotions. You can do that yourself but it takes a lot of time so I chose to pay for that.)

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Struggling to Write? How to Stay Motivated When Life Gets in the Way

September 5, 2019 by Kimberley Grabas

Even if we love what we do, we may find our motivation waning from time to time. It happens to the best of us, and when it does, it can compromise our focus, productivity and confidence. Guest author Angela Baker shares some of her best ideas on how to stay motivated even when life gets in the way.

Books don’t write themselves and lack of motivation can be one of the biggest impediments for aspiring authors.

Maybe you’ve written a few books already, but don’t know how to get them out there and you feel like your voice will never be known. Or maybe a personal problem is taking its toll on your creativity and you’re experiencing writer’s block.

No matter what keeps you from moving forward, experiencing ups and downs is a normal part of your writing career.

Even the world’s most famous and talented writers struggled with lack of motivation at one point, but it’s important to keep going and develop a strategy to pick yourself back up when words no longer come easy.

Write Every Day, No Matter What

Maya Angelou’s ‘just write’ strategy isn’t always easy to apply.

What I try to do is write. I may write for two weeks ‘the cat sat on the mat, that is that, not a rat.’ And it might be just the most boring and awful stuff. But I try. When I’m writing, I write. And then it’s as if the muse is convinced that I’m serious and says, ‘Okay. Okay. I’ll come.’
– Maya Angelou

Forcing yourself to write every day, no matter what, can actually be tedious and painstaking, especially if you tend to be self-critical.

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Brand Strategy for Authors: How to Truly Stand Out From the Crowd

August 23, 2019 by Kimberley Grabas

Why does your work matter?

What experiences do you have to share with others and what value do you offer that only you can provide?

Because, if you can’t easily and clearly articulate your vision or the purpose behind your work, you will never be able to convey its importance to others. [CLICK TO TWEET]

It’s not enough just to be good at what you write. You need to be able to create an emotional connection with your reader – often before they’ve had a chance to read your book.

How you position your work, how you distinguish yourself from others in your field or genre, as well as how all your efforts are perceived or interpreted by your readers, can be the difference between a brand that’s fab, or one that fizzles.

When your brand is cohesive and well-articulated, your marketing initiatives will be too. Branding encompasses the foundational elements of marketing: visual identity, key messaging, brand personality, and competitive advantage.

– Brian Lischer

Effective branding is foundational to the development of your writer platform and audience-building efforts. The author who can tap into what their readers yearn for – and construct an entire experience around what they crave – is the author that earns the devoted fan base.

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Building Your Author Brand: The Most Common Mistakes Writers Make

March 29, 2019 by Kimberley Grabas

Branding plays a surprisingly important role in your author business.

Every time someone sees your name, lands on your website, reads your book or listens to you speak, you’re reinforcing what you want them to know about you and your work.

And whether you actively shape it or not, with every touchpoint or seemingly ‘insignificant’ interaction, your brand is being formed.

That’s why it’s critical to decide upfront what story you want to tell.

In this 3-part Author Branding Series we’ll:

Clarify what personal branding is, and why it’s essential to incorporate into your writing business if you want to stand out from the crowd.
In this post (post #2), we’ll cover the most common mistakes writers make when building their author brand.
And finally, in post three, we’ll focus on brand strategy and how you will connect your work and writing to the people who will be most inclined to read and appreciate it.

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Personal Branding for Authors: What It Is And Why It’s Essential

February 20, 2019 by Kimberley Grabas

Personal Branding for Authors: A Simple Definition

Personal branding can be a vague term…

It isn’t just a website, a font choice or a clever tagline. It’s a blend of your skills, talents, values, interests, and beliefs reflected through your writing, online presence, and offline interactions.

For authors, it’s often a mix of professional and personal branding which includes what you do, why you do it and who you do it for.

It’s also an indicator of your value to your readers, industry professionals, influencers or other key players in your topic area or genre.

What Makes You Different?

It’s not enough just to be good at what you write.

You must be able to easily and clearly communicate your vision or the purpose behind your work, and coherently voice its importance to others.

This is why effective branding is such a big and significant part of developing and growing your writer platform.

In this three-part series we’ll:

Clarify what personal branding is, and why it’s essential to incorporate into your writing business if you want to stand out from the crowd.
In post two of this series, we’ll cover the most common mistakes writers make when building their author brand.
And finally, in post three, we’ll focus on brand strategy and how you will connect your work and writing to the people who will be most inclined to read and appreciate it.

[Read more…]

Why is my to-do list so long?

Write Every Day, No Matter What

In this 3-part Author Branding Series we’ll:

Personal Branding for Authors: A Simple Definition

What Makes You Different?

In this three-part series we’ll:

Authors with Platforms Sell Books.