You do not write, publish and market a book
by sitting around convinced writer’s block is a thing, waiting for inspiration to skull you, scrolling yourself into a late-night digital death or dreaming of prominent shelf space while promising yourself you’ll write tomorrow. This is foolishness — and lazy foolishness at that. Might as well take “Write a book” off your bucket list right now because it’s an unnecessary ambition with no gas in the tank. The muse is not visiting your desk.
Whatever work is meant to come through you is bunged up until you forget all that nonsense. Get off your phone. Go outside. Observe what’s happening around you. Listen. Listen closer. Commit to a daily practise. And don’t even think about even dreaming about what happens in the future if you have not mowed your paper lawn today.
With that being said,
welcome to —
How to Write a Book:
The philosophical and practical checklist
you need to get your work out into the world.
If you’ve read this far and aren’t scared,
you’re my audience.
THIS MEAL IS
FIVE COURSES.
THIS COURSE IS FIVE MEALS.
Six hours can be consumed in one long stint,
but I broke it up so you have separate plates for each chapter. Keep it clean and keep it comin’, ya know?
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Of course we’ll cover who I am, but I’ll mostly guide you into the book and the backstory behind it including the 21 covers I nixed before landing on the winner, the timeline of how long it actually took and my previous published work that led me to “Waves Come in Sets”.
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These are the 12 — the dozen commandments, trees and pillars that have permanently shaped my creative path.
They are the essential certainties and convictions I've come to embody so that I could show up in print for the past 15 years. -
There is no class, no book, no anything without the actual practise. I also share the steps I followed to write my own book, ghostwrite a 50,000 word memoir for someone else, how and what I decided to share online while I wrote and my golden nuggets on how to ruthlessly edit.
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Hold onto your hats because this is a biggie. After an avalanche of advice and a mountain of a promo plan, I came back to centre to develop a sustainable, natural and rooted strategy for how to run a multi-layered marathon to promote my book for the long run.
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I asked my audience to give me all of their book-writing questions and they delivered. We talk publishing, creativity, confidence, what I would already do differently, who to hire (or not?) in the process, how to get paid and the list goes on. These are the top 15 FAQ’s I’ve received since releasing my book.
Who is this course for?
Writers trying to complete a work — doesn’t need to be a book, but a project you’ve been circling, even if it’s simply starting to write.
Creatives trying to get their shit unstuck so that what wants to come through actually can.
Artists trying to create a sustainable and consistent marketing strategy that’s actually fun, interesting and feels like them.
Anyone looking for the ultimate permission slip to do things however the hell they want, and anyone who wants to save a lot of time sludging through the mud of what I’ve already learned.
What will this course help me do?
I pulled back the curtain and created this course to shake you awake. We need you to make good on the talents you were born with because our beauty-starved world needs the glorious creation that’s in you to be running and giving and shining on the outside, not stuck fermenting and molding and dying on the inside.
+ A complete backstage pass to everything that led up to, was put into and has come out of writing my book.
+ A real talk and real walk through the realities and structures of the writing process to get you from inception to store shelves.
+ An honest take on publishing: from who you might want to hire, what you could profit, how it works and what path (traditional vs self publishing) to take.
+ How to cut through the advice overwhelm and market your book in a way that’s sustainable, fun and rooted in your unique story.
+ A wealth of experienced know-how on how to get past all the doubt, resistance, fear and procrastination.
+ My keys to editing and how I chop chop so I can send send so you can read read consistently for years years.
+ A play-by-play on how to find your voice, your tone or your style.
+ How to write believable and fully-functioning fictional characters.
+ What to consider when exploring genres, eras or subjects and how to research any of those (no clue!).
+ How to develop dialogue that propels a story forward (also, no clue, but take whatever advice Aaron Sorkin has on this.)
+ How to write for TV because I can’t do a better job than this two-minute video by Matt Stone & Trey Parker.
+ Anything you would ever expect Robert McKee, the godfather of story, to teach you (but I did go to his seminar in New York and can confirm how accurate and amazing this is.)
+ How to craft actual categorical readable poetry (but this is my all-time favourite ever written.)
GIDDY UP!
$222
The Course
*price in Canadian dollars.
If you’re one of the
first dozen people
to sign up before
April 30th:
Get a signed copy of my book, “Waves Come in Sets” delivered to your door.
Why you need to get your work out.
When I was a kid, I would flip over books in the church bookstore and see author photos of demure, domesticated women. My parched little soul sought to see someone fringed, with some spit and tar on her toothbrush, someone with loud blood, with stories — real tales from a life dotted through Africa, over Europe, from the roots of the jungle and subway cities, inside Irish pubs as old as the land. I craved someone with a million chapters in them who had the gall to seek out a greater world and report back.
I couldn’t find her,
so I became her.
It’s the greatest honour of my life to introduce myself as the author of this book and the teacher of this course because I’m the woman I longed to see 30 years ago.
And the same goes for you.
You are who you’re trying to find, and the work that comes out of that path?
We need it.
This world is hungry for it, I promise you.
Take their word for it.
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ABBI MILLER: CEO OF WORKWOMB
“You somehow make me feel completely sane for any concerns I've had around writing a book whilst also making it feel like an effortless route for self-expression. I feel lit up to write my book!”
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TAMI CAREY: MULTI-DIMENSIONAL AND MULTIMEDIA STORYTELLER
“This was the inspiring face slap I needed and, if you're stalled or spiralling, it's the one you need too. It felt so expansive to begin with these big, embracing philosophies – to be reminded of so many truths about myself and the process that I so often forget – and then to be guided through the practical steps and actionable strategies you need to actually move forward. This class gave me fuel and frameworks. My imagination and motivation have been unlocked.
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TAMARA NOWAKOWSKY: CEO OF STRONG AS A MOTHER
"This is what I needed! You get it, you get me, you get you and you get the world, and that is inspiring. I came for mechanics and how-to and I came alive at the cheerleading and your voice in my ear telling me I can do this, too."
Sure my book’s only been out for 75 days, but I feel zero pause or hesitation to be teaching this. I’ve lived and breathed and wrestled with what I’m about to tell you for decades, since writing my first book at only 8 years old. I’m confident that if you put down your excuses and listen carefully, you’ll find what you’re looking for whether you want to write some great opus, start a simple advice column or put out a regular blog, if we’re still doing blogs. You don’t need big dreams or a daddy for an author to qualify either. You’re here because you want to write something, and I’ll argue that you need to. It’s part of what you’re here to deliver — to drop off with your life. It’s your job to get out of the way, so pick up your pen and start taking notes. This is everything I know so far.
Any questions?
Everything’s an investment, so I get it if you have questions that need answers before you throw your credit card and hours of your time into the boiling sea of creativity in order to catch some fish to fry.
