How to Stop Procrastinating and FINALLY Write Your Book, with Dallas Woodburn

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Hello and welcome to Shedding the Bitch Radio, where you can discuss, debate, and get advice on how to discover and shed the bitches of fear, insecurity, self-doubt, and negative mindsets so you can realize your dreams and life purpose and create and accelerate the riches you want in life. Join us here live every Tuesday at noon Eastern and dialogue with us at 818-572-2910. You can also chat with us at BlogTalkRadio.com/sheddingthebitch or share your stories on our website at settingthebitch.com. Whatever the bitch is that's holding you back from living your life to the fullest, it's not worth giving up the riches in life that you deserve. So call in now and let Bernadette Boas know what's holding you back.

818-572-2910.

Good day, good day, good day everyone, and, uh, happy last week— last days of October, which means we're getting even closer and closer to the holiday season, to the chaos, to the stress, to all of that. But at the same time, we at least still have— at least those of us in the States— I don't know what the other— if it's Halloween celebrated all around the world, huh? That's an interesting question. I know there's been a lot of debate have Halloween moved to the last Saturday of the month, not necessarily October 31st, for reasons of, you know, for parents, for not doing it during a school week, that kind of thing. But for those of you who are celebrating Halloween, you know, just have a lot of fun and be safe out there and go in groups, you know, all those all those type of things. But I love Halloween. I actually don't open my house up for Halloween. I'm up on a hill, so— and there's all— the only way up the hill is to— is these very precarious slate steps. And though we're gonna have some nice temperatures and nice weather here tomorrow night— tomorrow night, I guess it is— I don't like to risk having little kids with long costumes and half blinded by their masks climbing up those steps and then going back down. I don't need liability like that. So I tend to shut off all the lights and make sure that they kind of go to the next door neighbor's house. As much as I love, love, love Halloween, I— my family made a big deal of it with 12 kids. It was always a very big deal, but have fun everybody. Hey, Deborah, I know you're on mute, but you can jump off. Deborah of Parker House Virtual Services, she produces our show. Hi, what are the kids going for this year? You've been with me for a number of years now, so what are the kids going out for trick-or-treating as?

My oldest, who is almost 7, he's gonna be Bumblebee from the Transformers, and then my And then my younger one who is about 5 and a half, he is The Flash.

Ah, nice. Oh, that's so much fun. And I know Dallas, our guest, our guest is sitting out there and we'll introduce her in a minute. But Dallas, do you have any children?

I actually am expecting my first November 30th.

Oh my gosh.

Yay!

Congratulations!

Thank you.

So my costume, I have a shirt that has a pumpkin on my belly, so my baby is my, my pumpkin this year. Yeah, that's so cute.

Well, congratulations, congratulations, congratulations. Yeah, I have a big event this, uh, Saturday. I was just talking to Deborah about it before we jumped on to the program, and, um, so I'm heads down. I'm kind of doing nothing but, uh, you know, put it— putting the finishing touches on that event to make it a big event. So, uh, Halloween's just going to be— have to be admired by afar and, uh, get some laughs that, you know, videos and photos and other experiences people share. But everybody have a fabulous Halloween. Um, and then that, that brings us into a new month, right? Uh, it'll bring us into November. And, um, an early shout out to my sister, my little baby sister Bernadette Boas, it's her birthday on November 1st, so I love you to death and I know you listen to the program on occasion, not every week but on occasion, so happy birthday, love you, and hopefully we'll see you soon over the holidays. But that brings us to next Tuesday being the first Tuesday of the month which is Ask Me Anything. So Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, my profile on LinkedIn. You can send them to me directly at BernadetteBoas@SheddingTheBitch.com. Whatever question, story, or challenge you might be having and experiencing and you just need some advice and some insight, whether it's about your career, whether it's about maybe a business you own, or your life, let me, you know, provide you some assistance, some tips, advice, sometimes tough love. If I can't answer your question because it's not an area of expertise of mine, then you know I have a large network of experts and resources that I could be reaching out to. And that includes our guest of today when we get into her topic. So whatever you do, if you're listening to this program, you know we're all about providing you means to create the riches in life that you deserve. So be sure you're asking those questions. I don't need to know your name. I don't— you know, you don't— you can even call into the program live. At 1-818-572-2910, and at any time you can remain anonymous. Whatever you do, just get the help and the support that you need. So that'll be next Tuesday at noon Eastern time, and then we have a whole month of great guests. November and December is focused on really kind of winding down the year, helping you get through the holidays very calmly and peacefully and joyfully, and removing any kind of stress or anxiety anxiety that you might feel during the holidays, and then really getting your head in the game for, for the new year. Kind of taking an assessment of 2018, what worked, what didn't, what would you do differently, all that kind of good stuff. And then we spend time with experts and/or myself, and we really get you ready with your goals, with your dreams, with your plans, with your aspirations for the new year. So that'll be in the coming weeks, which I'm very excited about. Ask Bernadette next week is already touching on— I have questions regarding creating a vision board from someone already who basically doesn't get it. They don't understand it, how to kind of leverage that and transition or transfer that into goals. So we'll be talking about that. And then we also have, um, the holiday rush has already begun, how do I keep myself from spiraling out of control? That's a common, a common theme as we get into the November-December period. So that'll be next Tuesday. And then we'll talk with August Cruz. I will mention this because August was due to be on the program on October 9th, so you might have seen that. And it was good. It's a— it's going to be a really cool discussion because he brings fiction and reality together. In the research that he was doing on stalking, he decided to turn it into his debut novel. So he really will come to the table with actual facts, figures, tips, and advice on dealing with stalking, but then also introduce us to his debut novel called Stalker. So definitely tune in for that. That is November 13th. And again, he was rescheduled from an earlier episode, so I did want to mention that for those of you who have reached out because you were looking forward to having him on the program. All right, let's see, let's dive into this conversation. If you've listened to the program in the past, you know I'll discuss the topic, tell you what you're going to listen for and learn, and then I'm going to ground you with a rich question, a question regarding this topic that you could be thinking about. Maybe you already have that question for yourself and that's why you tuned in today, but give you a rich question that you can ground yourself into this conversation. Most likely our guest is going to address it, and if she, in this case for today, does not, then I'll be sure that you have all of her contact information so you could be reaching out to her and getting those answers, tips, advice, and sometimes tough love. All right, so we are talking about a subject that is dear to my heart, but I also need someone like our guest to help me through the process. But the topic is all around how to stop procrastinating and finally writing your book. Because you know you should really write— or I'm sorry, because you know that people probably have said to you, "You know, you should really write a book." I mean, how many times have people said that to you? How many hours have you spent maybe daydreaming about the book you want to write one day? Every one of us, and I'm serious about this, every one of us has a unique story to share with the world. But too often we feel intimidated, blocked, and overwhelmed when we attempt to put words down on paper. We put off writing our book until some indeterminate future date that never comes. Raise your hand, raise your hand if you can relate. Our most important messages, teachings, and lessons often die inside of us. No longer, according to our guest, successful author and acclaimed writing coach Dallas Woodburn, teaches simple, effective tricks to finally get out of your own way and write the book that is burning inside of you. And you could do that in just 90 days. So what we both of us really want you to be listening for and thinking about is why writer's block is nothing but an illusion and how to put it in your rearview mirror for good, how to fill up your creative well so you never run out of ideas to write about and actually wake up excited each day to share your wisdom. And I can attest to that. When I was writing my book, I mean, it was so exciting for me. I jumped out of bed even on a Saturday or Sunday and got myself into the bookstore or into the library. She also wants you to be listening to learn how to weed through a mess of ideas and clarity that— or and clarify the deepest authentic heart message of your book and how publishing a book can open numerous doors for you and your business. All right, so it's all about writing, it's all about you finding and tapping into your story, and it's all about getting over that procrastination or those head games, those bitches that get in your head that keep you from writing your book. So your rich question I want you to be thinking about is what life or career experience, expertise, or even if it's a struggle, have you been through that could provide insight and tips to others? So like Dallas, our, our guest has said in her bio, we all have a story. We all have something other people want to be inspired by or even want to learn from. So what life or career experience, expertise, or even struggle do you have or have you been through that could provide insights and tips to others and therefore in a book? So if you're tagging with us, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, use hashtag writing or hashtag book. Writer's block can be a hashtag if should you choose to, or of course shedding the bitch. I'm sorry, let me correct that— shed the bitch. So we have a lot to talk about, so we're gonna take a quick break, and when we get back, I'm going to introduce you to our guest and get into this conversation, because she also has a lovely, lovely free offering for you, but you have to keep listening in order to take advantage of it. So we'll be right back.

You are listening to Shedding the Bitch Radio with Bernadette Boas. We are inspiring individuals around the globe to discover, confront, and shed their bitches of fear, insecurity, and negativity. Productivity, so they can create the riches in their career, business, and life they deserve. Be sure to check out Bernadette's book, Shedding the Corporate Bitch: Shifting from Bitch to Rich in Life and Business, available on Amazon and sheddingthebitch.com. We also want to thank our sponsors, North Georgia Tax Solutions, who offers a broad range of tax services for small to corporate-sized clients. Go to ngtaxsolutions.com. Sgtaxsolutions.com to learn more. And Parker House Virtual Services, who provides virtual assistance and social media support for small to medium-sized businesses. Email Deborah Parker at deborahparker.va@gmail.com for more information. To become a sponsor or advertiser on our program, email us at mediarelations@sheddingthebitch.com. Shedding the Bitch Radio airs every Tuesday at noon Eastern time. Be sure to go to blogtalkradio.com/sheddingthebitchradio and follow the program for all of the updates and announcements of our guests and show topics. Now let's return to Bernadette and Shedding the Bitch Radio.

Welcome back everyone. All right, let me introduce you to our guest and bring her into this conversation. Dallas Woodburn is an acclaimed writing coach and book doula who founded the 90-Day Book Breakthrough program to help entrepreneurs give birth to the books that are burning inside them. She is the author of 3 books, both traditionally published and indie published, and is the editor of 2 national anthologies. She also has experience as a freelance writer for dozens of magazines, newspapers, websites, and 30+ books in the popular Chicken Soup for the Soul book series. Dallas received her BA degree in creative writing and entrepreneurship from the University of Southern California and her master's degree in fiction writing from Purdue University and was a Steinbeck Fellow at San Jose State University. She has led groups and seminars at a number of national conferences, festivals, and book fairs and is a frequent guest speaker at club meetings, on podcasts, and on TV shows. So welcome to the program, Dallas.

Thank you so much, Bernadette. I'm delighted to be here.

Well, I am thrilled you are here, and I do want to note to everybody as well is although she mentions entrepreneurs in regards to giving birth to their, their books, even if you're not an entrepreneur, stay tuned. Don't hang up because you will also learn a great deal about how you can turn your own story into a book as well. Um, so, okay, Dallas, you're calling in from the West Coast, and, um, I would think that's a very, very, very creative, creative environment. Give us some idea before we dive into the subject of, of writing and books and writer's block and all that, but how did you get to this point? What's your backstory that brought you to this point of being this kind of coach and being the writer that you are?

Yes, I would love to. I have always loved to write. My dad is actually a writer. He is a journalist and he writes books. And I've always loved reading. And I think I had maybe a little bit of a head start or an advantage in that I was always aware even as a very little, little girl that the books that I loved to read that there was somebody out there who wrote them, because I saw my dad writing all the time. And so I knew they didn't just magically appear on the bookshelves at the library. I knew that it was actually something that people did and something that I could do. So I always wanted to be a writer when I grew up. And I followed that passion. Like you mentioned in my bio, I studied writing in college and went on to graduate school. And when I was in graduate school at Purdue, I began teaching writing classes for undergraduates. So, like most universities, Purdue had a writing class that was required for freshmen to take. And a lot of the students in my classes were from engineering backgrounds. Purdue is a very strong engineering school. And so, a lot of them didn't really think of themselves as writers or were not very confident about their writing skills. And so I really became— I was their teacher, but that was when I think the seeds of becoming a writing coach were really planted inside of me because I realized that for most of my students, a big part of helping them become better writers was increasing their confidence in their own writing and in the stories that they had to share and in the value and the worth of their ideas. And once they became more confident that writing was something that they could do, it was amazing how their writing improved. So they wanted to actually spend more time doing it. They cared more about what they were writing. And they just— their voices became so much more their own. And so after, I really kept those lessons inside of me, and I really enjoyed working with those students. And so after I graduated, when I began forging my, my own career as a writer, in addition, I began doing teaching and being a writing coach for other people who wanted to write books.

Nice, very nice. And, and I would, I would agree with you. Even though I did write my own book, I did ponder hiring immediately a writer's writing coach. And I actually, I didn't hire her as much as engage her to kind of evaluate. And she said, no, no, no, no. She said, your writing, you know, is very kind of familiar and, and easy, and I would go ahead and do it. But yet, let me be your, like, editor and make sure that as you go, I can give you some ideas and some tips on how to really ensure that the full breadth of the story is there. So I'm a huge advocate of, of individuals like yourself who are providing this service, because I do think it's critical, because we do all have a story, and it's a matter of just us getting out of our heads and intimidated by the process.

Exactly. And what you're touching upon too, I think every writer needs someone else to be their editor or to look through their pages or bounce ideas off of. I think that is such an important part of the process, even for professional writers who have published dozens of books. We all need that outside perspective on what we are writing. It is so helpful.

Absolutely. Absolutely. And because of the fact that you have written kind of a breadth of different types of formats, that is why I kind of also wanted to kind of note to folks that we could be talking about things like how to grow your business with a book, but you can relate that to how to get more visibility in your career and how to advance your brand within a corporate business environment. So all these things that Dallas will be sharing with us, think outside the box as to how you can be leveraging this within whether it's your own business, whether it's in your career, or whether it's in your life and you just want to share your your knowledge. But I know, um, Dallas, I know, let's first talk before we get into mechanics, so to speak. You know, there's a number of people sitting out there and they're saying, yeah, yes, yes, yes, I've been told I should write this experience down, or I should do this or do that. And as we were just talking about, you know, people just kind of get— can kind of get in their own head about it. Um, so what is it, what is it that you can do to really help them just first understand that yes, they have a story. Don't worry about the actual writing of it because there's a lot of solutions to that, but you need to get your head on straight about the fact that you, that you have something to share.

Yes, that is such an important part of the process, and that's actually what I do first with, with people who work with me is we really try to get at that foundation before we delve into writing the book. Because if you have those really negative critical voices that are plaguing you even at the beginning, it's going to be really hard to complete that marathon of writing that book. And a lot of people give up in what I call the muddy middle of writing the book when those voices just become too loud and overpowering. The self-doubt leads them to quit. So what I found is really addressing those fears and doubts head-on at the beginning can make a huge difference in how you feel throughout the process of writing the book. So I think the first thing is realizing that you are not alone. I think that all writers have those fears and doubts in their head. And a large part of it is, I think, what you choose to listen to. So a simple tool that I have found that for me is incredibly helpful for my own critical voices, and that a lot of my clients have told me just has completely changed the way that they deal with those critical voices, is instead of trying to fight back overtly— so let's say you're getting ready to start writing your book and you have this voice in your head that says, "This is terrible. You can't write. No one is going to care about what you are writing." I think the impulse is to try to say back to that voice, "No, you are wrong. Everyone is going to love my book, and what I am writing is great, and this is going to be fantastic." And for some people that does work. But for other people, the critical voice feels more true to them in some way. Like they can try saying, "No, you are wrong. It's fantastic." But they have a harder time believing that. So I think taking baby steps and trying to not have to be perfect in that first draft. So a simple phrase that I tell my clients to use when they hear those voices is just to say, "And that's okay." So if you have a voice in your head that says, "Oh my gosh, this whole paragraph you just wrote is total trash and no one is going to like that," just respond, "And that's okay." and keep going. So being able to quiet those critical voices by kind of turning them on their head and saying, "You know what? This is my first draft of my book. This doesn't have to be perfect. It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. I'm writing this for myself. Whatever you throw at me, it's okay. I'm going to keep going." And that's been really revolutionary for a lot of, the people I work with. And actually, as we kind of say, "That's okay, and that's okay, and that's okay," what happens is those critical voices get softer and softer and quieter and quieter. It's kind of like you take the fire out of them. And so usually they actually will go away pretty much.

Yeah, or you'll learn how to, or you'll learn how to what works and what doesn't work to quiet them, and therefore they will go away because you would now have a tool like you just provided that they can kind of use when something like that occurs. Is that the theory?

Exactly. Exactly. Yeah. So instead of engaging with them, you are using a tool to quiet them down so you can, so you can keep working on what's important.

Right, no, I love that.

I—

and, and that's so simple. It's kind of like, yeah, yeah, I might not be the, you know, the bestseller on the New York Times bestsellers list, but that's okay, that's all right. Um, no, I love that. It's nice and simple and it just allows them to kind of, uh, uh, take a deep breath and just keep moving. Yeah. Now I have to tell you though, um, what do you think about What do you think about someone just writing, writing, writing, writing, writing, not worrying about structure or grammar or edits, and just write, write, write, write, and then go back and, you know, polish and restructure if needed, um, as kind of a, a writing tool to just get your— get the message, get the story, get whatever it is that you're writing out of you, and then you can go back and kind of rework it if need be?

Exactly. And I'm glad you mentioned that, Bernadette, because I don't mean to imply that those critical editorial voices don't have a place at all in the writing process. There definitely will come a point— I'm a big proponent of trying to get your first draft down on paper. I believe that words on a page is always better than just that blank page staring at you. You can always make words on a page better. You can't edit words that are not on a page, that are just in your head. So getting them out in that first draft like you said, a lot of people that I work with struggle a lot with perfectionism. And so that is why I tell them, like you said, don't worry about grammar. Don't worry about punctuation. We just want to get your ideas and those words on the page. And I think also we want it to sound like you. So like you were talking, Bernadette, about your book, we want this to sound authentically like your voice and your story. And I think sometimes when people are worried about being perfect, or they are trying to be like another book they've read, or they are trying to be someone else, their voice gets a little bit stifled. So when you just can get your first draft down on the page, and then that's when we go back. And then we clue into those editorial voices and those critical voices. And we try to approach our book almost like we are an outsider reading it so that we can see what are some places that I can improve, maybe some examples that I need to expand upon. How can I make this book better? And that is when also having someone else, like you said, an editor or an outside person read the book and give you some feedback is invaluable.

Well, because— and the reason why I asked if that was something that you also suggested is I suffer from the perfectionism. So I can't get past a paragraph, I can't get past a sentence until I think it's absolutely perfect. And my coach, who happens to be an 8-time, 9-time award-winning author, she always suggested to me, she's not a writing coach, but she just suggested to me, just write, write, write, write, write, don't worry about all that. And I have tried, Dallas, so hard over the last like 8 years that I've really been focused on writing. And it's just not in me. I just, I wish it was. So, so my point to you, to, to your potential clients out there, you know, for those perfectionists out there, it's why I went and found somebody early in the process. Um, so how soon in the process is a good time for someone to engage someone like yourself?

I think I can be helpful at any point in the process. I mean, I have people that come to me who have tried to— they have a book they've been trying to write for years and years and years, and they just haven't been able to finish that book. So they are maybe partway through the process, and I can help them get to that finish line. I have other people who come to me who haven't written a single word, but they have this urge within themselves to write a book, or maybe they have an idea that has been bouncing around their head for a long time, or maybe other people have been telling them, "You really should write a book about that," or, "You seem to have an expertise in this." I think whatever part of the process you're in, it can be really helpful to have a coach on your side, a cheerleader. I call myself, I think I'm probably 80% cheerleader, and then 20% kind of providing that loving kick in the pants and accountability to people who need those deadlines. But yeah, I even recently, one of my clients, we just kind of met, the universe brought us together, and she told me that she had always wanted to try to book, but she thought it was going to be years down the line. She didn't think it was going to be now. But she's almost done with writing her book, and she said it's just been, it's come along at the perfect time. It's just given her a whole new perspective on not just her work life, but her life as a whole. And she said that she's so glad that she wrote her book now, that she didn't put it off for years and years. I think sometimes people have this idea that, oh, I need to, I'll do X, Y, and Z before I write my book. Or a few years from now I will feel like I have more to say or I'll feel more confident about my message. But sometimes just diving in, you realize that you have way more to say than you originally thought you did.

And there's always an opportunity for a sequel or a second, third, fourth book.

Yes.

I suffered from that as well. I was like, wait a minute, I'm not sure if I'm kind of at the point of you know, where I think I have something to say, and then I realized I did. But quite honestly, it did kind of end too soon to where I wasn't through my shedding process. So someone just kept saying to me, hey, that's the second book, there's a third book for you. So I definitely, I definitely can, can envision that. And, and I would advise anybody out there listening, look, look at— and this is what I want to kind of remind everybody— or share with you for the first time actually, Dallas Woodburn, and her website is yourbookbreakthrough.com. And we'll certainly be talking about her 90-day program because, I mean, come on, if you can get your hands on a system and a process and then you have, you know, a connection into someone like Dallas that you can be engaging, you know, then I would certainly look through what services and what she's able to provide because, you know, there's no excuse at that point because she's going to help you, you know, overcome that kind of idea of, oh, this will take a lifetime for me to write, and I, you know, I don't have anything to say, that kind of thing. But on that note, Dallas, let me ask you, so many people feel overwhelmed because they have a lot of ideas. They, you know, and they're like a squirrel, you know, oh, do I want to go over here or go over here? So what is your suggestion to them to kind of say, yes, I understand you have a lot of ideas, but let's find something. How do you go about helping them come down from the overwhelm?

Yes. Yeah, and I think I've found that people either seem to fall into two camps where one is, I don't really have— I don't know what to write about. I don't have any ideas. But then a lot of people are, like you say, the exact opposite where they have so they feel overwhelmed with where to even begin. And I think sometimes people try to cram too many ideas into one book. Similar to what you were saying, I tell them, "Actually, I think you have 2 or 3 books here. This is more than just one book." And so I think the first part of the process is trying to narrow down and focus and pick one to start with, either that you feel is a good start starting place. Maybe the following books will really build off of this first book. So for example, I have a client who wrote a book about creating a thriving private practice for therapists. And then her following, her next book is going to be about transitioning your private practice into a group practice. So it's just growing and growing. So once you kind of figure out your starting point, if you have multiple ideas that are waging war in your head, I tell my clients to really think about What is, if you could drill down the message that you want to share with others, with the world, with your clients, with readers, if you could drill down and capture that in 2 or 3 sentences, what would it be? And try to write that down. And that kind of becomes your touchstone, your manifesto that you can come back to throughout the process of writing your book. And I think it can be helpful for people to clarify, where do I want to begin? Like, what is the most important message that I really want to share? And start from there. That's your first book.

Gotcha. Yeah, I think— yeah, that's beautiful. That's great. Well, okay, so now that we've gotten everyone to the point of, you know, dealing with the head games, dealing with the overwhelm, dealing with the you know, I'm not sure I have anything to say. We're going to take a quick break. When we get back, I really want to get into the mechanics of writing, so talk about, you know, how do I— how do you fit it in to your busy schedule, and what benefit will this have on your career, on your business, on yourself, how to get over writer's block, a number of other topics. So we'll be right back with Dallas Woodburn. Be sure to go to, uh, and you can follow her on Facebook and Twitter as well. Twitter is Dallas Woodburn, Facebook is Writer Dallas, and then her website is yourbookbreakthrough.com. So we'll be right back.

You are listening to Shedding the Bitch Radio with Bernadette Boas. We are inspiring individuals around the globe to discover, confront, and shed their bitches of fear, insecurity, and negativity so they can create the riches in their career, business, and life they deserve. Be sure to check out Bernadette Boas' book, Shedding the Corporate Bitch: Shifting from Bitch to Rich in Life and Business, available on Amazon and sheddingthebitch.com. We also want to thank our sponsors, North Georgia Tax Solutions, who offers a broad range of tax services for small to corporate-sized clients. Go to ngtaxsolutions.com to learn more. And Parker House Virtual Services, who provides virtual assistance and social media support for small to medium-sized businesses. Email Deborah Parker at deborahparker.va@gmail.com for more information. To become a sponsor or advertiser on our program, email us at mediarelations@sheddingthebitch.com. Shedding the Bitch Radio airs every Tuesday at noon Eastern Time. Be sure to go to blogtalkradio.com/shuttingthebitchradio and follow the program for all the updates and announcements of our guests and show topics. Now let's return to Bernadette and Shutting the Bitch Radio.

Welcome back everyone. We are talking to the acclaimed writing coach Dallas Woodburn. I mean, if you needed someone to really be on your team, so to speak, to get your first book, second, third, tenth book done, then she's the one to do it. She's the author of 3 books herself, both traditionally published and indie published, and is the writer and editor of a numerous number of types of magazines, newspapers, websites, anthologies. She has 30 books in the popular Chicken Soup for the Soul book series that she helped contribute her freelance writing toward. So she definitely is someone you want to know if you've ever considered writing a book. So please go to YourBookBreakthrough.com and look through— throughout there as far as what she has to offer. You can Facebook with her at Writer Dallas. Her Twitter handle is Dallas Woodburn, as well as LinkedIn, and of course Um, you can always email her, DallasWoodburn@gmail.com. All right, Dallas, um, we've talked about the head. Uh, let's talk about some mechanics. So people are very busy today, whether they're stay-at-home moms or dads or they're working people. Um, how do you coach them as far as finding time in their schedule to even write a book?

Yes, this is probably the most common question I get from people. Is how do I find time? My life is already so busy. I'm working. I have a family. I'm running my own business. I just don't have time to write a book. That's part of why I structured my program to be a 90-day program. It's an intensive program, but it's something that if you really commit to it, you'll be surprised how much you can get done in getting your book done in just 90 days as opposed to having it be something that you dip in and out of for years and years and years without completing, I think can be really powerful for people. So that's the first thing is deciding this is something that is really important to me. This is something that I need to commit to that I can't ignore or put off any longer. So I'm gonna commit to it for this period of time and actually finally do it. And get it done. Something else is I think that a lot of people have this preconceived notion that they can only work on their book or dive into their book when they have a large chunk of time. Like for example, I need 3 uninterrupted hours to really dive into my writing or else it's not worth it. I'm not going to get anything done. And I really challenge you to, think about this notion and the truth of it, because I have found that even just 15-minute increments a day of steady work where you're focused on your writing, you would be surprised how much you can get done. So the key for this is focused writing, so taking away your distractions. This is not where you have Microsoft Word open on your computer while you're checking Facebook on your phone. This is where you have your internet closed, you're just looking at your Microsoft Word, or maybe you're writing freehand in a journal totally away from your computer. And so using even small amounts of time, but using them with purpose. I actually had one client who I told her, I gave her a challenge for a week. I said, "I want you to take the time that you spend Not even just watching your favorite TV programs in the evening, but just the commercials of your favorite TV programs. So when the commercial comes on, I want you to turn the TV on mute or go into the other room and do a little bit of writing or brainstorming about your book. And at the end of the week, she was floored. She said, "Oh my gosh, I can't believe how much I got done just in those commercial times." I've had similar clients who told me, "I used to spend the morning, I'd be eating my breakfast, and I would be like scrolling scrolling through Facebook or Instagram. And instead of doing that, they would eat their breakfast and jot down some notes or ideas for their book. And so what I found is that even if you can commit to, if you commit to my 90-day program where you are really intensively committing to your book, even just 45 minutes to an hour a day of working on your book will make so much progress. Towards actually getting that book written. So you don't need hours and hours and hours a day.

Right, right, right. No, I think that's beautiful, and I think it really takes a lot of stress. I mean, I took a deep breath as you were saying that because it all of a sudden was like, you know what, even if I have 5 or 10 minutes, or someone who wants to write a book has 5 or 10 minutes, they can easily find that time to— and I love the idea of journaling because I'm a big journaler. And so I would much prefer having a paper journal that I can just open up and when I brainstorm on something or I'm doing my outline or whatever the case might be, I think that's a, that's a brilliant fresh, a breath of fresh air knowing that you can just do it in those little increments.

Yes.

So what are some things— so someone sits down, and you mentioned it earlier about the white page, and, and whether that page is in paper or on your screen, it could be certainly overwhelming. Not only, not only like where to start, but even as you've gotten into, into writing, and then all of a sudden that infamous writer's block, you know, comes along, and you're staring at this piece of paper, computer screen, just like totally stuck. What is the antidote to writer's block that you can provide our listeners?

Yes, I think the first step, like I mentioned before, is acknowledging that it's something that every writer deals with at some point or another. So you're not alone, and it doesn't mean that there is something wrong with you or that there's something wrong with your book or with your ideas. I think that's a very natural part of the process. But on the other hand, I think trying to not give writer's block too much power. So it's funny with writing and creativity, we have this term writer's block, and it basically maybe just means that we don't really feel like writing at this time. But with other jobs and other parts of a profession, we don't have a term. We don't have like, email block, or coaching block. We just do things even if we maybe don't feel inspired to do it at that moment. So I think try not to give writer's block too much power in acknowledging that there's nothing physically stopping you from writing your book. It's all just mental in your head. And I think if you've done the work before with us with the foundation of what are things that are holding you back, you can recognize these fears and self-doubts that are usually cropping up that are contributing to writer's block. Perfectionism is a big thing. So an anecdote for me is to try to fill up that blank page and have it not have to be perfect. So I like to do something called free writing which is setting your timer for even just 5 minutes or 10 minutes. I actually like to use 8 minutes. I think it's kind of the sweet spot spot where it's longer than 5, but it doesn't seem too long. You know, you can do anything for 8 minutes. And the only rule is that you have to write for the entire time that that timer is going. So even if you start off writing, "I don't know what to write about. I don't have any ideas," you just have to keep that pen moving or keep your fingers typing. And it's tapping into your subconscious, so getting past all of those gates walls that you've set up in your mind and getting into your subconscious ideas. And usually by the time that those 8 minutes are up and that timer dings, you'll be writing away and you'll find that, "Oh, I actually have more ideas than I thought I did." And that can be enough to really kickstart that process and get that writer's block into your rearview mirror.

Nice. And again, if they don't and they're still blocked at the end of 8, they can just re-hit that button and try again, right?

Yes, yeah, you can try again. You can get up and do something else and come, come back to it. Sometimes going for a walk or taking a shower— a lot of us get a lot of great ideas, you know, in the shower when, when maybe your body is busy doing something else and your mind is free to kind of float and think about things.

Right, right. No, I, I think that's a great idea. And, you know, I have to put a plug in for a writer coach like yourself because, you know, at the same time, another tool that listeners have in their toolkit is they can always have someone like yourself there that should you get stuck and should you feel like you have writer's block, you can always kind of reach out, I would expect. I know when I was writing and my kind of coach was in the background and noticed that I hadn't been sending pages for her to read and review, for like about 6 weeks. She's like, okay, what's going on? I'm like, nothing, why? She's like, because you haven't written anything. I'm like, sure, I'm writing. She's like, no, you haven't. She's like, you, you know, you regularly send it to me. And it turned out that I was having writer's block around a subject matter that I really didn't and wasn't ready to kind of, you know, disclose. But yet she was like, well, you realize that, you know, that's why you wrote the book, is to disclose these type of things. And said, okay, and, and she, she was able to kind of coach me and walk me through breaking through that writer's block. Um, so, you know, Dallas Woodburn, so look her up because her program, the 90-Day Book Breakthrough Program, helping entrepreneurs unlock their expert status and write the book that's burning inside them. Uh, you definitely want— you don't have any excuses, everybody. You have an opportunity to really get that story because we Every one of us have a story. You can get that story out on paper. Um, so let me, let me think of what I really also want to make sure we were touching on. Um, I want to kind of move into— so we, we've talked the head games, we've talked the mechanics. Do you have any other tools or any, um, any strategies for them when it does come to the process of sitting down and writing? Are there tools or software you use or anything else that we should talk about before we moved into publishing?

Yeah, I would say I think that different people have different approaches that work really well for them. So like you, Bernadette, mentioned being a journaler. I am too. Some people really like writing things out longhand. Other people really love using the computer. And I would say to listeners to work with yourself, not work against yourself. So sometimes I found that people have an idea in their head of what a "serious writer" is like. You know, "Oh, I want to be a serious writer, so I need to write on this computer as opposed to writing in my journal, but I really love writing in my journal." It doesn't matter how you get the words down. It's just that you get them down. So I would say to create a writing routine for yourself that flows with your natural inclinations. I have some clients who love talking out their ideas as opposed to sitting and writing them down, which is really helpful when we have our coaching sessions and we talk through things and I take notes of what they're saying. But they use voice recognition software to capture their ideas. All of that is wonderful. So it's just Finding the ritual that works best for you is my really big advice with that.

Right, I would absolutely, absolutely have to agree. That's awesome. Alright, so I do want to mention before we go into publishing conversations, but I do want to mention that Dallas has a free 45-minute master class where she teaches even more simple, effective tricks to finally getting out of your own way and writing the book that is burning inside you. And it, again, it's just 90 days. So you can register free for her webinar masterclass at bookbreakthroughmasterclass.com. So www.bookbreakthroughmasterclass.com. It's 45 minutes. You can get a good idea of what exactly her program could be helping you with, and then you know, you can assess right then and there as far as going then and engaging with her 90-Day Book Breakthrough program. Because, you know, life is short, you only get one of them, and why not write the story that's burning inside you so you can be sharing your expertise? But that brings me to the next value and benefit of this whole process, because obviously writing a book can help someone's business or career, and it could be another stream of revenue for them. So could you talk to our listeners in regards to how they can— a book can really serve them well when it comes to their career or their business?

Yes, and I think there are so many benefits to writing your book that we've touched upon that go beyond your business, but definitely it can help you in your business or your work life as well. So the first thing I would say is that when you are an author, when you have a published book, and you can let me know your thoughts on this, Bernadette, because you are also an author, I think people see you immediately as more of an expert in your field. So I have had clients tell me that not even among their work colleagues, but I mean, that happens with their work colleagues as well, but even among their own family members or friend circles when they publish a book, their friends and family kind of look at them and say, "Oh, you really know a lot about this." Maybe they have been trying to express these ideas to these people for a long time, and it is not until they publish their book that all of a sudden the light bulb goes off and they think, "Oh, you really know a lot about this topic." And likewise, I have a lot of entrepreneurs that I work with who really want— they have other goals in their business. So maybe they want to get more clients to a coaching program, or they want to become motivational speakers. And having a book can really do so much to unlock those doors. So one of my very first clients, she came to me with this dream of being a motivational speaker. And she was told again and again when she was applying for different speaking gigs, "Oh, you don't have a book." You really need a book to even be eligible for this opportunity. So she came to me saying, "I need to write a book so I can pursue this larger goal that I have." During the process, she found that she actually really liked writing more than she expected, and she's now written 2 books. Her career is as a motivational speaker, so she goes around the country giving her talk and selling her books. There are so many doors that can open when you have published a book. I have clients that have spun different chapters of their book out into different magazine articles, and blog posts, and podcasts to share their ideas even farther and wider. So I think that it's really unlimited potential because once you get your ideas down in book form, I think you are able to really clarify them and clarify what about your message is so important to you and what about it is unique, and you can use that knowledge going forward in your business.

Sure, absolutely. Well, and nowadays too, between books then getting turned into podcasts, or that maybe the book's not necessarily a podcast but the author is, or the subject matter that they're talking about all of a sudden becomes a great subject for a podcast. Or radio show. It's, you know, actually where, you know, I went from writing this book that I just thought I'd print about 100 copies and move on, and it turned into the radio show, it turned into merchandise, it turned into a film script and a TV script. So people just don't know where a book could take them from their business and their career and even their personal life perspective. So your service is greatly, greatly, um, important, uh, you know, for people to be able to get their story down.

Well, thank you. That's a wonderful example too. I love that, how it spun off into so many different things.

Yes, absolutely. Um, now I know people talk about publishing, and you mentioned that you've even been both an indie publisher, published author and a traditional. What are the challenges these days, and how do your students know, or your clients know, which avenue to take for their book?

Yeah, it is, and it's going through a big period of change right now, the whole publishing industry. I think it's a great time to be a writer because there are so many options for us. We're really in the driver's seat. With my clients, one of our coaching calls, at least one, usually multiple, we have an extensive discussion of what their aims are and their goals are for their book. A lot of it comes down to timing and to the amount of control that you want over your book. With traditional publishing, in most cases you have to get a literary agent who then is your go-between contact traditional publishers. And I am happy to guide my clients through that process, but that whole process can take a very long time. And you don't exactly know when you are going to be able to say, "My book is coming out." And even once you get a book contract, it can be a couple years before your book hits the shelves. So on the other hand, with self-publishing, so much more control is in your hands. And if your book, like let's say a big goal for you is to publish a book in 2019 looking ahead into the new year. That is something that you could do with self-publishing. So you could write your book in 2019 and publish it and have it actually out in the world in that same calendar year, which would be very, very difficult for traditional publishing. So those are some questions that I ask my clients and that we kind of work through to determine what is the best publishing plan for their specific book and for their specific goals.

Awesome. Did you say that you can also, once they made that decision of which way to go as far as indie or traditional, you can guide them through that?

Exactly, yes. Since I have experience with even my own books, both sides, I am happy to help guide them. I would say that most of my clients go with self-publishing because they want their books in their hands and they like having the control over the COVID design and all of that. But I'm happy to help with whatever way they choose.

That's awesome. Oh my gosh, that's awesome. And trust me, people, you want somebody like that in your corner because it just takes such kind of a burden and stress and, you know, you don't know what you don't know. And talk about getting intimidated or insecure. Insecure about an area of the writing journey that can definitely trip you up. So that's absolutely awesome. Well, I just noticed the time. I can't believe it's gone so fast. We're definitely going to have to have you back and have you kind of do maybe another call at the beginning of the year to get people thinking and putting writing a book in 90 days in their goals. But for those listening though, You need to do two things. One, you need to take advantage of her 45-minute masterclass. So go to BookBreakthroughMasterclass.com and do that. At the same time, go to the 90-day Book Breakthrough program and be sure that you are looking at how you can kind of engage her immediately to help you with writing your book because you've already determined you want to. So yourbookbreakthrough.com. Dallas Woodburn, thank you so much. I appreciate you being here. It was awesome.

Thank you so much. The time flew by. I had so much fun.

It really did. I can't believe it. And I want everybody to know that Facebook and Twitter, just look up Dallas Woodburn, you're going to find her, whether it's Writer Dallas on Facebook or Dallas Woodburn. Thank you so much, Dallas. And next week, everybody, is Ask Bernadette. So get your questions, stories, or challenges out to us on Facebook, Twitter, on LinkedIn, or at BernadetteBoas@sheddingthebitch.com. Everybody have a great week, happy Halloween, and I'll talk to you next week at the same time. Take care, everybody.

Thank you for listening to Shedding the Bitch Radio with Bernadette Boas. Join Bernadette every Tuesday at noon Eastern as she helps you shift your bitches to riches. And the dialogue is always going on at sheddingthebitch.com. See you next week.