792. How to Self Publish, Launch a Book, and Know When the Time Is Right!

Everyone who's written a book loves their book. Talk about it. Ask people to buy. Ask people to leave reviews. Don't be afraid that you'll bother somebody because I'm telling you you won't. And if you do, they aren't the right person for your audience anyways.

Welcome to the Earn your Happy podcast. I'm Lori Harder, founder of Light Pink, best selling author, three time fitness world champion, and I'm a crazy, multi passionate entrepreneur. My journey has taken me everywhere from being a broke wait barista, retails associate and personal trainer with massive anxiety and no belief in myself to later becoming a multimillionaire in love with my life. In 2007, my husband and I lost everything. We found ourselves hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt at rock bottom. We had no ideas and I had no education to fall back on. This is when I found personal development and learned everything I could about business. I not by choice, but because I realized no one was coming to save me. The conversations on this podcast are going to let you know that you're not alone and that we all feel like we don't know what we're doing. We're going to give you the tools to help you face your fears, take action, start your business, and grow those massive dreams that are keeping you up at night. It's time to create a life that you can't hide from and put so much on the line that your higher self is forced to come out. You're going to stop waiting for someone to approve of you and you're going to anoint yourself. Because I'm obsessed about building businesses that give women a platform, I want to feature you. So if you text the word podcast to 310-496-8363, you can get your questions answered on our Q and A segment along with a shout out. And if you rate, review and subscribe to this podcast, subscribe. We're choosing someone every month to get coached and featured on our show. It just might be you. So let's get started. Hey everyone, welcome back to the show. It's time for another quickie because there's always time to fit in inspiration. And again, I am not alone on this quickie, you guys. I'm so excited because I have the incredible Jake Calfor here and we're going to talk to you all about self publishing a book. When do you know it's time to write one? How do you get it out? Tell us about this mythical thing that we call book writing and book launching. So Jake, what is your book and when is it going to be out?

Amazing. Well, first of all, I'm so excited for us to chop it up and have this conversation. Lori. It's gonna be awesome. Perfect. And for me, this book is called the Elevated Entrepreneur. My third book, it's an interview book. So there's many different styles of books. This one's an interview style book, and it's set to launch October 18th. And it's all about unlocking the secrets of the world's greatest coaches, performers, and entrepreneurs.

Wow.

I'm so excited for you. Number one, because this is your third book. That's crazy. Like, compared to the first book. To the third book. Tell me about the difference in the emotional process of even just getting it out into the world.

Well, I think every book has been so different for me in terms of the journey, both emotionally and in the writing process. And what I would say is, this. The first book I wrote, I didn't have an audience. I didn't know what I was doing. I was 23 years old. But what I did have was a message. I had a message that had the chance to change lives. And I felt that even though I was 23, writing a career development book, the irony was crazy. But what I had was knowledge and borrowed credibility to make that book count and help people. And it has now, as we approach the third book release, this book is the first interview book I've done. But because I've known how to write them and I've really set myself up to be committed to the process, this book has been very fluid, even though it's been the hardest one to complete. And so I think that when it comes to writing a book, it's all about having the commitment, being willing to take action, and realizing that it's a journey and it's going to be hard, but you can get. Definitely get it done no matter where you're at.

Oh, gosh. I love this whole experience that you're sharing because, number one, you're making it really tangible for people and you're showing all of the different styles in which you can come out with a book and when someone should come out with a book. So that brings me to my first question, and you kind of answered it, but I'd love to hear the longer answer of when does someone know that they're ready for a book?

So I think that you are ready for a book when you are willing to commit to doing the work.

Oh, damn. Yeah.

And what I mean by this is writing a book is a journey. It's a process. But if you have a message to share, especially if you've been sharing that message already, I believe that this is an unbelievable tool to accelerate that message. I believe that if you are trying to really establish authority, if you are trying to be seen as an expert, a book is the right thing for you. If you already have an established audience, or if you already have been in the entrepreneurial space for a while and you're like, you know what? What can I do differently than everybody else do a book. The goal here with a book is based off of your intention. So when you're ready to write a book, it's, do you have a message? What can you do to change the world? And how can you deliver this in a way that's going to build authority, build relationships, and establish yourself as somebody who has the knowledge that people are looking for.

So that leads me into my next question, because a lot of people can answer yes. Let's, let's say they're at the place where they can answer yes to all of those things. They're like, I'm ready for a book. How can they set expectations around what that's going to look like? Because sometimes we're like, oh my gosh, my first book, I want to be in the New York Times bestsellers list. Like, how can we, how should we start setting expectations for our book? And how does that align with our marketing?

The first thing that I do for myself and the first thing I do with anybody, we help write and launch their book. The number one thing is we have to set the intention for what the book really is meant for.

Oh, I love that.

Some books are legacy books. Okay? Those are gonna be differently approached than a lead generation book versus a book that is gonna be traditionally published versus self published. The intention will help you determine what marketing approach and the process you need to do. The majority of people, when they come and they like, I think I'm ready for a book, the majority of people are not writing their legacy book on book one. What they're doing is they're writing the authority book, they're writing the Legion book, they're writing the credibility book. And they're writing the book because it's fricking awesome. Let's just make that really clear. It's awesome. So you have to first establish your intention based on your intention. Then we can create the path on what the marketing approach should be. For example, my first book, the intention was, how do I get on the bestsellers list at 23 years old? Well, I figured out how to do it. I use paid promotions. I use grassroots marketing because I didn't have an audience. This book that's coming out next week, the elevated Entrepreneur. This is a credibility and lead generation book. So we're using a free plus shipping funnel to really create awareness and to really build buzz. The different intention creates a different marketing approach and the different strategies you want to use around launch around the type of book and around the intention of the achievement behind the book.

Oh, so good. So I'm hearing that you have a possible way for people to work with you on if they're interested in writing a book. What is that?

We have big idea to bestseller. We hope you write and publish your first book in 90 days.

Oh, that's amazing. I literally love that. I wish I would have had that. Yeah, that's incredible. So you guys can definitely go check that out. We'll put that in the show notes as well. But my next question, tell me a little bit about the writing process for somebody who's never written before. Like, I know for me, I had no idea that it was gonna be as hard as it was. I thought I would just sit at my computer, schedule it into my calendar inst I ended up consuming more lattes and chocolate bars than I can possibly tell you and not doing a lot of writing. Like, how do you make sure and like how do we learn what even writing style we are and how do we make sure we're accountable? All the things, what do you do?

So this is hands down, like the biggest thing that people say is like, I don't even know what to do. I don't think I'm a good writer. Like, who's going to read my book, right? We start to have all these doubts before we've even like try. But the truth is you probably have more than one book. You probably have multiple books in you. You just need to know how to get it from idea to paper. And the first phase after your intention is, I call this the Spiderman phase. Okay. You got to create your web and your web is asking yourself, what's the zone of genius? What are you already coaching people on? What are you already teaching people? Where are your skill sets? Like, what are your stories? What are your experiences? What are people already asking you and what do you love to talk about? When you answer those questions, you start to be like, oh my gosh, I have this, I have this, I have this. Do you already have a method, A way of teaching somebody the type of work that you're already doing? Okay, once you have that that's the Spiderman initial web. Then we need to start swinging on that web. And that leads you to a structured outline. And so we try to break it down and make this overwhelming process of I don't know what to write or what idea to write into a very clear, let's go Spider man in the web. Let's then create the outline and then let's go into the Ironman phase, which is the actual writing of the phase where we just cause pure destruction and we just execute at the highest level. So that's like if you don't know what to write or you're overwhelmed about it first, let's break it down. You can't eat an elephant in one bite, but you can eat it one bite at a time. And this is how we structure writing a book. Because we think it's overwhelming. It's a lot. We've never done it. Change is new, right? New is scary. So we have to do is we have to break this down step by step and really extract everything that you already know. And then from there we can start the writing phase.

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Oh my gosh. So good. And I'm a huge Marvel Iron man fan. So loving. Loving that it makes me want to write another book right now. But I can't. Don't let me. Don't let me get distracted right now. I'll do it later. I'll call you later. Okay, so what's the first steps for people when they're like, okay, I'm pretty clear on self publishing. Here's what other outlets are there? What did that look like for you? And why don't you back up just one more step to how do I know if self publishing or publishing is.

For me, the traditional publishing versus the self publishing route? I mean, that is such a big question. Okay. For me, when I was writing my books, I didn't have anyone in my circle at the time that had traditionally published. I also didn't want to go through the traditional way of saying, let me pitch 27 times and be rejected 26 times. I wanted to get my message out. So I went from my first ever idea of writing a book to launch in less than six months. This was the first time I'd ever done it. And I figured it out all on along the Way now the process is much more dialed in. So what I would say is traditional. If you have the network, if you have the audience, if you have the people that can get you that, that way, explore it. If you want to maintain 100% control, figure out exactly how you want to do the marketing, kind of figure it out on your own. I would recommend self publishing. I think if you are writing a first book, unless you have a huge audience, I recommend self publishing. I'm a big believer in the self publishing world. Just because it allows you freedom. It's easier than ever to self publish. There's tons of opportunities and a lot of great things income. Your margins are typically much higher. You may not get an advance like you would in traditional publishing, but you have the opportunity to get higher margins. When you self publish, you can get 70% on your ebook and you can get 40 to 50 on your paperback copy. So it again goes back to your intention. But I would say those are some really big differences in traditional versus self publishing. So I would say that like if you're a first time author and you don't have a massive audience, I would go self publishing. I would execute this first book. I would go through the process. I would get enhance your writing skills, enhance your marketing skills, prove that you can move copies, use it to generate business and awareness and then you can leverage that into the right relationships, into the right opportunities and potentially into the right traditional publishing deal and that you could take to the next level or do whatever you'd like. So those are a couple of the big differences that I would say in terms of traditional or self publishing.

Yeah, I love that books are such credibility. In a lot of times I see people do it completely backwards with no audience and they want to get a traditional publisher, which it has worked for some people. But it's just the game is so different now with marketing that you end up having to market it yourself. And even if you did get an advance, which first time author advances aren't very big, they can be, I never want to put that story in someone's, in someone's brain because they absolutely can be if you do a really good marketing plan. But that's another thing that actually saves you time from, is your book proposal. You don't have to pitch it to yourself. You just get to start writing. And I will tell you that most authors take more time on their book proposal than sometimes they do writing. So that's been really interesting. So you get to cut all that out, you get to save that, you get to Save looking for a literary agent that feels like a good fit, all of the things, which is also awesome. But it does save a lot of time if you really have that message that you want to get out and use it to build your audience. So, okay, tell me about your marketing plan. What are some of the best things that you think that we should be doing? What are some things that you see that we shouldn't be doing?

So when it comes to marketing your book, I think it's really important to remember that this is a game, right? We're playing a game of life, all right? It's real, it's fun, it's exciting. And one of the mistakes that I see is we put so much pressure on ourselves when it comes to marketing a book or releasing the book or the expectations that it ends up hurting the book's success. What we have to do is we have to focus on the outcome, but release the expectation of the outcome. We have to do whatever we can to get ready for success, but we can't rely on things that are out of our control. So let's talk about what do we actually should be doing when it comes to marketing your own book? Well, have a launch team. That's one of the easiest ways to get instant credibility, instant reviews, instant sales. Rise through the rankings is through having a launch team, okay, that when you're doing a first book or even a second book, or in my case, a third book, you're going to have people that are in your audience who already love and know you and support you. You're going to have your customers, and then you're also going to have people that just want to see you succeed. The really cool thing about writing a book is everybody wants you to win. And it's the one type of thing where you really feel the love from people that are your friends or on your inner circle. So utilize them. Launch team is a great way, though, to get reviews. You give them a copy of your book and you get some great access. So that's one thing. The second thing, going along the lines of fun, is have a launch party. And it doesn't have to be a crazy fancy launch party, but invite 50 people. Invite your email list, invite whomever you want that's local, have a book signing, take some pictures, and people will post really awesome. Now, if you're trying to be an Amazon bestseller, you're going to want to use different strategies, such as paid promotions. Maybe you'll run a free Kindle promotion. Maybe you're going to run a discounted Promotion, all of these things, without getting too much into detail, are all different ways to climb through the ranks, get access to new eyeballs that are outside of your existing audience and to boost yourself and your chance to become bestseller in multiple categories. So those are a few of the things that I always like to recommend. And then lastly, which might seem like the most obvious one, is you have to talk about your book. One of the things that we forget about is we get so focused on writing it and doing the backend that we don't even talk about how great and how proud we are of this book. Like, I am so proud to write my book. And I know that everyone who's written a book loves their book. Talk about it, Ask people to buy it. Ask people to leave reviews. Don't be afraid that you'll bother somebody, because I'm telling you, you won't. And if you do, they aren't the right person for your audience anyways. We want people that lift up, not tear down. So talk about your book, share it, post it, give the links. Don't be afraid to go on a crazy bender of buy this. Would love for your help, you know, because up to that point, you're going to be giving value and then use social graphics to really add to the value, but also to the promotion. Create reels. So one of the strategies that we're using for this book is I'm doing a series of reels. So because this is an interview book, what I'm doing is I'm taking some of the best piece of advice, the best questions, and I'm making a series and series go really viral on TikTok on Instagram. And I was like, oh, you know what? Let's try this. So I took five of the 39 guests. You're one of them. And yours is gonna be coming out soon. And I did, like, quotes that'll change the way you think about business. Part one. Or I did. Top entrepreneurs share one piece of advice they wish they knew, and then it's like, part one, part two, part three. They're easy to film. They don't have to be perfect, but they have a chance to really get people an inside look to your book without saying, buy my book. Right? And so I think we can leverage all these different tactics and strategies to really gain some initial traction, some great momentum, and ultimately some sales and fun, which can then turn into backend growth depending on, again, what the intention is of the entire process.

Oh, so amazing. You've added so much value here. And I know this Third book of yours that you're coming out with is an interview series, and it's the first one that you've done like this. And I actually had thought of putting in interviews into my first book, but I was already so overwhelmed. You know what it's like with your first book that it was just like another thing. But I had thought about it because it's such a good marketing tactic. Obviously, I'm here interviewing you because I felt like, oh, my gosh, he had me in his book. He's an amazing person. I got to get to know him. Of course, now I want to reciprocate for having me in your book. And also, you know, you have to ask and are you willing to help promote. Since you're in the book, it almost creates a like, hey, you're in the book. You kind of should be sharing, like, the book. And that was definitely a strategy that I had thought of for my book. So when people are thinking of what type of book they wanna write, I know that you said it's also probably the hardest one to get to come together because you're waiting on so many other people. And then there comes the entire asking part, which, trust me, I just raised money. I know about asking, and now I'm asking for other favors. I spend months just writing emails asking. So tell me a little bit about that journey. Was it worth it? Will you do it again? Do you feel like it's gonna pay off?

I think it was unbelievable. I mean, I don't think I'd be on this podcast with you right now if I hadn't written the book and if I hadn't been introduced to you through someone else who's in the book to make this happen and whether or not this podcast, I wouldn't even have been introduced to you at this speed had I not been writing this book, right? So an interview book is different than a summit. It's different than an online event, because it's a book and it's going to last forever and it's tangible. People love that type of thing. So I don't know at this point if I would do it again. But I also, if I do it again, I will know how to have a lot more success with it. And I think one of the biggest things with an interview book for me was releasing control a little bit. Because in a guide or a how to book or a business fable or any other type of book, a personal story or a teaching book, you are in control 100%. You get to choose the time of which you write, you get to choose completion. For this, I had to do the video interviews, I had to get them transcribed, we had to write them, we had to then get approvals, we had to make edits. So the process was a little bit longer. But that being said, I have 39 people in this book now. Some of them I've developed much closer relationships with others. Some of them I have already been really close with them and I was doing them a favor putting them in the book. But overall, anytime you have an opportunity to build your network at a rapid speed with influential people, you should take it.

Absolutely.

And this was a huge opportunity for me, for everyone to know. This is a huge opportunity for me to get to know some amazing, amazing people. Some people that I've looked up to for five, 10 years, and now they're in this book. And now they're not just someone I look up to, but there's someone in my circle. So when I do it again, I'll always be interviewing people. How I'll go about executing will be evolved.

Yep, totally. I think it's brilliant. It's what my podcast is to me. And, you know, I said yes to being in your book because anyone who's willing to go through that and the journey, I was like, yes, I will share this arena with you for sure. So I think that is, you know, if anybody got anything from this, looking for opportunities like that, that bring in those big moments of being able to network and be even just, you know, a thought in the mind of somebody who you want to maybe potentially in the future be able to network with and connect with and, you know, all of those things. So I really, really, really love this. Okay, so grateful for you. Where can we find you? Follow you get your book.

The best place to find me is on Instagram right now, Akelfer. And the link will be in my bio. But the link to get the book is theelevatedentrepreneur. Co. And one of the cool things here is the book is free to everybody. When you go to that link, all you gotta do is cover the shipping. So this is part of, you know, I'll give you the little secret. This is part of our strategy, but this is also part of our way of saying we want the world to be elevated. So how do we do that? We give access to anybody who wants to get the book for free, just cover the shipping. So that's the best way to connect with me and best way to get your hands on the book. And it comes out very soon. So I'm super excited about that.

Amazing. You are the best and you guys definitely make sure to go follow him and go grab your free book. You're crazy if you don't.

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Thank you, Laurie. I'm so excited to be here.

So you're fresh off the journey. Like your book is about to launch. Like you're not. It's not even launched yet. It is next week, right?

Two weeks. Two weeks.

Two weeks. So when this comes out, this is coming out next week. It still won't be launched. And then you can do pre orders still. But tell me about the book writing process. I know that you self published our former interview. Jake also self published. And I love this because I really want to talk to people who have a message right now that really want to get this out into the world. So tell me about your book. Give us the title and when did you know that it was time to write a book?

So the title of my book is Someone I love lives Here. And it's about looking for love in all the wrong places. Love and acceptance and finally learning how to give it to myself and truly love and respect myself in a way that says, someone I love lives here. And I've actually wanted to be an author since I was 6 years old. I have like a little grade school book where I wanted to do all the things and I wanted to be an author and wrote a lot as a child. And I actually write about that in the introduction because I was very, very creative in grade school. And then when I got into middle school, that was really when I started to become extremely self conscious about my body, my appearance. I was overweight as a kid, and it kind of always felt tolerable in grade school. But then as I got a little older and boys and popularity came into the mix, it just felt like I couldn't deal with it anymore. And so my whole focus became manipulating my body, my appearance, you know, trying to fit in, trying to be cool. So it's interesting looking back, you know, I've done so much soul searching and really, really examining my story so much to write this book. And that really came up right in the beginning is that I was writing a lot, I was really creative. And then, you know, I kind of tapped out of that for many, many years. So then it was the end of 2019, November 2019, that it became very, very clear to me that it was like my divine assignment. This was the next thing to be doing. And what did that feel like?

Why was that clear?

So I was. I work with different spiritual mentors and healers, and it came up in two different conversations about like, okay, the book is next. And I always knew that would be next. But it was like really wild where, you know, two people that in different states that have never met each other, both kind of shared that message with me. And I, you know, I really believe that and I really felt that. So I actually, it's. It's interesting because I decided to start writing the book in April of 2020. That was when my schedule was going to be more clear.

Some other things sure was.

Yeah. See, I had no idea that we were on the verge of the pandemic. Of course. So when that happened too, I had to kind of laugh. I was like, well, the universe is clearing my plate and really setting me up. It was a really beautiful time to write, especially because of the nature of my book, because it is so emotional and it was so close to my heart. And I really had to go back to times in my life that were really dark and difficult to go back to. So having that sense spaciousness in my life where I was home a lot and, you know, really got to give myself so much self care after writing, that was really, really beautiful timing for me.

I love that. It really makes me think about, you know, a writer who's not writing is pretty tormented. And it sounds like you've been a writer since you were 6 years old. And it's like the decision to stop waiting to be anointed by other people or chosen, especially with self publishing.

Right.

To just start writing and do the art that you're supposed to be doing. So I love that you're doing this. I'm sure it will not be your last if you don't want it to be. So why self publishing? Over publishing? Tell me about your journey with that.

Yeah, I guess I really wanted to do things on my own terms. I didn't really want to go through the whole process of an agent and pitching. And I've also just heard a lot of stories. I remember the interview you did with Kara Alwil, even on that. And I. I've followed her for years. So even just hearing from other people, you know, kind of both sides of the story, I think there's pros and cons to both. Yep. But I just felt really, you know, like I wanted to again, do it my way, have full creative say. I'm, you know, kind of bit of a control freak and I like to do things my way. So, yeah, it just felt, it felt like the right way to go.

Yeah, I love that. And I think just, you know, sprinkling in tips throughout here as well, it's the being able to first do it your way. And if you have success and if for some reason you do ever want traditional publishing, a lot of times if you have proof of your writing and your concept and like, look, when I, you know, do this myself and when I have creative direction, this is how it turns out. And sometimes that's all they need to see to give you more creative direction on something that maybe you sign a contract over. So I think that that is great advice, especially for someone who wants more control like that. Because in traditional publishing, if you don't fight, you will not get the control. I definitely had to stand for a lot of things and let go of some things. So, yeah, just reflecting back to the first cover they sent me where I was like, no, I'm not finishing this book. This is the Crayola crayon cover that we're going with. So next Question. Tell me about the next steps. You're like, okay, I've decided because I've done a bit of research, I've listened to both sides. I really feel like traditional publishing is not for me and that self publishing is for me. What are the next steps? How did you, how did you start self publishing?

Self. How did I actually start the publishing process? Yep.

Like, what did you do at that point? I.

Well, I worked with a coach, a woman that I'd known for years and she, she coaches thought leaders, writing, speaking, and she kind of gave me a couple recommendations on companies. And so I did actually work with a company who went through all the steps to get the book into physical form. And it's also a Kindle ebook. So, yeah, so I had the whole thing completed to give to them and in all the formatting and everything like that. And then we've gone back and forth with the COVID art and with the details with formatting and all of that. But I went through a referral for the company that I worked with.

Amazing. Would you recommend them?

I've had issues, I have to be honest. The publishing process, even though it wasn't that long, and I know that traditional publishing is even way longer, but that was the roughest part of this for me. Being honest.

Yeah, no, so good to know. I think this is so important for people to hear because I do hear hiccups no matter what. I hear different things.

So.

And I'm sure that it was four year journey and you can see that now maybe. Yeah, maybe you'll see it later. So you researched, you found somebody, you found. Was the coach different than the publishing company that you went with?

Yes.

Okay, cool. So the coach helped you through your writing process. Like they gave you deadlines. What did that look like? Because a lot of people, it's like, okay, we can do the research on even finding someone to help us publish, but then the writing process comes and they don't realize the amount of accountability and potentially structure and coaching that you need through it. So tell me about that process.

Yeah, so that was really helpful. I, I worked with her company. She assigns you to like a coach editor, and. And then you still really have a lot of control. So I had 10 sessions with someone and I was kind of creating my own deadlines. But it was helpful because she was able to come in and really help me with that structure. Like you were talking about part of me again, since it's a memoir, I was like, is this going to be chronological? Is it going to be, you know, based on themes or. And I went back and forth on things like that. And, you know, she really helped me a lot with the craft of writing too, and explaining things like how to really get people into the scene and showing versus telling. So a lot of really interesting things because, you know, I hadn't. I hadn't really learned about the craft of writing in years. But then it also came down to me really finding my rhythm with writing because I was creating my own deadlines and. And I think it's very easy with a project like a book. You could do it, you could work on it for years. Yeah, I was like, even the rewriting process, I could have spent years just, you know, you can get every line of the book just perfect and then go back and. Yeah. So I really had to get disciplined with myself. I knew I wanted it done, you know, within a year's time, and I was able to do that. It took me seven months for the first draft. And then I had. Besides my editor, I had four beta readers. Two who knew me very well and two who were brand new to my story, did not know me, which was really helpful to having the different perspectives. But they all read my first draft and just offered honest feedback and what they liked, what they didn't like. And then I spent the next five months rewriting and rewriting and rewriting until I felt really good about. About the finished product.

Yeah, the editing process, like, you think you got the hard part over and then you're like, you gotta be kidding me. This is insane. It taught me so much about done is better than perfect and releasing. Or like you said, you will just end up spending so much time. And to be honest, it's like the sentences that you love the most and then there's sentences that you don't think are that great or chapters that aren't that great. And all of a sudden you find out those are the ones that are impacting people the most. And you're like, what? Like, what about this other chapter that I spent months on? Didn't that impact you? It's always so crazy to see what impacts people. So that really helps me know to let go. And I'm sure you'll find so many incredible stories that come out of your book as well. So can I ask you, for everybody listening, what was around the price of your coach and your editor? Like, what did it cost you to self publish? And I know everybody's so different.

Yeah, the self publishing, I know it was three, $3,000 pretty much whole package. And I'm trying To think with the coaching, it was, I remember per month, I think I was spending around 500 per month for the year.

Okay, cool.

That included, you know, various things and a lot of support, you know, community as well, and events and things like that.

Yeah, that is amazing. That is a good price. And there's definitely. You can spend a lot more as well for more, just even more hands on. And then some people just cost more. So that's so important for people to hear that there just such different price ranges and you have to decide on your budget and what you want to spend and work with that and know that it's the best fit for you at that point in time if that's what you want to be spending. So thank you so much for sharing that. Okay. What about setting expectations and goals? Because I think this is one of the biggest places that people get really tripped up with a book is, you know, maybe they're writing and they don't actually know what their intention is. So they're kind of like all over the place with goals and almost setting themselves up for expectation. Hangover, where it's like maybe it's their first book and they think they want to be a New York Times bestselling author. Which I was just saying on the last one totally can be done. But what were your intentions going in with this? Why were you writing and then how did you set goals around that?

I definitely, I mean, I definitely still want to be bestseller number one. Bestseller, ideally on Amazon, would be amazing. And that is my intention and I'm hoping for that. I love that.

Yeah, we'll send that out to the universe right now. It's happening.

Yeah. So I'm not going to lie about that, but.

And I think that's important. I like, do not want to be on here saying that because I am the first person to be like, think bigger.

Yeah. But, you know, looking back over the journey, what it gave me was so healing. And that's going to sound a little bit, maybe a little corny, but it's really not like I've done so much healing work with therapy and coaching and all kinds of things. Really, anything out there I will try. But for me, getting to go back through my story with my adult eyes and relive these things, it was incredibly healing. And, you know, things that I still carried shame and guilt over. I was able to just have so much compassion for myself, for other people in my life, and just such ownership of my story and really seeing it. You know, I still, if I read the End of The book, I still cry. Like, I still tear up because I'm like, I can't believe, you know, I got to this other side of these things. And, you know, I'm so proud of myself, really. Looking back and. And so getting to relive it was just the most healing thing I've ever done. And now it's been interesting over the past couple of weeks. First my husband read it, and now both my parents have read it. And having them read it and one still want to talk to me, I feel that.

Yeah.

But just to say, I'm so proud of you and, you know, the things that they've shared with me, I'm like, at this point, I'm two weeks away and I'm getting chills, but I'm like, I. You know, I do care, but I kind of don't. At this point, I'm like, that meant everything to me to have the people who are closest to me who I love the most, you know, look at this, you know, piece of work and my life story and really give me that support. Has been so meaningful, so beautiful.

I actually remember, I think, in Chicago, talking to you outside of my book launch. Little did I know you were going to write a book.

Yeah, and I brought my mom.

That's right. That's so cool. I literally remember that moment. Okay, so what advice would you give yourself if you could go back to the beginning of when you started writing or even finding these people to help you? What would you go back and tell yourself to do differently?

Well, the big thing, this took me months to learn, and I feel like I could have gotten it done sooner was just finding. Finding that rhythm. So first I was like, oh, I'm going to have writing days. And I would. I would set aside Tuesday, Thursday, or, like, whole days. And, yeah, I would tap out after an hour, two hours max. That would be all I could do on the book. So ended up doing very differently. Pretty much five, six, sometimes seven days a week, about an hour, hour and a half, first thing in the morning, get my coffee, do a little meditation. But then I would set up in the same place every day and get my work done. And whether it was good or bad, it was just dedicating the time every day and really staying in the work, too, because, again, you really have to be in a certain headspace and kind of stay in the storyline. So that worked so much better for me. And once I was in that rhythm of showing up for the book every day, then page after page, you start getting it done, because it does feel so intimidating when you're sitting there looking at your blank page in front of you and trying to write an entire book. It's something that of course no one goes into a book thinking it's going to be easy, but I feel like you don't realize how much work it is until you're actually doing it. So that would be my advice, is just, you know, find what works for you. If it's nighttime again for me, first thing in the morning is when I felt most creative and most clear headed to do that work. So, you know, find what works for you but then really be disciplined in how you're showing up consistently for yourself.

Oh my God, so good. I wish I could have gone, have you gone back and told me that same exact thing? Because I ended up at the end doing 60 to 90 minutes just about seven days a week. Because you lose your place and you spend. If you're only writing once or twice a week, you spend the first 30 to 60 minutes just rereading what you had written. Cause you forgot what you wrote. So you're like, did I already tell this story? Did I tell this story 20 chapters back? I have no idea. Or did I already mention this? Did I use this quote? It's insane. So keeping a consistent pattern like that for an hour a day keeps you in the loop of what you've written and it saves you so much time, so it saves you half of the time for sure. So I love, love, love that. Okay, marketing tip that you're most excited about.

I would say just really keep your audience, your community in the loop. I have been so amazed by how excited people are about the book. Of all the things I've done in my journey, I've never felt more supported than with this book. And I think I did a poll on my Instagram stories maybe six months ago, just saying, do you want to write a book someday? And it was like 90 something percent of people said yes. So I think again, a lot of people appreciate the time, the effort that goes into it and a lot of people are very interested in it and you know, want to hear your story and want to support something like this. So I think, you know, just through this whole entire process, whether I was writing or in the publishing, I really kept everyone, you know, up to date on what was going on. And I think that really builds the excitement. And then people. I feel like my whole community is part of it too. I'm like, you guys were almost there, you know, and it is like, you know, in two weeks if when, you know, I hit that goal, you know, I know it's not just me, it's all these people who are supporting me. And so that's been really, really fun. And my other thing that I've been doing is, you know, reaching out to people, podcasts or, you know, other influencers, other women I know who I know they have a story, too. Again, this story is about my journey with disorder dating and body image and all of that. But unfortunately, I know so many women have a story with all of this stuff. So I've also created a little Instagram TV series and, you know, have been bringing other women's stories on and sharing that too. So. And that really came up because I was like, what do I enjoy doing? Like, I don't always love just talking at my camera, but I love having conversations with women. So I'm like, well, I really love doing that. So, you know, again, thinking about what's going to be really fun for me to share this message, but I'm going to be excited to show up for it. And, you know, again, if you can involve other people, involve your community, I think that's a really great way to go.

Oh, my God. Brilliant. Thank you so much for this. You gave us so much incredible advice, and I just know that somebody was listening to this and they're going to go write a book or they'll probably reach out to you. So where can they find you, follow you all the things and get your book?

Yes. So the book is on my website along with everything else. It's justinesloan.com and then my favorite platform to hang out on is Instagram, and that's hejustinesloan.

You're incredible. I'm so grateful that we have collided in this way. Now I can't wait to meet up with you again on another beautiful part of your journey after all of the amazing success and impact that you've had. So you guys, so grateful for you. And until next time, earn your happy.

Bye, everyone.