Get Started Writing Your Dream Book!

Welcome to A New Life podcast with Pamela Jean, where it's all about empowering women to empower more women. Get ready, friends, to create a new life. And here is your host, Pamela Jean. Hello, my friends, and welcome to this week's episode of A New Life podcast. I'm your host, Pamela Jean. Thank you so much for being here with me today. I know you have so much you could be doing. Time is so valuable, but thank you for spending some of it with me. I have a very exciting guest today, someone I can't wait for you to meet. He has a very interesting story, an incredible business, and I'm really speaking to my friends out there who are looking at publishing books who may need a ghost writer. My guest today is Tim Jacobs. Tim is currently living in the Sarasota area. So smart person on a cold, wintry day where I'm living and perhaps you as well. But Tim is, is in Sarasota, Florida and he has a company, JWC Publishing, that he has had full time since 2012. So he has stood the test of time with his business and it was a side hustle for him before going full time. So that is such a great accomplishment. Tim also has a couple of startups that are coming that he's going to be launching this year that I will let him give us all the detail on that. But Tim, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day to be a guest on my podcast. Tim, tell the audience a little bit about yourself.

Yes. First, you know, thanks for having me and inviting me on. I do appreciate that a little bit about myself is, you know, as far as being in this writing and publishing world, that started for me back pretty much when I was, you know, a child. I grew up with my mother having a little desk in the kitchen and she would always be typing as she worked from home as a typist. And I just fell in love with that click clack sound, which is now long gone with the advent of computers coming into the house. But that's kind of what it stems back to for me. And I've always, always been an avid reader, even as a child. Just, you know, my favorite place was the library. It was just getting books. It was getting Barnes and Noble gift cards for, you know, birthdays and Christmas. And I just kind of, over time, just kind of built a business around that is basically what I've done.

Isn't that great to create a business around something that you absolutely love to do?

Oh, absolutely. And, you know, that's one of the things there's that. There's that phrase that, you know, if you, if you have something that you love and you can make money doing it, you never have to work a day in your life, as the saying goes.

There's a lot of truth to that for sure. So when you started your company in 2012, what was the moment that you knew it was time to go ahead and do it full time? And what were you doing alongside of the publishing as your side hustle? Or maybe it was another career to be able to go full time. So how are you juggling and managing those two aspects?

Yeah, I, I had a full time job. I was with an electrical supply company where we would supply, you know, breakers and panels and wire for basically smaller electrical outfits and businesses. We were kind of like the, the middle person there. And after a while it just got, you know, it's kind of like a tipping of the scale sort of thing where after a while, like maybe 10 years of being there, it just got harder and harder to go to work, to be motivated to, you know, kind of get out of bed and put all this energy and effort into something that I really didn't have a passion for. And I had no goals in mind for it. And I just started to think, wow, if I could put this much time and energy into my own business, where would I be? And I just started to reach out to a couple people who did do their own thing. Not necessarily, you know, writing and publishing, but, you know, they were doing their own thing and I just kind of was kind of just picking their brain a little bit to, to finally do that step and give my notice at work and just kind of step into doing this full time.

So what did it feel like the day you walked into the office of your previous employer to give your notice? What did that feel like?

It was probably a couple different things. A. It was a little bit, I don't want to say sad, but it was like, there's definitely some people I'm seeing every day now I'm not going to see them every day was kind of just like, you know, that was kind of just like. I don't want to say sad, but it was just kind of like you, you know, you kind of miss that camaraderie that you would have with them. But more so, it was just, I, I think I was just excited and nervous about. I'm responsible for everything now. Everything is up to me. It's. I'm not relying on them getting clients. I'm not relying on, you know, are they going to Purchase the right things. Is this going to happen? Is that going to happen? Where's that business going? It's like I'm, I'm calling the shots and making, you know, kind of carving my own path of where I want to go.

Oh, that's so exciting. And, and honestly, every entrepreneur that's listening to this can identify with what you, what you just said. How did you shift your mindset away from the fear of what if I can't make ends meet? What if I can't grow this big enough to provide for my family and take care of my responsibilities? What did you do in your mindset shift to, to make sure that fear didn't become like a heavy burden.

Part of it was having a good relationship with the, you know, the manager or the supervisor of the store who, you know, called all the shots having that relationship there. I knew I could kind of walk back in should I need to. So I kind of had that maybe in my back pocket. But I think the first thing I did was to surround myself with people in kind of like networking circles such as, like Master Networks, where we have, we. Where you and I had met was just people who kind of had these answers, who've had these struggles, who've had these fears, and they know how to get over that, or you know how to like, sidestep all the landmines that might lay in front of you. And it, it went from, instead of working with these people because they work here, I get to choose who I want to surround myself with. And that, you know, that made a big difference.

Oh, that's such a gift, isn't it?

Absolutely.

Oh, that's so good. I remember this year our conversation is taking me back to when I left my full time job. I was in marketing and HR for a bank, a small locally owned bank, eons ago, it seems like forever ago. And when I went to give my notice, the thing that I just knew in the back of my mind is that I'm employable. So if, if my new, you know, business I was starting at the time didn't work out, I was employable, someone would hire me. I would just figure it out. You know, there wasn't a lot of worrying about the what ifs. It was just, I'll figure it out and it's going to happen, I'm going to make it happen. And just, you know, a giant leap of faith for sure. And it sounds like you had kind of the similar mindset.

Yeah. And, and one thing I try to, that I try to do every so Often in kind of goes parallel with that is to ask yourself, you know, if you were to be your own competition, what would you do differently? And it helps you. It helps your mind to kind of think of different things to do. If someone bought your business out and you still want to do the same thing, well, you have to do things differently now.

Oh, I love that. That is, that's awesome. Really, really powerful point. So how did you land on helping aspiring authors to book their. To put their books out into the world? What does that process look like? If someone listening has been. Has a book on their heart that they have been writing it in their head, they would love to get this book out into the world. How do you help aspiring authors accomplish that?

It's just to back up with your first question of how I kind of fell into wanting to do this or, or, you know, getting into this field as deep as I did. It started for me when I got a Kindle for Christmas. When Kindles came out in 2009, I. I didn't, you know, I didn't know what they were. I didn't understand them. And then I was gifted one. And what kind of attracted me to it was the wealth of writers that were now available. Where before, you can only get the books that are in the library or the books that are in Barnes and Noble. And that's about all your selection was. And that just opened up a wealth of authors that you've never heard of that you could just kind of search by genre or, or, you know, other parameters. And the one thing I found was quite a few of these authors were basically clicking a few buttons and being published, and they were skipping editing. And, you know, I don't mind that I spent $10 for your book, but I do mind that I just spent like an hour trying to get through your book. And it's just I have to correct everything in my head while I read. And so I put together, you know, just a small business plan. I was in a very large writing group. I was actually the president of a writing group in Fort Myers, Florida. There were 200 plus members in the group. And I got together with five people who I knew did editing within that group and said, I have an idea. Tell me if I'm on the right track. And I laid it out for them after one of the meetings. And not only did they all think that I had something there, they all signed on and wanted to be editors under my umbrella with me.

Oh.

So I knew I kind of had something from there. I just scaled from we do editing and proofreading all the way up through now. We do everything from, you know, ghost writing, the editing, proofreading, book cover design, book design, ISBN registration, marketing. We do everything now for an author. But the main reason why I want to probably help authors is when I was doing my own books early on, I didn't have anyone to help me. I was just figuring out things as I went. And one of the things I did was I had my first book came out in 1996. So in 1995, I actually got a job in a warehouse of a publishing house. So while I was there for that year, well, I met designers, I met graphic artists for book covers, I met the sales team, I was friends with the editors. And these are people, you know, we're going out for happy hour, we're talking during the day, and I got to meet all of them and pick all their brains. So I always kind of say that was my education, except I got paid for it versus paying for my education.

Very wise, very smart.

And that's where I kind of learned everything. And that's kind of what I want to do to give back is, you know, someone's like, oh, I've written a book, I don't know what to do. And it's like, well, at least I'm, you know, one of quite a few people who, you know what, I know what to do. And I not only know what to do, but I have all the connections necessary for everything that you need to do and just able to, just to help them out. So if someone has a book that they've written and they're not sure what to do, I mean, that's the conversation we have. And it's, and it comes down to, you know, what's the purpose of your book? Why did you write it? What's the plan? Is this just for personal use? Is this something you want to use to scale your business? I mean, depending what their goal is for the outcome of their book, you know, what are they aiming to achieve that's going to make the difference of what do we do with their book?

That's so important. That's so important. So how, how do authors find you? How do. I mean, I realize you have a website, etc. But how did you build your business to the point of, of people finding you and h you and how great that we work virtually right, that we can do things through zoom and, and don't have to worry about in person meetings? That's so helpful. I would, I think, for your, your craft as, as well as mine to be able to work virtually. And it just opens up, you know, the corners of the world to you and your business. So how do you find people? And do you have a style or type of author that you typically work with or do you work with all kinds of.

Yeah, I would say mainly, I find authors through. Mainly through referrals. And I would say tied with that is definitely networking. So the more people who know me and know what I do, you know, they're the ones that have kind of like their eyes and ears and boots on the ground when they're out and about, if they hear someone. I've always wanted to write a book or I've written a book, I don't know what to do, or everyone tells me I should write a book, but I don't even know where to start. You know, they hear those things, they think, oh my God, you need to meet Tim, I can introduce you. And then I'm getting that intro email of, you know, hi Tim, meet Bob and etc, and you know, kind of running with it from there. As far as who do we work with? I would say our main client is just business owners. I say we do business books for business owners and it's to, it's basically an outlet or a resource for them that they can have this book and it can help scale their business. Because, you know, I say, yes, you have a website, yes, you have a podcast and you know, you might go out networking. But I mean, a book is such a different, you know, it's a different tool to have in your belt that you can get clients with. Because you know, what I say, how a book is different is people schedule time to read. They get in their comfortable chair, they turn off the tv, they turn off their phone, they, they have their drink, whether it's, you know, wine or water, and they commit a couple hours to read. No one says, I'm going to spend the next two hours on Pamela's website and read all about her. No one's going to do that. But if you have, but if you have a book, they will do that. And if it takes them two or three times to sit in that chair and read through your book, well, you just had two or three conversations with this person and you're not even in the room and they already feel a connection to you.

Right. Powered conversations, very high powered, intimate conversations, quite honestly.

Yep.

Oh, that's fantastic. That's such a great way to think about it and great way to see it. Do you see a difference, Tim, in A popularity of the physical book compared to an ebook versus an audiobook.

From what I see. I know audiobooks are definitely on the rise because for a lot of people, it's something they could do while they're exercising, while they're driving. It's, you know, where, you know, you're not going to read a physical book while you're, you know, trying to cook dinner or driving your car. Obviously.

Hopefully not.

Yeah, exactly. I find the, the difference between like a paperback book and an ebook, I think comes down to the reader. Like, I myself, I love the physical book. I like that feel of turning the page. I, you know, I just enjoy feeling like, oh, you, you can kind of gauge when you're halfway through or how much of the book is left where an ebook, you know, you really, you really don't see it. You could, you could have like a little statistic show up and show you where you're at, but at the same time, I could get a paperback book and be like, oh, my God, this is printed so small, my glasses just don't magnify enough for me to read it. So then I'm kind of forced to be like, I need to get the Kindle, which is nice because I can control the font size, which helps me to read. And also it being backlit, it's like, you know, I could be lying in bed and have my Kindle on and I could be reading and I'm not disturbing my wife, like turning on a light, lighting up the whole room, because I want to read my book, my paperback.

Right.

So there's pros and cons to each and, you know, everybody. You know, some people like paperbacks for a certain reason. Some people like their audio books and some people like their ebooks, and it's just a matter of, you know, having each of those available so that you're not really leaving any reader out as, you know, you're saying, hey, I have a book and what do you have it in ebook? No. Well, you might have just lost someone reading your book, getting your content and, you know, maybe connecting with you for, you know, for business or giving you a referral.

That's a really good point. That's a great point. I was curious of what your opinion was there, and I'm with you, Tim. I love a physical book. There's something about the feel of the COVID I'm very texture driven as well. The feel of the COVID the smell of the pages, the. The physical turning of the pages. I'm definitely with you on the physical book and I have a tendency to make them my own. I highlight, I make notes, I bend corners. I mean I kind of make it my own. And you never want to read a book after me because I've, I've kind of made it my too much my own. It's not shareable once I'm done with it. But I, I'm with you on having that physical book.

Yep.

So you had mentioned. Yeah, you had mentioned. So you have JWC Publishing and that's been your full time business since 2012. Congratulations on that. You mentioned having a couple a startup startups happening and a couple launches happening in 2025. What's going on?

Yeah, myself and another publisher who I've been working with probably for, I don't know, 10 plus years just doing books together where my side is handling like editing and proofreading, his side is handling layout, book cover and design work. We've gotten together and created something called the Our Legacy book series. And what I had, what he had, well, I had realized it and he was kind of sticking his toe into the water a little bit with this. And then when we got together we kind of, you know, made it, made it what we wanted it to be. And so far it's working. But we realized that there's a lot of people who have just like a story which is a memoir, not a complete memoir, but they just have a story of how their grandparents met or they have, someone might have a story of their time, you know, in the army and maybe they were in Vietnam for a few years and they just have that little snippet of their life that they want to preserve and they want to share it with family. Well, when they're reaching out to hybrid publishers such as myself and others, obviously they can't justify spending 30, 50, you know, even 70 grand to have a book written and published and all, you know, and all the other parts of the process just to get 50 copies for friends and family and that's it. It obviously does not make sense. So we put together a team with a couple ghost writers, an editor and a proofreader and then himself and myself and we were able to put together this, our legacy book where if they want it ghost written right now it's 86.99. If they write the book themselves, it's 46.99. And that includes everything from start to finish with 50 copies being delivered to your door. And it's for those people that just want to do that short memoir about their grandfather or a couple books we've had are people who are at the onset of dementia or Alzheimer's and they want to tell their story and have that for future generations before they can't remember their stories. And you know, they've put in their books together and it's just something that's, that's just very affordable versus, like I said, versus that 30,000 plus price tag that's perfect for the business owner who has a strategy. They got some marketing plan in place and they're going to use that book to scale their business and get on stages and speak and do a lot of other things, that's an easy investment. But again, for the person that just wants to share it with friends and family and you know, it's not going on Amazon, they're not trying to be a best seller. It's just something they want to share it. You know, it just works out perfectly. So we're kind of, we haven't launched yet, but we've already done six books in it. So we're, we're definitely tapping the market and we got our team together and we're doing that. The second thing is with a colleague of mine, a fellow ghostwriter, where he has gone through a lot of programs and training courses pertaining to ghost writing and he found them all to be the same. Where you join, you spend a few thousand dollars and then it's just in your Inbox, you get PDFs, you get videos, you can't, you can't get in touch with the person that you signed up with that you paid. And it's all kind of go at your own pace. And if you're not really a motivated self starter getting on your calendar, you don't go through all that stuff. It just clogs up your inbox and that's where it sits. And he put together what he calls an elite curriculum and he put together a thing called the Academy of Ghost Writing. And this is to help ghost writers go from gig to gig to being basically a professional to, to, to ghostwriters having a professional ghost writing business. And when I saw that he had done this and, and he and I had been connected for a while, I reached out saying I would, you know, I would love to be one of the instructors and anything you need to teach, I'll let you know what I know. And if it works, I would love to do that. And he said, it's funny you reached out because I was just writing you an email. I want you to be my 50 partner in this.

Oh my gosh. Oh.

I was like, yeah. So I was like, oh my God. So you know, we together now, we've kind of redone the, the kind of like the course outline and everything that's involved. And what we're providing, which is very different, is the classes are all live. So there's going to be a group class and then individual two on one classes because you're getting two entrepreneur slash ghostwriters coaching you. We're going to do like a mock discovery call where you're with a client and you're trying to sell them your ghost writing business to say, hey, you need, you need a book. And you know, will they sign up and do a book with you? And we're also providing at the end of the six weeks, we also provide three months of one on one with. We help you land a client or two in that three month time period. And we're talking like high ticket clients. And my partner that I'm doing this with, he actually went and signed up to do this three month thing. And in two weeks, less than two weeks, he had a 65k client sign on with him to do a book. So we're, you know, we're not, we're not going to do anything unless we've done it ourselves for the students. So.

You know what I love the most, Tim, about our conversation so far is every business that you've created has been created from the space of there's a need in the marketplace. There is a problem that you're going to fix. It started with that Kindle in 2009. You got the Kindle and it was like a train wreck. I can, and I can imagine someone as knowledgeable as yourself reading an unedited book was probably like poking your eye out. It was probably really painful for you to read that. But every business you've created has come from where you've seen a void in the marketplace. And that is where some of the most brilliant, intentional successful businesses are birthed are from noticing that there's a need all the way back to that Kindle.

Yeah, no, absolutely. And, and that's one of the things like both he and I with the, the academy of ghostwriting being in these kind of networking groups and circles and masterminds with other ghostwriters. You know, we can't even count how many times we've heard someone say, oh, I hopped on a call with so and so. We talked for like an hour. And then when I got to my price point, they said they can't afford it because they're just like, I can't do $45,000 just because I want 20 copies of a book about how my grandparents met, which is an incredible story.

Which is a story that needs to be told and preserved.

Yeah. And, and so that's why we thought of, you know, that's, that's where he kind of thought of the academy saying, you know, some of the ghostwriters, they're just kind of either not getting the point or they're dropping the ball or they've kind of just jumped into ghostwriting, but they, you know, they haven't had any training. It would be like if I just hop behind the wheel of an 18 wheeler. Well, I know how to drive, but I don't know how to drive that.

Right. It might be a little bit different than your sedan.

Exactly. So.

Oh, that's such a good, that's such a good analogy and such a good example. And I think too, when you are in a business or a field where the product that you create is relatively personal, like you are the product, people have a really hard time crossing the finish line and selling that product if it's, if it's personal to you. And as a ghostwriter, I can't think of anything else that would be much more personal than, than writing somebody else's story.

Oh, absolutely. And for the, for the author on the other end, I mean, like in our circles of ghostwriters, a lot of people call it ghost therapy because you become sometimes that person's therapist because, you know, they're, they're telling their story of, you know, how they overcame addiction or how they got out of, you know, a bad relationship or whatever it might be. Whereas the business ones too, even, they have their stories of kind of like their struggles and how, you know, I had a partner, he robbed me blind, you know, those kind of things.

So. Absolutely. Wow. That's fantastic. I love that. So let's pause for just a second, Tim, because what I want you to do is share with the audience how to get in touch with you on each of those entities. So we have the JWC Publishing. How can someone get in touch with you to talk about publishing?

Yeah, that would be my email address, which is Tjacobs J A C O b s, the @Symbol and then Jacobs wc.com. and that could be used for any three of the businesses, the JWC publishing, as well as the. Our Legacy and the Academy of Ghostwriting. We don't have websites up for those other two yet.

Okay, perfect, perfect. So I want, I want people to have the opportunity to reach out to you or go to your website and get a little more information just about yourself and how to contact you and how to bring what you're offering into the fold. Because between the publishing and the legacy writing, which I think is so powerful and so important, and the idea that you and a colleague have partnered up to teach and train other ghostwriters how to create a successful business is so, so valuable.

Yeah, we're definitely looking forward to it. We actually, I don't know when this podcast will launch, but we have a webinar we're doing on the 15th of this month.

Excellent.

Kind of just like a open Q and A after we do a short little presentation of, you know, what the academy is all about.

That's phenomenal. Well, congratulations to you and your colleagues, Tim. This is just fantastic. So I'm going to shift gears just a teeny bit. As you look back at your life as being an entrepreneur, what was one of your biggest struggles in business ownership?