It’s an honor to share with you this interview with another one of my LinkedIn connections, The Book Professor, Nancy Erickson.
Series: Book Industry Experts
This series showcases experts in the book industry including editors, ghostwriters, developmental editors, book coaches, publishing consultants, and other experts in the publishing industry.
Meet Kim O’Hara, Book Coach
Book Coach Kim O’Hara and I connected on LinkedIn a few years back. I’ve enjoyed getting to know her and can highly recommend her services.
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Tell us a little bit about your business.
I am a Book Coach to Best Sellers®. I stand by that title with my company A Story Inside because I have seen eight authors alone this past year get to that status with fantastic books I have helped them germinate from a dream to distribution.
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How would you describe your ideal client?
My ideal client is a go getter, ambitious, a thought leader and willing to invest in the best coaching for a book that can stand out among all the rest. They are seekers of higher education whether it be in the Navy, Masters programs, coaching programs or in their profession.
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How did things change for you in 2020 and how did you manage to weather through the year during the pandemic?
In 2020, I finally leaned in to what people have been telling me to do for years and started a podcast You Should Write A Book About That, which is exactly what my clients have said to them so many times before they finally surrender to the process and write the darn book! We are on all podcast platforms and very quickly passed the 15,000 subscribers mark in Covid. On the show are all kinds of folks with stories to tell, who may or may not write a book, but they get their moment in the sun.
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What is your favorite tip for using social media?
On social media I would not direct sell to people just because they are now in your network. I always wince when someone friends me, I accept and six seconds later I am receiving some blanket pitch for their program or event. Get to know me first. Ask me about my day, or my business, or even make small talk. People use social media as a knee jerk and it should be a longer game.
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What are your goals for 2021?
My goals for 2021 is to increase the amount of white glove clients I sell and have more access to my teachings and coaching with entry level offerings like Own Your Authorship which launched for 8 weeks on December 28th. Mindset work for people who are almost ready to make the leap into private book coaching but feel blocked.
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Where can authors find you?
Authors can find me everywhere! I am on LinkedIn and very accessible. I am also at my web site at astoryinside.com where an email is posted. If you sign up for my newsletter (which gives you a series of free teachings) you can know everything I am up to. Also, if someone has a great story, I would love to consider them for the podcast. It is funny how transparent I am and people still hold back to reach out.
https://www.facebook.com/Astoryinside
https://twitter.com/Astoryinside
https://www.instagram.com/astoryinside/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/astoryinside/
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Is there anything else you’d like to share?
I hope that everyone who is torn about becoming an author change agent reaches out so we can talk about how they can fully step into their greatness!
Bio
Book Coach to Best Sellers® Kim O’Hara knows how to get to the root of the story. She guides her clients from the dream of writing a best-selling book through the creation to publishing and marketing. Her authors have been on the Wall Street Journal top ten business books lists, USA Today top 150 and numerous Amazon #1 best seller lists as well as #1 in all of non-fiction. She has been a storyteller for over thirty years with a previous career as a movie producer and screenwriter. She also has a successful podcast You Should Write A Book About That® where she interviews fascinating people with a story to tell. Her own memoir Kicking Abuse in the Ass, faces the effects of sexual abuse denial and recovery. She can be found at astoryinside.com.
Meet Kristie Purner, Copywriter
Kristie Purner and I connected on LinkedIn several years ago. I’m pleased she agreed to provide an interview for this series.
• Tell us a little bit about your business.
I am a marketing strategist and copywriter for influencers, change-catalysts, culture-shifters, and lightworkers. I help businesses to ignite their impact so they can share their messages on a global scale.
• How would you describe your ideal client?
My ideal clients are heart-centered business owners such as coaches, healers, authors, speakers, and entrepreneurs.
• How did things change for you in 2020 and how did you manage to weather through the year during the pandemic?
Since most of my clients run online businesses, I really didn’t have to shift my business or marketing to reach them.
I was fortunate to attract some transformational leaders ready to launch new books and coaching programs. It felts amazing to shine the light on such luminary leaders.
• What is your favorite tip for using social media?
Give first always. When you share real value and your heart it always comes back to you. Also, expand your outreach. Join new groups where your ideal client hangs out.
• What are your goals for 2021?
Provide visionary leaders a high-profile platform to share their wisdom, enhance their brand, and attract their ideal audience.
Share books and programs dedicated to spreading messages of hope, love, inspiration, and positivity.
Deliver the best empowering content and resources to support individuals around the world in living deeper, more authentic, and inspired lives.
• Where can authors find you?
Right now I have a thriving practice working by referral only. So I don’t have a website, but you can connect with me on the social media links below.
www.linkedin.com/in/
https://www.facebook.com/
• Is there anything else you’d like to share?
Kristie Purner is a top marketing strategist and copywriter with a long track record of helping coaches, authors, speakers, and entrepreneurs to launch, grow, and scale their businesses. She is a bestseller author. Her two books, “Ignite your Impact” and “I Love My Life: A Mom’s Guide to Working from Home”. She has appeared on television and radio worldwide. Her business advice has been featured on CNN, NBC, ABC, Fox News, NPR Marketplace, Business Week, and others.
Meet Chrissy Das, founder of This Edited Life
A couple of years ago Chrissy and I connected on LinkedIn and I invited her to schedule a time we could chat to learn more about each other and how we could support one another in our businesses. We have even done some work together.
Tell us a little bit about your business.
I founded This Edited Life in 2015 to serve authors who need help communicating their best ideas. As a ghostwriter and editor, I help shape the books so that the author’s first impression is the best it can possibly be.
How would you describe your ideal client?
Most of the authors I work with are service-based business owners. They have been in their industry at least 5 or 10 years, often longer. The content they need are short-form pieces like blog posts and newsletters or long-form content like whitepapers and business books. The topics range across industry but what they have in common is a business focus, whether that be on their proprietary business process or on sales or leadership.
How did things change for you in 2020 and how did you manage to weather through the year during the pandemic?
2020 has been hard for a lot of my clients and it’s been challenging for me as well. My work life didn’t change very much because I have been working from home full-time for years. The main thing that’s changed is missing the in-person connections I used to enjoy. While I have clients all over the US, my local network is important to me and I’ve really missed
What is your favorite tip for using social media?
Focus on individual relationships. Make authentic friendships that you can take offline.
What are your goals for 2021?
My goals for 2021 are to do more of what I love. I am using this year to devote time to client projects
Where can authors find you?
www.linkedin.com/in/chrissydas
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
Putting your work out there can feel scary. If you want a hand making your words more powerful, I am happy to help.
Bio
As a ghostwriter, I enjoy working with authors on their content strategy and websites. My clients are often service-based business owners and members of the creative community who rely on me to help them better communicate their thought leadership and grow their business.
Meet Becca Braun, Ghostwriter for Business Professionals
I’ve been managing social media for Becca’s company, Braun Ink, for over a year. Becca is easy to work with and has a growing collection of great tools for business learners.
Tell us a little bit about your business.
The Braun Collection is a small, growing suite of True Business Adventure Tales, comic books, and conversation cards that intimately acquaint business enthusiasts with leaders across industries and geographies. Our action-packed tales and visual stories go deep fast to uncover the lives, backgrounds, obstacles, opportunities, and best and worst ideas of the decision-makers who have changed business.
For coaches and educators, our products include teaching tools such as teaching notes, presentations, short videos, and LIVE VIDEO VISITS with authors and subjects of the books and comic books. Readers of our books and comic books learn to synthesize and summarize key patterns of business executives, develop and support arguments on a variety of business topics, and show curiosity about the decisions made and not made by CEOs. In short, Braun Collection books, comic books, and conversation cards show decision-making as it is applied in practice by an executive across an organization throughout a career.
How would you describe your ideal client?
My ideal customer is a business enthusiast, business student, or business professional. Anyone who loves business adventures, reading books by and about CEOs, business comic books, case studies, conversation cards, and learning about the lives and decisions of executives and CEOs. People who really appreciate great writing and art. Our BizBio conversation cards are poetry and art combined.
How did things change for you in 2020 and how did you manage to weather through the year during the pandemic?
Not much changed in 2020. I did some video scripts instead of speeches. But my business model could adapt to an online world pretty easily. The main thing was the need to step back from business a fair amount, more than I anticipated, in order to help take care of my family. I have four teenagers and a few of them were struggling significantly with online school and the disruption to their worlds and schedules and social lives.
What is your favorite tip for using social media?
In my opinion, people shouldn’t post on social media just to post on social media. But, I think I am absolutely guilty, still, of doing that somewhat, so it’s a tip I probably should still listen to a bit more myself.
What are your goals for 2021?
I’m planning to do more honoring of my customers and clients in 2021 as I think that’s the best way to use social media. I’d also say high engagement with your audience is important, but again I don’t follow that advice very well, so . . . that’s something I should do more of in 2021.
Where can authors find you?
Braun Collection products for business enthusiasts can be found on Amazon. Business professors, students, and business professionals usually buy our products at www.braunink.com/
Bio
Becca is an innovator who combines business background with sharp analysis and driving creativity to achieve change and results for executives, entrepreneurs, and organizations. Becca has co-founded and led entrepreneurial companies, invested extensively in early stage technology companies, and worked at private equity funds. Early in her career, she worked as a management consultant and provided m&a advisory and shareholder value analysis services.
Becca is currently building the Braun Collection, a suite of True Business Adventure Tales, comic book case studies, and BizBio CEO conversation cards for a business enthusiast, business professional, and business student audience. As an avid writer who likes to support other entrepreneurs and executives, Becca has ghostwritten numerous executive memoirs and biographies, and storyboards; she has also ghostwritten hundreds of executive speeches. Further, she has been a blogger, served as a guest columnist for a leading newspaper, been a beat reporter for a daily newspaper, written award-winning academic works, served as writer and editor-in-chief of a travel guide, and published short fiction.