Morgan MacDonald ( https://twitter.com/morgangmac) : If you want to talk about writing books, you’re in the right spot. And if you’re on the replay YOU can give hearts too! It’s just as fun! Tap the screen. It’s awesome. Try it. And if you’re not already following me, hit the “Peri Buddy” down there to change that “plus” to a “check”, and you’ll know when I’m live.
Hey guys! Welcome. As you’re joining in hop on in the chat, [and] let me know your name, and where you’re tuning in from. I think I saw Katie Lance come in here, which is AWESOME. She might now be on the app, but Katie Lance, if you’re in here I love your Scopes.
CHarlinoKR ( https://twitter.com/charlinho_kr ) : Helloo Morgaannn!
Morgan MacDonald ( https://twitter.com/morgangmac) : … Hello, Charles… Welcome guys. So today I would like to talk about, “Why don’t more people write books?” [laughter] This is something of a mystery to me. I am a writing coach, an editor, and author, and I would love to see MORE people write books. And so I, kind of, want to throw out some suggestions, and maybe some of these will resonate with you, and you can reconsider why you haven’t written YOUR book yet.
So welcome guys. Who else is in here? I’ve seen some names pop in. Charles said hello. Who else is here?… I’m going to start peeking at you guys…Lauren is here. Hey Lauren… I’m going to call you out. If you don’t say “Hi” in my chat I call you out [laughter] .
AwakenTheBones ( https://twitter.com/awakenthebones ) : What's up from Kansas City!! I'm Deborah
Morgan MacDonald ( https://twitter.com/morgangmac) : …Kansas City. Hey Deborah… Well guys, I have been talking some MAJOR book writing the last couple of days. I’ve just come off of a DUO of webinars, which usually I only do webinars in a singleton, so having two back-to-back was awesome and challenging.
RocketFan2414 ( https://twitter.com/RocketFan2414 ) Greetings from New Zealand
Morgan MacDonald ( https://twitter.com/morgangmac) : … New Zealand, rocket fan! What’s your name? I want to go to New Zealand. I want to be a hobbit, but I don’t think I can be a hobbit. But I can VISIT the hobbits in New Zealand [laughter]. Isn’t that [what] half of the [tourists] in New Zealand want to do? I also want to go skydiving. I think I can do that in New Zealand.
AwakenTheBones ( https://twitter.com/awakenthebones ) : Where in NZ?? I used to live there!! :)
Morgan MacDonald ( https://twitter.com/morgangmac) : …Ooo, and AwakenTheBones is from New Zealand as well, or lived there. You guys should chat [laughter].
RocketFan2414 ( https://twitter.com/RocketFan2414 ) : I'm just kidding I'm from Houston.
Morgan MacDonald ( https://twitter.com/morgangmac) : …Oh, Rocket Fan! I’m from Houston too. I’m in Houston right now.
AwakenTheBones ( https://twitter.com/awakenthebones ) : I love books.
Morgan MacDonald ( https://twitter.com/morgangmac) : … You love books… But I DO want to go to New Zealand. I do like Houston.
Okay. guys. Let’s dive in. I am Morgan Gist MacDonald. I’m a writing coach, an editor, and author. And I help people who want to write a book – but don’t know where to start – write their book! I walk with them chapter-by-chapter …
LuisaWeyne ( https://twitter.com/LuisaWeyne ) : Hello from Brazil!!
Morgan MacDonald ( https://twitter.com/morgangmac) : … Hello Luisa Weyne from Brazil. Welcome… I work with them chapter-by-chapter, from vague idea, to first draft, to finished manuscript, and it is a really, really fun process. If you have never written a book before, I HIGHLY recommend it. It is awesome [laughter]. It’s a little challenging, [and] an exercise in persistence, but you learn a lot about yourself, and if you’re a business owner you learn a HECK of a lot about your business.
So how do you write a book? That’s actually [what I did during] these last couple of days [in] these webinars I just mentioned, I walked people through a 12 step process of how to write their book. If you want to know more about this 12 step process you can go to
http://www.paperravenbooks.com/12steps
And I’ve got a freebie for you there. That’s where I put my blog, and my Periscopes, and everything like that goes up on: http://www.paperravenbooks.com That’s where I run by business and my blog.
So, why don’t more people write books? This is a mystery to me, honestly [laughter], because I have seen the BENEFITS of writing a book. If you’re a business owner books help you [to], first of all, CLARIFY what your business is, who you serve, how you serve them uniquely, and helps distill that– you know that sense of purpose that you have when you start your business? Writing the book helps you DISTILL that sense of purpose into a message that you can communicate later. So through the process of writing the book, and writing a blurb about the book…
MIguel Rubbio ( https://twitter.com/MiguelangRubio ) : Hey Morgan
Morgan MacDonald ( https://twitter.com/morgangmac) : … Hey Miguel! Welcome. You had a Scope earlier today. I haven’t caught the replay yet, but it looked like you’re on fire now. You’re Scope addicted… Thanks for the hearts…
So when you start a business, a lot of times you have a VAGUE idea of, kind of, what you want to do in your business. But then if you have been practicing for a while and bringing in some clients… On fire, I like it…. And you’re not sure where the next level is; the next step up, and you’re looking for some strategy. Honestly, the process of writing a book about your business to the clients that you serve helps you immensely in like distilling your core message and core offering… …Thanks for the hearts guys…
Then as you go through this – almost like – process of self discovery, and you hone your message, you find yourself speaking much more clearly and directly to those you want to serve. So that comes out through the book. …Thanks for the hearts guys [laughter] This is like I’M on fire now [laughter] – [and] NOT ONLY the book, but the publicity about the book, the blurbs. You start doing interviews to promote the book, and suddenly you are speaking much more clearly and coherently about your business.
Okay. So that’s ONE way. But also, imagine that you are really passionate about a cause. Maybe you are really passionate about education. Right? Okay. Education is this HUGE big thing to be passionate about. If you start writing a book about why we should fundraise and promote public attention toward this cause of education, and you start writing a book about it, suddenly you’re going to start distilling your own passion about it. Because your book is either going to be about inner city America, or Guatemala. Those are two very different types of books [with] the same general passion of education, but suddenly you hone your message, hone your interest, and you can start gaining a lot more momentum around your cause.
That’s just an example. I mean, there are so many different types of causes that you could be raising money, or awareness, or volunteers, for. Writing a book about it really helps to distil that. A good example of how this can work is Adam Braun, who is the founder of “Pencils of Promise”. HIs nonprofit is building schools in third world countries. He wrote a book called, I think, “Pencils of Promise”, and after he wrote that book he has been in touch with so many entrepreneurs, and people who now are giving him money and helping him build these schools, than he ever could have without the book. So yeah, it’s, kind of, his business – his nonprofit – but he’s been in touch with so many more influential people because of writing the book.
Okay. Then there’s this whole genre of, like, memoir, and whatever…
MIguel Rubbio ( https://twitter.com/MiguelangRubio ) : Katch me for some reason didn't grab my last scope
Morgan MacDonald ( https://twitter.com/morgangmac) : … Miguel says, “Katch didn't grab my last scope” …Well, that’s weird. Are you signed up for an ACCOUNT, or do you still have to use the hashtag #katch . I don’t THINK Katch has ever missed any of mine, but that’s a good thing to be on the lookout for though…. So there’s this genre also about like memoir, and personal experience. and, kind of, almost advice giving. And a lot of people are drawn to this category, and I really think it’s actually a helpful category.
Some people, when I start talking to them about things like memoir and their own personal experience, they’re like, “Yeah, but I just don’t know if I’m THAT SPECIAL. I don’t know if I’m special enough to write a book about this thing.” And my, sort of, pushback would be, “Well, you’re special enough to have a conversation with someone about it.” If you find yourself talking about your life experience, or the thing you’re passionate about, or your interest; if you start bringing it up in conversation, and you find yourself talking about it to friends and family, and they are interested, and they’re like, “Wow! I never thought of it like that.” Boom! You have something interesting to say. And if you’re going to say it to your friends and family, why not write a book about it, and share it with everybody. Participate in the conversation.
MIguel Rubbio ( https://twitter.com/MiguelangRubio ) : I put the video on YouTube so I won't lose video.
Morgan MacDonald ( https://twitter.com/morgangmac) : … Oh, MIguel says, “I put it on YouTube.” … Oh, that’s a good idea. I’ll find your YouTube channel… So we get hung up , I think, on like whether our ideas are worth writing a book about possibly because we have such cultural expectations about what a book is. But, honestly, the definition of what a book IS is CHANGING. So now we’ve got a lot more of these shorter formats that are easier to digest on electronic devices, right? Our Kindles, and what-not. So the PURPOSE of books has changed a lot, and HALF of the purpose of a book NOW is a conversation starter, [raising] new ideas, and meeting new people. So that’s almost a new point of a book – forming relationships – finding each other. So how do we even find people who are interested in the same things? Well, we Google search, and we Amazon search. And if we look on Amazon for books that we’re interested in, and we find your 20,000 word ebook, and we read it, we’re like, “Wow! I’ve got to get in touch with that person!” And you email them, and before you know it you’ve started a new relationship with someone that you never would have had you not written that book.
So this is, kind of, puzzling to me why we don’t ALL write more books, because there are so many benefits. And people, I think, also get hung up on like, “Well, don’t you have to sell a lot of copies to make a book worthwhile?” And I would say you’ll probably more than you think you will, first off. And [secondly], how many new relationships do you think you need in your life to make [it] more full and rich? I don’t think you NEED millions of new relationships. But when someone reads your book that IS forming a new relationship. And people DO email you, they DO reach out to you on social media, [and] they DO begin this conversation with you. So if you think your life can be enriched by a few thousand more relationships.- and they MIGHT end up being influencers in your industry, or leaders in whatever you’re interested in, or colleagues, or clients. If THOSE relationships can benefit your life, write the book. Just write the book! It’s not that hard [laughter] . Yes, it takes some time and persistence, but there is no glass ceiling for writing a book. LIterally, anyone can write a book, even if you need to talk your book out I mean, Stephen Hawking wrote a book. He’s super smart, but he was in a wheelchair, and could barely move more than one finger when he wrote his book. Have yáll seen the biography of Stephen Hawking’s life? Anyway, you should check out that movie. It’s very impressive.
Whether you feel like you’re not smart enough to write a book, or physically incapable of writing a book, I would challenge you to at least try. Just try. Aim for 5,000 words. That will be my assignment for you. You can write 5,000 words in one week. If you write 5,000 words in one week, and decide you don’t want to write a book, fine. But if you’re curious, that’s my challenge. From today, seven days forward, write 5,000 words, [and then] come back and tell me whether or not you want to write your book.
Okay guys. Thank you for hanging out. I’ve got to run. Have a fantastic day, and start writing your book. Talk to you later.
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