Author Your Dream

In today's episode, Monique Mensah shares about building a ready-to-buy audience. She talks about the mindset shift that authors need to make and how they need to go from author to publisher if they want to make money with their books.

1:20 Monique's Story

8:41 Authors write books, businesses sell them

12:02 Why you need to build a ready-to-buy audience

30:24 Brand awareness

36:10 Sharing the ups and the downs

38:56 The Role of Social Media

42:35 Author Action Point

Visit https://authoryourdream.com/episode/ready-to-buy-audience/ for more

We have all heard the statistics about people making and breaking their new year's resolutions. It's nothing new, and if you are like me, you're probably one of those numbers. These resolutions don't work because, more often than not, they are too generalized. I want to lose weight. I want to be more outgoing. I want to finish my book. If you don't have a plan on how you are going to lose weight, be more outgoing than your resolutions are as good as the wishes you made when blowing out your birthday candles.

In this episode, Kenny shares how to create an Author Growth Plan or AGP for short. An author growth plan is a road map to help you move forward in your author journey.

In this episode, I talk with Emily Layne about how to write a book in 30 days. Emily has written several books in just 21 days, and she shares some tips and tricks to help you write yours. She shares how she writes fast and writes quality books that have been picked up by a traditional publisher.

01:48 Emily’s story

05:55 Process of writing a book in a month

09:54 How do you create a quality book in a short time frame

19:42 Staying motivated

27:00 Tips to be more productive

35:09 The Prep before the writing

40:20 Author Action Point

“I would say just to start. Whether for you, that does not look like plotting. If you think the idea of plotting is something you cannot fathom, that’s okay. Start writing. If you think plotting is something that would work for you, start plotting and. don’t stop. That’s, I think, something that is one of the hardest things for writers and for myself.
You get this shiny new idea, and you’re like, oh, I’m so excited. I’m gonna write this book, and the people are gonna love it. And then you hit the first roadblock, and you’re like, okay, well, I’ll leave that for later. I’ll come back to it at some other time, and then you don’t come back to it. So I think to start, set a goal and don’t stop and don’t give up until you have achieved that goal. Whatever that goal happens to be.”

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In this episode, Kenny talks with Abigail K. Perry about writing query letters. Abigail is the host of the Lit Match podcast, a show that helps writers find the best literary agent for their writing and literary career.

Abigail talks with us about what a query letter is and some mistakes you should avoid when writing them and has some great advice on choosing comparable titles. She also talks about the three paragraphs every query letter should have; the hook, the book, and the cook.

If you are looking to publish traditionally, this episode will add so much value to your writing journey.

Highlights:

• What a query letter is
• Doing your research
• Mistakes to avoid
• Format of a letter
• Comparable titles
• Expressing your voice
• Author Platform

Author Action Point:

Do your research! Research the literary agent and the agency. This will set you up for the most success. It gives you a place to find a connection with someone who may just be the most important person in your writing career.

My guest today was referred to me by Carla Holt from the Art of the Fight Scenes episode. When I first reached out to this person, I was looking at having him discuss sword fighting. I wanted to help those who have them in your books to write them better. What I got was something so much more. Through my guest's experience and passion, you will learn how swords and sword fighting can help you not only create conflict but also build your world and reveal your character's personality. Even if you are not writing this kind of scene, I would encourage you to give this episode a listen.

02:48 Kirk's journey

8:18 What a sword is made up of

16:20 Terminology authors should know

21:47 How to take care of a sword

25:45 Common types of swords and body type

35:06 The balance of a sword

40:10 Sword fighting during WW2

43:45 Is it easy for a character to wield a type of sword they've never used

47:51 What to ask yourself when tackling a fight scene

50:55 Writing realistic vs. fantasy

53:07 Fighting multiple opponents

58:04 Fighting in and out of armor

01:06:21 What do authors get wrong

01:12:24 Should you include quirks in a character's fighting style

01:18:40 Resources

01:21:59 Author Action Point

01:23:28 Connect with Kirk

Visit https://authoryourdream.com/episode/sword-fighting/ for more resources and show notes.