S3 E2 Learning to Adapt and Collaborate as an Author

05/25/21 • 40 min

Today’s Invisible Stories guest is speaker, writer, scholar, and facilitator Dr. Joy Wiggins, who, through the company she founded, promotes racial and gender justice through compassion and open dialogue to ignite equitable, empowering and transformative practices. Joy Wiggins is the co-author alongside Kami Anderson of the book From Sabotage to Support: A New Vision for Feminist Solidarity in the Workplace. As CEO of Joy Wiggins, PhD: Equity and Inclusion Consulting, Joy provides speaking, facilitation, and mentorship opportunities on the topics of power, privilege, racial and gender justice and liberation. She has spent the last 20 years working on understanding our cultural identities and perceptions of how we navigate the world through our cultural identities.

In this podcast, Joy and I delve into the process she went through with co-authoring a book, coming from a mostly academic writing background. She discusses:

What it was like to partner with seasoned author Dr. Anderson, and how she learned to adapt from writing academically to creating their joint book on intersectionality and female solidarity.
How she was able to strike a balance between explaining concepts succinctly within her writing to guide her readers, while also learning to let go and not include every detail.
The collaborative process of working with a developmental editor, and the flexibility that comes with getting to choose an editor.
How Joy had to pivot in her ideas for a second book once COVID-19 hit, and how the pandemic has influenced the way she is researching and writing about women during this period of time.

In this podcast, Joy and I delve into the process she went through with co-authoring a book, coming from a mostly academic writing background. She discusses:

What it was like to partner with seasoned author Dr. Anderson, and how she learned to adapt from writing academically to creating their joint book on intersectionality and female solidarity.
How she was able to strike a balance between explaining concepts succinctly within her writing to guide her readers, while also learning to let go and not include every detail.
The collaborative process of working with a developmental editor, and the flexibility that comes with getting to choose an editor.
How Joy had to pivot in her ideas for a second book once COVID-19 hit, and how the pandemic has influenced the way she is researching and writing about women during this period of time.

Previous Episode

S3 E1 - Turning Adversity into Advantage and Thriving During Disruptive Times

Today’s Invisible Stories guest is executive coach, public speaker, and author Gerry Valentine. With 27 years of fortune 100 leadership experience, Gerry is a trusted advisor to corporate executives, entrepreneurs, and high performing individuals of all kinds. His book, The Thriving Mindset: Tools for Empowerment in a Disruptive World, was published in March 2021 by Publish Your Purpose Press.

In this podcast, Gerry and I talk about what it was like for him to publish his book during a global pandemic. He wrote the book prior to the COVID outbreak, but his work happened to be directly related to how to thrive through disruptive, difficult circumstances. Gerry discusses his emotional experience with writing, something he wasn’t expecting to have when writing a business book. We talk about:

How Gerry rebranded his business and reworked his book so that it not only reflected his work, but also drew on more of his life, his personality, and his personal experiences.
The ways in which Gerry drew on his personal experiences with adversity to write a book that would appeal to many people from all walks of life.
How to take the words of destructive distractors, those people who sow doubt about what you can and can’t do, and turn it into fuel to push yourself to defy expectations.
How Gerry changed his mindset about his dyslexia, recognizing it as a learning difference, not as a learning disability, and how despite the setbacks he was able to use this to his advantage when writing and understanding the bigger picture of his book.

Next Episode

S3 E3: Build Yourself a Network of Supporters for your Author Path

Today’s Invisible Stories guest is the multitalented Elayne Fluker. Elaine is a coach, speaker, entrepreneur, and advocate and leader for women looking to grow their businesses. She is the author of the brand new book, Get Over ‘I Got It’, which launched in early May 2021. According to her book, too many ambitious women strive to accomplish all their goals alone, leading to dangerous levels of stress and anxiety. Elayne’s book teaches women how a strong support network and meaningful connections are crucial not only to long-term success, but to peace of mind. As a coach and advisor, Elayne helps her clients get over what she calls “I Got It!” Syndrome, clarifying their vision, growing their support network, and determining what that next chapter can look like for them.

In this podcast, Elayne and I talk about empowering women of color, and her story-telling roots. Elayne gives us insight into:

How she uses her platform to amplify the voices of women of color, particularly through her podcast Support Is Sexy.
How she managed to overcome plenty of rejection when it came to her book, and to persevere and find herself a trustworthy publishing agent. She also talks about using her industry knowledge of publishing to navigate getting a traditional publishing deal.
The methods she used to increase her wordcount and enhance the content of the book without adding fluff or filler. She added meaningful content by taking inspiration from the women she interviewed.