What's Your Story?

If your passion is writing, speaking, or teaching because you want to make a contribution and impact the lives of others, self-publishing can be a richly rewarding endeavor. 

Since you’re reading this post, most likely you’re passionate about writing — and perhaps you’ve considered publishing before. Today we have more opportunities than ever to get our work into print, online, and distributed as e-books, yet authors have to do even more than before to market their own writing and to get the attention of readers. 

Just as every author’s voice is distinctive, each author’s path to self-publishing will be unique to him or her. It takes faith—and belief in your dream—to put in the effort to reach the end goal. Yet no one will know how long it took; they will only know how well it is done. 

Every new author has difficulty with what to include in his or her book. Some are tempted to write a memoir or autobiography because they’ve overcome a life-threatening accident, a unique challenge, or mind-blowing circumstances. Many have emerged stronger and wiser because of it and want to share their life lessons with others. I understand — I’ve been there too.

That said, unless you are a well-known celebrity, a popular speaker, or already have a large platform, memoir can be a tough genre to crack. Sorry, most readers don’t care about your story! They’ll want to read your story and buy your book only because you can solve their problem, give them a solution, ease their anxiety, or quell their fears. 

Remember: It’s not about you! It’s all about your readers…

It takes a large dose of skill and artistry to write a full-on memoir that does not offer the reader an immediate pay-off. There’s a fine line between writing that is self-serving and serving your readers. That said, there are ways to strike just the right balance to include the relevant parts of your story…along with solving your readers’ problems, giving them solutions, easing their anxieties or quelling their fears. 

Include the parts of your personal story in the book if it helps the reader understand why they should read it, what it could do for them, and to make you more relatable. We all love a good story. Stories are engaging — and people remember lessons through story and example. These can be your stories, as well as the stories of others, which you can include to support your thesis. 

Pop quiz: Think about one of your favorite books. What was your favorite part? Most likely it was something that impacted you emotionally — and deeply — through a scene or story. No matter what your story, there are artful ways to write using the five senses that will elicit strong feelings and make it memorable. The last thing you want to do is to make your readers feel sorry for you! 

It’s fine to share a hardship that you’ve overcome with grace and dignity, but mostly your readers want to see what you can do for them. Give them tools, lessons, and action steps….not a sob story! 

If you want to include parts of your story, think beyond your own personal memories and feelings and begin to craft a journey of transformation that you can offer your readers:

1. When did you hear the call to get into your current work?
2. When/how did you face your biggest challenge(s)?
3. Describe your struggles and frustrations to find the solution(s) that turned your life in a new direction.
4. Breakthrough! What did you discover that changed your life?
5. Amazing results! What happened? What were the results?
6. Who else has received benefits from your process?

Once you have a solid outline, you can start writing sections or chapters.

You can also use mind-mapping or other right-brain exercises to bring more creativity and unexpected material to your work. Do your revisions on a chapter-by-chapter basis. To come back to a chapter months later is almost like starting over, and not very effective.

Remember, if you set out to write a personal transformation story, it’s not about you! It’s all about your readers:

What makes your story unique?

What does your book offer to readers?

What benefit would they get out of reading your book?

If you’re not sure if your book is a good idea, or you don’t have a clear plan, download my FREE GUIDE. 

If you want guidance and help creating a plan, schedule a FREE DISCOVERY CALL with me to see how I can help. 

Plan for Success!

Lindsay