Now I know for sure, one of the biggest blocks to following through with your book and becoming an author is a lack of belief. A lack of belief that it will propel you forward as an entrepreneur or authorpreneur. A lack of belief that you will connect with readers who are hungry for your words. A lack of belief that this is a viable future.

You just can’t see it!

So when Elizabeth McCloud, a member of our community and visualization coach offered some advice specifically for authors, I took her up on it. She has plenty of advice on how to get in the flow and stay there.

Nothing nurtures your mind as much as meditation, because negotiating your way through a bunch of thoughts is never as powerful as just letting them go.

Think about it, how do you know if someone really loves you?

When you set them free.

The same goes for writing. You will have increased clarity, attention and inspiration if you let go and stop trying to figure everything out for 10 minutes a day.

Believe me, I know how addicted most of us are to working and never putting the pen down. (ME!) I was always afraid that if I didn’t go go go, I’d never get where I dreamed of being. The opposite is actually true.

For many of us, when we were growing up, day dreaming was considered a waste of time. In fact, until recently the vital role of dreaming during sleep wasn’t even understood. Now we know that both day dreaming and night dreaming are far from frivolous, in fact they’re essential for mental health and personal development.  They take us out of the dictates of external reality and move us into the abstract, metaphorical and imaginary. The realm of possibility.

Sometimes “possibility” gets a Polly Anna reputation. For instance, when people say, “anything is possible,” it might sound shallow or overly optimistic.

Not anymore!

Somewhere along the line I got the idea that there's a limited amount of money in the world. I'm really working on this.

It's like every time I spend a dollar, I'm never going to see a dollar again. I have three piggy banks stuffed full of $20 bills waiting for the Zombie apocalypse. Which would deem them all useless anyway.

Can't you just picture me running around, arms loaded with my piggy banks, during a Zombie apocalypse?

And yet I don't believe this about words. I know that if I finish one blog post, another blog post will be on it's way. As soon as I write a book, I can think of five more books I want to write. I realize that if I have an idea, that's a sign of more ideas to come. 

You know what, I'm am no longer working a day job (that's right, full time coaching and loving it) and I still get up at 4:30 AM three or four times a week.

Is that insane?

I've been asking people, and yes, they think it's a little insane. And that's exactly what's so great about it. 

So often when we're trying to do something extraordinary, like write a book, run a business, or distinguish ourselves in some way, we get bogged down in self-doubt. 

Honestly, it's an honor to hold someone's story while they work through the spiritual journey of writing a book. I know what it's like. And sometimes the depth of the meaning doesn't reveal itself completely until the end.  

That's how it happened for me.

My book began, years ago, on a tearful evening with my husband. But I had no idea what it meant at the time.

The process of writing a book is transformative, because it (literally and figuratively) makes you the author of your own life. The idea of claiming your story and empowering your life is nothing new, but it came up in our Facebook Group (and everybody knows how I love that Facebook group) so I just wanted to give my perspective on it. After all it illustrates how I run my author coaching program. 

The funny thing is, so many great stories begin in pain, conflict, and uncertainty. In a certain sense that's where the inspiration starts. Authors come to me with a tremendous amount of experience, that they're ready to put in a book, and give as a gift to the world.  

Gabrielle Garrett, my guest blogger this week, has found some amazing opportunities for herself travel writing. If you follow her blog, you'll see she leads a life full of adventure, humor and plenty of surprises. 

I'm really glad she reached out with a few tips this week, because her advice not only applies to travel writing, but it will help you find guest columns in high traffic blogs. Gabi is constantly growing professionally as a coach and a writer, and is currently working on her book.

Here are her ideas about how to explore the world in words, and really launch an exciting career!

If you've been sitting around waiting to be "chosen," I've got great news for you! You choose yourself!

One of my biggest struggles as I got ready to leave my job was getting rid of the need for approval. It was disconcerting how deep this habit ran. I wanted someone else to point out that I was good enough. I needed approval from my boss, my family, my publisher, to let me know I was accepted.

We're trained to seek approval. For the first two decades of our lives, we turn in papers to teachers, who mark them up and tell us how to make them better. It's a hard habit to brake. 

This blog post was so fun to write because I know some of my beloved friends will think I've finally gone off the deep end! 

At the same time we all know that self talk is a natural facet of human psychology, and we work with the things we tell ourselves all the time. Creative people tend to talk to themselves. In fact, I'm at a loss to think of anybody close to me who I haven't overheard speaking out their thoughts at one point or another. 

My father used to say, "Sometimes it's the only intelligent conversation I get!"

Even this blog started out as a voice in my head. 

So yes, now that I've normalized it, I'm ready to dive off the deep end. I want to talk about energy concepts that are fundamental to developing your imagination. 

Now more than ever, your future is in your hands as a writer. It used to be that you would submit a book proposal, and then sit around, helplessly, waiting to be picked.

Not anymore! There's always an action you can take. 

Still and all, lately I've been working with authors on their book proposals and it's easy to get intimidated. There's always that feeling of "I'm not there yet." This is never going to happen. If Elizabeth Gilbert won't endorse, why even bother!

Where as the creative process was so much fun, taking it step by step, all of a sudden the proposal becomes serious business.

That's why I want to make this playful again! I want to create a Vision Board Book Proposal. No matter where you're at now, why not just create the book proposal of your dreams. 

That's a bold statement, but it's also a challenge...

Step into your full power as a writer, leave other people´s words behind and really claim your own voice. 

So many of us spend too much time in the role of admirer and hide from recognizing ourselves as the writers we are. If you love a quote, I'm willing to bet you have something to say about it too. If you take the time to craft it, it will be beautiful.

I’m always fascinated to learn more about the lives and writings of women in our Facebook community.  Barbara Snow is a prolific author of supernatural mystery, who immigrated to Cuenca, Ecuador four years ago. She was telling me of the vibrant, international artist’s community there, which made me daydream about more writing retreats all over the continent.

However, Barbara’s first books weren’t in the genre at which she now excels. In the 1990s she used poetry and memoir to bring herself through a period of deep healing. In this blog she reflects on how poetry and memoir accompanied her on this journey toward a new life and livelihood.

The first week out of work came as quite a surprise! I should have been thankful, but I WAS NOT THANKFUL. I was anxious, insecure and probably very annoying.

This is funny, because in my book The Meaning Method I wrote about this concept of radical gratitude. It means being grateful for the joy and pain in life. So, what I was experiencing must have been radical ingratitude. I had worked for years to be able to liberate myself from the 9-5, and then once I did it, I was baffled. Until I realized how hilarious it was.

Thus far, my life has given me more opportunities to experience radical gratitude, rather than radical ingratitude, so I just want to take this moment to reflect and laugh.

Inside all meaningful work is the seed of something great. But not everybody can see it at first! That’s where beta readers come in handy.

However, not all critiques are created equal. Remember, your work is NOT a popularity contest. Let's face it, not everybody likes every fiction genre, and not everybody needs every personal development book. You simply want to make sure your work resonates with the audience that's right for you. When you first start float your manuscript, it's important to find readers you trust and understand their perspective.

It's important to distinguish comments that will make your work better, from comments that will weaken your unique voice.

Are you excited to publish a book, but scared to show your work to anyone else? It's kind of a Catch 22. But a lot of people share this fear!

OK. Let’s talk about it . . .

Shoving a bunch of writers into a room is kind of like filling a bucket with shucked oysters. Everybody feels squishy and vulnerable, like they’re missing their protective shell. With good reason. Writing is passionate and great passion spurs great vulnerability. However, if one person can settle in and be authentic, the whole experience becomes better for everybody.

We all start out with one subscriber: our mom. And then we go from there.

On Facebook, this has been really fun because over the past week we’ve formed a focus group of sixty-some people called List Growth T & T.  That means List Growth Tuesdays and Thursdays, and we’ve been brainstorming, partnering, and taking action to grow our lists.

Several people have launched blogs, and experienced bloggers are finding opportunities for guest posts. Especially the intuitives! Join us if you’re interested.

For all you authors out there, growing your list means growing your audience, which means growing your readers and clients. That’s right, even books need a subscriber list these days. (Find out more in strategy #5). The best part is that this can be very inspiring and lucrative for writers, because it involves a lot of WRITING.

When you start writing you have BIG DREAMS. Then you freak yourself out.

Don’t.

Get those hopes up!

The sky is the limit with publishing right now, and the ball is in your court. Surprisingly, this is as true for traditional publishing as well as self-publishing.

One of the most powerful ways to connect with your readers is to "speak their language." However a lot of us find it's hard to strike a balance when it comes to swearing. Sure, it makes sense over cocktails, but in a book? I love this question, and it comes up a lot. 

The short answer is, there is no short answer. Whatever you decide it needs to be a conscious choice. Here are some questions that will help you consider.

Every once in a while I come across an article about how "too many" people are publishing these days, and there are "too many" books flooding the market, and not everybody should write a book etc. And it's funny to me because I wonder, what exactly is the problem here?

Is discouraging people from writing all that different from discouraging people reading? 

Is it safe to read, but it's not safe to write? (Actually I know a lot people who have that block.)

Exactly how many books are "too many"?