maria@mariavida.com

Whatever new endeavor you embark on—from writing a book, to learning to golf, to taking up a new style of yoga–hiring an expert to teach you is a very logical next step.

Some people will buy a second hand set of clubs, head for the range, and teach themselves to golf—sorta, anyway. But most of us? Take some lessons! Hire a pro to get you functioning faster and better.

The same goes for business coaches, marketing gurus, and writing experts. They’re guides. They know their shit. When you find the right one, they pick you up and set you down on The Right Path for achieving your dreams.

When I work with clients, I may ask them to go to dark, uncomfortable places, and we may work together for months–or years. We go deep. So how do you choose this all-important person to go deep with? How do you know who’s the right guide for you when personalities, energies, and approaches all vary?

Check out these four keys below, then let me know what you think.

1 – Listening is great, but do they hear you?

You know the feeling, right? The person you’re speaking to could probably parrot back your words, but you have this . . . sense, that they haven’t heard a word you said. Trust that sense.

We all have our own agendas from a business relationship, or any relationship for that matter. We often want something from it–knowledge, profits, experience, friendship, love–which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

The problem arises when the other person’s agenda isn’t the same as yours, and may have more importance for them then for you. Done right, you will both benefit from the relationship, but to do so your expert must truly hear your needs, your goals, your heart. Listen for this.

Keep searching until you find the person who does hear you, and you may only know because it “feels” right. See #2.

2 – Trust your guts

Yes. Go with your instincts. Give them the power they deserve. Sound woo-woo? Perhaps, but we do it all the time. We “trust our guts,” we rely on it “feeling right,” and we take the plunge because, “It just seemed like the right thing to do at the time.”

I’ve found that some of my most intuitive clients are . . . businessmen. Surprising, right? I think they use intuition naturally even though they may not call it that. More than once I’ve had a lighting fast “Yes” from a businessman, followed by, “I just knew you were the right one, let’s get started.”

I’m currently working with an amazing person on a writing project. Bev Martin is helping people tap into their inner knowledge, aka, their intuition. She says everyone has this ability (and let’s face it, we all know we do), but we let our tools get rusty. Society, western culture, self-doubt; these all dampen our natural inner knowing.

With practice, we can sharpen and shine our intuition. Use it when choosing your guide. Trust your guts.

(Check out Bev’s website and get an intuitive reading from her. An amazing experience, http://bevmartin.com/)

3 – Align your goals, and then realign them

Write your relationship goals out, share them in emails. Your guide will probably ask you to do this anyway, but if they don’t, take the initiative. Once you’ve agreed on your mutual outcomes, then keep revisiting these goals!

Life goes on, progress is made, we get distracted, life happens. Make mutual goals, write them out, revisit them regularly. Assess where you are and what you still have to achieve.

4- Qualifications and recommendations

Ho hum. The most boring of the keys; checking out your guide’s qualifications and recommendations. The problem is they may have 100 bestsellers under their belt, but if #1, #2, and #3 aren’t kicking in, well, you’re probably wasting your time.

On the other hand, they may be new to the business, yet amazingly talented. You may be their very first client, and they have every incentive in the world to make you a success.

The key is to yes, check out their qualifications to do the job. Have your feet on the ground. But don’t make this the most important quality. On its own, it isn’t enough. You need to know they hear and understand you; your instincts need to be in agreement; and your goals need to be aligned.

What to do if something goes wrong?

Let’s say you’ve done all of the above and everything checks out great. Then one, two, six months down the road, things aren’t working so well. Maybe you aren’t seeing the results you were expecting, maybe the communication isn’t as clear. What to do?

– Talk. Seems obvious, but this is so often the last resort. Revisit your goals, have the tough talk, LISTEN.

– Realign your goals. Did something go off the rails? Did your goals change and you didn’t realize it? Did your mutual expectations change? Talk (see above) then realign those goals if necessary. Reset deadlines, measurable outcomes, whatever is relevant.

– If that doesn’t work–make peace and move on. Don’t waste your time if you can’t get realigned, but through communication you can leave amicably.

– If they won’t make peace? Tis their problem, not yours. I’d hate to live in that un-peace-making head, wouldn’t you?

What about you? Have you got insights and experience with choosing the right guide? Or the wrong one? Share them here.

Karen

Speed-to-market is an ubiquitous business term. The concept being, you have a unique, brilliant idea and you want to get it into people’s hands and minds before your competitors do.

But . . . in this blog we’re talking books. Art. Creativity. Refinement.

“Books take forever to write,” you say. “Years, decades, lifetimes. Er . . . don’t they?”

“You have the sight now Neo, you are looking at the world without time.”

~ The Oracle in The Matrix

I say, not necessarily so. Full disclosure, my current novel is in its fourth year of birthing. (Painful, shockingly ugly, sloooooooooow.) However, in that time I’ve written and collaborated on a dozen books for clients.

In fact, for “proper” publishing houses I’ve written, edited, and handed off to the formatting folks, full length manuscripts in two months.

• Two.
• Friggin.
• Months

Now, I didn’t have much of a life during that time. My friends and family became intimate with my voicemail, my neighbors checked for . . . smells. Even my cat arched her back and hissed when I finally hobbled from my office, hunched as an arthritic centenarian.

Nonetheless, if YOU have a great idea and want to get your book done fast, it’s possible. You need three things:

• Time
• An expert
• A wee bit of funds

1) Time. I mean real time. Not blocking a couple of hours each day in between yoga and happy hour. I mean highlight and delete your schedule.

The thing is, time is the greatest gift you can give yourself, or anyone else for that matter. Time for what you want, what you need. I’m not talking about Forever Time. I’m talking about Temporary Time. Two months. You can do it.

2) Find an expert. Yes, you can write a brilliant book all by yourself. But we’re talking about time, right? Face it, if you wanted to become a race car driver, would you just block off some time and drive around really fast? Or would it be more efficient to block off that time and hang out with someone who really knew their stuff about driving race cars fast?

You get the idea. Find an expert; a dedicated, quality, soul-filled coach-writer-editor (ahem, that would be me?), and hire them.

But first . . . make sure they understand your message from their heart. A zillion writing experts are available, but not all of them will speak the language of You. Your language, your message, your soul. Don’t waste time, find an expert who actually hears You.

3) You will have to pay this expert. Sorry. But in a sense it completes the cycle. After all, they’re giving you a gift that will last you a lifetime: a book PLUS the knowledge to do it again with less help the next time. What you learn will last you forever. To pay is to honor their gift.

Besides, it gets the job done. Unless you’re sleeping with them, a true expert won’t do it for free. They’re too busy helping people who will pay.

This person can coach you, or they can sit their bum down and write it for you. The choice is yours.

In the end . . .

You can have a book on the shelf in a short amount of time. Like two months. But it takes commitment from every corner of your being. In fact, that’s what I love about writing and books so much: it takes everything I am. All my travel, all my people, all my mistakes. I pour it all out and transform it into my client’s message.

What about You?

Do you have a brilliant idea you want to put into a book-on-a-shelf? Tell us about it. Let us help you get started, whatever your time.

The search for perfection has stopped the birth of more great ideas than war, famine, and downed internet connections combined. We’re afraid if we don’t look perfect, if we don’t come across as all-knowing and flawless, then we’ll expose ourselves as who we really are–imperfect, constantly learning, deliciously human.

The thing is, it’s okay to be all those things. In fact, you’ll be a better, more effective writer if you accept and (gasp!) celebrate imperfection rather than run from it. How’s that, you ask? Won’t you be revealed for the interloper you really are? Won’t you be laughed at and your writing expunged from the land of legitimacy?

The opposite is true. Perfection is impossible, because it’s subjective. One reader’s idea of ideal will be another person’s version of garbage, and the rest will find perfection in between. What reader’s sense is genuineness. They can smell a fake a cyber mile away.

No one is perfect, including you. Admit it and you will win admirers. Deny it and you will be distrusted.

So below I’ve listed 3 key reasons why you should abandon the search for perfection. Why you should let that piece go out into the world, whether blog, academic article, business book, or literary tome, and stop trying to achieve the impossible.

1) Trust the reader – they’re smarter than you think.

I once spent a few hours hanging out in the studio of an artist friend of mine. She painted oils, successfully, in the beautiful land of South Africa. Her style was of landscapes, blurred, lacking in detail, but yet powerful beyond words. I asked her about this, and her reply was startling.

“It’s in those very imperfections that the viewer begins to engage. They fill in the blanks, add what works in their mind, in their heart and back story. If I did it all for them there would be nothing left.

The same holds true for your writing. You simply don’t need to tell your reader every single blasted detail about what you want to say. They don’t need it, and more importantly, they don’t want it. Subconsciously or not, people want to fill in the blanks. It feels good. It makes us work to figure things out and therefore have ownership in the results.

When we participate we actually understand more deeply the message you want to deliver. And, we enjoy the journey more.

So trust your readers to fill in the gaps for you, whether intentional or not. Trust them to want to understand your message and work with you to achieve that.

2) Your message will get through. (Really, it will.)

As you trust the reader, so trust yourself. As your reader is smart and willing to participate, so are you. You will do your best to express your message, and that best will be enough.

“Imperfections are not inadequacies; they are reminders that we’re all in this together.”

Brené Brown

“Have no fear of perfection, you’ll never reach it.”

Salvador Dali

3) The power within imperfection

Your writing imperfections actually pack punch on your behalf. This is done in three ways:

One –

It’s the heart of your message and your voice that matter. These will come through, they will, really. Those little imperfections along the way reveal your humanness. Chances are – get this – the reader won’t even notice the imperfections. All that wasted worry for . . . nothing.

Two –

Letting go of being perfect allows the creative process to come out and play. Creativity and perfection are arch enemies, like good and evil, oil and water, cats and dogs. Your quest for perfection will squash your subconscious muse like a bug under a boot.

Three –

Your ego thrives on the illusion of perfection. And your ego will kill your writing faster than anything. You must be humble to go to deep places. You must go to deep places to get to the core of your message. This is what separates you from everyone else; this is what your readers want. They want to see You, warts and all.

The quest for imperfection is an illusion. Instead, turn this delusion into an advantage. Use your humanness to make your point even clearer. Use your humanness to gain trust, and your readers will follow you anywhere.

You’ve got a killer idea for a book, and you know it’ll help people meet their need, become better people, achieve their dreams. A tall order for some, not for you. Because YOU have the key, and it’s just a matter of finding the right agent to open the door into the world of publishing.

But you don’t have an agent, and you need a book proposal to get one. And you need it fast, before some other guy writes about the same thing.  Do you spend thousands of dollars and hire someone? Do you try the impossible and approach publishing houses directly? Should you just call up agents randomly and ask them what they think? Or…what their answering machine thinks?

None of the above. Instead, the five steps outlined below will get you on the fast track for writing your winning book proposal. You don’t have to be Hemmingway, or Gates, or Einstein. You just have to know these five crucial elements that will get the attention of book agents and publishers.

I should know, over the past years I’ve sold book proposals to major publishing houses such as Penguin and McGraw Hill. I work with a high-powered agent in New York who won’t let anything less than sure-thing across her desk. And this very same agent has trained me in the fine art of the book proposal.

Step 1) Know Your Reader

Publishing is a business. Full stop. ‘Nuff said. It’s not an art gallery. It’s not a benign force in search of a higher human experience. It’s dollars, and lots of them.

Agents and publishers alike need to know you can help sell your book. For all but the proven best, marketing budgets are small to non-existent. And even when they’re offered, the marketing people themselves have such a full roster that you’ll be lucky to get a miniscule fraction of their time and no-how, and almost none of their heart.

Understanding the motivation of your reader is possibly the most critical aspect of the entire proposal. Write to them with dollar signs in your eyes, so they can see you have their needs in mind.

Step 2) Show them you have the goods

It ain’t art. It’s connections.

You must be able to show that you have an existing platform that can get you in front of thousands upon thousands of eligible book buyers. Do you have a vibrant and expanding social media presence? Do you speak nationwide and bring in hundreds or thousands at each event? Are you an influencer in national and international organizations that can endorse your message and promote to their tens of thousands of members?

It’s these sorts of elements that you list in your Target Audience and Promotion Plan sections (see Step 4). Put on your business hat and imagine it’s your investment dollars on the line. The more sure-thing, the more likely you are to make that payout.

Step 3) Show them You’re the One to Tell the story

Why should they trust you to deliver this information? Why not find a writer-for-hire and slap down a few thousand? Because of — Who. You. Are.

Chances are, you’re an expert in whatever you want to write about. If not, quickly reassess your motivation for writing the book. It’s your expertise that readers will want to see and trust in. Why is this? Because then they’re more likely to buy your book.

Will you buy a cookbook from a mechanic? How about a golf manual from an octogenarian seamstress? Homemade naturopathic remedies anyone? I know just the siding salesman.

Toot your horn, stand up and brag to make yourself blush. Now is not the time to be humble and hope they can intuit your incredible knowledge and experience. Let ‘em know!

Step 4) Show Them You have all the Ingredients for Success

These are the sections in your book proposal. Write each one with the above in mind.

Overview – Here’s where you must hook your readers with the timeliness and brilliance of your message. One to two pages, let them know how your message is vital for readers today. Let them know they’ll be missing out on the next biggest thing if they don’t read on.

About [You!] – See Step 3.

Target Audiences – See Step 2. Summarize your influence numbers into a big fat total at the end.

Promotion Plan – Explain how you can and will get in front of all those people in Step 2. Show them you have the connections and willingness to make book sales.

Book Comparisons – First, figure out which literal, physical shelf your book will be sitting on at Barnes and Noble. What category and subcategory. Figure it out for Amazon too. Then head on out to Barnes and Noble and see what other books are sitting on the shelf next to where yours would be.

Find the bestselling ones of those. Show them why those books were successful, and then how they’re similar to yours. Most importantly, now explain what key elements those bestsellers didn’t have that your book does.

Detailed Chapter Outline  – Show them you have a fluid and effective way of telling your story.

Sample Chapters – Show them you can write. Or at least show them you have a fantastic ghostwriter.

Step 5) Look and be Professional

You’d think it would be obvious, but it isn’t. Make sure your proposal looks like the Ritz. You’re professional, knowledgeable, and no nonsense.

By following these five steps to your winning book proposal, you’ve increased your odds of landing the right agent a hundred-fold. At a certain level, they’re all looking for the same thing.

It’s a business – show them you understand that.

Show them you have the connections.

Show them you’re the one.

Good luck!