- When you're writing a book,
staring at a blank screen or a blank page can be so painful.
It can actually get worse
the further into your book you get.
You might call this writer's block,
but I've got another word for it.
If you've ever struggled with writing
or you're in the middle of a book
that you haven't published,
this video is for you.
(upbeat music)
Hey there, I'm Julie the Book Broad, from Book Launchers.
We're your professional self-publishing team,
helping you write, publish, and sell
a business and brand boosting non-fiction book.
We've had the absolute pleasure of working with
some fantastic authors
like Rob Berger, Alison Robertson,
Lanae St. John, and Tony LeBlanc.
Pretty awesome looking books, right?
When you see a finished book,
you don't see all the emotional turmoil that went into it.
You are looking at the cover thinking, that's cool,
oh, I wanna read that book, or, what's that book about?
But you're not seeing all the moments
where an author suffered from severe writer's block,
or at least that's what they thought
they were suffering from,
or even when they almost quit their project.
But that happens.
Writing a book can be very hard,
especially when you care about creating a great book.
So what can you do as a writer?
How can you prevent or overcome writer's block?
Well first, you need to realize
there's no such thing as writer's block.
You have a mindset problem or a clarity problem.
Not being clear is a pretty big issue
that will stump you as an author.
It's why I have so many videos about defining your hook,
knowing your goal, figuring out who your ideal reader is.
When you're clear on, check,
why you're writing this book
and it's more clearly defined than, I wanna help people,
you will be more motivated to finish.
And when you're clear on, check,
who you're writing the book for, and again,
this is so clear you can visualize the person,
and you're clear on, check,
what's in it for the reader
so you know the content fits and what content doesn't,
when you know all that,
you are set up to be so much less likely
to hit a block of any kind.
(squeals)
Karate. (laughs)
But we still see it with our clients,
and one of the biggest problems comes in
when clients are constantly seeking reassurance from us
that their book is good.
And they want us to tell them it's gonna be okay
and that they're gonna sell a lot of books
and make a big difference.
The problem is that people who need constant reassurance
never seem to get enough.
And all it takes is one negative review
or one friend saying a snide remark,
and they're thrown off course again.
And the reality is, we and nobody else
actually knows if your book will sell really well or not.
Of course, we do everything we can
to set a book up for success,
including category and keyword research,
competitive assessments and just working hard
on the book itself so that people want to read it
and those that do get massive benefit from it.
But that's not always enough.
Some books are actually mediocre but sell really well
because the author is great at marketing and networking
and getting their book in front of readers.
And sometimes, I'll think a book is lousy
and other people will love it, and vice versa.
So you can't worry about that.
You have to commit to your book, your idea and your message.
Now, I'm lucky enough to have a copy of a book
that Seth Godin never published.
It's called "Footprints on the Moon",
and on page 24, he talks about reassurance,
and he says, "Reassurance is futile."
And he basically talks about how looking for reassurance
doesn't work because you're always looking outward
for approval and comfort,
and he states, unequivocally,
"Reassurance doesn't scale."
So he says, "Don't seek reassurance.
"When you accept that you and you alone
"are going to produce your work of genius,
"you have set the proper hook
"and you're on the hook to make change happen."
Seth Godin gets it.
Writer's block or creative block isn't real.
It's your mindset,
and if you set out to create something great,
you work hard to make it as great as you can,
and you do that with a clear audience
who will benefit from your work in mind
and you commit to doing this,
no matter the roadblocks or the fears,
then you will succeed and you won't ever have to watch
another video on overcoming writer's block
because you're gonna be watching my videos
on how to hire an editor, how to plan a book launch
and how to market your book
because you're going to have your book done. (laughs)
Do you think writer's block is real?
Let's chat about it in the comments below.
And when you comment the day a video is released,
you'll be entered to win some sweet Book Launchers swag
and you'll be one step closer to being
one of my beloved YouTube besties,
joining the ranks with fabulous folks
like Gabby Gilbert, Kevin Maguire,
LaTonea and Poetry from the Heart.
Big virtual hugs for your thumbs up, comments and shares.
Now that your book is going to be underway,
let's make sure you know how to create
a killer table of contents
and make sure you don't write a boring introduction.
You'll find those fabulous videos right here
and here.
Go ahead.
What are you waiting for?
I'm over there anxiously awaiting your arrival
so we can keep hanging out, so click on one of them.
Click, click.
(upbeat music)