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Q. Have you ever looked at a part of your life and thought, “I should write a book!”?

Q. Are you an expert at something that would benefit other people?

Q. Do you have an important message to share?

Q. Are you a passionate writer dreaming of your first publishing deal?

Q. Are you an active blogger looking for the next opportunity?

If your answer is yes to one or more of these questions, this blog is for you.

There is something magic about a new book, the smell, the promise, the shiny cover and the crisp

unread pages. When it is your own book it is the same feeling only exponentially more exciting.

My first book story

In 2009 started my first blog www.in12months.com and little did I know but my blog made me the perfect candidate for a book deal. I had a story, a message, I had built a community through social media and email marketing and I was writing every week!

I had been blogging for 6 months and when I got the call from the John Wiley and Sons it was one of the most exciting conversations I have ever had because they said: “We want you to write a book!” At the time I was in the start-up phase of my coaching business, running a charity project, running two new blogs and generally overwhelmed with everything I was doing… committing to book in 4 months was a bit nuts.

So I signed the contract.

Over the next two weeks the whole book just flowed from my finger tips and it hardly felt like work at all…

Not!

The four months actually passed very, very slowly. I started watching daytime TV. I found that for some strange reason I couldn’t start writing until 11pm, which meant I wouldn’t finish until 3 or 4am. I also still had a million other responsibilities that all needed doing, which meant a constant experience of overwhelm. I spent 3 weeks with total writers block and got to But I finished the book!

A few months later there was a knock at the door and the postman brought in a box of advanced copies. I brought it inside and placed it on the coffee table, quiet for a moment, looking at the box.

I grabbed my keys and used a bronze house key to slit the packing tape down the centre of the cardboard lid.

I lifted out wads of white packing paper and then the first tightly wrapped parcel. I carefully sliced another layer of tape and the crisply folded paper popped open to expose ten shiny blue books, my books.

I picked one up and ran my finger over the embossed cover, the differing textures of the dips and matt and gloss of the design. It was real.

Why a book is life changing

Before writing a book, I never really considered the opportunities that come with being published.

But there are many. In fact, writing a book has opened so many doors that I couldn’t wait to write a second one.

I am not really a person for labels, but this is a world where everyone likes to label you and file you away in the appropriate compartment. The “published author” compartment is actually a lovely place, with chaise lounges and sparkling water with fresh raspberries, the “bestselling author” compartment has waiters waving palm fronds and hand delivering grapes.

Basically I get a warm welcome to some nice events and a little more consideration when I make requests. I get clients who get to know me through my work and can relate to my writing. I have readers invite me to speak to their communities and I still tear up a little when I get emails from people who have taken action since reading the book and designed their lives and/or quit their jobs.

It is also pretty exciting to think that my book could potentially be around in 100 years time, that someone could read it and think “how quaint” about the first decades of the 21st

Who can write a book?

It is a privilege to write a book and not one that I take lightly, but I do now have a unique perspective on the business of publishing. And no matter how romantic and idealistic your intentions are, it is a business.

But many fantastic writers don’t understand how that works, and thousands of well written manuscripts end up going nowhere.

I get a lot of requests from people who want to get a publishing deal but have no idea where to start and so I have been developing a course that bridges the gap between great writing and good business. It is called the BLOG to BOOK course and it shows bloggers how to make their platform awesome and exciting to publishers.

It takes aspiring authors through the process of becoming irresistible to publishers.

When you couple an awesome platform with an awesome manuscript you have something that is hard to ignore. We used this process with my husband John earlier this year and he ended up with 5 offers and signed his first book contract yesterday.

There are so many reasons why I am excited about this course, and if you are ready to take that next step, then check out the course details and book your place, http://in12months.com/blog-book-course/ or email me ([email protected]) with questions.

Bio

Serena Star Leonard is a blogger, writer and business coach who is travelling the world on a four year adventure with her husband John. They film mini documentaries of inspiring community projects and review luxury travel options for their website www.fivepointfive.org, write books and have designed their lives to suit their passions.

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