August 12, 2025 • 26 mins
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Have you ever thought, “Maybe I could write a book someday,” and then immediately shut it down because… where would you even start? Same here. That dream has been in the back of my mind for years, so I brought in someone who could help both you and me finally figure it out. Meet Kate Allyson—book coach, editor, and encourager of aspiring authors. Whether your book idea is business-related or deeply personal, Kate’s here to show you it’s absolutely possible.
In this episode, Kate walks us through the book-writing process in a way that feels doable, even for busy entrepreneurs. We talk about organizing your ideas, the types of books that support your business, and what publishing actually looks like today (hint: it’s way more accessible than you think). More than anything, this episode is your nudge to finally explore that book idea you’ve been holding onto, because someone out there might really need to hear your story.
Links & Resources:
- Kate’s free Book Map Template
- Follow me on Instagram @kristendoyle.co
- Check out my Everything Page: a one-stop shop for savvy selling!
- The Savvy Seller Collective
- Join my private Facebook community: Savvy Teacher Sellers
- More resources for growing your TPT business
- Rate & review The Savvy Teacher Seller on Apple Podcasts
Show Notes: https://kristendoyle.co/episode160
Feeling overwhelmed by all the things you think you need to do to grow your digital product business? Take the Savvy Seller Quiz and find out exactly what to focus on right now to actually move your business forward.
➡️ Take the quiz at savvyquiz.com
Check out my Everything Page at https://kristendoyle.co/everything
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Kristen (00:00):
Have you ever had that little voice in the back of your
head whispering, maybe I couldwrite a book someday? If you
have, you are definitely notalone. I will be honest, the
idea of writing a book has beenrolling around in my mind for
years. Maybe it's sharing whatI've learned about building an
(00:22):
online business, or just havingthat something tangible that
says I'm an author. But everytime I think about it, I get
completely overwhelmed.
Sometimes I feel like I'm notsure what I would even write
about or where to start, and Iknow practically nothing about
the whole publishing process.
(00:44):
So if you have ever had similarthoughts, first of all, you're
not alone, but you are going tolove today's episode. My guest,
Kate Allison, is a certifiedbook writing coach and editor
who's helped bring over 50 booksto publication, and her mission
is to prove that anyone, yes,that means you, and that means
(01:05):
me, can be a published author.
Kate is going to walk us throughhow to get started, what the
publishing process really lookslike, and why writing a book
might be one of the smartestbusiness moves that you could
make. She's also sharing whyyour story could be just exactly
what somebody out there needs tohear.
(01:30):
Are you a digital product orcourse creator, selling on
platforms like Teachers PayTeachers, Etsy, or your own
website? Ready to grow yourbusiness, but not into the kind
of constant hustle that leadsstraight to burnout? Then you're
in the right place. Welcome toThe Savvy Seller. I'm Kristen
Doyle, and I'm here to give youno-fluff tools and strategies
(01:52):
that move the needle for yourbusiness without burning you out
in the process—things like SEO,no stress marketing, email list
building, automations and somuch more. Let's get started,
y'all.
Hi Kate, thank you so much forbeing here today.
Kate (02:14):
Thank you so much for having me. I appreciate the
opportunity.
Kristen (02:18):
So I want to start with what you have said is your
mission, to prove that anyonecan be an author. Talk to me a
little bit about that. Whatmakes you so passionate about
proving to all of us that we canbe authors?
Kate (02:33):
Well, I hear from people things like, Oh, my 10th grade
English teacher said I was aterrible writer and I should
never try to write anythingever. And I have seen those
people go on to be successfulauthors, people who have
dyslexia or ADHD, or people whojust think that they can't write
(02:53):
a book for whatever reason,whether it was that 10th grade
English teacher, whether it'sthat voice in your head that
says that you're not a writer. Ihave seen so many people
overcome that and become anauthor, that I'm very passionate
about anyone really can be anauthor. And we all, I believe,
have a story to share. And Ibelieve that all of us can
(03:14):
become authors if we want to, ifwe want to put in the work to
make it happen.
Kristen (03:18):
Yeah, I just love that feeling. You know, being an
author is something that I guessjust rolls around in the back of
my head, like maybe one day Iwould, but I don't know what I
would write about. Or, you know,it seems like such a big,
daunting task.
Kate (03:34):
It does, it does, and it is. But the good news is that,
like any big daunting task, youcan break it down into smaller
steps.
Kristen (03:42):
Yeah, that's true. I mean, like everything else, one
little piece at a time.
Kate (03:47):
And that's how the authors that I've worked with have done
it, just doing it one littlepiece at a time.
Kristen (03:52):
So let's just kind of talk about the process a little
bit. Since we're on the subjectof one piece at a time, how do
you get started with withwriting a book?
Kate (04:02):
So the very first thing that I have my clients do is
just get all of their ideas outof their head and onto paper. So
we do a massive brain dump,where all that you're doing is
just listing anything andeverything that you could write.
Now, not everything that comesout is going to end up in your
book, and you might later comeup with ideas that you didn't
think about at first. So you'regoing to do a brain dump of
(04:25):
literally everything. And thenwhat I do with my clients is I
actually have them then comeback the next day and add to the
brain dump, because, you know,usually while we're sleeping,
we'll have other ideas pop up.
So I have them do the brain dumpa couple of times.
And then once we have all ofthat, then we can start to
organize. So we can start tosay, okay, so what is it that
your book is going to be about,and which of these elements fit
(04:48):
inside that book? Because ifyou're like most of my clients,
you know, we all have multiplethings that we're passionate
about, you know, like, I mean, Ican talk about writing books. I
can talk about dogs. I can talkabout Lego, I have Lego in the
background here. You know,there's just so many different
things that I could talk aboutwith passion that it's like,
(05:09):
okay, now how do I decide whatwhich one of those things I'm
going to put into a book? Andusually it's, well, what's going
to help my business? Or what doI feel most passionate about
sharing?
Kristen (05:20):
So I can see myself voice recording this, because
I'm a voice recording person.
It's probably why I have apodcast instead of writing a lot
of blog posts, I'm a voicerecording person. It's how I
process all my thoughts. So Ican see just voice recording
when those ideas come to mind,those things that pop in, like,
well, maybe I could write aboutthis, and just getting it all
out of your head is so helpful.
Kate (05:43):
It is, and that's really the first step. And then the
next step that I take themthrough is actually organizing
it and figuring out, like Isaid, what belongs in this book,
and then once we figure out whatbelongs in the book, how do we
put it into an order that makessense for the reader?
Kristen (05:58):
Yeah, I will tell you, that's one of the things I
really struggle with isorganizing my thoughts.
Kate (06:05):
Yes, and that's why I walk through it with my clients, and
I say, okay, you know, there aredifferent kinds of things that
we write down in our brain dump.
You know, we write down ideas.
We write down stories that wehave. You might write down like,
oh, I read this study that sayspeople who write books are 80%
more likely to get more clients.
You know, I'm making that up.
Kristen (06:26):
That would be great.
Kate (06:28):
Yeah, it could be right.
But that's something that like,so then I would start by
organizing, okay, so what do wehave here that our ideas, what
do we have here that ourstories, and what do we have
here that are data that backs upwhat you're saying?
Kristen (06:40):
Figuring out how to piece those together. I know
it's always fun to figure outhow the story connects to the
ideas or the data or thewhatever it is.
Kate (06:50):
And it's, to me, it's like a big jigsaw puzzle, and it's
just about finding the rightpieces and putting them in the
right place.
Kristen (06:57):
I love thinking of it like a puzzle to solve.
Kate (06:58):
Yeah, it makes it more fun.
Kristen (07:00):
Yeah, I can see that. A lot of times when I, because I
kind of think about my emailmarketing sort of in the same
way. When I'm writing emails,I'm thinking of the thing I want
to share, and then I'm thinkingof a story I can use that
relates to it. And sometimes itis a puzzle or a story comes to
mind, and I have to reallythink, like, how can I connect
it?
Kate (07:20):
How does this fit? I really like the story.
Kristen (07:24):
I know it does, but let me make it fit.
Kate (07:25):
Yeah, and so that's something that I help my clients
with, is helping make sure thatthose stories do fit, and
helping adapt the stories sothat they fit.
Kristen (07:34):
I can see that just being so helpful to have
somebody bounce those ideasaround with.
So most of the people listeningare business owners, and when it
comes to things we want to do,some people just want to write a
book, because they just have abook on their heart that they
want to write. And maybe it'stotally unrelated to their
business, or maybe it is. Butsome people just, you know, they
(07:56):
have this specific book theywant to write. Other people just
kind of want to be able to say,I'm an author, and they're not
quite sure what they shouldwrite their book about, or even
just, how can it help theirbusiness. So what kind of books
can be helpful for our business,and how does that help grow our
businesses?
Kate (08:16):
So really, any kind of book that introduces yourself to
a potential client that letsthem know who you are and what
you do can be helpful for yourbusiness. So that can be a
memoir, or it can be anonfiction book about how you do
what you do. A very popularmodel among authors is to write
a book that illustrates, okay,this is the process that I take
(08:37):
my clients through, and then youcan do this on your own, or they
find that they have troubledoing it on their own. They want
accountability, so then theycome to you and say, Okay, I
read your book. I want to do allthe things in your book. I need
help getting it done. Can youhelp me?
Kristen (08:52):
Yeah.
Kate (08:53):
And a lot of people feel like, well, what if I'm giving
away too much? And the answer tothat is, you can't give away too
much, because people are alwaysgoing to need you no matter what
you do. You know, people aregoing to need accountability.
Yeah, there might be some peoplewho read your book, do the
things and then don't need yourhelp, but they might want to
(09:13):
take the next step in whateverit is that you do. Like you do
website design. So for example,somebody might want, might take
your book and, you know, createa beautiful website from it, but
then they might think, okay, butnow I want to take it to the
next level, or I want to addthings to my website that aren't
talked about in the book, andthen they come to you to hire
you for working on theirwebsite.
Kristen (09:35):
Yeah, that's so true.
And one thing I've kind oflearned is there, and we all, I
guess, run into this at somepoint in our business, not
everyone's the right fit toactually work with you either.
Kate (09:44):
Well, that's true.
Kristen (09:45):
And so some people who aren't the right fit to work
with you might be a perfect fitto read your book and do it
themselves.
Kate (09:51):
Yes.
Kristen (09:52):
And I mean, when it comes to capacity too, I can
only work with so many people ayear. I would hope if I write a
book, more people than that arebuying it.
Kate (10:01):
Yes, yes, exactly. And that's the thing is, you can
really increase the number ofpeople that you can help.
Because, you know, like yousaid, you're one person, you can
only help so however manyclients per year. I only take on
so many editing and writingcoaching clients. And so having
a book out there is a way toincrease that and to help more
people.
Kristen (10:22):
And it, it does just set you up as an expert, someone
who has the knowledge, has takenthe time and is, you know, is
able to publish a book onwhatever this topic is. It
really does set you up as anexpert, as a professional, as
someone who takes your businessseriously.
Kate (10:40):
It does, and it also sets you up for things like, if you
want to get more get more mediaopportunities, if you want to
get on more stages, having abook is a great way to do that.
You know, you can do a book tourand get to know people in
different areas. You can get on,the local news loves hearing
about authors who write theirbooks. You can get on local news
stories, and you can also applyfor conferences. It's really a,
(11:04):
it really helps yourapplications stand out when
you've written a book, becausethere are a lot of speakers out
there. How do you make yourselfstand out? Show that you're the
expert with your book.
Kristen (11:13):
I've also heard of some people, especially like in the
education niche, writing, youknow, sometimes we think our
book needs to be about ourbusiness, and our business as an
educator might be helpingteachers. So some people in in
that niche are writing likeprofessional development books,
like you were saying, teachingpeople how to do what you do.
Lots of others are writingchildren's books that kind of go
(11:36):
along with the content areas orthe age groups that they sell
resources for and things, andthat seems like such a fun way
to get into writing.
Kate (11:46):
It really is, yeah.
Children's books are really, arereally fun. And you can have a
lot of fun, you know, not justwriting it, but then, you know,
thinking about, okay, how am Igoing to illustrate this? You
know, who is this going youknow, like, what grade level is
this going to be for? I'm, mybackground is also in education,
so I've worked with quite anumber of teachers who have
published books on, not so muchchildren's books, but books on
(12:06):
pedagogy and that type of thing.
Kristen (12:10):
Yeah.
Kate (12:11):
But even if you write a business book, you can also
write a spin off children's bookfrom your business book.
Kristen (12:17):
You know, I was just talking to a friend about that a
couple of days ago. I think Isaw a LinkedIn post or something
from someone who said you couldwrite a children's book about
whatever you do as anentrepreneur. And I thought
that's kind of fun. I kind oflike that idea.
Kate (12:34):
And I know exactly who you're talking about.
Kristen (12:36):
I was gonna say, I feel like it might be a mutual
friend.
Kate (12:39):
Yes. Yeah, Dorie Durbin is her name, if anyone's interested
in writing a children's book.
She would also be a great guestfor your podcast.
Kristen (12:47):
Yeah. I'll have to get Dory on here, she talks a lot
about illustrations and thingstoo, just super fun to chat
about.
So one of the big questions thatpeople have is, how the heck do
I get my book published, becauseit seems like such a big thing
and something that's just sounfamiliar to most of us. Can
(13:09):
you just share a little bitabout what that process can look
like?
Kate (13:12):
Yes, yes. So actually, these days, with Amazon, that
process is a lot easier than itused to be. You know,
traditionally, you'd have to gofind an agent, and then your
agent would have to find you apublisher. And that whole
process can take years. I mean,it can take a year to find an
agent, it can take another yearor more to find a publisher, and
(13:33):
then even once you do find apublisher, they might not put
you on their publishing schedulefor another three to five years.
Kristen (13:38):
Yeah, and I would imagine it's also really
expensive. I can just imaginepaying people for that long to
do things for me.
Kate (13:48):
Well that way, actually the publisher pays you, so that
actually works out financially,which is why a lot of people do
prefer to go that route. But Iprefer, and I usually work with
authors who are going the selfpublishing route, who are
publishing themselves on Amazonbecause it's so much faster,
it's so much easier. Now, inthis case, you are paying
people, like you're payingeditors, you're paying a cover
(14:09):
designer in a formatter. Butit's worth it to get your book
out there.
So the steps towards publishingare, you know, first you have to
actually write the book. I knowthat's that's the hard part. The
good news is, that's the hardpart. Then you find an editor.
There are different types ofediting so you've, so you may
need to work with a coupledifferent editors. And then
(14:30):
after that, then you format thebook so that it looks pretty
both on KDP and, KDP is Amazon'sKindle distribution, so you want
it to look nice, both as anebook and as a paperback or
hardcover, whichever way youdecide to go with that. And then
from there, you hit publish.
It's really not a, I say it'snot a complicated process,
(14:53):
because it's so much easier thanit used to be, but it still is a
little bit complicated, andthere are websites that will
walk you through, okay, here'swhat you do. Here are all the
steps. Here's how you get yourbook out there.
Kristen (15:06):
It just seems so over my head.
Kate (15:10):
Yeah, yeah, it does. It does feel overwhelming, for
sure, like, even as someone whoknows what I'm doing, it still
feels like, oh my gosh, this isa lot, and it is, but the good
news is that you can do it,because I've seen so many people
who have done it and who've doneit successfully.
Kristen (15:27):
Yeah, that's awesome.
If we're thinking about, youknow, writing your own book and
self publishing it, what is akind of typical timeline that
people could maybe expect? Iknow it varies a lot depending
on how fast you write.
Kate (15:42):
Yes, yes. So I would say a typical timeline if, if you're
committed to writing the book,is about a year. You know, you
take about three to six monthsto write the rough draft. Then
you want to hire the editorsahead of time. You don't want to
wait until the draft is writtento hire the editors, and then
you get it edited. And that cantake, depending on how clean
(16:02):
your manuscript is, that cantake another three to six
months, and then formatting andgetting it ready for
publication, that can takeanother two to three months. So
a year is is an ambitioustimeline, but you can definitely
do it within a year to a yearand a half.
Kristen (16:22):
I can see myself. I would, I would need the editor
hired, and I would need, like,the deadline breathing down my
neck to make sure I got it done.
Kate (16:32):
Yes, I understand completely.
Kristen (16:35):
Because, you know, I mean, as business owners, we've
got so much else going on. Youhave to purposefully take time
to do a big project like this.
Kate (16:42):
Yeah, you need to set time aside in your calendar to write
because otherwise it's not goingto get done. I mean, if it's not
on our calendars, we don't doit.
Kristen (16:50):
Yeah, absolutely, goodness knows. If it is not on
my calendar, it's not gonnahappen.
Kate (16:56):
I actually heard one person say that she forgot to
put pick up kids from school onher calendar, and therefore it
didn't get done. And that justlike, yeah, every little thing
for some of us really needs tobe on our calendar.
Kristen (17:08):
Yeah. I mean, I do have an alarm during the school year.
It's summer, as we're recordingright now, but I do have an
alarm during the school yearthat's like, hey, go get the
kids, because sometimes I willjust get, not that I forget that
I have to pick them up, but I'llget so focused on what I am
doing that I don't notice whattime it is.
Kate (17:28):
Yes. And you don't want your kids to be the last ones to
be picked up like, Wait, did mymommy forget me? I don't have
kids, so I don't have to worryabout that, luckily. I have
dogs.
Kristen (17:41):
So my kid's school, there's a car line, and what
I've learned is, if I go early,I'm gonna sit for 30 minutes at
least waiting for them to startthe line and then getting
through the line and all ofthat. But if I show up like
last-ish, I'm in and out ofthere in no time. So I've told
(18:01):
mine, it is my goal, before theygraduate or before they both
start driving, I guess, to, atsome point, be the last car in
that line. They don't want themstuck alone, but I at some point
do want to be at the very end.
Kate (18:15):
That's a good goal to have, and it's good to let them
know that, so that they knowthat you didn't forget.
Kristen (18:20):
Exactly. And honestly, my kids don't care. They just
like the extra time to hang outwith their friends anyway.
Kate (18:25):
Yeah, yeah.
Kristen (18:26):
So we've talked a lot about kind of how to get started
and how it can help set you upas an expert and grow your
business and publishing andthings. What would you leave us
with as kind of your best pieceof advice, or that one action
step that you would encouragepeople to do if they've ever
(18:47):
thought about writing a book?
Maybe we're not remotely readyto start yet, but it's an idea
that's kind of rolled around inour heads.
Kate (18:56):
You never know who needs to hear your story. One of my
favorite authors, Jenny Lawson,she wrote the book Furiously
Happy, along with a couple ofothers, and she tells the story
about how, you know, she waswriting in her book about her
depression. She was very honestabout it, you know. And she was
afraid of, you know, beingjudged for it. But what happened
(19:17):
instead was she got letters backfrom people saying, oh my gosh,
me too. Thank you so much forsaying that. You know, now I
don't feel so alone. You know, Iwas planning to kill myself, but
then I read your book.
Kristen (19:28):
Wow, yeah.
Kate (19:30):
Yeah. So you never know who needs to hear your story,
and you never know how yourstory is going to help them. And
those are just the people whohad the courage to write
letters. Imagine all the otherpeople struggling, who you know
maybe didn't have the courage towrite a letter, but who also
read the book and felt seen. Iactually saw her in person once,
and I was amazed that she wasable to get 100 very nerdy
(19:55):
introverts who, you know,normally hate people and
socializing into a roomtogether. I was just amazed by
that, you know, and we were alltalking to each other, and we
made friends that day. And itwas just, it was a really neat
experience to see how someonebeing very honest and vulnerable
in her book, was able to bring agroup of people together.
Yes.
Kristen (20:14):
That's amazing. I love stories like that. And, you
The courage not to giveup on their business. If it's a
know, it made me think, even if,if my story isn't something I
think is that big, or that lifechanging, or that whatever, your
story could still be the thingthat keeps someone from giving
up on whatever is related toyour story. You know that that
teacher who's ready to quit, andthey read something that you say
(20:38):
in your book about teachingmath, or whatever it is, they
read one of your stories, and itgives them the motivation, the
encouragement, whatever it isthat they need to stick around
business book, you just neverknow what kind of long range
or, you know, maybe it givesthem the courage to leave if
they need to, whatever that is.
(21:02):
impacts some little story inyour book might be, even if it's
not even the purpose of the bookor the way that you intended for
it to affect people.
Kate (21:11):
And then you never know what the domino effect would be.
Maybe one person doesn't give upon teaching, and because of
that, they affect a child'slife, who goes on to become the
next math genius.
Kristen (21:21):
Yeah, you just never know.
Kate (21:22):
Not that math geniuses are usually famous, but that could
be something.
Kristen (21:27):
It could be really important.
Kate (21:29):
Yeah.
Kristen (21:29):
They could solve some major problem for the world one
day. We never know.
Well, thank you so much forbeing here. This has just been
really helpful to kind of startwrapping my head around the
idea, and I'm sure a lot of mylisteners have had that idea
rolling around in their headstoo. So thank you for giving us
(21:50):
kind of a place to start andsome encouragement to just get
out there and do it. Before wego, let everyone know where they
can find you if they want to getin touch, learn some more from
you about writing a book.
Kate (22:02):
So the best place to get to know me is through my
freebie, which is a book maptemplate. So that'll help you
get your ideas out of your headand start to organize them. And
you can find that atkateallysonbooks.com/bookmap.
Kristen (22:15):
Okay, and we will drop that link in the show notes, and
I'll also drop your socials inthere as well.
Kate (22:20):
Yes, yeah, I'm also on Facebook and LinkedIn, and
sometimes on Instagram.
Kristen (22:25):
I feel like that's, that's my story too, sometimes.
All right, well, thank youagain. So so much for being
here. It was so nice chattingwith you about books, and who
knows, maybe one day I will bereaching out and getting that
process started.
Kate (22:39):
Yes, I hope so. All right, thank you.
Kristen (22:42):
You know, there is something about hearing someone
else talk about their passionthat gets me excited as well. So
I hope Kate's passion forhelping people like you and me
become authors was as infectiousfor you as it was for me. You
know, there really is somethingpowerful about just recognizing
that the stories that we have orthe expertise that we're just
(23:05):
carrying around in our headsreally could genuinely help
other people or even changetheir lives.
Well, if this conversationbrought a little spark of a book
idea back bubbling up to thesurface for you, kind of like it
did for me, then I wouldencourage you to grab Kate's
free book map template. You'llfind it at
(23:27):
kateallysonbooks.com/bookmap,and we'll put that link in the
show notes along with links toher social media if you would
like to connect with her.
I don't know about you, but Ithink it is about time we get
all those ideas out of ourheads, and start organizing them
into something that maybe couldone day become your very own
book. And remember what Katesaid, you just never know who
(23:50):
out there desperately needs tohear your story. That book that
you've thought about writingmight be exactly what somebody
else needs. I'll talk to yousoon.
Have you ever had that little voice in the back of your
head whispering, maybe I couldwrite a book someday? If you
have, you are definitely notalone. I will be honest, the
idea of writing a book has beenrolling around in my mind for
years. Maybe it's sharing whatI've learned about building an
(00:22):
online business, or just havingthat something tangible that
says I'm an author. But everytime I think about it, I get
completely overwhelmed.
Sometimes I feel like I'm notsure what I would even write
about or where to start, and Iknow practically nothing about
the whole publishing process.
(00:44):
So if you have ever had similarthoughts, first of all, you're
not alone, but you are going tolove today's episode. My guest,
Kate Allison, is a certifiedbook writing coach and editor
who's helped bring over 50 booksto publication, and her mission
is to prove that anyone, yes,that means you, and that means
(01:05):
me, can be a published author.
Kate is going to walk us throughhow to get started, what the
publishing process really lookslike, and why writing a book
might be one of the smartestbusiness moves that you could
make. She's also sharing whyyour story could be just exactly
what somebody out there needs tohear.
(01:30):
Are you a digital product orcourse creator, selling on
platforms like Teachers PayTeachers, Etsy, or your own
website? Ready to grow yourbusiness, but not into the kind
of constant hustle that leadsstraight to burnout? Then you're
in the right place. Welcome toThe Savvy Seller. I'm Kristen
Doyle, and I'm here to give youno-fluff tools and strategies
(01:52):
that move the needle for yourbusiness without burning you out
in the process—things like SEO,no stress marketing, email list
building, automations and somuch more. Let's get started,
y'all.
Hi Kate, thank you so much forbeing here today.
Kate (02:14):
Thank you so much for having me. I appreciate the
opportunity.
Kristen (02:18):
So I want to start with what you have said is your
mission, to prove that anyonecan be an author. Talk to me a
little bit about that. Whatmakes you so passionate about
proving to all of us that we canbe authors?
Kate (02:33):
Well, I hear from people things like, Oh, my 10th grade
English teacher said I was aterrible writer and I should
never try to write anythingever. And I have seen those
people go on to be successfulauthors, people who have
dyslexia or ADHD, or people whojust think that they can't write
(02:53):
a book for whatever reason,whether it was that 10th grade
English teacher, whether it'sthat voice in your head that
says that you're not a writer. Ihave seen so many people
overcome that and become anauthor, that I'm very passionate
about anyone really can be anauthor. And we all, I believe,
have a story to share. And Ibelieve that all of us can
(03:14):
become authors if we want to, ifwe want to put in the work to
make it happen.
Kristen (03:18):
Yeah, I just love that feeling. You know, being an
author is something that I guessjust rolls around in the back of
my head, like maybe one day Iwould, but I don't know what I
would write about. Or, you know,it seems like such a big,
daunting task.
Kate (03:34):
It does, it does, and it is. But the good news is that,
like any big daunting task, youcan break it down into smaller
steps.
Kristen (03:42):
Yeah, that's true. I mean, like everything else, one
little piece at a time.
Kate (03:47):
And that's how the authors that I've worked with have done
it, just doing it one littlepiece at a time.
Kristen (03:52):
So let's just kind of talk about the process a little
bit. Since we're on the subjectof one piece at a time, how do
you get started with withwriting a book?
Kate (04:02):
So the very first thing that I have my clients do is
just get all of their ideas outof their head and onto paper. So
we do a massive brain dump,where all that you're doing is
just listing anything andeverything that you could write.
Now, not everything that comesout is going to end up in your
book, and you might later comeup with ideas that you didn't
think about at first. So you'regoing to do a brain dump of
(04:25):
literally everything. And thenwhat I do with my clients is I
actually have them then comeback the next day and add to the
brain dump, because, you know,usually while we're sleeping,
we'll have other ideas pop up.
So I have them do the brain dumpa couple of times.
And then once we have all ofthat, then we can start to
organize. So we can start tosay, okay, so what is it that
your book is going to be about,and which of these elements fit
(04:48):
inside that book? Because ifyou're like most of my clients,
you know, we all have multiplethings that we're passionate
about, you know, like, I mean, Ican talk about writing books. I
can talk about dogs. I can talkabout Lego, I have Lego in the
background here. You know,there's just so many different
things that I could talk aboutwith passion that it's like,
(05:09):
okay, now how do I decide whatwhich one of those things I'm
going to put into a book? Andusually it's, well, what's going
to help my business? Or what doI feel most passionate about
sharing?
Kristen (05:20):
So I can see myself voice recording this, because
I'm a voice recording person.
It's probably why I have apodcast instead of writing a lot
of blog posts, I'm a voicerecording person. It's how I
process all my thoughts. So Ican see just voice recording
when those ideas come to mind,those things that pop in, like,
well, maybe I could write aboutthis, and just getting it all
out of your head is so helpful.
Kate (05:43):
It is, and that's really the first step. And then the
next step that I take themthrough is actually organizing
it and figuring out, like Isaid, what belongs in this book,
and then once we figure out whatbelongs in the book, how do we
put it into an order that makessense for the reader?
Kristen (05:58):
Yeah, I will tell you, that's one of the things I
really struggle with isorganizing my thoughts.
Kate (06:05):
Yes, and that's why I walk through it with my clients, and
I say, okay, you know, there aredifferent kinds of things that
we write down in our brain dump.
You know, we write down ideas.
We write down stories that wehave. You might write down like,
oh, I read this study that sayspeople who write books are 80%
more likely to get more clients.
You know, I'm making that up.
Kristen (06:26):
That would be great.
Kate (06:28):
Yeah, it could be right.
But that's something that like,so then I would start by
organizing, okay, so what do wehave here that our ideas, what
do we have here that ourstories, and what do we have
here that are data that backs upwhat you're saying?
Kristen (06:40):
Figuring out how to piece those together. I know
it's always fun to figure outhow the story connects to the
ideas or the data or thewhatever it is.
Kate (06:50):
And it's, to me, it's like a big jigsaw puzzle, and it's
just about finding the rightpieces and putting them in the
right place.
Kristen (06:57):
I love thinking of it like a puzzle to solve.
Kate (06:58):
Yeah, it makes it more fun.
Kristen (07:00):
Yeah, I can see that. A lot of times when I, because I
kind of think about my emailmarketing sort of in the same
way. When I'm writing emails,I'm thinking of the thing I want
to share, and then I'm thinkingof a story I can use that
relates to it. And sometimes itis a puzzle or a story comes to
mind, and I have to reallythink, like, how can I connect
it?
Kate (07:20):
How does this fit? I really like the story.
Kristen (07:24):
I know it does, but let me make it fit.
Kate (07:25):
Yeah, and so that's something that I help my clients
with, is helping make sure thatthose stories do fit, and
helping adapt the stories sothat they fit.
Kristen (07:34):
I can see that just being so helpful to have
somebody bounce those ideasaround with.
So most of the people listeningare business owners, and when it
comes to things we want to do,some people just want to write a
book, because they just have abook on their heart that they
want to write. And maybe it'stotally unrelated to their
business, or maybe it is. Butsome people just, you know, they
(07:56):
have this specific book theywant to write. Other people just
kind of want to be able to say,I'm an author, and they're not
quite sure what they shouldwrite their book about, or even
just, how can it help theirbusiness. So what kind of books
can be helpful for our business,and how does that help grow our
businesses?
Kate (08:16):
So really, any kind of book that introduces yourself to
a potential client that letsthem know who you are and what
you do can be helpful for yourbusiness. So that can be a
memoir, or it can be anonfiction book about how you do
what you do. A very popularmodel among authors is to write
a book that illustrates, okay,this is the process that I take
(08:37):
my clients through, and then youcan do this on your own, or they
find that they have troubledoing it on their own. They want
accountability, so then theycome to you and say, Okay, I
read your book. I want to do allthe things in your book. I need
help getting it done. Can youhelp me?
Kristen (08:52):
Yeah.
Kate (08:53):
And a lot of people feel like, well, what if I'm giving
away too much? And the answer tothat is, you can't give away too
much, because people are alwaysgoing to need you no matter what
you do. You know, people aregoing to need accountability.
Yeah, there might be some peoplewho read your book, do the
things and then don't need yourhelp, but they might want to
(09:13):
take the next step in whateverit is that you do. Like you do
website design. So for example,somebody might want, might take
your book and, you know, createa beautiful website from it, but
then they might think, okay, butnow I want to take it to the
next level, or I want to addthings to my website that aren't
talked about in the book, andthen they come to you to hire
you for working on theirwebsite.
Kristen (09:35):
Yeah, that's so true.
And one thing I've kind oflearned is there, and we all, I
guess, run into this at somepoint in our business, not
everyone's the right fit toactually work with you either.
Kate (09:44):
Well, that's true.
Kristen (09:45):
And so some people who aren't the right fit to work
with you might be a perfect fitto read your book and do it
themselves.
Kate (09:51):
Yes.
Kristen (09:52):
And I mean, when it comes to capacity too, I can
only work with so many people ayear. I would hope if I write a
book, more people than that arebuying it.
Kate (10:01):
Yes, yes, exactly. And that's the thing is, you can
really increase the number ofpeople that you can help.
Because, you know, like yousaid, you're one person, you can
only help so however manyclients per year. I only take on
so many editing and writingcoaching clients. And so having
a book out there is a way toincrease that and to help more
people.
Kristen (10:22):
And it, it does just set you up as an expert, someone
who has the knowledge, has takenthe time and is, you know, is
able to publish a book onwhatever this topic is. It
really does set you up as anexpert, as a professional, as
someone who takes your businessseriously.
Kate (10:40):
It does, and it also sets you up for things like, if you
want to get more get more mediaopportunities, if you want to
get on more stages, having abook is a great way to do that.
You know, you can do a book tourand get to know people in
different areas. You can get on,the local news loves hearing
about authors who write theirbooks. You can get on local news
stories, and you can also applyfor conferences. It's really a,
(11:04):
it really helps yourapplications stand out when
you've written a book, becausethere are a lot of speakers out
there. How do you make yourselfstand out? Show that you're the
expert with your book.
Kristen (11:13):
I've also heard of some people, especially like in the
education niche, writing, youknow, sometimes we think our
book needs to be about ourbusiness, and our business as an
educator might be helpingteachers. So some people in in
that niche are writing likeprofessional development books,
like you were saying, teachingpeople how to do what you do.
Lots of others are writingchildren's books that kind of go
(11:36):
along with the content areas orthe age groups that they sell
resources for and things, andthat seems like such a fun way
to get into writing.
Kate (11:46):
It really is, yeah.
Children's books are really, arereally fun. And you can have a
lot of fun, you know, not justwriting it, but then, you know,
thinking about, okay, how am Igoing to illustrate this? You
know, who is this going youknow, like, what grade level is
this going to be for? I'm, mybackground is also in education,
so I've worked with quite anumber of teachers who have
published books on, not so muchchildren's books, but books on
(12:06):
pedagogy and that type of thing.
Kristen (12:10):
Yeah.
Kate (12:11):
But even if you write a business book, you can also
write a spin off children's bookfrom your business book.
Kristen (12:17):
You know, I was just talking to a friend about that a
couple of days ago. I think Isaw a LinkedIn post or something
from someone who said you couldwrite a children's book about
whatever you do as anentrepreneur. And I thought
that's kind of fun. I kind oflike that idea.
Kate (12:34):
And I know exactly who you're talking about.
Kristen (12:36):
I was gonna say, I feel like it might be a mutual
friend.
Kate (12:39):
Yes. Yeah, Dorie Durbin is her name, if anyone's interested
in writing a children's book.
She would also be a great guestfor your podcast.
Kristen (12:47):
Yeah. I'll have to get Dory on here, she talks a lot
about illustrations and thingstoo, just super fun to chat
about.
So one of the big questions thatpeople have is, how the heck do
I get my book published, becauseit seems like such a big thing
and something that's just sounfamiliar to most of us. Can
(13:09):
you just share a little bitabout what that process can look
like?
Kate (13:12):
Yes, yes. So actually, these days, with Amazon, that
process is a lot easier than itused to be. You know,
traditionally, you'd have to gofind an agent, and then your
agent would have to find you apublisher. And that whole
process can take years. I mean,it can take a year to find an
agent, it can take another yearor more to find a publisher, and
(13:33):
then even once you do find apublisher, they might not put
you on their publishing schedulefor another three to five years.
Kristen (13:38):
Yeah, and I would imagine it's also really
expensive. I can just imaginepaying people for that long to
do things for me.
Kate (13:48):
Well that way, actually the publisher pays you, so that
actually works out financially,which is why a lot of people do
prefer to go that route. But Iprefer, and I usually work with
authors who are going the selfpublishing route, who are
publishing themselves on Amazonbecause it's so much faster,
it's so much easier. Now, inthis case, you are paying
people, like you're payingeditors, you're paying a cover
(14:09):
designer in a formatter. Butit's worth it to get your book
out there.
So the steps towards publishingare, you know, first you have to
actually write the book. I knowthat's that's the hard part. The
good news is, that's the hardpart. Then you find an editor.
There are different types ofediting so you've, so you may
need to work with a coupledifferent editors. And then
(14:30):
after that, then you format thebook so that it looks pretty
both on KDP and, KDP is Amazon'sKindle distribution, so you want
it to look nice, both as anebook and as a paperback or
hardcover, whichever way youdecide to go with that. And then
from there, you hit publish.
It's really not a, I say it'snot a complicated process,
(14:53):
because it's so much easier thanit used to be, but it still is a
little bit complicated, andthere are websites that will
walk you through, okay, here'swhat you do. Here are all the
steps. Here's how you get yourbook out there.
Kristen (15:06):
It just seems so over my head.
Kate (15:10):
Yeah, yeah, it does. It does feel overwhelming, for
sure, like, even as someone whoknows what I'm doing, it still
feels like, oh my gosh, this isa lot, and it is, but the good
news is that you can do it,because I've seen so many people
who have done it and who've doneit successfully.
Kristen (15:27):
Yeah, that's awesome.
If we're thinking about, youknow, writing your own book and
self publishing it, what is akind of typical timeline that
people could maybe expect? Iknow it varies a lot depending
on how fast you write.
Kate (15:42):
Yes, yes. So I would say a typical timeline if, if you're
committed to writing the book,is about a year. You know, you
take about three to six monthsto write the rough draft. Then
you want to hire the editorsahead of time. You don't want to
wait until the draft is writtento hire the editors, and then
you get it edited. And that cantake, depending on how clean
(16:02):
your manuscript is, that cantake another three to six
months, and then formatting andgetting it ready for
publication, that can takeanother two to three months. So
a year is is an ambitioustimeline, but you can definitely
do it within a year to a yearand a half.
Kristen (16:22):
I can see myself. I would, I would need the editor
hired, and I would need, like,the deadline breathing down my
neck to make sure I got it done.
Kate (16:32):
Yes, I understand completely.
Kristen (16:35):
Because, you know, I mean, as business owners, we've
got so much else going on. Youhave to purposefully take time
to do a big project like this.
Kate (16:42):
Yeah, you need to set time aside in your calendar to write
because otherwise it's not goingto get done. I mean, if it's not
on our calendars, we don't doit.
Kristen (16:50):
Yeah, absolutely, goodness knows. If it is not on
my calendar, it's not gonnahappen.
Kate (16:56):
I actually heard one person say that she forgot to
put pick up kids from school onher calendar, and therefore it
didn't get done. And that justlike, yeah, every little thing
for some of us really needs tobe on our calendar.
Kristen (17:08):
Yeah. I mean, I do have an alarm during the school year.
It's summer, as we're recordingright now, but I do have an
alarm during the school yearthat's like, hey, go get the
kids, because sometimes I willjust get, not that I forget that
I have to pick them up, but I'llget so focused on what I am
doing that I don't notice whattime it is.
Kate (17:28):
Yes. And you don't want your kids to be the last ones to
be picked up like, Wait, did mymommy forget me? I don't have
kids, so I don't have to worryabout that, luckily. I have
dogs.
Kristen (17:41):
So my kid's school, there's a car line, and what
I've learned is, if I go early,I'm gonna sit for 30 minutes at
least waiting for them to startthe line and then getting
through the line and all ofthat. But if I show up like
last-ish, I'm in and out ofthere in no time. So I've told
(18:01):
mine, it is my goal, before theygraduate or before they both
start driving, I guess, to, atsome point, be the last car in
that line. They don't want themstuck alone, but I at some point
do want to be at the very end.
Kate (18:15):
That's a good goal to have, and it's good to let them
know that, so that they knowthat you didn't forget.
Kristen (18:20):
Exactly. And honestly, my kids don't care. They just
like the extra time to hang outwith their friends anyway.
Kate (18:25):
Yeah, yeah.
Kristen (18:26):
So we've talked a lot about kind of how to get started
and how it can help set you upas an expert and grow your
business and publishing andthings. What would you leave us
with as kind of your best pieceof advice, or that one action
step that you would encouragepeople to do if they've ever
(18:47):
thought about writing a book?
Maybe we're not remotely readyto start yet, but it's an idea
that's kind of rolled around inour heads.
Kate (18:56):
You never know who needs to hear your story. One of my
favorite authors, Jenny Lawson,she wrote the book Furiously
Happy, along with a couple ofothers, and she tells the story
about how, you know, she waswriting in her book about her
depression. She was very honestabout it, you know. And she was
afraid of, you know, beingjudged for it. But what happened
(19:17):
instead was she got letters backfrom people saying, oh my gosh,
me too. Thank you so much forsaying that. You know, now I
don't feel so alone. You know, Iwas planning to kill myself, but
then I read your book.
Kristen (19:28):
Wow, yeah.
Kate (19:30):
Yeah. So you never know who needs to hear your story,
and you never know how yourstory is going to help them. And
those are just the people whohad the courage to write
letters. Imagine all the otherpeople struggling, who you know
maybe didn't have the courage towrite a letter, but who also
read the book and felt seen. Iactually saw her in person once,
and I was amazed that she wasable to get 100 very nerdy
(19:55):
introverts who, you know,normally hate people and
socializing into a roomtogether. I was just amazed by
that, you know, and we were alltalking to each other, and we
made friends that day. And itwas just, it was a really neat
experience to see how someonebeing very honest and vulnerable
in her book, was able to bring agroup of people together.
Yes.
Kristen (20:14):
That's amazing. I love stories like that. And, you
The courage not to giveup on their business. If it's a
know, it made me think, even if,if my story isn't something I
think is that big, or that lifechanging, or that whatever, your
story could still be the thingthat keeps someone from giving
up on whatever is related toyour story. You know that that
teacher who's ready to quit, andthey read something that you say
(20:38):
in your book about teachingmath, or whatever it is, they
read one of your stories, and itgives them the motivation, the
encouragement, whatever it isthat they need to stick around
business book, you just neverknow what kind of long range
or, you know, maybe it givesthem the courage to leave if
they need to, whatever that is.
(21:02):
impacts some little story inyour book might be, even if it's
not even the purpose of the bookor the way that you intended for
it to affect people.
Kate (21:11):
And then you never know what the domino effect would be.
Maybe one person doesn't give upon teaching, and because of
that, they affect a child'slife, who goes on to become the
next math genius.
Kristen (21:21):
Yeah, you just never know.
Kate (21:22):
Not that math geniuses are usually famous, but that could
be something.
Kristen (21:27):
It could be really important.
Kate (21:29):
Yeah.
Kristen (21:29):
They could solve some major problem for the world one
day. We never know.
Well, thank you so much forbeing here. This has just been
really helpful to kind of startwrapping my head around the
idea, and I'm sure a lot of mylisteners have had that idea
rolling around in their headstoo. So thank you for giving us
(21:50):
kind of a place to start andsome encouragement to just get
out there and do it. Before wego, let everyone know where they
can find you if they want to getin touch, learn some more from
you about writing a book.
Kate (22:02):
So the best place to get to know me is through my
freebie, which is a book maptemplate. So that'll help you
get your ideas out of your headand start to organize them. And
you can find that atkateallysonbooks.com/bookmap.
Kristen (22:15):
Okay, and we will drop that link in the show notes, and
I'll also drop your socials inthere as well.
Kate (22:20):
Yes, yeah, I'm also on Facebook and LinkedIn, and
sometimes on Instagram.
Kristen (22:25):
I feel like that's, that's my story too, sometimes.
All right, well, thank youagain. So so much for being
here. It was so nice chattingwith you about books, and who
knows, maybe one day I will bereaching out and getting that
process started.
Kate (22:39):
Yes, I hope so. All right, thank you.
Kristen (22:42):
You know, there is something about hearing someone
else talk about their passionthat gets me excited as well. So
I hope Kate's passion forhelping people like you and me
become authors was as infectiousfor you as it was for me. You
know, there really is somethingpowerful about just recognizing
that the stories that we have orthe expertise that we're just
(23:05):
carrying around in our headsreally could genuinely help
other people or even changetheir lives.
Well, if this conversationbrought a little spark of a book
idea back bubbling up to thesurface for you, kind of like it
did for me, then I wouldencourage you to grab Kate's
free book map template. You'llfind it at
(23:27):
kateallysonbooks.com/bookmap,and we'll put that link in the
show notes along with links toher social media if you would
like to connect with her.
I don't know about you, but Ithink it is about time we get
all those ideas out of ourheads, and start organizing them
into something that maybe couldone day become your very own
book. And remember what Katesaid, you just never know who
(23:50):
out there desperately needs tohear your story. That book that
you've thought about writingmight be exactly what somebody
else needs. I'll talk to yousoon.
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