December 12, 2024 • 24 mins
In this episode, we share 3 quick and actionable tips to help you start building momentum with nonfiction writing today!
Whether you're repurposing content, organizing your expertise into a book, or writing in manageable chunks, these strategies are perfect for writers at any stage.
What’s your biggest struggle with writing your book? Comment below—I reply to every comment! Then go grab my FREE Guide: From Overwhelmed to Writing here: http://authornation.online/writing
✍️👉 What you’ll learn:
1️⃣ How to write short, impactful pieces that add up over time.
2️⃣ Tips for repurposing your content to reach a wider audience.
3️⃣ A simple method to structure your book around your niche expertise.
Take the first step toward building your authority through nonfiction writing now! 🌟Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more tips on writing, content creation, and personal branding. 👍
Find all the shownotes at www.authornationtube.com
Whether you're repurposing content, organizing your expertise into a book, or writing in manageable chunks, these strategies are perfect for writers at any stage.
What’s your biggest struggle with writing your book? Comment below—I reply to every comment! Then go grab my FREE Guide: From Overwhelmed to Writing here: http://authornation.online/writing
✍️👉 What you’ll learn:
1️⃣ How to write short, impactful pieces that add up over time.
2️⃣ Tips for repurposing your content to reach a wider audience.
3️⃣ A simple method to structure your book around your niche expertise.
Take the first step toward building your authority through nonfiction writing now! 🌟Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more tips on writing, content creation, and personal branding. 👍
Find all the shownotes at www.authornationtube.com
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
Welcome to author Nation Interviews. Today, we're diving into writing
to build your career. In fact, what would happen if
you wrote a series of books. I'm your host, Melody Anne,
and I'm here to guide you toward actionable insights and
strategies that will help you become a successful nonfiction author.
Because at Authoration, we are committed to equipping you with
(00:31):
the tools and the inspiration and the community you need
to succeed as a nonfiction author. You go check out
authoration dot online for treasure trove of resources. So whether
you're sipping your morning coffee or whining down after a
long day, settle in as we explore how you can
build your practice, your professional practice through writing. But before
(00:54):
we dive in, let me introduce our guest. Katherine Ahman,
l m FT, license Marriage and Family Therapist is a
licensed psychotherapist with advanced training in both traditional and spiritual psychology.
With thirty years of successful professional experience helping thousands of clients,
(01:17):
Katherine is also the author of the best selling books
the Tantric Mastery series, and she offers online workshops and
trainings helping singles and couples create the life they love
let's welcome Katherine, Hi, Katherine.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Him, Melody Anne.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
So I'm super curious about spiritual versus traditional psychology. So
I'm just going to jump right in. What is the
difference between spiritual and traditional psychology.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Well, spiritual psychology includes traditional psychology, but we also are
interested in what is the wisdom of Eastern religions, indigenous cultures,
psychedelic information, what are the ways that people around the
(02:10):
world have dealt with psychology that isn't necessarily Western psychology,
So we study all of it. We think that people
search for meaning, people search for God, people having all
other types of experiences are all interesting. We don't discount
them and say they're mentally ill. So someone, for example,
had a vision of seeing Mary or a vision of
(02:30):
seeing UFOs. We're interested in that. We don't just go oh,
that's not real. We go, oh, interesting, let's explore that
a little bit. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (02:40):
Interesting.
Speaker 1 (02:41):
So how does this shape your work with clients.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
Well, I work with a lot of people in the
meditation community, a lot of people in the yoga community.
Because I speak their language, I kind of see everyone,
whether they interpret it or not, is really on a
spiritual path. They may not talk about it, that way
or see their life that way. But I think that
everyone is looking for meaning and beyond just solving some
(03:06):
basic tasks. What else are you interested in? Where else
could we go with that? So I see life as
I'm sure many of your readers do, as ongoing personal
and spiritual growth. And that's one thing I'm able to
help people with that. Perhaps mainstream psychology isn't really interested in. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
I love that. I have one author client who writes
from the perspective of she's a fellow traveler, and so, yeah,
her books are for other fellow travelers.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
Nice.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
Yeah, and so I think that will really do what
you're saying, will really resonate with her.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
I think so.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
Yeah, And you're also working on your PhD PhD right
now in trans personal psychology.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
Yeah, I'm sorry. My master's transpersonal also transfersonal is most
common more easily known as spiritual psychology. But we study
all these kinds of things. And I had some unusual experiences,
mystical experiences. Actually while my husband and I are making love,
and this isn't really there isn't very much information on that.
(04:13):
There's a little bit. So I decided to go back
to get my PhD and find out about what the
heck happened.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
Oh, so, can you just tell us a little bit
about like, because PhDs are very niche right, they're very exacting,
can you just tell us a little bit more about,
you know, what you're hoping to discover and share with
the world through your PhD.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
Yes, it's actually a PhD in psychology with a specialization
and transpersonal and I have been, you know, my licensed
relationship therapist, and so I'm interested in these types of
experiences that couples can have while they're making love that
are actually spiritual experiences in mainstream sexuality in mainstream psychology,
(05:02):
they're like, what isn't that kind of the op Isn't
that like an oxymoron? Isn't spiritual sexuality doesn't go together?
And most of my work and my popular books are
about Yes, they go together. For some of us on sexuality,
is a spiritual experience can be. That's what I in
listed in writing about and learning more about. And I
(05:24):
decided to go back to get my doctorate to actually
see if I could become on this subject.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
Yeah, I love that. Thank you for explaining that. I'm
always really keenly interested in what people are studying in
their PhD. And you know, I remember I was talking
to somebody who did a PhD and what makes dogs happy?
Like this?
Speaker 2 (05:44):
I love PhD. So narrowed down right exactly.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
So let's talk about your books. Why did you decide
to write that first book?
Speaker 2 (05:57):
Well, my very first book. I was doing a little
bit of writing. I've done a few articles. I had
been hired to write a few articles for a certain
website and I had a maybe eight and then this
was ten years ago. So then I heard about blogging,
and I thought, well, that's good as a therapist to
write a blog. And so I started crafting these little
(06:18):
four hundred bird pieces. And then I found online somebody suggesting,
a marketing person suggesting get a hundred of those who
publish it. I thought, okay, that's my goal. I'm going
to write a hundred of these little things. And that
turned out to be a really good idea. I would
really recommend it to anyone, because you can write a
book this way a little chunk, and I have used
(06:40):
those articles over and over and over to market my practice.
So the book is there as itself, and people can
read something before they go to bed, or people tell
me all kinds of things I read what I keep
it in the bathroom, or I read it on the
bus or whatever, just little tidbits of things that I
might share a session with a client, or things I
(07:02):
think about. And it is these little blocks of wisdom,
and I have sent them out in my newsletter, I
have posted on my blog. I have Sometimes my professional
organization will ask for articles I posted these articles. I'm
posting these articles even ten years later. People don't remember
that they've read themselves. That's how the first book happened.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
Yes, okay, I love that. I have to say. I'm
always telling people people write a piece of content, they
put it on their blog, they write an article something,
or they put a thought on Instagram and it disappears,
and that they can never bring it back. And what
I'm always saying is, look, you know, you have this
core message and it can be spread out in many
(07:45):
different ways. Right, your PhD isn't about everything in psychology,
but your PhD isn't something very specific, but that's still
a vast amount of information. And so you can make
you can do blogs, and out of these blogs you
can make a book, and out of these blogs you
can make Instagram posts, and it's just it's never ending
content opportunities, and so many people say like, I don't
(08:06):
know where to find my content from. I'm like, you
have so much content. Use that, say it again, say
it again, say it again. So this book, so you know,
let's say four hundred or you know, one hundred pieces
of about five hundred words each. How did you put
them together?
Speaker 2 (08:27):
Well? I hired someone who said, you know, get some
kind of structure like she had. This was a best
selling author and she had used the chakrast organize her book.
And I was u interested in this system of eight
levels of personal growth, so I kind of put it
(08:47):
into those eight levels. So it's kind of what she
explained is it's kind of a metaphysical skeleton for your work.
And I don't know if that's true or not, but
I kind of like that. So one way to organize
your articles, and you know, it doesn't have to be great,
but then you have your first book and yeah, and
(09:07):
you can just use these articles. Like I said over
and over, a marketing person once told me, yeah, I
never use any piece of content only once.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
Absolutely. I agree, absolutely, So you you kind of use
the chakras and then did you just have separate little
articles underneath it that people could dive into, or did
you take all of those articles and form a chapter
around it.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
No, this one is little tidbits. Okay, this one is
very one hundred short articles.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
Okay, perfect.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
You can just look around in the book or read
it cover, or just go for a taste this or that.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
Nice now, you know, thinking about it, you know, people
say to me, it's writing a book.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
It's huge.
Speaker 1 (09:53):
But writing five hundred words that seems doable. So is
that how you built habits and routines just thinking about
I'm just writing five hundred words.
Speaker 3 (10:02):
But you have many books, well, they've All of My
books have been written in two hours a shot, twice
a week, because I find it very hard to write
by myself.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
I'm getting a little better training myself now. But I
used to meet with a friend in the library and
we would not talk. Maybe we'd have coffee ahead of time,
but we didn't review work. We just sat together and worked.
And sometimes you just couldn't get yourself to work. You'd
be serving the internet. But at least you plopped yourself
down and you were yeah on your books. And I
finished like five books that way. So people think you
(10:39):
have to write every day, and maybe that's good if
you can. I can't. Yeah, but I got I have
eleven titles now and I got almost all of them done.
Two hours a shot, twice a week.
Speaker 1 (10:51):
Yeah, that's that's great. My clients and I do a
Monday morning writing session every Monday morning, and I just say,
show up, just show up. And it's about that consistency,
right that you know your friend was there and she
expected you to show up. Didn't matter how productive or
unproductive you were that day, you were showing up. And
(11:11):
I find that that consistency bill You've become a better writer.
You write more words per session because you just keep
showing up. Did you experience that?
Speaker 2 (11:22):
Yes, definitely. Yeah. If I hadn't had that support to
keep showing up, I wouldn't have finished and still be
sitting there thinking it'd be great to write a book someday, brilliant.
Let's talk.
Speaker 1 (11:36):
And you have. You've written a book about developing a
professional practice as well, haven't you.
Speaker 2 (11:43):
I wrote a book for a therapists that want to
get on insurance panels, and so that was basically I took.
That was actually my first book. I don't really count
it anymore because it's a little lot of date. But
that I actually took a workshop that I had taught,
and I took the transcriptions, and then you can't just
(12:03):
publish your transcriptions, you have to work with them. That
I work with the transcriptions and turn that into a
little ebook. Nice.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
I think that's really clever. So let's talk about your books.
How do they contribute to your professional practice?
Speaker 2 (12:17):
Well, occasionally I'll get someone want who wants to work
with me, who's read my book. That doesn't happen as
much as you think it might, but I think it
gives you an excuse to be part of your community,
to reach out to help people even if they can't
afford your fee, to give them something lower cost, if
(12:43):
they can't afford to work with me, because the psycho
therapy is expensive, and this is a way to work
with me for the price of a book or an ebook.
So I think that enhances the practice. I think there's
a again, a meta physical exchange. If you give, and
you give, and you give, and then it comes back
(13:04):
to you. So it doesn't directly come back that I
directly get new clients that often from my books. But
I think it comes back that I have a full
practice because of that giving.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
Yeah, that makes sense. Now, if you're looking to learn
more about Katherine, you can do that at katherineaman dot com.
I'm really enjoying this conversation and I'll normally put that.
I will also drop her YouTube channel in the show
notes because there's a vast amount of really informative videos
there as well, So you can go check that out.
(13:38):
That will be in the show notes. All right, So, Catherine,
you said that primarily people don't read a book and
then think, oh, I have to work with this therapist.
Has your book been a springboard for other opportunities like
getting on stage, being on a panel, being on a
radio show, being on a podcast. Are there others? There
(14:00):
are other things that the series of books have brought
to you that have enhanced your reputation, your career, how
the world sees you.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
Well. Definitely. Somebody set up a speaking series for me,
so once a month they paid for people to come
and I didn't make any money at it, but I
got exposure and I got to help people and got
some clients from that. They set up a dating class
for me to teach because I have a particular way
of talking about dating from a tantric perspective. That was
(14:33):
my first book. We'll talk in a minute about that
book series, because I think that might help some writers
out there. It sets up invitations for podcasts and radio shows,
so all kinds of invitations. You kind of go into
the next level once you have a book. Yeah, it
really helps. And then I think clients who are attracted
(14:54):
that they see that you've written a book or books.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
Yeah, so that's an int points. So people don't necessarily
come through the book, but they may see you speaking
somewhere and they're looking for a therapist, and so they
go look you up and they're like, Okay, this person
has written a series of books, she's been on stage,
she's been on taught classes, and then the way they're
evaluating who to work with, obviously you will stand out.
(15:21):
So how can other psychologists and other professionals take this
idea of books and then only of courses as well.
So maybe you want to touch on that and integrate
that into their practice to help make their practice successful.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
Well, I think for me it's a sense of how
can I help? So we go into this profession because
we want to help people and we'd like to make
a good living as well. And I think if we
focus on how can I help, how can I give
and not worry so much about if that's getting paid
(15:59):
so much. So a lot of writers, for example, will say, oh,
I'm going to write this book and make a lot
of money, and I'm like, You're probably not going to
make a lot of money on your books. You know,
everything I make on my books, I turn around and
spend on marketing because I'm lucky enough I don't have
to try to live on my book income because that
would be sad. Even though my books are best sellers
on amazons, it's not really that much money. So I
(16:22):
think if you're building a practice, and you think, I
want to be able to help people at all levels.
I want to help the people, of course, who can
afford to come see me for psychotherapy. I want to
help the next tier of people maybe can't afford psychotherapy,
they can afford a group, and another level, how can
I help people who can afford to buy a book?
(16:42):
And then how can I afford people? How can I
help people who really don't have extra money but they
can watch YouTube? Yeah, just really look at how can
I help anyone who wants help from me. I'm here here,
I'm giving to you at whatever level you'd like to to,
you know, receive, and if not, that's fine too. But
(17:04):
I just want to help in whatever I can. And
I think for a professional that that attitude of wanting
to help really comes through. People feel a certain integrity
in that, and they know you're just not in it
for the money, and that's very much more attractive to people.
Speaker 1 (17:21):
Yeah, that was really well said.
Speaker 2 (17:23):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
All right, tell us about your series of books I wrote.
Speaker 2 (17:27):
I was I did this workshop called contract Dating because
I had got to a certain point in my life
where I just thought, I'm a disaster at dating. I've
had two terrible marriages and I'm just not getting this
and I want to meet my soulmate and I'm doing
it all wrong. So I started figuring out what I
was doing wrong. I started this intensive dating thing. I
(17:50):
hired a coach and went back to therapy, and I
started coming up with my own ideas and I found
my perfect love and I got I'm going to help
other people with us. I wrote this little book called
Contry Dating, and I just I was not even going
to make it. And know a hard print cop. Yeah.
I was just going to and all of a sudden
someone called me up and said, my girlfriend from Seattle
(18:11):
called me up and said, your book is on one
hundred best dating books of all time. I said what?
So I started taking this book a little more seriously.
It was people called book authority. It was the top
four in the top thirty seventh book dating book of
all time or whatever I'm like. And then it started
becoming a bestseller on Amazon. So it was during the pandemic,
(18:35):
and I was noticing that people were consuming content and series.
This is not news to anybody now, but in the
pandemic it wasn't as obvious. And I thought, yes, everyone
knows series for fiction books, but what about nonfiction. I'm
just going to try it. So I wrote two more
books in the series. I have three books and they
(18:55):
do all sell each other. All three of them are
best sellers in their little category on Amazon, in the
Sacred Sexuality category, and I'm working on three more now,
so i'll have the whole series. But it went from
one surprise book that I didn't think that much about
to three best seller in their category.
Speaker 1 (19:16):
Really well done, and I just think I like that
you know. I like how you've put this all together.
Speaker 2 (19:25):
Right.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
It's you know, I wasn't you know, I wasn't really
thinking about a whole series of books, and yet all
of a sudden it was knocking on my door, right,
and you found that it's another way to help people, because,
as you said, we all have our ability to pay,
and yet we all want support. And so this book
series is just another way that you can you can
(19:48):
support people. And it reminds me a little bit of
other books. For example, Stephen Covey has the Seven Principles
of Excellence. I have the name wrong, Storry, but yeah,
one for teens, and he has one for couples, and
he has one and the Five Love Languages. There's one
for couples, there's one for teens, there's one for work.
And you're doing the same idea. You're taking this core
(20:10):
content that we were talking about, and you are. You
are because it's a lot of information and you're putting
it into a series of books that either one person
could read or for different, slightly different audiences. Can you
tell us a little bit about your audience? Is it
is it one audience?
Speaker 2 (20:27):
Is it? Well? I'm what I'm really trying to do
in my work is take kind of sophisticated concepts and
put them into everyday language. Yeah, because I think that
why does it have to be so difficult and complex,
you know? So I'm trying to my audience is someone
(20:48):
who wants to read something quickly and get the concepts
and move on. So my books are all short. They're
priced inexpensively. One day I went and I saw that
one of my books was most wished for, and I thought,
I don't want to be in the most wish for category.
I want that person to afford the book. So I
immediately dropped the price because I thought, you know, I
(21:12):
don't want you to wish for it, I want you
to buy it. So they're actually all I actually didn't
do that concept, which is really smart about for different
ages or different audiences. Min are all for the same audience.
It's just probably all this content would have made one
massive book, but it's just more fun to get it
(21:32):
in smaller pieces. I think. Yeah, if you read about
you know, marketing for authors, I mean all of us,
me too. Our attention span has gotten much smaller. I
still like to read big, boring books, but most people
don't so I think getting your content down into something
easily digestible is really good.
Speaker 1 (21:54):
And I also find as an editor, I also find
that having smaller segments allows your rea to read a
bit and then stop and think, walk away, let the
subconscious work and deal with that piece before you come
back and read another piece if it is, you know,
when it's complex materials. So all right, where can people
(22:14):
find you? And where can they buy your books?
Speaker 2 (22:17):
Well? You have my isn't that my website right there? Yep?
Speaker 1 (22:21):
Hell, if you're listening on the podcast, it's Katherine Aman
dot com. And we'll also drop the YouTube and Facebook
and your books are where.
Speaker 2 (22:33):
They're all on Amazon. They're also on other places, but
you know, Amazon sells seventy percent of the book so
they're also on Ingram's Park for those of you who
are writers. They're also on smash Words and draft to
Digital and all these other places. I'm on social media Instagram, Facebook,
(22:54):
all the usual places.
Speaker 1 (22:55):
Yeah, beautiful, Thank you so much, and thank you for
joining us on Author Nations. I hope this conversation has
provided you with some sparking ideas on how you can
write a series and the inspiration to actually do it.
Grab a friend, meet two hours a week, and just
start writing. Remember to visit authornation dot online to uncover
a wealth of resources for you. And we really appreciate
(23:18):
your support, So we'd love some feedback. We'd love a like,
we'd love a comment, we'd love to share. I'm sure
you know someone who's in professional practice who would really
benefit from this, so please share that because your participation
helps us continue to deliver these insights to you. So
keep writing, keep creating, and keep sharing your unique stories
(23:40):
with the world.
Welcome to author Nation Interviews. Today, we're diving into writing
to build your career. In fact, what would happen if
you wrote a series of books. I'm your host, Melody Anne,
and I'm here to guide you toward actionable insights and
strategies that will help you become a successful nonfiction author.
Because at Authoration, we are committed to equipping you with
(00:31):
the tools and the inspiration and the community you need
to succeed as a nonfiction author. You go check out
authoration dot online for treasure trove of resources. So whether
you're sipping your morning coffee or whining down after a
long day, settle in as we explore how you can
build your practice, your professional practice through writing. But before
(00:54):
we dive in, let me introduce our guest. Katherine Ahman,
l m FT, license Marriage and Family Therapist is a
licensed psychotherapist with advanced training in both traditional and spiritual psychology.
With thirty years of successful professional experience helping thousands of clients,
(01:17):
Katherine is also the author of the best selling books
the Tantric Mastery series, and she offers online workshops and
trainings helping singles and couples create the life they love
let's welcome Katherine, Hi, Katherine.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Him, Melody Anne.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
So I'm super curious about spiritual versus traditional psychology. So
I'm just going to jump right in. What is the
difference between spiritual and traditional psychology.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Well, spiritual psychology includes traditional psychology, but we also are
interested in what is the wisdom of Eastern religions, indigenous cultures,
psychedelic information, what are the ways that people around the
(02:10):
world have dealt with psychology that isn't necessarily Western psychology,
So we study all of it. We think that people
search for meaning, people search for God, people having all
other types of experiences are all interesting. We don't discount
them and say they're mentally ill. So someone, for example,
had a vision of seeing Mary or a vision of
(02:30):
seeing UFOs. We're interested in that. We don't just go oh,
that's not real. We go, oh, interesting, let's explore that
a little bit. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (02:40):
Interesting.
Speaker 1 (02:41):
So how does this shape your work with clients.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
Well, I work with a lot of people in the
meditation community, a lot of people in the yoga community.
Because I speak their language, I kind of see everyone,
whether they interpret it or not, is really on a
spiritual path. They may not talk about it, that way
or see their life that way. But I think that
everyone is looking for meaning and beyond just solving some
(03:06):
basic tasks. What else are you interested in? Where else
could we go with that? So I see life as
I'm sure many of your readers do, as ongoing personal
and spiritual growth. And that's one thing I'm able to
help people with that. Perhaps mainstream psychology isn't really interested in. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
I love that. I have one author client who writes
from the perspective of she's a fellow traveler, and so, yeah,
her books are for other fellow travelers.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
Nice.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
Yeah, and so I think that will really do what
you're saying, will really resonate with her.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
I think so.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
Yeah, And you're also working on your PhD PhD right
now in trans personal psychology.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
Yeah, I'm sorry. My master's transpersonal also transfersonal is most
common more easily known as spiritual psychology. But we study
all these kinds of things. And I had some unusual experiences,
mystical experiences. Actually while my husband and I are making love,
and this isn't really there isn't very much information on that.
(04:13):
There's a little bit. So I decided to go back
to get my PhD and find out about what the
heck happened.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
Oh, so, can you just tell us a little bit
about like, because PhDs are very niche right, they're very exacting,
can you just tell us a little bit more about,
you know, what you're hoping to discover and share with
the world through your PhD.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
Yes, it's actually a PhD in psychology with a specialization
and transpersonal and I have been, you know, my licensed
relationship therapist, and so I'm interested in these types of
experiences that couples can have while they're making love that
are actually spiritual experiences in mainstream sexuality in mainstream psychology,
(05:02):
they're like, what isn't that kind of the op Isn't
that like an oxymoron? Isn't spiritual sexuality doesn't go together?
And most of my work and my popular books are
about Yes, they go together. For some of us on sexuality,
is a spiritual experience can be. That's what I in
listed in writing about and learning more about. And I
(05:24):
decided to go back to get my doctorate to actually
see if I could become on this subject.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
Yeah, I love that. Thank you for explaining that. I'm
always really keenly interested in what people are studying in
their PhD. And you know, I remember I was talking
to somebody who did a PhD and what makes dogs happy?
Like this?
Speaker 2 (05:44):
I love PhD. So narrowed down right exactly.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
So let's talk about your books. Why did you decide
to write that first book?
Speaker 2 (05:57):
Well, my very first book. I was doing a little
bit of writing. I've done a few articles. I had
been hired to write a few articles for a certain
website and I had a maybe eight and then this
was ten years ago. So then I heard about blogging,
and I thought, well, that's good as a therapist to
write a blog. And so I started crafting these little
(06:18):
four hundred bird pieces. And then I found online somebody suggesting,
a marketing person suggesting get a hundred of those who
publish it. I thought, okay, that's my goal. I'm going
to write a hundred of these little things. And that
turned out to be a really good idea. I would
really recommend it to anyone, because you can write a
book this way a little chunk, and I have used
(06:40):
those articles over and over and over to market my practice.
So the book is there as itself, and people can
read something before they go to bed, or people tell
me all kinds of things I read what I keep
it in the bathroom, or I read it on the
bus or whatever, just little tidbits of things that I
might share a session with a client, or things I
(07:02):
think about. And it is these little blocks of wisdom,
and I have sent them out in my newsletter, I
have posted on my blog. I have Sometimes my professional
organization will ask for articles I posted these articles. I'm
posting these articles even ten years later. People don't remember
that they've read themselves. That's how the first book happened.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
Yes, okay, I love that. I have to say. I'm
always telling people people write a piece of content, they
put it on their blog, they write an article something,
or they put a thought on Instagram and it disappears,
and that they can never bring it back. And what
I'm always saying is, look, you know, you have this
core message and it can be spread out in many
(07:45):
different ways. Right, your PhD isn't about everything in psychology,
but your PhD isn't something very specific, but that's still
a vast amount of information. And so you can make
you can do blogs, and out of these blogs you
can make a book, and out of these blogs you
can make Instagram posts, and it's just it's never ending
content opportunities, and so many people say like, I don't
(08:06):
know where to find my content from. I'm like, you
have so much content. Use that, say it again, say
it again, say it again. So this book, so you know,
let's say four hundred or you know, one hundred pieces
of about five hundred words each. How did you put
them together?
Speaker 2 (08:27):
Well? I hired someone who said, you know, get some
kind of structure like she had. This was a best
selling author and she had used the chakrast organize her book.
And I was u interested in this system of eight
levels of personal growth, so I kind of put it
(08:47):
into those eight levels. So it's kind of what she
explained is it's kind of a metaphysical skeleton for your work.
And I don't know if that's true or not, but
I kind of like that. So one way to organize
your articles, and you know, it doesn't have to be great,
but then you have your first book and yeah, and
(09:07):
you can just use these articles. Like I said over
and over, a marketing person once told me, yeah, I
never use any piece of content only once.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
Absolutely. I agree, absolutely, So you you kind of use
the chakras and then did you just have separate little
articles underneath it that people could dive into, or did
you take all of those articles and form a chapter
around it.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
No, this one is little tidbits. Okay, this one is
very one hundred short articles.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
Okay, perfect.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
You can just look around in the book or read
it cover, or just go for a taste this or that.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
Nice now, you know, thinking about it, you know, people
say to me, it's writing a book.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
It's huge.
Speaker 1 (09:53):
But writing five hundred words that seems doable. So is
that how you built habits and routines just thinking about
I'm just writing five hundred words.
Speaker 3 (10:02):
But you have many books, well, they've All of My
books have been written in two hours a shot, twice
a week, because I find it very hard to write
by myself.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
I'm getting a little better training myself now. But I
used to meet with a friend in the library and
we would not talk. Maybe we'd have coffee ahead of time,
but we didn't review work. We just sat together and worked.
And sometimes you just couldn't get yourself to work. You'd
be serving the internet. But at least you plopped yourself
down and you were yeah on your books. And I
finished like five books that way. So people think you
(10:39):
have to write every day, and maybe that's good if
you can. I can't. Yeah, but I got I have
eleven titles now and I got almost all of them done.
Two hours a shot, twice a week.
Speaker 1 (10:51):
Yeah, that's that's great. My clients and I do a
Monday morning writing session every Monday morning, and I just say,
show up, just show up. And it's about that consistency,
right that you know your friend was there and she
expected you to show up. Didn't matter how productive or
unproductive you were that day, you were showing up. And
(11:11):
I find that that consistency bill You've become a better writer.
You write more words per session because you just keep
showing up. Did you experience that?
Speaker 2 (11:22):
Yes, definitely. Yeah. If I hadn't had that support to
keep showing up, I wouldn't have finished and still be
sitting there thinking it'd be great to write a book someday, brilliant.
Let's talk.
Speaker 1 (11:36):
And you have. You've written a book about developing a
professional practice as well, haven't you.
Speaker 2 (11:43):
I wrote a book for a therapists that want to
get on insurance panels, and so that was basically I took.
That was actually my first book. I don't really count
it anymore because it's a little lot of date. But
that I actually took a workshop that I had taught,
and I took the transcriptions, and then you can't just
(12:03):
publish your transcriptions, you have to work with them. That
I work with the transcriptions and turn that into a
little ebook. Nice.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
I think that's really clever. So let's talk about your books.
How do they contribute to your professional practice?
Speaker 2 (12:17):
Well, occasionally I'll get someone want who wants to work
with me, who's read my book. That doesn't happen as
much as you think it might, but I think it
gives you an excuse to be part of your community,
to reach out to help people even if they can't
afford your fee, to give them something lower cost, if
(12:43):
they can't afford to work with me, because the psycho
therapy is expensive, and this is a way to work
with me for the price of a book or an ebook.
So I think that enhances the practice. I think there's
a again, a meta physical exchange. If you give, and
you give, and you give, and then it comes back
(13:04):
to you. So it doesn't directly come back that I
directly get new clients that often from my books. But
I think it comes back that I have a full
practice because of that giving.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
Yeah, that makes sense. Now, if you're looking to learn
more about Katherine, you can do that at katherineaman dot com.
I'm really enjoying this conversation and I'll normally put that.
I will also drop her YouTube channel in the show
notes because there's a vast amount of really informative videos
there as well, So you can go check that out.
(13:38):
That will be in the show notes. All right, So, Catherine,
you said that primarily people don't read a book and
then think, oh, I have to work with this therapist.
Has your book been a springboard for other opportunities like
getting on stage, being on a panel, being on a
radio show, being on a podcast. Are there others? There
(14:00):
are other things that the series of books have brought
to you that have enhanced your reputation, your career, how
the world sees you.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
Well. Definitely. Somebody set up a speaking series for me,
so once a month they paid for people to come
and I didn't make any money at it, but I
got exposure and I got to help people and got
some clients from that. They set up a dating class
for me to teach because I have a particular way
of talking about dating from a tantric perspective. That was
(14:33):
my first book. We'll talk in a minute about that
book series, because I think that might help some writers
out there. It sets up invitations for podcasts and radio shows,
so all kinds of invitations. You kind of go into
the next level once you have a book. Yeah, it
really helps. And then I think clients who are attracted
(14:54):
that they see that you've written a book or books.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
Yeah, so that's an int points. So people don't necessarily
come through the book, but they may see you speaking
somewhere and they're looking for a therapist, and so they
go look you up and they're like, Okay, this person
has written a series of books, she's been on stage,
she's been on taught classes, and then the way they're
evaluating who to work with, obviously you will stand out.
(15:21):
So how can other psychologists and other professionals take this
idea of books and then only of courses as well.
So maybe you want to touch on that and integrate
that into their practice to help make their practice successful.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
Well, I think for me it's a sense of how
can I help? So we go into this profession because
we want to help people and we'd like to make
a good living as well. And I think if we
focus on how can I help, how can I give
and not worry so much about if that's getting paid
(15:59):
so much. So a lot of writers, for example, will say, oh,
I'm going to write this book and make a lot
of money, and I'm like, You're probably not going to
make a lot of money on your books. You know,
everything I make on my books, I turn around and
spend on marketing because I'm lucky enough I don't have
to try to live on my book income because that
would be sad. Even though my books are best sellers
on amazons, it's not really that much money. So I
(16:22):
think if you're building a practice, and you think, I
want to be able to help people at all levels.
I want to help the people, of course, who can
afford to come see me for psychotherapy. I want to
help the next tier of people maybe can't afford psychotherapy,
they can afford a group, and another level, how can
I help people who can afford to buy a book?
(16:42):
And then how can I afford people? How can I
help people who really don't have extra money but they
can watch YouTube? Yeah, just really look at how can
I help anyone who wants help from me. I'm here here,
I'm giving to you at whatever level you'd like to to,
you know, receive, and if not, that's fine too. But
(17:04):
I just want to help in whatever I can. And
I think for a professional that that attitude of wanting
to help really comes through. People feel a certain integrity
in that, and they know you're just not in it
for the money, and that's very much more attractive to people.
Speaker 1 (17:21):
Yeah, that was really well said.
Speaker 2 (17:23):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
All right, tell us about your series of books I wrote.
Speaker 2 (17:27):
I was I did this workshop called contract Dating because
I had got to a certain point in my life
where I just thought, I'm a disaster at dating. I've
had two terrible marriages and I'm just not getting this
and I want to meet my soulmate and I'm doing
it all wrong. So I started figuring out what I
was doing wrong. I started this intensive dating thing. I
(17:50):
hired a coach and went back to therapy, and I
started coming up with my own ideas and I found
my perfect love and I got I'm going to help
other people with us. I wrote this little book called
Contry Dating, and I just I was not even going
to make it. And know a hard print cop. Yeah.
I was just going to and all of a sudden
someone called me up and said, my girlfriend from Seattle
(18:11):
called me up and said, your book is on one
hundred best dating books of all time. I said what?
So I started taking this book a little more seriously.
It was people called book authority. It was the top
four in the top thirty seventh book dating book of
all time or whatever I'm like. And then it started
becoming a bestseller on Amazon. So it was during the pandemic,
(18:35):
and I was noticing that people were consuming content and series.
This is not news to anybody now, but in the
pandemic it wasn't as obvious. And I thought, yes, everyone
knows series for fiction books, but what about nonfiction. I'm
just going to try it. So I wrote two more
books in the series. I have three books and they
(18:55):
do all sell each other. All three of them are
best sellers in their little category on Amazon, in the
Sacred Sexuality category, and I'm working on three more now,
so i'll have the whole series. But it went from
one surprise book that I didn't think that much about
to three best seller in their category.
Speaker 1 (19:16):
Really well done, and I just think I like that
you know. I like how you've put this all together.
Speaker 2 (19:25):
Right.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
It's you know, I wasn't you know, I wasn't really
thinking about a whole series of books, and yet all
of a sudden it was knocking on my door, right,
and you found that it's another way to help people, because,
as you said, we all have our ability to pay,
and yet we all want support. And so this book
series is just another way that you can you can
(19:48):
support people. And it reminds me a little bit of
other books. For example, Stephen Covey has the Seven Principles
of Excellence. I have the name wrong, Storry, but yeah,
one for teens, and he has one for couples, and
he has one and the Five Love Languages. There's one
for couples, there's one for teens, there's one for work.
And you're doing the same idea. You're taking this core
(20:10):
content that we were talking about, and you are. You
are because it's a lot of information and you're putting
it into a series of books that either one person
could read or for different, slightly different audiences. Can you
tell us a little bit about your audience? Is it
is it one audience?
Speaker 2 (20:27):
Is it? Well? I'm what I'm really trying to do
in my work is take kind of sophisticated concepts and
put them into everyday language. Yeah, because I think that
why does it have to be so difficult and complex,
you know? So I'm trying to my audience is someone
(20:48):
who wants to read something quickly and get the concepts
and move on. So my books are all short. They're
priced inexpensively. One day I went and I saw that
one of my books was most wished for, and I thought,
I don't want to be in the most wish for category.
I want that person to afford the book. So I
immediately dropped the price because I thought, you know, I
(21:12):
don't want you to wish for it, I want you
to buy it. So they're actually all I actually didn't
do that concept, which is really smart about for different
ages or different audiences. Min are all for the same audience.
It's just probably all this content would have made one
massive book, but it's just more fun to get it
(21:32):
in smaller pieces. I think. Yeah, if you read about
you know, marketing for authors, I mean all of us,
me too. Our attention span has gotten much smaller. I
still like to read big, boring books, but most people
don't so I think getting your content down into something
easily digestible is really good.
Speaker 1 (21:54):
And I also find as an editor, I also find
that having smaller segments allows your rea to read a
bit and then stop and think, walk away, let the
subconscious work and deal with that piece before you come
back and read another piece if it is, you know,
when it's complex materials. So all right, where can people
(22:14):
find you? And where can they buy your books?
Speaker 2 (22:17):
Well? You have my isn't that my website right there? Yep?
Speaker 1 (22:21):
Hell, if you're listening on the podcast, it's Katherine Aman
dot com. And we'll also drop the YouTube and Facebook
and your books are where.
Speaker 2 (22:33):
They're all on Amazon. They're also on other places, but
you know, Amazon sells seventy percent of the book so
they're also on Ingram's Park for those of you who
are writers. They're also on smash Words and draft to
Digital and all these other places. I'm on social media Instagram, Facebook,
(22:54):
all the usual places.
Speaker 1 (22:55):
Yeah, beautiful, Thank you so much, and thank you for
joining us on Author Nations. I hope this conversation has
provided you with some sparking ideas on how you can
write a series and the inspiration to actually do it.
Grab a friend, meet two hours a week, and just
start writing. Remember to visit authornation dot online to uncover
a wealth of resources for you. And we really appreciate
(23:18):
your support, So we'd love some feedback. We'd love a like,
we'd love a comment, we'd love to share. I'm sure
you know someone who's in professional practice who would really
benefit from this, so please share that because your participation
helps us continue to deliver these insights to you. So
keep writing, keep creating, and keep sharing your unique stories
(23:40):
with the world.
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