Deborah, with her thirty years of being an ltrepreneur and creating over seven companies, knows exactly what it means to accept the mission. When you make that decision, when you accept the mission to become a solopreneur, to take yourself and your talents to market, then you embrace a life of not only unlimited possibilities, but also the unknown. It's an elixir of fear and bravery that only someone who's
taken the leap really understands. On our show, deb digs deep with her guests to highlight what you the listener wants to know the stories, the whys, and the hows to navigate the journey to success. Get ready to hear from some of the most incredible mission takers from Generation Z to boomers. So sit up, perk up, and get ready to be blown away. Now here is your host, Deborah Drummond.
Hello and welcome back. Mission accepted. I love and astore you, and you know that you are the most stand upon listeners and viewers. I love it if you are watching, you are seeing that we have more than just myself today and more than just a rock star guest. We have a plethora of gorgeous beautiful authors with us today, and thank you so much for being so excited about
the group shows that we're doing. I know that you're getting like, you know, it's kind of like ten X. Are we in the world of two axes and five axes and ten X is your business? So you get to come on to mission accepted and ten X today you're going to three ax your experience listening to these
incredible entrepreneurs. And let's talk about that, because you know, we have people that come on for group podcasts, or we think about actors, we think about authors, we think about musicians, we think about poets, we think about people in the creative world, and we don't really think of them as entrepreneurs. Right. It's like when you meet an author,
you don't go, oh, you own your own business. You don't say that, or an artist you don't say Now, you know, conceptually because we've heard this thing around starving artists, right, I mean, I think that's going to carry through every
generation or something. Maybe then you know it'll change, but you know that they are kind of self funding, but you don't really see them as entrepreneurs, right that have to do marketing and have accountants and do all the things as you see someone like in business entrepreneuring going for it, opening a bakery. Do you know what I mean? It's like that's an entrepreneur. But there's really no difference
other than geography. And so it's really interesting when you get to talk to you know, I'm talking to women today. So these women that are on path and on you know, passion for doing something that may be solo, what they do could be a part of what they do. People to write books for personal reasons, people write books for business reasons. I think it's one of the probably the most powerful extended business cards somebody can do. But it really depends and it starts with why you want to
be an author and what does that look like? And so we're going to dive a little deep intoday because you might be thinking about becoming an author. You might be someone who's done a solo project but don't know what that looks like when you do it collaborate with fifteen or eighteen or twenty five or two hundred other women, what does that look like? What's that experience like? Or vice versa where you may have spent a world doing collaborative books and you're like, I know there's my book
inside me that I need to do. And then sometimes like a couple of ladies that are joining us today, that date got pushed pretty quickly because the opportunity triggered that. Why so I would like to introduce you to our Author's Day. We have Mss Kathy Holt, we have Leslie Kapps, and we have Carol Koppleman, and we're going to just kind of do a little conversation and join in, join in. You are going to be so inspired today. You are
going to be an inspired inspired audience. Kathy, let's start a little bit with you, if you'd like to say hello and talk to people about what it is that you're like you. I know that you're in process. Maybe share with us where you're at in terms of your book production right now.
Yes, Thanks Deben, Thanks for bringing us all together and giving us this opportunity. Just briefly, I probably have been a writer most of my life. I wrote my first short story when I was five years old and recovering from a ton selectomy and I had to tell my story. My first job was as a medical writer and a science writer, and I wrote many helped ghost write some
medical books. Medical and wrote some medical journal articles and then magazine articles, and then I worked my way into leadership and women, helping women develop their leadership capacities and skills. And I just have this burning need to share wisdom information I've gathered so that women maybe don't have to make the same mistakes I did or have, you know, to make their path easier when they want to be leaders. And so that's why I'm writing my solo book now.
Wow, fantastic, Thank you so much for sharing. And what about you, Leslie.
Hey, thanks for having me.
I'm honored to be and this Smorgas board of authors, right, and I was listening to Kathy's story and it made me think that I started writing too when I was in grade school, right, those books, and you know they were about animals who had lives and yeah, probably a little freaky now, but and you know, I was always a person even in graduate school that they put the limit on pages for right, there's a limit of forty pages. So I was like, seriously, because I got more stuff
to say. But in all reality, as you know, I did not necessarily plan on a book, but it was the opportunity and.
I'd had like this idea in my head.
And again, you know, when I took it on, somebody said, oh, you need to hit that fifty thousand word mark. So I was like, okay, I'll get that done right. So it was again that that sort of thing of yeah, what's the limit that we can get to. But I think as women and especially women entrepreneurs, we want to tell our story right. We want to help people on this journey. And really my goal would be to switch the eighty twenty so eighty percent of entrepreneurs succeed instead
of the twenty that we see now. Some of the basics are very simple, so that's kind of my message, and particularly women for crying out loud, like we have babies.
We bring life into the world like online business. Come on, we can handle that.
Well, that's funny. You should be listening to us pre show or listening to me pre show.
Thank you so much.
I love that. I you know when you talk and Kathy, you triggered it off from me, and Leslie you made me. Remember I don't know if anyone else had one, but I had a diary. I had a diary with a little blog that you know, my brother could pick with a bobby pin. You know, and you know, I used to keep it in a little sacred place and we used to write about our day or write about things that happened. And I was a journal writer for seventeen
years now. If you had asked me, you know, before I started doing publication and what have you heard many years ago, if I was a writer, I'd be like, well, I've never really written anything. But when you think about probably how much we all have written, and how we used to have to write essays and you know, go get you know, go get data and actually write it out.
They say now that most people don't actually write for more than two hours a day, like they actually don't write things out more than twas a day because we're texting and typing and doing all the things. But I think that's really interesting when you say that about how you truly really have been a writer. I mean conceptually,
if you have concepts, then you write them down. And then the opportunity that Leslie's talking about and Kathy's participating in that as well, is that if you've been following two sixty two and if you're listening to this podcast, you definitely have you know where we've been, you know where we're going, you're listening, you're tied in, you're you know, we're super fans of you. Hopefully you're super fans of us.
You know that we were at the Emmy's with the two sixty two book and these two women are in it, and also we're on our way to the Oscars and the beautiful thing about how when people work together, we don't keep that those secrets to ourselves. So these these two ladies were like what Now, Kathy was at the Emmy, she saw live what went on there. And they are writing their book in a time frame because they have the opportunity to also present their book at that forum.
And so sometimes, you know, the opportunity comes, which is what you were just sharing about, and all of a sudden you're like, oh, those fifty thousand words or whatever it is, somehow moves to the top of your priority list. Which takes me to miss Carol, because Carol has well she'll tell you how many collaboratives she's been in, and she's going to tell you about this solo book and I got to tell you. Let me tell you this is an incredible title Entrepreneurs. So Carol Koppelman wrote, do
the necessary and the rest go to hell. I'm sure these two women have had to do because the date for their you know, final chapter was put upon them before they started the process. So Carol, maybe share with us a little bit about what made you decide to do a solo book, what was behind the solo book, and maybe how long it took you, like, share some of the experience with us on that process.
Yes, like the other two ladies, I was writing from the age of about five. My dad gave me one of those old composition books, and so I started writing. I was writing little new lands, you know, I made up my own little land. I wrote poetry and that kind of thing, and I got into I wrote short stories that I got published earlier on in my teens, and then went on to become a professional technical writer
for many, many years. But once I retired, semi retired, let's say I retired from the corporate world, I had the opportunity to write a book, and I figured at the point my life experience was as valid as anybody else's, So I thought I'd write about that kind of to help other young women and maybe middle you know, young women and older to deal with certain transitions and I'd
had some like everybody had some transitions. So it actually it was like giving birth because because I had to pull back into some very painful periods of my life, some good periods and some bad periods. And when I came to the title, I actually my mom had because they had lived in India for a while several years, and I had visited there, and one of the terms used in India is do the necessary or do the needful, and so I looked up the origin of that and
it's Saint Francis of ASSISI is do the necessary. So I thought, well, that's a great title. And I had to have a subtitle, so I went in the kitchen I asked my Vietnam veteran husband. I said, so, what should my subtitle be? He said, let the rest go to hell.
So that's how it was.
Such a it's such a I'm kind of in sort of esoteric land all the time. My husband is very much down to earth, and it was it actually is an excellent way of looking at things, do the necessary
and let all this other crap go somewhere else. Right, So yeah, but it is like it is literally like having a baby or you know, going through that whole process, because it's you're having to delve into really delve really deep inside of yourself and and try to present that in a way that other people will understand and empathize with.
Now, thank you for sharing that, and that was that's that's great. How you came up with your title. I can't wait to hear Kathy and Leslie share on another show how their title finally came to pieces. Yeah, but that's so funny. The process when you decided to write
the book. Some people write the book for the personal journey, and you talked about how yours was personal journey, but also some people write the book like these ladies to be able to help people make a better way, And it sounds like yours was a bit of a combination, and I think it, yes, right, Yes, we draw from our personal experiences and those that bring it forward, you know, some of the stories that we tell. And I've heard
people say that before. I know people that have done like pure personal books and they said that, you know, some of the stuff they were writing that they it was trauma based and they needed to have, like, you know, a counselor or someone to go to to make sure that they were not triggered in what have you? So writing a book can be all over the place. I mean, being an author of an instructional business book, you know, all the way to having something where someone's writing a
story which is very deep. It sounds like yours was somewhere in between. I'm going to ask ladies, let's talk a little bit about well before we talk a little bit about, you know, the decision to take the book to market, but it's in the decision to writing it. So you've all talked about your decision to write the book, and then let's talk about how are you finding time for process? What are you doing to carve time out? What did you do, Carol to make it a priority,
because clearly it got to market somehow. I mean there's people that have had books on their desk for ten fifteen years. Is it timing, is it procrastination or are they you know, they are not doing the necessary I'm not sure. Maybe they need to read your book. But let's talk a little bit about the process before you decide to take it to market. So, Kathy, how are you maneuvering it in your life? You've just moved, You've got lots of things on the go. Your daughter has
you traveling around the world. You know, what, how are you What are you doing to make the time to write the book.
Well, I think it's just being intentional. I have learned a lot about and making sure that I have it on my calendar and really sticking to my calendar.
I've also learned to say no. As you said, I have been doing a lot of traveling. And for example, right now, I was.
Asked and kind of crussured to be in an international meeting, a UN meeting in Istanbul and then going on to Cairo to be in one for next week. And I learned that I could say no. It wouldn't be the end of the world, even though I usually have learned to say yes, because opportunities come when you don't expect them. But I really know I needed to focus on this book and that I was not going to let other things distract me. And as you said, I just moved
from Texas to Connecticut. And if you really saw my office right now, not here where I am.
Sitting, it is piled high with books.
But I allow myself a.
Certain amount of time each day to do the to do the boxes, and the rest of the time I'm just being very intentional. This is super important to me and I have to get it done. So that's that's kind of the way I've I've worked on my time scheduling.
I guess you could say.
Yeah, I know it's important, and Leslie, how about you?
Yeah, some of the same.
Right, we get hung up in how things have to be and how our day has to work.
And I totally let go of that.
Like I wore the same stuff every day, right, I had like I like to cook ahead, so I had stuff in the freezer, so I pretty much just pulled stuff out of the freezer.
Never cooked.
Had to walk the dog, right because he's very bossy and opinionated, But everything else, right, I let go. And this will sound super weird. I fell down some stairs right kind of in the middle of the process. So I was like being that black and blue and stitches in my head. But it allowed me to put off everything right.
It allowed me.
Not to meet with people, not to go to any networking. So in retrospect, it was really a blessing.
And I had two weeks there where that is what I did.
I also like I just leaned into inspiration, like if I had something on my calendar and I got inspiration.
I totally bounced it back and I went with that momentum right.
Likewise, I granted myself the grace too when I struggled for kind of my period was more than an hour.
On a chapter. That was it like I walked away.
I moved on or whatever I needed to do, but really stepped away from being super like Ah in it.
I think I mentioned.
Too, I went out. So my thing is to clean the garage. I don't know why I gotta clean garage. So in the middle of writing, I'll be like, Oh, I got to go clean the garage. Or I love to cut down trees with my sawsle I'd be like, oh, I got to go cut down trees. So again, just sort of working that in because I knew that was part of my ability to stay grounded.
Yeah.
Wow, thank you so much for sharing that. That's I love I relate to when it's like going to the garage. For me, it's tidying something up, organizing the closet. You know, I just pulled things. I mean, there's you know the world is abundant right now in my world, lot's doing, and I just went and pulled the stuff out like for the winter and to change my jackets. It'll take me twenty minutes, but it'll make me feel in that many accomplished so that I can go back into I
won't say chaos. I'll say multiplex, you know, go back into things that are you know, in an ever changing state. And I think it's important, you know it is for me. It's a form of meditation, right, meditation.
It's quiet.
I'm having myself. I have my time with myself. You know, I get to talk to myself and have a little conversation and you know, I have a friend in me. You know. If there a song have at Carol for you when you were doing your book, what was it that you because you know, we have other things in our lives, right. You got a husband he's like, you know, let's get get her done. But what's that? What did you use to be able to make sure you got your book done or what was your process?
Well?
Actually, you know I wrote it during the pandemic, at the beginning of the pandemic, so I had a lot of time inside and I would and my husband was very supportive or whatever whatever I did. And so, uh, but I I remember I would sit around and cogitate a lot, and then I'd have to process some of
these feelings. But actually, once I went through, it was so cathartic to go through this process that the person I was when I wrote that book, and that was about four years ago, I think something like that, I'm not I don't even resemble that person. And actually it was a good thing to talk about the past, but in an in kind of an instructive way and a helpful way to someone else who might be encountering the
same things. So it was cogitation, writing little notes to myself and also employing some of the same things, cleaning the closet or doing something else to kind of get myself out of that space and then meditate a little bit. So I did a lot of that thing, but most of it was just thinking about things that. Like I said, it took about four or five months probably to write this, So that's what I went through.
Yeah, and I think that it's interesting. Thank you for sharing. I think it's interesting because people make decisions to write books like we talked earlier, Like I said earlier, for different reasons. Some have timelines, some don't. Timelines could be a blessing for some people. And then there's that creative process. If you haven't said it to yourself, you've probably heard other authors say it. It's like, but there's so much
more I can tell, you know. Or some people have a hard time stopping a book and I'm like, you can do another one, you know, people like I have a trilogy in me. Sometimes when you start to open up the gate, you're like, I have a trilogy in me. You're like, perfect, you know, so did JKR Rawlings?
Look at her?
She did good. So just you know, say what you say in one book and kind of like what you said now four years later, you know, there's a whole different Carol that would write from a whole different way. And I think that at every stage that we write, whether it's instructional, and we were always learning more about life and we're always learning more about our craft, right, But there's people that are where you were at four
years ago that needed to hear it. And I think that's the beautiful thing about books is that I just spoke to a woman prior to getting on the show and she's like, oh my gosh, you know, da da da da da da dad, And I wish I was you, and I'm like, oh, you know, have you read the book?
You know, but.
There's people that are exactly you know. I was giving her advice from something that happened to me three years ago. She's got it going on right now. So I'm like, Okay, this is what you need to do, and this is what's happened, and da da da da da, and you've been this and there's trigger like all this stuff and
that was a three year ago experience. So that's what I think about the beautiful thing about a book and why I feel like a book can be everlasting because not the world doesn't grow, you know, growing at the same pace that you are. And what we've had to say on our journey and is so important for someone who's now embarking on their journey. And you know, I'm sure we all have read books over and over and
over again. One of the books that I read, well, I think after the tenth time I stopped was Thinking over Rich by Napoleon Hill. But the book that changed my life, And I'm going to ask you, what was the book that changed your life? Shakki guy one Living in the Light.
Now.
I was in last year of high school and I found this book and it was it was a book that talked the concept of feminine masculine energy. And I was like, oh my god, someone's talking about what's going on in my body, you know, because that wasn't a conversation that was, you know, really top of mind for people when I was in nice school. Right, that's not femin energy. But it changed my life and it made me feel like I wasn't you know, I had what
I was experiencing someone else was experiencing. And so it was an amazing book that I read over and over again. And then the opportunity came to go see Shafty Guy one. She was at a Christchurch cathedral in Vancouver, and I was like, oh my gosh, I'm gonna go listen to this woman. And she's talking about her experience about writing this book, and I was like, well, that's interesting, right, and then she's like, you know, I read it now, and I think, oh my god, I can't believe I
gave such crappy advice. I was thinking, what are you talking about? That advice changed my life? You were you know. I was, I'm like a super fan, what are you doing? You're working my heart here? And she was like, I can't believe when I read it that people actually got value from that nice way I get to put that. You know, she had so far advanced and she was like, what was I thinking when I wrote that stuff? And I'm like, well, what you were thinking saved my butt
is a long way to tell you that story. But that was the book that really changed my life. Ladies, what is a book Kathy that really made impression upon you or changed your life? Oh, we can't hear.
You ahead, Sorry, I had workers around here. There have been quite a few, actually, and I'm trying to think. I mean, for me, a lot of them were in the seventies and some of the feminist writings about just beat women having value and being equal. There's Audrey Lord, there was Gloria Steinem. There were just quite a few books that just kind of got me motivated and got me a little angry that we weren't already being considered equal.
And you know, I got involved in the e er work and things like that, so it would be hard to really just just look at one book. I think it was a compilation we as we've been talking about all these different yeah, of all these different women and their thoughts and and their beliefs and their passion. And I got to work with Bella Abzuck for a little while when I was working in politics, you know, very
early in my career. So just having all this these these messages and hearing what they had to say and how they were so passionate and going forward with the with women's rights and so there would be just there's quite a few, right, So.
That made an impression upon And of course you're writing about leadership and how women becoming leaders and how that's played into your book today. And Leslie, what about yourself?
Well, you know, Glorious Synems might hear right, So she's always been the voice in my head. So certainly that genre of book. But I have to say, like when you said that, I was. I really thought Martin Luther King like his writings and as well as Malcolm X, Like I got really into that.
And there was something about Malcolm.
X's story of when he began to change, because I think we all have this perception that he was really hateful, and he certainly was at one point, right, and then he made this huge shift in his personal beliefs and everything else, and that's when he was killed and they for that. For me, that has always stuck with me, that ability to make that one to eighty shift. And from the outside we have this perception, right, and yet people can make that and change completely everything about themselves.
And you know, I just had to mention too, that whole change process through the book. I think I even talked about it a little in the book, and it was very quick, right, but I knew the person who began writing the book would not be the same person who ended up writing the book.
And I see everybody nodding.
It's such a process as you get really focused and get clearer, you know each chapter, and you can almost see like how your thought process is changing as well. And maybe that's a part that I liked about the Malcolm story and why it's segueing for me, right, is that change process we make whatever we're doing in the world.
No true true, true true? And Carol, what about for yourself?
There's a lot of books, but I was thinking of Eat, Pray, Love, Oh yeah, Elizabeth Gilbert. And I think because I was always a gypsy really for much of my life, I'm a little more nesting at this point in my life, so I didn't reverse but so and also the transition she went through in their life and from a woman's perspective of she kind of fell locked down in her marriage and then she went on the adventure all over the world, and just that really influenced a lot of
my thinking. I really loved that book. Beautiful book, beautiful movie.
Yeah, no, right, I had a moment with it myself. It made a big change for my life. And I, you know, ended up going to Rome, not you know, not because of the book, but I didn't even you know. Anyways, it triggered off me going to Rome my first trip that I went by myself, and I was like, Oh, this is what they're talking about. This is truly being on a trip in doing what you want when you want. It was amazing. It was amazing. So you have your
writing solo books, and you've written a solo book. All of you ladies have been part of a collaborative book. I know you've been part of you know, to sixty two, and Carol, you've been part of two sixty two from a speaking standpoint and being on the stage and this whole inner, you know, in our movement of women coming together and the causes and what that means, and you know,
solidarity and collaboration and all the good stuff. But there's many different collaborative books so and they all usually have a different theme, you know. The one that we just finished producing had to do about women and solidarity and self funding women and all the good stuff that we've been talking about. So I'm going to wrap up a little bit with your launches and things like that, so maybe fairly a little quickly share the difference. Was there
a difference? Did you have to go inside to the same degree? What was it like to write in a collaborative now versus writing your own So Kathin, let's start with you.
Well, the thing about a coat collaborative book is it's much shorter, so that does make it a little easier. But I think for me, at least, I had to still go deep, so that I wanted to make sure that those few words that I was contributed, compared to the whole volume of the book were were heart centered, and that they came from my experience and my beliefs and my passion and my values. So I think the
same internal work had to go into the process. The actual writing, once again was probably a little easier because it is shorter. But I whatever I've written ever throughout my lifetime, even when I've been writing for magazines or even for medical journals, I had to make sure that it resonated with the reader. That so many times, you know, even technical writing seems dry and people don't read it. So as Carol, she's been a technical writer, so I'm
sure she couldn't probably say talk to this too. Is that you still have to put in something that makes them want to read it so that it resonates with them.
And it's not just you know, blah blah blah science science, science kind of thing.
Yeah, So so that part it does go.
It did.
It takes the internal work I think is similar in this and but it's just a matter of.
Fewer words, which is sometimes harder than a lot of words.
I would agree with you. I talked about this yesterday about how one of my biggest presentations that I was told, you know, in front of an audience was four minutes. They wanted me to teach how to raise conscious children in four minutes. So I was like, oh, I can do that in one minute. I came out and like, if you all want to have conscious children, be conscious parents. Got to go you know what I mean, like, no, I didn't do that, but the but I agree with you,
like you know, and Leslie talked about it earlier. It can be difficult to get it tight, you know, I know, because you know I would write something and Dorothea would send it back to me and go, you're five hundred words over. I'm like, how can I be five hundred words over when I'm only be writing seven hundred words? Like how's that possible? And getting it tight and getting it tight and making it impactful. Sometimes you feel like
you're losing part of yourself and what have you. But I have to say when I see the you know, when I see it finished and it's in a collaborative I mean, I like the collaborati because there's joy, joy, happy, happy community community, and that makes it a little easier and it tends to be someone else's theme, right, like at least you know, you know, you got your eye on writing about that, so it can be easier, but it can also be more difficult, and that I found difficult.
Yet the impact I found to be just for me at this point, just as grand right, proud of the piece, Leslie, what about yourself?
So Yeah, such different experiences, right, Like I love the collaborative without a doubt, right, getting to meet super amazing women like you all and all the others in the two sixty two book, having that support and community. I agree with Kathy in the sense of like words matter, right, So whether we're writing fifty thousand or one hundred, it's always that real intentional focus. What are we saying? Are we saying true to ourselves? A solo book, gosh, I
don't know if I'd written one without the opportunity. It was kind of on the back of my mind. But it's an undertaking. But I will say, like I having a short timespan, like I super focused, I had an intention. I'm very self critical, like I can step back and go, oh, like that super sucks or that was freaking brilliant, and that's in the same sentence, right, so yeah, you know.
And then and I tried to kind of like the collaborative, right, I tried to bring people in, had beta readers and people reading behind me going okay, like we don't know what you're talking about, or yeah, maybe or whatever. It is so such a different experience, but yeah, so I think you should do one of both.
Or one of many, right.
One of many, one of many. We have many stories to tell. Do share and Carol for yourself liked.
I liked both, you know, I liked having the opportunity to do my own book, but also the collaborative piece because we would have at least monthly meetings with the others and so we would it would help us refine our theme. And I agree with Kathy that and you that it's so hard. It's harder actually if to have a five hundred word limit or something like that is actually hard, a little bit more challenging to get everything
you want to say in that area. And so I found that actually more challenging than writing my book, because I really have to to really focus on, Okay, what are we really what is our theme? Is isn't and actually is it going to mesh with everybody else's thing? And that was the beauty of having these meetings that we could throw things around and then you know it really refined pieces. So yeah, both formats are great.
Both formats are great. I mean I almost recommend if someone's not an author, right, that being part of a collaborative, particularly if you're going to use it for a business extension or project extension, or you're an artist and you want to tell the story, if you're an artist because you want to sell your art, or whatever. I feel like, if you've had a collaborative experience conceptually, I think it
makes it much easier before you write your solo. I think because you have an understanding, you're like, oh, this is a launch date, and this is what a book launch looks like, and this is what oh okay, and you know you've put yourself through that thought process would seem to me. But we're going to be wrapping it up, ladies, and I all look at those beautiful hearts that Kathy's got. So let's just kind of walk around a little bit
and talk about Kathy. Let's go back to you. You are in the process, and let's talk about the launch. Let's talk about the day that you get to share your piece of art with your friend's family or foremost. So I know, Carol, that you've done a lunch, we're gonna talk. We're gonna leave you to last to say how you did yours. Kathy, do you have plans for doing a launch? What is it that you're doing. I'll let you share it yourself.
Well, I'm learning a lot from you, Deb and I really appreciate that and from everybody who's done a lunch, and I'm really anxious to hear what Carol has to say, because that is.
A little for me daunting.
I guess you could say, I know it will be at the OSCARS, so I know that will be a big effect, and I know I will be launching it at one of the two sixty two speakers summits. But planning a launch, I would probably need to do a launch in Texas because I have such a you know, so many friends there and I know they will want to be help participate in that and celebrate it because
I've lived there for a really long time. I also would love to try and do a launch in New York, where I also live part time, but that finding all those kind of people, you know, and all these people to come to it. I do have quite a few friends there too, but that is that would be quite
an an undertaking. But I do know that it's important and I would you know, I also will be doing some launches online, you know, to really to really promote the book, because I think writing it is difficult, marketing it can be as difficult or more difficult, because I do want to make sure that what I've written gets into the hands of women who need it or who might be inspired by it. Because why write wants something if you're not trying to impact or inspire for me other women.
So awesome We're going to have to do. We'll do at an author launch show all the different types of launches you can do and all the different We'll do this really cool concept and throw ideas out there and we'll have an interactive My listeners are like, Kay, let's get you so called. Okay, so cool, and Leslie, how about yourself?
A similar position to Kathy right, have been through the launch with you doing some stuff behind the scenes, also cultivating the community already, right to help me with that in mind?
Is gonna be like a rolling launch apparently?
Yeah, I kind of say that, like rolling my eyes, right, it seems like a launch that goes on forever. But gonna go ahead and launch it right before Christmas because I need those physical copies, and then right to the oscars and then to March eighth, so I'm sure by March eighth.
I'll be like Holy Molly.
But yeah, trying to plan all that I think in some ways. You know, you look back and I was like, fully, the writing the book, that was the easy part. Yeah, Now it's all these other things that you're like, oh, oh I haven't thought it. Oh I gotta do that, I gotta do that.
So yeah, yeah, And and you know, the cool thing I say to people is that you can launch and relaunch your book at any time, right, and people are as excited for you now as they are then. And that book that a book is a moving piece, unlike a piece of art, which I love art. I mean, if I don't know if I have any more room on my walls, honestly, so it's getting pretty bad. They're doubling and you know, somewhere under a bed at this point.
But the but an art piece is, you know, you can move that piece to different parts of your world. But the book, the book. You know, books can be redone and revised and recalibrated and relaunched, and it is actually a moving piece of art. I think. And so for you, Carol, wrap us up on the launch part.
And well, you know, I had no idea what was going on. I went through a through a publishing company who took care of a lot of the marketing that was part of the package, and so I really didn't know.
So she set up the launch party. I had to have several people look at the book ahead of time, so I had a launch party I think about twenty people or something like that, and then they would look on Amazon and and make reviews and stuff like that, and then she would she did a podcast with me, and then I was part of some networking groups that also wanted to interview me for podcasts. So it kind of get to name the word out. So it was kind of went in there kind of like I don't
know what's going on. First time I'd ever been on a podcast. I was scared to death. I dressed up way too much because this isn't the you know, like right after the in the middle of the pandemic and I've been worried. You know, there's all my sweatshirts all the time, and I'm like, i have to wear makeup.
So it was it's.
I think having that launch team ahead of time and helping with kind of have some back up and getting yourself out there is a big deal. So people are aware of your book.
Absolutely, thanks so much for sharing. And I think that. That's really about it, right, having people know what you're doing.
You know, it's.
Not helpful if you're using it for marketing to like announce it the week before the book comes out. There's all sorts of things and maybe we'll do we'll do a thing on that, and we talk about that a lot, Like I talk about that a lot in terms of
marketing and pre and I know Leslie right now. You can follow Leslie and she'd like day this and day that, and she's on our way to the Oscars and she's doing her thing, and we're talking about it as much as we can, and keeping the process alive and people engaged in what you're doing, and letting people cheer you on, you know what I mean, and then really owning that you've created something that only three percent in the world do how many people want to versus how many people do.
So for any of you listeners out there are viewers that are watching that are thinking that you have a book inside you, we encourage you to start digging in that, maybe start writing about you wanting to write, you know, reaching out. I think that's very important. I don't say that because I do it. In terms of getting support around a book launch, but it's very important. It makes a difference between success and you know it's going to
make a difference in your numbers. Absolutely everything that we do is a marketing piece if you're using it, if you're doing it for anything other than just your personal development. You want to put a book on the market because it was part of something that's your sole therapy. I call you know what I mean, where you don't really care if anyone reads it. You wanted to make that children's book, you wanted to make that movement, and you wrote it because it was important for you to check
off your list. It was a soul, it was a sole thing. But most people are writing books to help people get seen, get heard, and that is part of the launch, right and very different than the energy of writing the book. So people can contact us for information like that. Kathy, you have a few things.
To Yeah, I just want to plod leslie her Facebook Live process about writing the book. I'm trying to get up the courage to do all this facebok live. I'm practicing a little bit because those have been phenomenal. I've just really to me, they're a joy, They're entertaining, but they're also joyful because I see the joy in you in doing it.
Also a little bit of the.
Stress, but you just seem so happy about what you're accomplishing.
So congratulations on the Facebook lives.
Yeah, thank you so much.
Awesome. So look at follow us into sixty two. All of these ladies are going to have their information in the show notes. You're going to be able to contact them. Follow Leslie the book. You know we're going to be when this show goes. These ladies are going to be further along in their process. Carol, we're going to have her information about her book. Carol's also been part of fifteen collaboratives, so she has good experience on both sides. If you want to be in a book, you know
where we are, right you know where we are. We have space in our two sixty two book to hear your story if you are a self funding woman, and we have all sorts of incredible projects going on, and I know of many people that have incredible projects that are going on that are maybe doing a book that
you're more aligned with, you know what I mean? And I just put two guys together yesterday because he's in rockbusting right on, right on, right, But we're here to celebrate with you and please come join us on the Summits. You know, these are standups, speak up and show up, and they are for women and those that support women. So that's everybody, that's all of you out there. Come on and see and you will see a lot of authors.
You will see a lot of people doing a lot of really cool things that take bravery, just like authoring does. And so if you have, you know, if you have a book that you want to talk about, come do it on the summit. If you have a book withinside you and you need some support, we're here to help cheer you on, and as always we just love and endore you. Thank you so much for being an inspirational audience, ladies, Thank you for joining us today and sharing more insight
into your project. We're looking for international best selling status over and over and over and over again for you and we know you'll have it. And congratulations for braving up taking your first book launch to the to the oscars. Uh. You know they're gonna get dressed up, Carol, You know what I mean, Like if you're going to go go, you know what I mean, like, if you're gonna you have a little fear, might as well do a big one. It's kind of like doing a half shot of tequila.
Forget it, do the you know, take the full blast. You don't go for it, and we will see you again here next week at Mission Accepted podcast.
Thank you ladies.
And before we go, I think really quickly, you're going on a trip, your book's finished, you've had multiple launches, You're like, give me the dakery, and I'm going to go on a vacation and I'm taking one suitcase and I can take one album, one only one. What song singer or you know, musician do you want to hear from when you when you land on that private island, Kathy, I.
Would probably say, right now, there's a song Confident that I really really listen to because it just it's celebrate, it's celebratory. And where would I go? I would probably not go to a beach.
I would go to Ireland.
Okay, you're going to Ireland and you're listening celebratory Okay, And Leslie, I gotta go with my girl Lizzo.
It's about damn time, Right.
About dan time by Lizzo and Carol.
Carol King Tapestry Desert island.
Awesome, you're a theme. Okay, ladies, thank you for joining us audience. Thank you, we'll see you next week. And until we see you again, you'll be well and you stay groovy.