The Power of Gratitude

What It Takes to Create an Amazon Bestseller

Our recent Amazon bestseller launch for Trust Your Heart: Transform Your Ideas to Income has created quite a bit of buzz and questions about what it takes to create a #1 bestseller launch of this magnitude with no joint venture partners. 

I'll be sharing the inside scoop with Kathleen Gage's VIP Club members on June 13th, but I will give you two key elements here. First and foremost it takes an amazing team of people!  Second, it takes thinking outside the box.

For example, this launch would never have been possible without the masterminding brilliance and copywriting of Lisa Rae Preston. Lisa was my right-hand-woman on this campaign and it was through brainstorming with Lisa that we were able to create a win-win-win for our contributors, our readers and the book. 

Lisa encouraged me to lift the lid on my thinking and come up with something that had never been done before, something so amazing, so compelling that people would be crazy not to buy the book. 

And that's what I'd encourage you to do when you're launching your book (or product or service). It's the tendency of humanity to copy someone else's successful system. In fact, people copy, copy, copy until they run things in the ground, and they're so overdone they don't work anymore. Instead of copying someone else, think outside the box and come up with something unique that has never been done before, something that is so win-win that people can't resist it.

Then, you'll be onto something! 

By the way, if you need help stretching your thinking outside the box so that you take quantum leaps on what's possible, I HIGHLY recommend working with creative genius, Lisa Rae Preston. There's nobody like her!

Oh, and if you haven't picked up a copy of Trust Your Heart: Transform Your Ideas to Income be sure to stop by www.TrustYourHeartSeries.com to find out how you can not only get a copy of the book, but also exclusive interviews with all 19 participants.

Here's what one of our readers wrote me this morning:

"I received the book and I love the info and life changing stories. I listen to the audios while driving to work. It's better than coffee to kick start your day." - R. Willams

 

Collect People Who Transform Your Life!

Some people collect dolls, figurines, or baseball cards. I collect people! There's nothing I love more than meeting someone new with an amazing skill or talent and learning from them. That's why I'm thrilled to announce my new book, "Trust Your Heart: Transform Your Ideas to Income" because I get to share with the world some of my favorite people and how they transformed their ideas into income.

There's so much we can learn from those who have "been there, done that!" These folks all had a dream, faced challenges head-on, and took action on their ideas to transform them into income. And they're sharing their stories in this book -- many of them for the very first time. Not only do each of the 19 contributors share their stories, but they also share tips, strategies and ideas that you can put into action right now to follow your own heart and transform your idea into income.

Last month at the Radiant Success Event, I was able to hang out with several of the contributors to the book. In this photo you'll see me with these wonderful people -- Laura West, Shannon Cherry, Adela Rubio, Janis Pettit and Jessica Swanson (I'm the tall one in the middle). I'd met Adela and Janis before at last year's Radiant Success Event and we planned this year's event together; but it was my first time meeting the others. I'd talked with them on the phone, done business with them online, but never had the chance to meet them face-to-face.  What an incredible group of women! 

I KNOW you're going to love meeting them too within the pages of "Trust Your Heart: Transform Your Ideas to Income." 

AND, on launch day (Wednesday May 18th), we're giving you something extra special... if you have a business that you want the world to know about, we want to help you! If you buy the book from Amazon on Launch Day, you'll get a listing for your "giveaway" on the bonus download page for the book. This means all the buyers of the book will see your lead generator! Find out more at www.TrustYourHeartSeries.com 

Book Academy Convention and Women's Network Launch

I'll be presenting on "The Road Less Travelled: Self-Publishing Your Masterpiece" at the Book Academy Writer's Conference at UVU in Orem Utah on Thursday, September 24th. I'll be signing books in the commons at 11:00am and presenting at 11:30am. Details on registering for the conference are here.

On Saturday, September 26th I'll be attending the Women's Information Network Launch. I won't be presenting but there will be some great presenters there and I'd love to meet you if you're in the Sandy, Utah area. Details on this free event are here.

Overstock Book Sale

One of our distributors was cleaning house and sent back a few cases of books. I'd like my office space back, so I decided to run an Overstock Book Sale on select titles. If you enjoy historical fiction or nonfiction Christian inspirational, now's a great time to stock up.

Packets of Sunlight for Patriots is only $4.95
Packets of Sunlight for Parents is only $4.95
Lord, Are You Sure? is only $5.95
You Can't Fly If You're Still Clutching the Dirt is only $5.95
You're Here for a Reason is only $10.95

The Patriot Wore Petticoats is only $8.95
Waltzing with the Light is only $7.95

Please note that these prices are good only while supplies last. So hop on over to our Overstock Inventory Sale!

Southern Literature

I found the coolest domain the other day and bought it on the spot. It's perfect for my Southern fiction. It's called www.SouthernLit.com and I've loaded all my southern books into it. There's also a video trailer,  excerpt and synopsis of my latest completed manuscript. Would love to hear what you think! :)

Chickamauga Fog Rolling In

In my book Rebecca's Reveries there's an evening scene where the fog rolls in on Rebecca and she has an eerie encounter with the legendary "Old Green Eyes."  A few weeks ago I took this picture of the fog rolling in outside our home. Of course this is the morning fog, and not the evening, but it still gives you an idea of the fog we get around here.

This isn't a foggy evening, but it's an example of some of the exquisite sunsets we see around here.

Radio Interview

Dr. Maxine Thompson interviewed me for her radio show on Artist First last night. It was a fun interview and she let me read an excerpt from Savannah Nights. To listen, go here.

How to Get More Done in a Day

Last week I was interviewed for a Compass Point coachcast about my ebook, "How to Get More Done in a Day Than Most Accomplish in a Week." The interview was recorded and you can listen to it here:

MP3 File
(45 minutes)

Writing Fiction Again

Those of you who read my fiction and keep asking me what I'm working on, I thought I'd give you a little update. Up until this week, I wasn't working on anything. I was stuck because I'm in marketing mode, trying to find an agent for An Uncertain Justice. I thought I had a tiger by the tail with one publisher, but alas, it was not meant to be. And I'm sure in the end I'll look back and say it was all for the best. God's timing is perfect. There's somebody somewhere who wants to publish this manuscript. :) 

Anyway, not progressing with getting my current manuscript to print, I thought, why bother writing anything new? Publishing it myself as I've done in the past never feels right. So back to the literary agent hunt for me. Honestly, I have other activities which are more revenue-generating than writing, my thoughts were that perhaps I shouldn't beat a dead horse. Maybe I should stick with what I do best -- what pays -- marketing talented professionals online.

But something's been nagging me not to give up. Perhaps it's that handful of devoted fiction fans who still have faith in me and still want me to keep writing. Or perhaps it's that little piece of my heart that says it's faithless to stop writing fiction just because I haven't sold my "masterpiece." :)

So, yesterday I blocked off 4 hours for writing fiction. It was painful, excruciating. I wrote perhaps a page on a manuscript I'd started a few months ago. Then, last night I got on the phone with my friend Alanna and told her what I was writing. She brainstormed with me for about 15-20 minutes, and after we got off the phone, I spent the next 40 minutes writing an entire chapter! Dare I say I'm back?!  It felt wonderful.

Today, I'm interviewing Mark Satterfield of Gentle Rain Marketing for the CreateAWOW Podcast from 10-11am, and then I've marked off the rest of the day to write. Those of you who have been hoping for something new from me, offer a little prayer that those juices keep flowing! :)

Stressed? This is What the Doctor Orders

Are you like me, do you sometimes get overwhelmed with so much work and life concerns that you feel the need to escape for a spell? Perhaps you watch a movie or go for a walk. One of my favorite ways to give my mind a little distraction and perspective is to read a good novel. I love ones set in the past, in simpler times when emails, phones and text messages didn't exist. There's one book of this sort that is my all time favorite. I love reading it in the fall when all the pumpkins and autumn leaves make their appearance. It's The Visions of Ransom Lake by Marcia Lynn McClure.

The first time I read The Visions of Ransom Lake, I'd never met Marcia. Her sister gave me the book and it so impressed me that I jumped at the chance to get to know the author. Rich with deep meanings but wrapped up in a delightful feel-good story, The Visions of Ransom Lake is a book I enjoy reading over and over again. And believe me, I'm not the type of person to read a book more than once. If I read a book and then see it on my shelf a couple months or even a year later, my mind instantly replays the plot and I think, "Nah, I know how that one goes -- don't feel like reading it again."

I never feel that way about Marcia Lynn McClure books! People read Marcia's books over and over again because they want to "feel that way again." One of my friends read Marcia's Shackles of Honor 40 times! I do not exaggerate -- because it made her feel so blissfully happy, walking around with a smile on her face for days. She finally had to hide the book in her garage so she'd stop reading it!

Now that Marcia has become one of my dearest friends, I understand why her books make her readers feel so phenomenal. It's because Marcia is so phenomenal! She's one of those rare individuals with such a magnetic personality that you feel wonderful in her presence. Her books are simply an extension of her delightful personality and creative, empathetic soul.

So that's my recommendation for your October reading list -- The Visions of Ransom Lake. And the sweet part is that Marcia has it on sale this month on her web site. Hop on over and get your copy today! http://www.MarciaLynnMcClure.com . I guarantee you a blissfully happy experience.