I’m not sure why we do this. Maybe we over-compensate in our desire to stay humble. In the process, we undermine the value of the gift we bring to the world naturally.

What comes naturally to you as a writer? Is it storytelling? Outlining a book? Editing? Proofreading? Making clients feel comfortable? Writing a draft quickly? Systems for book production?

Let me share some of the natural skills of a few friends in the Daily Writer Club.

Lucas Marino is a course creator who has a natural skill for taking your book content and turning it into a course.

Karen Hunsanger is an editor who has a natural skill for rooting out errors in your manuscript and making you look better.

M.J. James is a coach for burned-out business moms. She has a natural skill at listening and helping you see the roadblocks that prevent you from having a more peaceful life.

Andrew Wood is a former college professor who is an incredible researcher. He has a natural gift for knowing how to organize complex material and write it in a way you and I can understand.

Perry Gabbard is a former aerospace engineer who is one of the most natural and gifted storytellers I’ve ever met.

Lori Melton is a coach who has a natural calming presence and a gift for helping others discover their spiritual mentors.

Brigitte Cutshall is a runner and book production specialist who has a natural skill for creating books that look amazing.

These natural skills are not unique to them. You also have a natural gift and special skill that is powerful! That’s what makes you a genius in everybody else’s eyes.

Whatever that skill is, you can combine it with writing to create a powerful business and author platform.

Don’t run from your gift. Don’t hide it. Instead, embrace it, cherish it, and nurture it. God gave it to you for a reason!

Today’s Challenge: Grab a piece of paper and write down your natural gift. You know what it is. Are you using it to its fullest potential? How can you keep developing it and combine it with writing books to serve others or even build a business?

The post It’s Natural for You, But Genius to Someone Else appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.

In this series, we’ve talked about ten ways to make money as a writer:

1. Book sales
2. Freelance writing
3. Ghostwriting
4. Editing & publishing services
5. Speaking
6. Coaching
7. Courses
8. Products
9. Membership & masterminds
10. Affiliate marketing

These aren’t the only ways to make money as a writer, of course, but these are ten of the most common ones.

Now that you’ve heard about them, what’s next? How do you get started?

While you may want to eventually make money with all of these income streams eventually, you can’t put them all into practice right now. I suggest that you reach for the low-hanging fruit first—meaning the easiest options. For most writers, that is probably going to be doing freelance writing or ghostwriting, plus getting some book sales.

If you’re getting started with making money as a writer, I’d recommend the following course of action over the next 90 days. Choose one, two, or all of them.

1. Start working on a very short book you can complete and publish in three months. Shoot for about 20,000 words or 120 pages or so. A short book will validate you as a writer and give you immediate credibility.
2. In the meantime, tell people in your network that you’re building a writing business and you’re available to write blog posts, social media posts, podcast show notes, or other short-form content. Create a sheet with your pricing options and make this easily available. Do a bit of work for free in order to get a testimonial and referral, then build on that momentum as you get more paid work.
3. Become an affiliate for a couple of products or services that you love. Then, start promoting those to your email list and other places. If you don’t yet have an email list, it’s time to get started. I recommend ConvertKit.

If you get to work immediately and take consistent, daily action on just these three items, within three months you are almost certain to have some income from writing. It will be slow at first, but keep at it and you will succeed over time.

Question: Which of the three steps I’ve mentioned are you willing to commit to over the next 90 days?

The post Making Money as a Writer: How to Get Started appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.

Coaching is a very broad term that can mean different things in different contexts. But generally, you are there to help the client become more successful in a certain area.

Coaching is usually done in either an individual or a group setting. It can also be done as a one-off coaching session, or it can be ongoing over a period of time. If you have specialized knowledge in a certain area, it can be a great opportunity to help people in a deep way.

I have benefited from coaching in a lot of different ways over the years. Two of the paid masterminds I’m in right now include individual coaching as part of the group structure. And twice in the past year, I have paid coaches for one-off sessions on specific topics.

I’m a huge fan of coaching because it’s basically a fast track to success in a specific area. For example, I hired my good friend John Schuchman, a social media coach for real estate agents, to do an hour of coaching with me on social media for the Daily Writer. I learned things from him in one hour I couldn’t have figured out on my own in the course of a year.

I have never offered group coaching, but I’ve done a lot of individual coaching, primarily related to helping people with their books.

As a writer, you have specialized knowledge in certain areas. A simple way to get started is to offer one-on-one coaching around the same topic you write about. Your books and other content can be a great way to promote your coaching services, which allows someone to get individual help in a way they can’t experience just by reading your books.

If you’re just getting started with coaching, I recommend the incredible book The Prosperous Coach by Rich Litvin. It’s one of the best business books I’ve ever read. I’d also recommend offering a few coaching sessions for free as a way to help you get some practice and also provide you with some testimonials if you want to take your coaching practice further.

Question: How could you expand your knowledge and impact by offering group or individual coaching as part of your overall business?

The post Making Money as a Writer: Coaching appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.

I hope your 2022 is off to a great start. Here it is, the end of January, and we’ve had a solid month to get some meaningful work done toward our goals. How are things going for you?

At this point, a lot of people give up on their goals and say, “Maybe next year.” But I want you to know that it’s never too late to make significant things happen in your writing, your life, and your business. How do you do that? By being intentional. Success doesn’t just happen by accident.

I’m excited to have a guest with us today who’s going to help us do exactly that. His name is Joe Bukartek, and he is an Intentional Lifestyle Coach. Joe is a former undergraduate academic advisor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he supported thousands of students in achieving academic success. His first eight years post-undergrad, Joe worked in Corporate America in finance and contracts in the D.C. metro area. After Joe’s son was born, he redesigned his life to be intentionally more present with his family.

Joe is also the host of the excellent podcast, Intentionally Ever After, which is a great title!

I first got to know through his wife, Melanie, who is an author. She was introduced to me by our amazing mutual friend, Tricia Brouk. So I want to make sure to give both Melanie and Tricia a shout-out here and thank them for the connection to Joe!

Joe was a guest on our Daily Writer Community call a couple of weeks ago, and I wanted to share that call with you here. Joe shared his story of becoming more intentional in his life, and we have a fantastic conversation about what it means to be more intentional with your writing goals, and how to handle speed bumps along the way. This was a really inspiring and fun conversation.

You can learn more about Joe, connect with him, or book your complimentary coaching session below:

Check out Joe’s website, JoeBukartek.com.

Listen to Joe’s Intentionally Ever After Podcast.

Book a complimentary coaching session with Joe.

Connect with Joe on Facebook.

Follow Joe on LinkedIn.

Check out Joe on Twitter.

Reach out to Joe on Instagram.

The post Joe Bukartek: Set Yourself Up for Success with Intentional Planning appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.

Welcome again to my monthly business update. As usual, I will focus on three areas: ghostwriting, The Daily Writer, and personal updates.

Ghostwriting

Here are three important lessons I’m learning:

1. You probably need to raise your prices.
2. Clients are not mainly concerned about your writing ability.
3. Having the right connections makes a huge difference.

The Daily Writer

Let me highlight a few important things happening:

1. DW is getting more active on Instagram with quotes, writing prompts, and other content coming soon.
2. The Daily Writer Community is growing, with courses coming in November. The first course is “How to Build a Writing Habit.”
3. This podcast continues to grow in listenership and provide a source of content to repurpose into other forms.
4. I have started to offer one-on-one coaching to authors to help them get their books written and self-published. (Reach out if interested. Spots are very limited.)
5. I’m working steadily on three books of my own: The Daily Writer, How to Build a Writing Habit (lead magnet), and a secret project!

Personal Update

1. I just completed a half-marathon.
2. I’m considering transitioning to a co-working space.
3. I’m loving The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz.

The post October 2021, Business Update appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.