Ameesha Green is on a nonfiction mission, and this mission includes you (if you’re an aspiring author that is!). That’s why she created the Better Shelves podcast. In this introductory episode, you’ll get to know your host and find out what the series has in store.
You’ll also get an exclusive from podcast producer Shakira Morar who pops in to give writers an exclusive step-by-step guide to becoming a self-published author!
So, put the kettle on and settle down for the next 10 minutes. Listen out for sneak-peak quotes from authors and publishing tips that may inspire you to pick up a pen and start writing a life-changing book of your own.
You can also sign up to The Book Shelf newsletter for monthly bonus tips, quotes, and book recommendations and exclusive insights into nonfiction.
Instagram: @thebookshelf.ltd
Twitter: @thebookshelfltd
Hive: @thebookshelf
Email: hello@thebookshelf.ltd
TOPICS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE INCLUDE:
Nonfiction
Self-publishing
Authors
Writers
Readers
The publishing industry
Better Shelves: Introduction
Ameesha:
Have you always wanted to become an author but aren’t sure where to start? Do you want to write a non-fiction book but don’t know what steps to follow? Then this podcast is for you.
I’m Ameesha and you’re listening to “Better Shelves”, a podcast from The Book Shelf Ltd. I founded the Book Shelf in 2018 but I’ve been helping aspiring authors to create life-changing books for over a decade. Our team has worked on over 500 books with authors around the globe, from first-timers to non-native speakers to New York Times Bestsellers. We take authors from idea to bookshelf, from coaching to critique, editing to design, and proofreading to marketing. We believe that great books make the world a better place.
This podcast will give aspiring authors an insider’s view of what it is like to write and self-publish a book. Whether it’s your first book or your fifth, we’re here to help. We’ll be interviewing our authors to ask them about their writing process, their tips on self-publishing, and what they wish they’d done differently. Most of our authors wrote their book alongside a full-time job so if you’re struggling to balance the two, this podcast can help! We’ll also be providing our insider knowledge on the publishing industry and advice to help you reach your author goals
There will be two types of interviews for “Better Shelves”. One: Coffee Break interviews - these will be short interviews around 15 minutes long for when you are running short of time and wish to learn some tips and gain quick insights into the author’s process. Our second type will be Cover to Cover interviews - these will be around 40 mins-1 hour long for when you want an in-depth interview of the writer’s field, their process and journey through self-publishing
You’ll hear from a range of our authors including cardiologist Anand Chockalingam, whose book Seeking Hunger, reveals the importance of hunger to our wellbeing
Anand:
Only in the last few generations has food become so plentiful for many of us that it is turning around and hurting our health. So that is what this book takes you through, to understand how we can genuinely relate better with hunger and connect at a deeper level to develop a better mind-body connection. That way we can improve our health in so many way
Ameesha:
Glen John Jones, an avid meat eater turned vegan whose book Think and Grow Vegan takes you through the 5 stages of eliminating animal meat and produce from the diet.
Glen:
Writing the book was a real eye opener for me as well because it challenged a lot of my beliefs that I had from being in the fitness industry for so long and not being anti-vegan but just not really giving it a chance
Ameesha:
Samuel Sanders, entrepreneur and author of Your Next Big Idea, an award-winning book on how to improve your creative skills and bring your idea from brain to business.
Sam:
As a first time author it’s really hard to really understand all the ins and outs, there’s a lot of learning. When I came in, I didn't know there were different types of editing so I was really, really far back on the learning curve. I really had to learn a ton throughout the process and that definitely slowed it down a bit but, you know, over time you learn, you figure it out, you keep pushing through. It can be a little intimidating but it’s exciting at the same time.
Ameesha:
Debbie Waggoner, CEO of Nodus, a performance consulting business and author of The Connection Blueprint, a book which guides leaders on how to improve employee performance and productivity.
Debbie:
I think one is having that vision of what you look for it to be at a big picture level; what do you want to accomplish? For me, as a resource for leaders, it's more of a practical book. So being able to have that vision of how you see [the book being] used. I think the other piece is then being able to put down, in writing, your thoughts.
Ameesha:
If you are taking the first steps on your author journey, here’s our 5 steps guide to becoming a self-published author.
Shakira:
If your dream is to become a published author, you might think that writing is the most important part, but as you’ll hear from the published authors in this podcast, there’s a lot more that goes into being an author than just writing. So, before we introduce you to these authors and their stories, it’s worth knowing the five steps to becoming a self-published author. That way, you’ll know what you’re letting yourself in for (we’re kidding; it’s all good fun, well mostly!).
Step 1: Planning. When you want to write a book, it’s tempting to sit down at your laptop, open Microsoft Word, and start typing. That is one way to write a book, but is it the best way to write non-fiction? In our experience, not really. If you don’t plan your book, it can end up unfocused, unstructured, or unclear. Also you might get stuck and lose motivation, so it ends up abandoned on your drive or in the cloud somewhere. Or it ends up average and getting lost in the crowd.
On the other hand, if you make a plan before you start writing, then you’re clear and focused from the beginning. You know who you're talking to and what you’re talking to them about. You can make sure there’s a clear journey for the reader. Also, you will have gauged what your competitors are up to and considered what factors make your book stand out.
In other words, you’re on the right path, you have a map, and best of all: a direction of where you’re heading.
Step 2: Writing. Yes, now you can start writing. If you nailed the planning stage, then it should be much easier to write with focus and clarity. You'll know the structure that you're going to follow and the topics you're going to talk about, so you won’t go off-track.
The writing stage can take weeks, months, or years depending on what else you have going on. You just need to figure out how to fit the writing in around your day job and other life responsibilities.
You might want a coach to guide you through the process, and an editor to check your first chapter to make sure you're on the right track. Importantly, you shouldn't do any editing at this stage, just write. Write first, edit later.
Step 3: Editing. When you finish your first draft, it's tempting to just hire an editor and send it off to them. Not so fast! Put the book away for at least a couple of weeks so you can gain some objectivity, then come back and do a brutal self-edit.
When you've done all the editing you can do, you might want to hire a professional editor. Make sure you understand the different types of editing and hire the right type of editor for you. We'll talk more about the different types of editing and working with editors in the podcast.
Make sure you choose an editor who specialises in your genre, be very clear on what you want them to do, and make sure you can communicate smoothly with them before you hire them. It’s not just about their skills but about whether you can work with this person, potentially for months or even years.
Step 4: Design. Once the editing stage is complete, it’s time to get your Word document looking like an actual book. Most authors opt for a printed, physical book and an e-book version.
You can DIY this using free online software or you can hire a professional cover designer and a typesetter. These people are experts in design so they know the genre standards and trends for your cover, and they know the technical aspects of what makes a smooth read on the page.
Once the book has been designed, it will need to be proofread. You can hire a proofreader or ask an eagle-eyed friend, but importantly, don’t try to proofread the book yourself because our brains aren’t wired to notice our own typos and errors.
Your designer will make the changes in the designed files, then you can prepare to launch.
Step 5: Marketing. Ideally, your marketing efforts should begin around three months before you plan to launch, running concurrently with your editing and design stages, and continuing long after the book is launched.
Marketing covers a whole host of tasks, and can be as little or large as you want, but it’s key because readers won’t find the book by magic, especially when there’s millions of other books out there. As such, your marketing plan might include an author website, social media, a video trailer, promotional materials, a book launch, an advertising campaign, and so on. Again, you can learn to do this yourself or hire an expert. But doing no marketing is just not an option if you want readers to find your book and buy it.
In the podcast, we’ll be talking about all of these steps with published authors—including the challenges they faced, their insights into the process, the things they wished they knew before publishing, and their tips for aspiring authors.
Here is a sneak preview of what you’ll be learning about….
So, are you ready to become an author? If so, get your pen and notepad or your laptop ready… and let’s start bringing your book to life.
In the next chapter, we’ll be talking to Anand Chockalingam, author of Seeking Hunger in our 15-minute coffee break chat so stay tuned.
We can’t wait for you to join us as we learn more about writing, self-publishing and self-improvement through this podcast. We’d love to hear from you - what tips would you find useful? What questions do you need answered? Find us on our website, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter at thebookshelf.ltd. Send us your questions via social media.
Oh, and one more thing before you go. If you like the music featured in today’s episode then the artist is Katie Gray – spelled G-R-A-Y (which is the American spelling). We were happy to work with Katie on her book Journey of the Empowered Heart this year and we’ll be speaking to her in a future podcast episode all about her book. For now, you can check out her music on Apple Music and Spotify. The song featured in this episode is called ‘Set Free’ and we highly recommend giving it a listen.
Thanks for listening to the Better Shelves podcast! We’ll see you in the next chapter!