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Hey Reader,

Speaking opportunities, new clients, media — oh my!

These are the things book coaches often shout about when we’re talking about what we do. The exciting outcomes of writing a book.

What you don’t often hear about is how much work goes into making those things happen.

I see claims all the time like this one: “Write your book and it’ll open ALL the doors. Event organisers will fall over themselves to invite you to speak on their stage.”

And that’s not entirely true.

Just because you write a book, doesn’t mean treasure will fall into your lap, and I would never want someone to go into this believing it’s easy.

It’s not easy.

None of it is easy.

However, if you write your book and you make it as good a book as it can be, and then you work really hard to get it out there, to use the opportunities it opens up, to put it in front of the right people, the most incredible and fun and exciting things can happen.

I’m going to give you two short stories right now.

Sophie Lee recently published her wonderful book Beyond Palatable: A Manifesto for Unapologetic Women and she’s been on an epic road trip around the UK. She’s been featured in national media, on the radio, on dozens of speaking stages. She’s hosted launch parties, online marathons, and been on tons of podcasts.

From the outside, it looks blessed. From the inside, I can tell you, the amount of graft Sophie has put into this book — not just writing it, but working it — is immense. And it’s paying off.

Would it have all happened without the book?

No.

But it didn’t happen purely because of the book. It happened alongside it. The book has raised Sophie’s profile as Sophie has raised the book’s profile, and doors have opened to her as an author that might not have opened before, but it wasn’t automatic.

It took a LOT of work.

Then there’s Samantha Harman, whose brilliant book Just Get Dressed is out on May 1. She worked damn hard pre-selling it and it hit the bestseller list pretty fast, which is great. She’s gonna be on podcasts, in the media, and doing speaking gigs — all drawing on her vast experience as a newspaper editor back in the day.

But one of the funnest things she’s doing is on April 30 at Scamp & Dude’s flagship store in Marlow. (Scamp & Dude is a VERY cool clothing brand.) Samantha is The Style Editor (and SO much more) and she works with women in their wardrobes, and quite a lot of the time she’s in Scamp & Dude. So she used her contacts and her big brain and her imagination and she’s teamed up with the shop to do a launch and styling event.

If you’re in the area, grab a ticket, it’s free.

This wouldn’t have happened without Samantha’s new book AND it only happened because she’s worked her butt off to make it happen.

I’m telling you all this because there are SO many benefits to writing your book. So many. Some tangible, like these ones, some less so. So many doors can open. So many opportunities can come your way.

But none of it happens by magic. None of these things land in our laps just because we’ve written the book. We have to make it work for us too.

So if you’re thinking of writing your book, I want you to do it with your eyes open.

Writing the book is just the start.

After that, we have to get it out there, shout about it, have fun with it, talk about it until we’re sick of the sound of our own voices, and then do it all some more.

Sophie and Samantha made their books their entirely personalities for the past few months and it’s paying off. The new clients are coming. The media interest is there. The funnest and most interesting ideas are coming out of it all.

It’s worth it.

But you have to be all in, if that’s what you want.

Is it?

If so, I can help you write the best book you can possibly write.

I’ll be opening the doors to MicroBook Magic Season 8 in a few days but if you want to sneak in early, I’ve got some really cool bonuses.

Drop me a reply and I’ll send the details.

TTFN,

Vicky 🫡

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