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This is uber-personal and WAY outside my comfort zone, but I want you guys to hear it.

IMG_1607A few months ago, my doctor gave me (Shannon) a wake up call.

I have some health issues — specifically a heart arrhythmia caused by something called premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) — nothing life threatening, but it’s still a cause for concern.

My doctor told me (very bluntly) I needed to stop making excuses and take control of my health.

So I did.

  • I put my gym membership to use (four times a week, cardio and strength training).
  • I drank more water (and much less soda — sorry, Mountain Dew!).
  • I changed my eating habits (turns out those things called fruits and vegetables are kind of important and can even — hold on to your seats! — be pretty tasty).

Beyond the weight loss brought on by those lifestyle changes, I’ve discovered a much happier, healthier me.

But I ran into one big hurdle in my lifestyle overhaul — finding the time in my schedule to hit the gym four times a week.

I overcame that obstacle on the day I realized finding time in my schedule was a lost cause. Time was simply not there to be found, like some sort of lost treasure.

Instead, I had to rip my schedule apart and make time for what was truly important.

How does this relate to your writing career?

Toni and I spent the weekend digging into the feedback you left in last week’s survey.

We get it: you like the virtual weekend workshop idea, but you’re worried that you won’t be able to fit (yet) another time commitment into your schedule.

We’ve got two solutions for that:

1. We will make the courses super flexible.

The workshops will not be some crazy-comprehensive, months-long commitment. Here’s how we envision them working:

  • The courses will each revolve around a central, results-driven topic (revamping your Facebook page, finding your target market, planning a blog tour, growing your mailing list).
  • Each course will contain six clear, concise lessons that will each take you around an hour to complete (depending on how speedy you are). You’ll be able to start and stop the lessons at your leisure, so you can knock the whole course out in two days or two weeks — it’s up to you.
  • The lessons will be a mix of text, audio, video, examples and exercises. We’ll do our best to accommodate every learning style!
  • All of the goodies (videos, slideshows, notes, exercises, and bonuses) will be available online, ready for you to take on at your own pace.
  • We’ll be here, only an email away, to answer any questions that pop up and give you one-on-one advice, specific to your book and audience. We’re also considering a live chat/conference call for folks who prefer talking things out :-)

That sounds totally doable, right? But, to get serious for a moment, remember:

2. If you want to see change, you have to make change.

Unfortunately, Toni and I have yet to figure out how to create more than 24 hours in a day (and, no offense, but if we do discover that secret we’re totally going to sell the patents and become reclusive billionaires).

The most successful indie authors we know have figured out how to make time, and you’ll need to gain that superpower as well to achieve the success you deserve.

We will do our part by condensing the huge volume of book marketing knowledge into these concise weekend courses — but it’s up to you to take the first step.

So, what do you think?

Are you ready to take your career to the next level? Just need a helping hand to guide you get there?

If so, these workshops are for you.

We’re not totally sold yet on the idea of creating the weekend courses — they’re going to be a huge project, and we want to make absolutely sure that if we make them happen, we’ll be able to share our knowledge and experience in a way that creates something truly valuable for you.

But…we’re leaning towards doing it.

So stay tuned for an update from us soon. We haven’t figured it all out yet, but I’m pretty sure there’s a way that — with your help — we’ll be able to make this absolutely amazing.

With all that being said, do you still want us to make these hypothetical workshops a reality?

Even if you’re not ready for them now, but think they could be useful in the future — we want to know! Simply type “yes!” or “woot!” or “heck yeah!” or other affirmation of choice in the comments below.

If you have any other suggestions, we’d love to hear them, too. Just leave them in the comments box :-)

  • Shana Norris

    Heck yeah! :)

  • You should also make a video of the workshop or create a Ebook of the workshop (ie steps) so people that can’t attend. Love the idea though

    • Hi William! We are definitely not going to set this up as a live event, the course materials will be available so that anytime you want, you can sign-up and do it on your schedule. It’s not a live lecture type situation, it’s totally flexible so that should make it easier for everyone to knock things out when they have time! Glad you love the idea though, that’s awesome! :-)

  • Ann Marie Thomas

    If I can fit the lessons round the commitments I CAN’T change, then I’m in!

    • Hi Ann! We’ll definitely try to make things as flexible as possible :-) Sounds great!

    • Awesome, Ann! That’s the great thing about what we’re thinking — once you’re signed up, you can access the lessons at anytime, so you can go at your own pace (and work around those pesky immovable commitments!) :-)

  • Sarah White

    yep – ready!

    • Awesome, Sarah! We’re excited to figure this thing out :-)

  • If it’s something I can visit in my time and stop when needs be, then I will fit it in. It would be great if its flexible because sometimes I don’t get on the computer till the children are in bed which gets later the older they get. I did sit on a websemiar which i could look at when I had the time, it was an hours course that took a couple of days for me to sit through but I still managed it. I think its a great idea but to be perfectly honest the price of the course will be a big consideration for me.

    • Hi Helen! I totally understand fitting in work around the kiddos’ schedule :-) We definitely want to make it flexible, so you can start and stop at your own pace.

  • Sarah

    I know you have to charge for this service, especially after you’ve both been so generous in sharing your knowledge already (free of charge), and thanks for that by the way. But what about setting each weekend session up so that it can be bought seperately. Maybe that could help people like myself who would find it hard to scrape together funds to pay for it all at once. Just a suggestion.

    And hell yeah! Why shouldn’t reap some benefits. :)

    • Hi Sarah! We definitely want to set up the workshops so they can be bought separately, but we’re thinking of doing some sort of really-affordable combo pack starting out, so folks can try out the concept and help us refine the experience…but we’re still thinking it all out! Thanks so much for your response :-)

    • Kellie

      I like the idea of workshops a la carte. There are many programs I would love to take part in, but the price is just too much as a lump sum. Good idea, Sarah!

    • Thanks, Kellie! We’re trying to figure out a way to balance the quality of the content and the price. Your ideas are great! :-)

  • Mari Hill

    If your workshops are done in the evenings using video,text webinars that would work for me. Also if you break workshops down into sessions, adding the ability to go into missed sessions to keep up.Giving the cost of these workshops would be necessary before making a commitment…thanks.

    • Hi Mari! Thanks so much for your comment — we definitely will break them into sessions, so you can start and stop whenever you find the time. Once you sign up, the lessons will be available and you can take them at your own pace. Once we work out the details for ourselves, we’ll release the full information and pricing :-)

  • Yep!

  • Anne

    I am definitely interested, provide I can “find” the $$$. :o)

    • Ha! I can help you hunt around in those couch cushions, Anne! 😉

  • Jennifer

    Heck yeah! This workshop sounds crazy useful. The only problem I foresee is price. My time is flexible, but my budget isn’t. In the immortal words of that one movie that I only know this one line from: The legend of the rent is way hard core!

    • LOL — thank you, Jennifer. We’re still kicking around ideas, but I think you’ll be surprised how affordable this will be (at least for folks who get in on the ground level with us!)

  • Beth

    Love the concept and am excited to see what you come up with next. I’ve been starting (and stopping) work on marketing plans. Every time I stop, I have to start all over. So I’d love to come up with a process and a plan that fits my schedule and keeps me moving in a positive direction. Needless to say, the writing comes first, then research (I write historical fiction), and then everybody else!

    • Woot — thanks so much, Beth! You touched on something we’ve absolutely found to be true while working with authors — consistency is key. Even if you only spend 15 minutes a day working toward your goals, if you do that consistently, you’ll reap huge rewards.

  • Lizzie

    Defintely interested. Sounds like a course I can work around ye ol’ schedule. Several of the suggestions, especially target marketing & revamping FB page. Oh heck, let’s be honest, I need all and if the price fits my budget I want all!

    • LOL, I loved your comment, Lizzie. I’m so excited to hear that the concept sounds intriguing. We’re putting together a really fun package, and I can’t wait to reveal all!! :-)

  • Yes, that sounds great. Flexible concepts should suit (almost) everybody :-)

    • Ha! Exactly, Martina. I know we won’t be able to reach 100%, but we’re trying to cover our bases to make everyone happy :-)

  • LSN

    Yes, absolutely! It sounds very interesting and different from what’s out there.

    • Oooh, I love that you said “different,” LSN. We definitely want to do something unique and fun!

  • Reesha

    yes. A hands on approach would definitely be more helpful than reading an eBook.

    • Thanks, Reesha! That’s exactly what we were thinking, too. :-)

  • I like the idea of videos available for me to work through as I have time, especially with each video having its own focus, like creating/redoing a Facebook page. And the separate charging could make it way more affordable, especially if we don’t need every step. This may come at just the right time for me, so count me as interested!

    • Awesome, thank you so much for your feedback Monica. I hope we can put this together in a way that works perfectly for your needs! :-)

  • I like the flexibility, and especially the one-on-one advice. Getting help to apply the learning to my own project would make this course much more beneficial than most others offered :)

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