A 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