Authorhood with April Davila, Brenda Knight & Rob Lange

We wrapped up the year with a GoalChat on Authorhood with guests April Davila, Sit Write Here; Brenda Knight, Books that Save Lives; and Rob Lange, The Expert Expert. April focuses on fiction – and taking the stress out of writing, Brenda’s is on publishing, and Rob – as his title suggests – gaining attention and authority for your book, so there was a wide variety of information and inspiration.

When asked what makes an author or book stand out, Rob said “personality,” Brenda’s response was “future-thinking,” and April said it’s the creativity you bring into your story. The panel shared some of the experiences and activities that put them on their paths, authorhood and author platform tips, and more.

Define Authorhood

• Brenda: You have written your book – not using AI – and are getting it out there/doing promotion
• April: If you write, you are a writer; when you are actually published, when your work is put out there for consumption, you are an author
• Rob: Getting your book – or books – out there and enjoying the process

Author Actions, Beyond Writing and Promotion

• Brenda: Get networking, get endorsements and beta readers (especially for fiction writers), become friends with your local bookstore … and libraries. Shoutout to Brenda’s example with the Book Passage and author Karen Grassle
• April: Find a writing group, meet and become friends with fellow writers
• Rob: Be able to speak about who you are and what you do

Authorhood #GoalChatLive

Goals 

• April: Start building your list now – of who to invite to your book launch, what shows to pitch yourself as a guest on – for your future book launch
• Rob: Create clarity in how you describe your book – verbally and in text; start developing relationships with media people
• Brenda: Start polishing your speaking chops now – find a topic, come up with a tight talk, and get yourself out there
• Bonus from Deb: Get on podcasts

Final Thoughts

• April: Just keep writing and find your community
• Rob: Just do it; there are more resources – and support – than ever before
• Brenda: Outreach to one person a day; that one little action can make a huge difference

Links

• Learn more about April Davila and get her mindset hacks, Brenda Knight and Books That Save Lives, and Rob Lange The Expert Expert
• Connect with Debra Eckerling, April Davila, and Brenda Knight on LinkedIn, and email Rob Lange
• Learn more about Women’s National Book Association – San Francisco Chapter, Virtual Pitch-O-Rama, and Deb’s January 15th Lunch N Learn on Book Proposals
• Subscribe to GoalChat, Taste Buds with Deb, the Book Proposal Podcast, and the MPN Meta Marketing Show
• Join the Taste Buds with Deb and Write On Online Facebook Groups
• Learn more about Goals with DEB and TheBookProposalExpert.com, and join Deb’s next Goals Mixer on January 21
• Get your copy of Your Goal Guide: A Roadmap for Setting, Planning and Achieving Your Goals
• Order 52 Secrets for Goal-Setting and Goal-Getting

How do you use express and embrace your authorhood? Please share in the comments.

Next Week

No live show next week. We are celebrating the new year on January 5 with Stacia Crawford and Keith Spiro. Join us on Monday, January 5, at 4pm PT, for #GoalChatLive.

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For more inspiration, motivation, and tips, follow @TheDEBMethod on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. And connect on LinkedIn.