This month, I had the pleasure to interview Monica Leonelle, another soul I met in the self-publishing community, whose new book Should I Publish Traditionally or Independently? And Other Relevant Questions To Consider When Writing Your Dream Book was published only two weeks ago.

Monica is a USA Today bestselling author best known for her book publishing and business expertise at TheWorldNeedsYourBook.com. Her nonfiction series, Growth Hacking for Storytellers, has sold over 40,000 copies and helped thousands of writers write faster, become better storytellers, and find their way to success.

Before becoming an independent author, Monica led digital marketing efforts at Inc. 100 companies such as Hansen’s Natural and Braintree. She’s been an avid blogger of marketing and business trends since 2007. Her ideas have been featured in AdAge, The Huffington Post, the AMEX OpenForum, GigaOm, Mashable, Social Media Today, and the Christian Science Monitor.

Monica lives in a very, very old, 3-story home in St. Louis, MO with her husband and adorable westie, Mia. Visit TheWorldNeedsYourBook.com to receive free resources and email updates about books, business, marketing, and more.

What is Should I Publish Traditionally or Independently? about?

The book Should I Publish Traditionally or Independently? And Other Relevant Questions To Consider When Writing Your Dream Book, first in the Book and Business Coaching series, is for aspiring nonfiction authors who are writing their first book. It’s ideal for entrepreneurs, coaches, and small business owners who want to write a book that ties to their business, message, and life’s work.

The book helps the reader sort through questions and decisions needed to commit to the book process. We walk through how to choose goals for your book, what strengths you bring to a book, how to make important decisions about your book, how to use your book for your business, how to get through resistance to writing your book, and how to uncover your book in the marketing and writing assets you’ve already built on social media or in group programmes.

What does Should I Publish Traditionally or Independently? offer that other books don’t?

The book is different because it’s the first that speaks directly to a mission—to get more women on the NY Times bestseller lists! I believe this particular bestseller list is a huge indicator of who is heard and who is not. It controls who gets invited to be interviewed on morning and late night talk shows. It controls what stories get made into movies and television. It controls who speaks at the biggest conferences. It controls the national and international conversation. And it should be filled with women doing good work in the world!

The second thing that’s different about this book is that it’s not just a book, but an entire series that you can pick and choose from based on where you are at in the book writing and publishing process. This book is specifically about making smart decisions for you, your book, and your business, and getting into alignment about what you really want. If you have already made those decisions, maybe you check out the other books in the series. Each book attempts to help you move through a small challenge in the larger journey. For example, there’s an entire book on structuring your book. There’s another entire book on cleaning up your writing habits and learning to write faster. And so on. The perfect book for your current challenge!

Why did you write Should I Publish Traditionally or Independently??

I started the Book and Business Coaching series because I noticed there were so many women doing great work in the world and genuinely changing lives. However, they were doing it primarily through one-on-one conversation or small groups. Every single one of them wanted to write a book, but it was so different from the type of work they were already doing that they needed guidance to translate their message to a new format.

I wanted to create resources at all levels and price points that could help women move through the challenges they faced when going after their dream book. So if they can’t work with me one-on-one in Book Proposal Brilliance or Dream Book Mastermind, they can grab a book. It’s a great introduction to everything they need to know, and at an easy price point too!

Who will benefit from Should I Publish Traditionally or Independently??

It’s ideal for female entrepreneurs, coaches, and small business owners, such as therapists, freelancers, or digital marketers.

What is the best writing advice you were ever given?

The best thing I ever did regarding writing was learning story structure inside and out. My mentor was Larry Brooks through his book, Story Engineering. He opened my eyes, big time!

 

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(The Amazon links in this post are affiliate links, which means I receive a small percentage if you buy through these links.)