Resilience Rewritten: An Author's Inspiring Journey to Penning Her Memoir

I recently met with my sales team to discuss the performance of the books at my indie publishing house, 13th & Joan. I am always intrigued by the numbers and learn new information each time we review.

The truth is that there are some authors whose book's performance downright shocks me. Cues?the story of Carlie.?

Carlie came to us approximately a year ago. She found us on social media and scheduled her consultation right away. The Author Care Specialist at the time recommended that Carlie enlist as an Author Coaching client because Carlie had a good portion of her book completed. Carlie's was assigned to our Author Coach, Susan. Their first encounters were positive, and she continued progressing on her manuscript under Susan's guidance. In our team meetings, Susan noted that Carlie was kind-hearted and determined. Carlie's story was about her life and the many lessons she learned thus?far. It is a perfectly positioned memoir for where she is now, but one that leaves room for where she will be later in life. About?six months into Carlie's process, she stopped making progress,?citing personal?challenges. Susan sent messages of encouragement, and they were what Carlie needed to keep going, and she did. The day Carlie completed her manuscript was a celebration. One key factor is that Carlie shared her journey to authorship along the way with her growing social media following and launched a pre-sale campaign. Trust me, they were invested. She was smart to share pieces of her story that?intrigued people and made them want to learn more.?

A few weeks later, Carlie booked a professional photo shoot and submitted a?breathtaking?photo to our team to design her cover. It was stunning! Two months later, Carlie was announcing the release of her book. This is where the story gets good.

Carlie prepared for her release day with a countdown on social media. She worked with my team to order her inventory of books. Her pre-sales skyrocketed since she had taken her fans and followers along for the writing process. She filmed the process of shipping out books, which made those who did not buy desire to buy. Her sales continued to soar when the book was released through our distribution channels. At the end of 30 days, Carlie had sold thousands of books. At the end of her first 90-day sales period, the company sent Carlie a sizable check. Not bad for doing the work to create and heal at the same time.?

Carlie later told us that the book more than paid for itself because she monetized her story and healed from many of the things she wrote about in her book. Writing was cathartic, and the paycheck wasn't half bad, either.

Carlie is not a celebrity. She didn't have millions of followers, nor was she posting three times per day every day on social media. Carlie is a beautiful soul with a beautiful story. She understood that the sales and marketing journey is a marathon, not a sprint. To get people vested, you must take them along the way. Today, Carlie still promotes her book and still collects royalty checks monthly. The best part is that Carlie has done all of the above without ever leaving her hometown. She doesn't know it yet, but we have plans to put something together for her.

Stories like Carlie's are why I created 13th & Joan Publishing?House. One way or another, we must endeavor to set our stories free. ?