Post #43 – Women’s Memoirs, Book Business – Kendra Bonnett and Matilda Butler
I’ve brought this subject to your attention before: It’s the Next Top Spiritual Author contest. I learned about this because my sister in law, Marguerite Bonnett, has entered her book proposal for an original 12-step program designed for the 21st century. She calls it the 12 New Thought Steps. Her objective is to help readers cut their old patterns and bad habits without coming out of the process hating themselves.
Let's get out the VOTE for Marguerite and her book.
Marguerite needs votes to proceed to Round Three in the competition, which is when the professional judges take over. This is Round Two so if you voted for her in Round One, this is a whole new competition. I’d appreciate it if you’d visit The Next Top Spiritual Author and listen to what Marguerite has to say. But not because I ask you to. Listen to her brief video, read a sample chapter and even peruse her book proposal. If you like what you see and hear, then vote for Marguerite. But decide for yourself. And by the way, you’re not limited to voting for just one contestant.
Transform Yourself Into a Winning Author
You can learn a lot about platform building, book proposal writing and even video presentations by studying this site carefully. Review what other contestants are doing. And hey, if you’re still wondering how to write your book proposal, read some of the ones available here. Study their videos. Then ask yourself: What works? What doesn’t?
Study the site itself. Go to the “How it Works” section because I really do think this is a growing trend. If James Twyman and Robert Evans get a book to publish that comes with a well-established platform and an audience of interested readers…and if they can sell more books as a result, you can be sure that more publishers will promote similar contests.
I’ve watched Marguerite’s behavior in response to this contest. She’s doing more with Facebook, starting to Tweet a little. Marguerite’s even started a blog called the 12 New Steps. And if you’re a regular reader of my Book Business columns, you’ll know that I’m always saying START YOUR BLOG THE SAME DAY YOUR START YOUR BOOK.
There’s nothing like the incentive of publication to get a writer started early. If this contest does nothing else but to get all these aspiring authors moving on their marketing, platform building and blogging sooner rather than later, it’s provided a service. For one thing, those that don’t win will have a much better chance of getting themselves published through conventional channels.
Marguerite’s still an intermittent blogger, but I expect she’ll get into a comfortable pattern. It’s a matter of making the time, starting slowly (so you don’t burn out) and creating a blogging strategy. Matilda and I have found that by assigning topics to different days of the week, we have a better chance of keeping up with our own blogging commitments.
Compete to Get Published
Marguerite tells me that the inspiration for The Next Top Spiritual Author contest is Britain’s Next Top Coach. The winner of that contest was Christian Pankhurst. You can learn more about his Embracing Change program here.
And if you are interested in entering a contest, I found a website that lists many writing competitions. Just a parting word of advice: Do your homework; check out the competition’s sponsor. You want a reputable organization. A quick Google search should tell you what you need to know. Writer’s Digest is also an excellent source for contests, and for memoirists and life writers there’s Story Circle Network. Finally, check out The Next Big Writer.
Who knows…it may be you!
