So, Seth Godin told me to give away my book. He didn’t tell me personally but he gave this advice on a talk hosted by the lovely London Writers’ Salon in December in 2023.
Go here to read more/download: https://www.clairepearce.uk/post/i-m-giving-away-my-book-coach-yourself-with-a-pen
Because the challenge is sharing your work in a noisy world, he suggested that a writer should take their first book, PDF it and share it with a load of people, who then may share it again etc. If it’s good enough, then someone just may ask you to write something else. If it’s not, get better at writing. I do love a hard-hitting message.
To date, I have hidden behind mediocrity which he says is just as bad as perfectionism. I suddenly felt a bit ashamed of my bravado, “Well, I’ve written it, if people want it, it’s on Amazon, if they don’t, no harm done.” I can see how this is hiding in the same way perfectionism stops someone doing it at all.
All this also made me remember why I wrote the book in the first place. If I’m honest, it was partly for the challenge; to go through the process of doing it because I have other books in me, but also, because I really want people to know there are many ways they can help themselves using journaling. Journaling saved my life and it can help make yours better too, even if you don't need saving.
And so, I’ve decided to follow Seth's advice and share the PDF of my first book, Coach yourself with a Pen. I decided this yesterday and as today is World Book Day I saw it as a sign that I've made the right decision.
So please feel free to give it away to as many people you like and I'd love to hear about what you liked and how it helped.
There are loads of other resources on my website to help get your pen moving: clairepearce.uk/resources
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Enjoy!
Claire
Click here to download: https://www.clairepearce.uk/post/i-m-giving-away-my-book-coach-yourself-with-a-pen