Excerpt

Introduction

In early 2015, I attended the Colonists Summit in Austin, Texas hosted by Sean Platt and Johnny B. Truant. You might know them as the co-hosts, with David Wright, of The Self-Publishing Podcast. I spent the weekend with two-dozen writers: established writers, aspiring writers, full-time writers, and part-time writers. What all of us had in common was our love of writing. But the Summit was not about writing. We weren't there to learn how to write, write faster, or even write better. The Colonists Summit was all about marketing. We had come to learn from some of the best in the business about how to market our books better, faster, and smarter. We all wanted more readers, and ultimately, to make more money from our writing as authors.

Even the most accomplished full-time writers of the group wanted to know how to increase their mailing lists, number of readers, and ultimately make more money. Including me.

But before I can even talk about what led me to write this book (from my initial starting point, the conversation that sparked the idea, to here), I'm going to talk for just a minute about me. So, if you have never, ever heard or read anything about me and you're wondering who I am, here goes.

Who Am I?

My name is Honorée Corder. I've been a self-published, nonfiction writer since 2005, with the release of my first book, Tall Order! As of this writing, I have 16 published titles. I sell e-books, audiobooks, paperback books, and even custom printed books. As a business and executive coach, I provide strategic planning and accountability to professionals and senior-level executives. I also do motivational speaking and corporate training. I certify coaches in my business and divorce coaching methods, and I certify facilitators in the Single Mom Transformation Program. After many years, I have created multiple streams of income—several of them stemming from my writing.

But Rome was not built in a day! It has taken me two and a half decades to define, refine, and build my businesses. Some would even say they were built against great odds. It might be important for you to know that I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth—let me be clear, I wasn't. Although I did start with things people might call an advantage, including the fact that I'm tall, and other things people would confirm are definitely disadvantages: I was a foster kid who lived in a children's home, and never made it to college. I was also "given" beliefs about money —some of them helped me to move forward, and some of them held me back.

Because of my own limiting beliefs around writing and making money as a writer, it took me until my seventh book to call myself an author. Even then, I would very quickly disqualify my writing by letting people know I wasn't a real writer. I hadn't gone to college and received a degree in English, journalism, or frankly any degree at all … because I never actually went to college. I only wrote my first book because Mark Victor Hansen pointed out to me that the only way for me to establish credibility as a coach and speaker was to author a book. It never even crossed my mind to write a book proposal, find an agent, or approach traditional publishers. I simply didn't think I was good enough to do so. Instead, I self-published. Since it never occurred to me that I was a real writer, I certainly didn't believe I could earn a living from my writing. My own limiting beliefs held me back longer than I would ever have liked, but I digress.

Before I started coaching, speaking, and writing books, I made my first fortune in network marketing in my 20s. The very nature of building a network marketing business requires an individual to focus, in large part, on their personal development. I learned some of the skills I'll be sharing with you in this book over 20 years ago when I was building that business.

When I published Tall Order!, I took the advice of my self-appointed mentors Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen and did at least seven things every day to promote and sell my book. By the time I received the first shipment of five thousand books from the printer, I had pre-sold eleven thousand copies. I had no idea at the time that selling that many copies wasn't completely normal. But I had, and held onto, my belief that I wasn't a real author, or even a writer, at all.

Even though I had made relatively substantial money selling a book I had written, I held onto beliefs that did not serve or empower me. It took me several years to work through the stages and steps to become a prosperous writer. I'm going to share with you these same stages and steps and help you navigate them with ease and grace.

My Big Decision & the Five-Year Plan

I celebrated 40 years on this planet in September 2010. At that point, I had published two books. More than 99 percent of my monthly income came from my coaching and speaking business. I was simultaneously tired and inspired. It's not that I didn't want to work; I just didn't want to work as hard as I had been working for the prior two decades. I also noticed that sales from some of my books had steadily increased over time, with little to no effort on my part. With the introduction of digital books, it was easier and faster than ever for readers to discover my work.

Birthdays ending with a zero are sometimes cause for self-reflection, and mine was no different. I could see the writing on the walls, and I even caught glimpses of opportunities that could lie ahead—if I took advantage of them. Enter the five-year plan.

Shortly after my 40th birthday, I decided that by September 2015 I would be making more money from multiple streams of income that did not require my structured, daily attention. My goals included identifying ways to leverage my knowledge and experience. Once I did that and I put out a BOLO (which you will learn about very soon), I started to notice opportunities I had not noticed before. One of those opportunities was to capitalize on the growing success of my book, The Successful Single Mom. Once upon a time, I had penciled out several titles to follow that original book. And although I had written, and had at the ready, The Successful Single Mom Cooks! Cookbook, I had failed to publish it in any format (other than to have it available for download as a PDF on my website). Not exactly the best way to market or sell a book, for sure.

The Successful Single Mom book was consistently selling more and more copies every month. In addition, I would receive messages on Facebook, Twitter, and even long, handwritten letters from single moms around the world who had read and loved the book. The first step in executing my five-year plan was to complete the rest of the intended books in the single mom series. So, over the next four years, I did. In addition to that, a family attorney suggested that I begin certifying facilitators so that the class I had originally created for the book (and taught to a handful of single moms) could be available to single moms everywhere. I later wrote The Successful Single Dad at the request of yet another divorce attorney, and a few years after that I wrote If Divorce is a Game, These are the Rules. I also wrote several business books, including Vision to Reality, Business Dating, and a few others.

Every time I took a step in the right direction, another opportunity showed up. And all along the way I had to identify and overcome, the limiting beliefs I had around making money in each of those areas. Through trial and error, bouts of frustration, and a whole lot of commitment to the process, I persevered. And today I am thriving and making more than enough money from my writing. I am a prosperous writer!

Why Write This Book?

Which brings me back to the Colonists Summit. When I heard some of the other writers, throughout the course of the weekend, express many of the same limiting beliefs I used to have, my first thought was, No, no, no, that is so not necessary! Every part of me wanted to jump up and down and yell, "You don't have to struggle! Being miserable isn't necessary! Success, abundance, and prosperity are easier than you think." But I restrained myself, and instead started a dialogue about a book specifically for writers who want to break through their limiting beliefs around making money as writers so that they could finally, finally, make a living from their writing.

The idea of a book with this topic was well received by my fellow Summit attendees and other writers I reached out to in the following weeks. I developed the Prosperity for Writers course, which was immensely fun and resulted in some pretty amazing things for the attendees (and me!). Yes, you'll get to read about them in this book. The result of that course is this book (of the same name), and the course is available now as well.

Why a Book About Prosperity and Writers?

In writing this book, I felt that I could help aspiring and published writers alike do three things that would help them massively increase the amount of money they were making (from writing, and other sources as well):

Number one: Give yourself permission to make money as a writer.

For me, this was the first step in increasing my income as a writer. I've provided my own story, as well as the stories of the writers who took the Prosperity for Writers course, to help further explain this concept. You'll also get a peek behind the curtain from my interviews with a dozen successful writers about their writing and thought processes to becoming prosperous writers.

I know that what I share with you in this book is all you need to go from a struggling writer to a prosperous writer. I realize what a big promise that is, and I guarantee to deliver on that promise! Within this book is a formula for success that will work, if you work it. The action steps are laid out in a way that is simple and easy for you to execute. All you have to do is take action and keep taking action.

It's taken me years to identify and perfect the tools and advice I'm sharing with you in this book—and they are without question the best things I ever did for my businesses, my income, and myself.

Number two: Change the way you feel about money and about making money as a writer.

You might feel confused about money. You may have conflicting beliefs about money, some of which you have yet to identify. You may love and hate money (and people who have it) at the same time or at least in the same day. Conflicting beliefs and attitudes about money create incompatible results. Everything is energy, and money is no different. Wouldn't it be great if you could get to the point where you knew you would always have more than enough money coming to you? And the icing on top of that very delicious cupcake? Money will come to you from doing something you really love: writing.

The ideas, strategies, and action steps I'm going to share with you in this book have the ability to transform not only how you feel about money, but also how you feel about making money as a writer. It is absolutely possible for someone to make an abundance of money from writing. And right here, right now, that someone is you.

Number three: Enable you to shift, expand, reverse, or change your beliefs.

Speaking of beliefs, I know it is imperative that you get a handle on yours. This book focuses primarily on how to become a prosperous writer, i.e., making more than enough money from writing. In order to do this making more money thing you're going to have to not only identify limiting beliefs you have and eliminate them, but you're also going to have to identify and adopt amazing beliefs that serve you.

Much of this book is dedicated to providing you with tangible, practical, and yes, spiritual concepts, strategies, and ideas that will (if you let them) transform your inner world as much as it transforms your outer bank balance.

This book is not a how-to guide to being a better writer. For that, there are many, many books on the subject. A great place to start is with Stephen King's On Writing. This book is not going to discuss marketing. You would be well served to read Write. Publish. Repeat. by Sean Platt and Johnny B. Truant and How to Make a Living with Your Writing and Business for Authors: How to be an Author Entrepreneur by Joanna Penn. I won't discuss your professional book cover design, the importance of having multiple editors, proofreaders, or even advanced readers. There's no time to chat about designing your website, or getting the word out about your writing on social media. All of that has been done, and done well, by many of my colleagues. For just the right book on any self-publishing topic, you'll want to visit HonoreeCorder.com/myfavoritebooks and look under self-publishing.

This book is a prosperity manual for writers who are struggling or have struggled in any way around making money. It's a reference guide for the writer who has dreams and aspirations of writing stories, articles, nonfiction books, or tomes of any kind in the hopes of reaping a satisfying financial reward and living abundantly. It is a heart project from an author who desires to see everyone who wants to make a living from doing what they love be able to do just that.

If you are an aspiring writer, or even someone who makes an abundance of money from writing—just not writing what you truly want to write—this book can help you too, and that's why I wrote it. I know it can help you break through your blocks and beliefs around money and help you make the leap to full-time, prosperous writer.

I hope you enjoy the book, the stories of your fellow writers, and everything I'm sharing with you. My hope is that it inspires you to become the prosperous writer you've always wanted to be.

Are you ready?