Interview With Author Anna Lundberg
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Ten years ago, I started a personal blog which became a foundation for my business website, and it continues to be a key medium for attracting an audience. I’ve also written two books, Leaving the Corporate 9 to 5 – a collection of stories, interviews with people who quit their 9 to 5 like me to explore another version of success – and, more recently, Outside of the 9 to 5 – a consolidation of all the practical strategies and frameworks that I’ve developed in that decade of exploring and working for myself.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
For my latest book, Outside of the 9 to 5, I was both structured and strategic. I have a framework called the 5 pillars of building a life and business outside of the 9 to 5, and each of those pillars consists of 4 steps. This gave me a robust skeleton on which I could build out the meat of the book, adding an introduction and conclusion, along with book recommendations and next steps. In fact, I even used the AI-generated transcripts of my course videos on these 5 pillars as a starting point for my writing.
The book fills an important gap in my brand ecosystem and it will serve both as a kind of business card to boost my credibility in this space and as a first step into my business and the other products and services that I offer.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Maybe not so unusual… but I relied heavily on cake and oat cappuccinos to complete this book last year. Highly recommended!
What authors, or books have influenced you?
That’s so hard to say, I think, when it comes to non-fiction.
I always fancied myself as a novelist when I was younger – we’re talking Nancy Drew and Sweet Valley High in those days! A little more high-brow, I did love Sophie’s World (and, in fact, studied philosophy at university). Jane Austen was a favourite in later years. Now, though, I devour business and personal development books and so it’s these, if any, that influence my writing.
What are you working on now?
I just ‘soft launched’ this book at the end of last year and so a big focus now is increasing exposure. I have quite a few podcast guest interviews lined up, while also pitching print and online publications with article ideas.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Honestly, I haven’t figured this out. In my case, my books are part of my business and brand ‘ecosystem’ and so they fit into my content on social media, in my emails, and on my podcast. I’m looking to do more ‘PR’ like these interviews to increase my exposure.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just write!
When I was younger, as many of you I imagine, I dreamed of being “a bestselling author”. I had a vague idea of what this would entail – mainly, sitting at a beautiful old wooden desk, looking out from my lakehouse, with a pile of books to my name.
For years, I thought about, and talked about, wanting to write and be An Author. I even did endless creative writing courses as well as a diploma in magazine journalism. Did I write anything, though? Nope.
So my advice is: take that dusty old dream down from off the shelf, break it apart, examine it, keep the bits that you really want, get rid of the rest, and then start the real work of making it happen.
For me, this started with my personal blog; which evolved into my business blog; which sprouted out into published articles, online and offline; and, in recent years, has finally led to several books.
Write. It won’t be perfect, but it does nobody any good sitting there in your drafts on your computer. Get something out there – and then keep writing.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
In life? There is no right answer.
Having grown up in a school system where I was always chasing the top grade, the gold star, and the ‘good girl’ from the teacher (and my parents), it is a pretty rude awakening to enter the real world and discover that there are no grades in life.
Stay open-minded, keep learning, and listen to others… but know that, ultimately, it’s your life, your business, your book, and you must make your own decisions.
What are you reading now?
The Perfectionist’s Guide to Losing Control by Katherine Morgan Schafler.
What’s next for you as a writer?
The next book, of course. I’m going to pull out individual sections of the book and turn them into more focused books. For example, the next one will be How to build an authentic personal brand.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Oof that’s a hard one.
Lord of the Rings (does the trilogy count as one??)
Cheating again but I’d have to go with The Complete Works of Shakespeare
And… a big empty notebook!
Author Websites and Profiles
Anna Lundberg’s Social Media Links