Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve been a writer since I could hold a pencil! The first time I was paid to write, I was about 10 or 12 years old. A family member asked me to help write a letter/newsletter to go out to his clients. It was fun! I’ve spent a couple of decades being the go-to writer in various corporate and entrepreneurial businesses.
Then, one day, I was going back through some old journals I’d been keeping since I was a teenager. It’s was fascinating in so many ways! But one thing that stood out was a pattern I began to notice. Every summer I’d start to write about writing a book of my own and publishing it. Oddly, every time it was mentioned year and year it was a whole new thought – as if the previous year’s comments hadn’t happened!
Seeing this pattern appear for more than five years in a row, I decided right then that this time, I’d simply do it. So, I wrote my first book. It was set up as a workbook and all I really wanted to do was see if I could finish a full book. Once it was done, I began to learn about marketing and then came to the very quick realization that workbooks don’t sell on their own and I’d have to re-do the ENTIRE THING!
Long story short, being an author has been quite a learning curve! That one book was re-written start to finish three times before I finally had a version that the marketplace would embrace. Since then, I’ve written another two books and been published in an additional two books.
More recently, my learning curve has focused on the marketing side. “You. Rising!” is my original book, repackaged with a new name, new cover, and some additional content to give it more value for readers. The original cover and name just weren’t doing it justice. With this new release, I’ll get to find out if I’m making progress along the learning curve!
Regardless of how it goes, I know I’ll keep going, keep learning, and keep writing. I just don’t know how NOT to write. It’s not just something I do, it’s a part of who I am.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest release is “You. Rising!” It’s for smart, savvy women who are torn between the realities of their lives and the dreams they ache to create.
The inspiration for it came out of my own life and work as a Life Coach. In working with women, there were several things that I began to notice; patterns that we tended to have in common. First, we all wanted to take care of the people in our lives who mattered to us, and yet, we were running into issues of time, self-care, and feeling drained. Second, the women who seemed to need the most help were often the ones who were the most strapped for resources, be it time or money. Often, allowing ourselves to get drained in one area leads to being drained in others. The trick is figuring out where to enter the downward spiral and start getting it turned around.
I wanted to offer a solution that would allow woman to improve their lives that didn’t cost the hundreds or even thousands of dollars that live coaching or workshops might cost, while allowing them to return to it in small bites as often as they needed. I believe this book offers that solution.
It combines my experience with my client’s experiences to provide inspiring stories and simple, unforgettable examples. And if these are the only parts of the book someone is able to get to, they’ll still make a difference! Included however, is the actual coaching program I walked my clients through, step-by-step, piece by piece to lead them back into a life they found inspiring and fulfilling. It’s a process I return to as well whenever I begin to feel off course in my life.
I’m grateful to see this book getting a second lease at being of service to the millions of women – and their families who depend on them! – who’re looking for that “something more” from life.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Unusual? What’s usual for me and what’s usual for someone else are likely very different things! What I can say is that I can’t NOT write. If I go more than a couple of days without at least journaling I start to feel anxious, irritable and like I”m drying up somehow. I NEED to write to keep my Self feeling centered and alive.
My life is busy though. My partner and I run a couple of different businesses, so I get up at about 4 or 5am to make sure that I get my writing time in first thing in the mornings. I always have a notebook with me and I make sure that I buy a box of spiral notebooks each year at the back-to-school sales so that I have plenty of them to journal in the rest of the year.
I’ll sit down to write just about anywhere and will try a variety of methods. Sometimes, it’s just free flow. Sometimes, if I’m mulling through a problem, or seeking a new thought or perspective, I’ll ask questions and then answer them or have a conversation with what I think of as my “Higher Self”.
I don’t believe in “not enough time” for writing. I believe in MAKING time for the things we want in our lives. I wrote my first book in less than 10 minutes intervals while working a 40+ hour a week job, raising two kids under 5 years old, and helping their dad start a business. I’d carry a notebook in the car with me to jot down ideas at red lights while I was driving and when I had the longer blocks of time, I always knew what I would develop further!
Results are about consistency and choices. If I have an unusual writing habit, it’s that I’m stubborn enough to just figure out how and when I’m going to write no matter what else is going on in my world.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’m most influenced by those I admire and whose work teaches something about being a better person. Authors I return to again and again include Caroline Myss, Deepok Chopra, Mike Dooley, and Brene Brown.
What are you working on now?
For the month of September, I’m working on marketing! Not just my own work but my partner’s children’s book as well. I’m also working on creating a Peace Summit in my home town to take place at the end of September (details are listed on the events tab of my Facebook Fan Page). As the US Regional Director for the Global Prosperity and Peace Initiative, I have the privilege of working with some of the most amazing and heart-warming people to celebrate and participate in the conversations, programs, and activities that bring people together and create more love, prosperity and peace in our world.
After September, I’ll continue the marketing since that’s an ongoing aspect of being an author, but I’ll get to move back into the writing and editing of my next book.
There’s a series of books for authors that I’m working on that was born out of original research I did during my masters program. I combined the 60+ years of research into creating influence with being an author and discovered very specific things authors of nonfiction can do to write books that are highly engaging and influential with their readers.
I’m also working on a memoir about being a mother of a child with Asperger’s. That one will likely take a bit longer since the personal stuff isn’t the same writing process, but it’s definitely a heart-felt book that I look forward to sharing.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Well, I’ve mentioned a couple of times that book marketing and promotion are areas where I’m still in the learning curve. So, I’d have to say my best method so far has been hiring a book marketing consultant who has been PHENOMENAL in walking me step-by-step through the process of setting the book up properly as well as creating a marketing plan that I can actually implement and stick to. I HIGHLY recommend the investment if making a living as an author is a priority! I don’t get paid to refer her, so if you’re interested, look up Linda Stirling of The Publishing Authority.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Follow through. Come hell or high water: FOLLOW THROUGH. Don’t let a set back or two or ten or 100 stop you. There IS a way. What works for one may not work for you. The industry is CONSTANTLY changing and doing so faster and faster, so find people who’re actively updating their methods and learn from them. Try something. If it doesn’t work, try something else. But what ever you do: FOLLOW THROUGH. Don’t be one of those people who looks back and wonders, “What might have happened if I’d only given it a little more time, or tried one more thing…?” Be the person who wakes up every day and asks instead, “What’s possible?”
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“You cannot get what you’ve never had unless you’re willing to do what you’ve never done.” Step outside your comfort zone. Fail forward. Remind yourself that “Some will. Some won’t. So what. Someone’s waiting” (Jack Canfield said that).
What are you reading now?
Paulo Coelho’s “Adultery”.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Transitioning out of the daily businesses I run and making my living as an author.
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?
A survival guide of some kind that includes how to build life rafts and fishing nets.
A blank journal or two to help keep my sanity.
“A Year Without Fear” by Tama Kieves.
“The Return of Merlin” by Deepok Chopra.
Author Websites and Profiles
Lori Anne Rising Website
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