I hope to inspire some of you to realize the gift hidden within you and give you the tools you need to spread that message and give new ideas and knowledge to make this world a little better for everyone. If you have a unique gift or ability, a book is the easiest way to spread that message to as many people as possible.

I would like to share with you the stories of some of the authors who I have helped to recognize their gift and spread the “word” with their published book.

One of those authors, Annie Hopper, has discovered a cure for Fibromalgia, MSC and Chronic pain syndrome and she is sharing her story to help other sufferers so that they can learn how she cured herself.  She hopes that if one sufferer can find a cure by reading her book, she has been successful in reaching out to other people who are going through the pain of the illness that once made her homeless.  Annie also offers workshops and since writing her book she has been able to spread her message to a much wider audience by giving radio interviews and being featured in the press.

Dr Daniel Scott is helping people to self-defend themselves in the workplace from verbal abuse with his book “Dr. Scott’s Verbal Self Defense for the Workplace.” He demonstrates how Neuro Linguistic Programming can be used against the workplace bully. His book will guide the reader through a detailed process of learning and practicing all the skills necessary to verbally defend themselves effectively in a professional manner. The exercises will include learning how to properly consider other people’s perceptions while still respecting and adhering to their own personal morals and principles, all within the structure and expectations of the company. Dr. Scott’s Verbal Self Defense for the Workplace is written primarily for general office workers and service industry staff; anyone who deals with individuals that become angry or confrontational with an organization’s employees and volunteers. He is providing a service to other people by helping them to overcome workplace bullying, something many of us have been the victim of. More information on this book at http://www.verbalselfdefensebook.com

Another example of a book that was written to help other people is “Care of the Caregiver” It is an easy-to-follow and practical working guide to help families and friends navigate the vital details of everyday life while caring for a loved one at home during a chronic or debilitating illness. When Lynn Longmuir’s husband Niall was diagnosed with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis in 1996, Lynn gradually found herself in a full time care-giving role with limited resources and no way of knowing how to deal with her own grief and pain. Taking care of someone you love is difficult and taking care of yourself in the process, without help, is practically impossible. After discovering how difficult to access and few resources existed for caregivers, she dedicated herself to ensuring that others in her situation have both the practical and emotional tools to be strong for themselves and their loved ones. Lynn is able to bring a voice of experience and compassion to this important topic. She can be found at www.careforthecaregiver.ca

Many entrepreneurs I know are inspiring and helping other entrepreneurs by offering insightful business leadership tools, sharing their knowledge to help. So ask yourself now…

• How will your story help others?  How can you be of service to others with your book?
• How can you help other people with the knowledge and experience you have?
• How can you best get that knowledge across so it is easy for the reader to understand?

If you would like more information on the InspireABook workbook system, classes or coaching, please visit Julie’s profile on our website.   Julie is running another workshop in Victoria, BC on March 6 & 7, 2010.

The biggest obstacle for writing your book always comes down to fear and ego, these are the top 3 objections:

• Is my story interesting enough?
• Will people be interested in reading it?
• Is my writing good enough?

When in reality you should be asking yourself:

• How can I be of service to others with my book?
• How can I help other people with the knowledge and experience I have?
• How can I best get that knowledge across so it is easy for the reader to understand?

Asking these tough questions up front will help you organize your book with the benefits to the reader always at the forefront of your outline.  The most challenging questions I always ask are at the beginning of my InspireABook™ workshops are:

1. Who is your reader? (i.e. age, sex, demographics, customers, friends, family or specific group i.e. cancer patients, entrepreneurs, parents etc,)
2. What will they learn by reading your book? (i.e. educational, inspirational, motivational etc)

Once you can answer these questions we have learnt the focus of your book and from here we organize your content to always reflect the lessons you want your reader to learn in a way it is easy for them to learn.

I’ll give you some specific examples from my clients in the next post – so stay tuned!

If you would like more information on the InspireABook workbook system,  classes or coaching, please visit Julie’s profile on our website.

Back in 1998 when I left England and started my journey around the world, I promised my 92-year-old grandma I would write letters to her every 2 weeks.  The next time she saw me was in 2001 when I came back for a visit.  She presented me with a suitcase full of my letters and postcards and told me “now write that book”

That planted the seed that maybe I could write a book, even though I had no writing qualifications.  I did not consider myself to be particularly good at grammar or spelling, but everyone kept telling me I had an interesting life and it would make a good book.  Anyway, I had heard how difficult it was to get your book published as a first time author and that seemed like a lot of hard work.

While I procrastinated my Grandma continued to receive my letters and I continued to travel.

In April 2005 I attended a workshop in Singapore on “how to write your book” and that turned out to be the inspiration and motivation I needed to get me started!  By the end of 2005 I was at the final editing stage and by Feb 2006 I self-published my book.I dedicated my book “A seven year journey around the world – discovering my passion and purpose” in memory of Bea, my grandma who inspired me to write my book.  Not only did she pass away before she saw the book in print, she didn’t even get to know I had actually started work on it, thanks to her.

Don’t let this happen to you!  Write your memoirs before its too late, write that fiction book you’ve been dreaming about, write that business book to promote your business and give you credibility, put all those poems and essays into a book, turn your thesis into a book!  Just start.

Remember, you don’t have to be an expert at grammar or spelling or sentence structure, that is what editors are for!  It is just up to you to tell your story from the heart and get started and take the time to educate yourself with the many resources available to make the task easy and enjoyable!

Once you have done the writing, or even in the process of doing the writing, invest in a weekend workshop to give you a system to make it easier and a process to help you turn that writing into a book.

Julie Salisbury is the creator of InspireABook.  If you would like more information on the InspireABook workbook system, take part in online classes or telephone coaching or want to jump start your book project with a writing retreat, please visit Julie’s profile on our website.