Hello, Writer.

 

I'm Susan, the Every Adventure Book Guide. I want to hear about your book, but first, let me tell you a little about myself and my book journey.

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As far back as I remember, I wanted to write a book. But I could never find the time. Raising kids, working full time, getting my MBA, and maintaining a household took all my energy. Eventually, the boys grew up and moved out, and I finished school. Around the same time, I was laid off from my high-tech job. With no excuses and nothing but time, I wrote my first book. I had a lot of writing experience—penning TV scripts for an ABC affiliate and a cable provider, collateral for marketing companies, and instruction guides for high-tech corporations—but I had never written a manuscript. With the support of my publisher, my first book, Touring Colorado Hot Springs (2nd) came out in 2012. That led to seven more contracts and books: Hiking Waterfalls Colorado (1st and 2nd), Climbing Colorado's Mountains, Touring Colorado Hot Springs (3rd), Woman in the Wild, Best Lake Hikes Colorado, and Trails to the Top. Becoming a published author led to more writing gigs, including dozens of articles and more than 130 personal essays as a magazine and newspaper journalist and columnist.

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Along the way, I met other writers who wanted to write books. They didn't have any experience with book writing and publishing, so they hired me to help them write their nonfiction business books and memoirs. Over seven years, I coached more than sixty authors through more than fifty books. Sometimes, I acted as a ghostwriter, penning their manuscripts for them. Often, I simply coached them as they developed their ideas and turned them into manuscripts. Published by traditional and hybrid publishers, many appeared on bestseller lists. I have NDAs with these authors and my name doesn't appear on their books' covers, but I'm often mentioned in the acknowledgments.

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To augment my real-world experience, I completed a year-long copyediting certification at UC San Diego and more than 250 hours of coursework and practicums through Jennie Nash's Author Accelerator to obtain nonfiction and memoir book coaching certifications. Writing and publishing never stop evolving, so I never stop learning.

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I haven't forgotten how hard it was to write that first book. And I know there are a lot of writers in the same situation, with great ideas and writing skills, but in need of guidance from an author who's written and published many books and can show them the way.

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I love meeting future authors with a story to tell, a lesson to teach, and a book to write. Writers who don't necessarily need a ghostwriter—just a published author to coach and guide them on the rocky, rugged path from idea, to manuscript, to book.

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My focus is on writers whose ideas intersect with my interests and experience: business and outdoor adventure, both how-to and memoir.

 

I'm excited about books that take place in the wild—on and off trails, in the mountains, and on the crags. I'm also drawn to prescriptive and how-to business books: leadership, management, finance, sales, marketing, operations, information technology, and culture. I studied these fields, taught them as a college instructor, and held corporate leadership positions in them. I also ghostwrote books about them and coached business leaders to write their own books. Adventure and business are in my blood!

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Some people want to write a book, while others want to have written a book. ​If you really want to write one, you can do it. If you want to publish your book, thanks to all the options available in traditional, hybrid, and independent publishing and marketing, you can do it.

 

If you're serious about writing and publishing your book, maybe it's time you took the first step. Contact me to set up a free thirty-minute call to discuss your book idea so we can decide whether we're a good fit. If we are, you'll take the second step on the journey from writer to author, mapping your book with me as your guide. If we are not a good fit, I'll point you to other resources that might be a better fit for your book journey. Either way, you'll be a step closer to writing and publishing your first book.

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There has never been a better time to write and publish your book. Your book. Next year at this time, you could still be thinking about it. Or, you could be a published author. Like every great adventure, it all starts with one brave step.