Success Stories
I share the stories of these incredible author clients who had a dream to write a book, and were willing to walk through fire to achieve their goal.
Andrea Mein DeWitt, M.Ed., CPCC
Life and Leadership Coach
Claim & Reframe-Your Path to a Well-Lived Life
(Hatherleigh Press)
When Andrea DeWitt approached me with her dream to be a best-selling author, her prior professional writing experiences had been solely with academia.
She had dabbled with a few short stories, but nothing close to writing a self-help book.
Once she allowed herself to be free with her writing, and faced the fears of perfectionism, she was no longer in a battle with the blank page.
Four months into the book writing process, Andrea crossed the threshold from newbie writer to professional author. We had just identified what would become her signature trademark of Name, Claim and Reframe™, and while she was still a little wobbly on the boldness of owning such a marketable brand, she had a glow about her.
“I think we landed something, my Sherpa,” she said. “I think we nailed a best-selling book.”
I couldn’t have agreed more. Andrea brought the same tenacity writing her book to selling it and equipped with my book proposal and query letter, she won a traditional publishing contract with Hatherleigh Press with Penguin Random House as the distributor.
Over the course of a year, her confidence in herself, her coaching and her visibility heightened in connection with the writing of her book. She became a thought leader with a powerful message in an eloquent book, teaching power, potential, and truth.
David Neuman was on a mission to tell the world about the underhanded activities of the olive oil industry. The problem was that David was not a writer, and he felt overwhelmed.
David Neuman
Accredited Professional Olive Oil Taster | EVOO Executive
Extra Virgin Olive Oil: The Truth In Your Kitchen (Morgan James)
David wanted to throw in the towel a few times but I would remind him of his passion for his purpose and how he was the only one best qualified to write this book (that ultimately did not exist in the marketplace). He would trust me and keep moving forward each week, while continuing to push his message - the only way to know good olive oil as a consumer is to know how to taste.
David not only finished writing his book, but the minute it was out of production with a hybrid publisher, he sold hundreds of copies. Hundreds of copies before it officially hit the bookstores.
David never thought he could be an author, and today he has an evergreen book that he is proud of. A book which can be the go-to for any consumer who is wondering about the quality of the olive oil they buy to serve to their family.
Angie Wisdom came to me after creating her journal Start With You for her business coaching clients. She wanted to write a book to accompany the journal but like many first time authors, had no idea where to begin.
Angie Wisdom
Life and Business Coach
Start With You: Create Meaningful Success & A Life You Love
Angie was worried that she didn’t have the writing chops to deepen the narrative of the concepts in the journal. She also had very little bandwidth to carve out the time to write. Her packed schedule with coaching clients, exercise and family time left few hours to sit at the desk and write. Often, she would do the work last minute and then be disappointed with herself.
Highly ambitious and always striving for the best quality in everything she does, upon reading through the first draft of her book, she finally understood the ownership she needed to bring the content to the next level.
I saw a shift in her, and I no longer had to push her to develop the words on the page. She fueled her own excitement about exploring foundational core concepts that she would then deliver to her Instagram audience and receive rave feedback.
She was unflappable about tracking down contacts and making important connections. She also was consistent with her social media messaging, building her email list and selling over 1,000 copies of her journal from her book content live posts. She hadn’t even published her book yet and she was helping hundreds of people a week lean into what holds them back from a life they love.
Allen Maxwell
CEO & Founder, Omni2Max
The System is Unforgiving: Play By The Rules and Win
Allen Maxwell had been told over and over that his story was impressive — a rare glimpse into the exciting adventures achieved while in service of the US Navy.
When he made the decision to hire me as his book coach, he knew he would be fitting writing in between lots of business travel. He also knew I would take no excuses when the work wasn’t done.
Soon into working together, we discovered it wasn’t just Allen’s life that was impressive; it was the wisdom he could impart to others who read the book. I asked Allen to create 15 rules that he had lived by to traverse harrowing incidents and challenging situations in authority. We implemented the rules into his memoir narrative, and brought them to a hybrid publisher.
Less than a year from when Allen hired me to be a coach, he was #3 on the Wall Street Journal Business Books list, USA Today top 150 and #1 in three areas on Amazon (Business, Entrepreneur, and non-fiction). Allen had explained to me when we worked together that he would trust me and take direction. He understood I was taking him through a unique experience that he committed to one hundred percent.
amy Powers
Independent Consultant and National VP, Arbonne International, President, Powers That Be Inc.
No Degree Required: Network Marketing the Ivy League Way
Amy Powers had a law degree from Harvard, an MBA from Columbia, an Emmy nomination for her songwriting, and had run a successful online health and wellness business for a decade. So why was it such a challenge for her to wrap her brain around writing a book?
A voracious networker and big thinker, spending time alone putting narrative into small print felt overwhelming.
When she came to me for help, she had a general idea of the arc of the book, and lots of partially written concepts, but creating this on her own was an exercise in ADHD overdrive. She needed a book coach she could bounce ideas off as playfully as she did with her songwriting partners, who would also hold her feet to the fire to keep her focused, and productive.
Structure and accountability are a big part of what I offer, and we clicked. I helped her whittle down which of her many potential directions were the most valuable, and encouraged her to get brave, go below the surface, and reveal the part of her story which turned out to be the most compelling.
We developed the Ivy League Tips to the Top and leaned into her brand. Amy self-published, threw herself a fantastic book release party, and watched her book go #1 on Amazon. She continues to sell books and enjoys using her book as a message of prosperity and possibilities.
Listen In —
Listen-in as Kim delves into the world of writing and publishing — weaving storytelling with guest interviews and the real life experience of her own poignant journey through four decades as a writer, one can only feel like they have come into Kim’s writing room for a personal, humorous and candid conversation. Through her writing, you as a subscriber can get great solace in knowing even lifetime writers can come up against against blocks and debate if something is even worth writing.