Welcome back to Mark My Words, a free weeklyish newsletter all about creating a book for your brand or business.

Since you're in business, I'll assume you've been told to articulate your WHY.

Right now, I’m in the midst of Simon Sinek’s Start With Why. The point of the whole book is to make the case for articulating your WHY.

“What’s your Why” starts to feel a little bit cliché, but the reason we’re told to share our Why is because it truly is vital to our business—and our brand books!

I struggle to articulate my Why sometimes too, so it’s no surprise that authors would have trouble articulating theirs as part of their founder’s story (also known as an origin story), a core component of a brand book.

In The Big Leap (another book I’m reading right now…), Gay Hendricks provides a useful exercise for helping us discover our Why.

Like a Russian doll, we need to keep pulling back the layers of Why we do things. (And, hint: if that thing not in your Zone of Genius, stop doing it in the first place.)

So for me, I could say that I became an editor because I truly love reading and writing, and I thought editing would be the perfect blend of the two.

It’s not wrong. But it’s the unsexy version. And it doesn’t even get at the core of why I do what I do.

Because when I start to peel back the layers, I am reminded of my passion for languages, and I realize that I genuinely love facilitating the comprehension of ideas, like an interpreter would.

And in today’s publishing landscape, I truly believe in the opportunity afforded by self-publishing. No gatekeepers. And full creative control.

The best part is the knowledge that writing a brand book is a stepping stone for even more badass biz opportunities for you.

Something as crazy-awesome as publishing their first brand book has landed my clients speaking gigs, sponsorships, revenue, impact, and MORE.

If your only engagement with my brand is to read my emails, you’ll still benefit from my book coach/editor brain because I’m here to help you build the courage to write and publish.

I’m here to provide mindset shifts, share educational resources, and facilitate aha moments around creating your brand book.

And that’s why I’m telling you how I can champion your author journey. Zero pressure.

Here’s how you can access my editorial brain🧠

1. Plan your book: Hire me for a day to get your brand book outline done in a Macro Editorial VIP Day​

2. Write your book: Get Voxer access to me and real-time feedback on your writing, keeping you on track and accountable (this is a super-new, coming-soon service, but inquire now!)

3. Edit your book: Hire me for a week to get your first draft copyedited and proofread, and completely ready for the design stage in a Micro Editorial VIP Week​

I’m here to support you, however that looks.

I’ll talk to you soon, and seriously, if you need help or want to talk strategy to see what your best options are, schedule a free call. I’m entering a season that will require me to scale back on calls and instead rely on asynchronous support, so get on my calendar before I close it on April 1.

Just hit reply for the link.

Happy writing!

Jessica

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