292: Writing A Children's Book
Selling the Couch
How to Write a Book - It's Not for the Failing of Heart
"I am not an artist by any means. A lot of it was bogling angry ey s and how do i create an annoyed face," she said. "You've got to have some resiliency before you get into this field."
Have you ever considered writing a children’s book? I’ll admit that I’ve thought about it, and it might be a new endeavor in my future. Writing a children’s book takes creativity and planning, and much perseverance is required to navigate the publishing process. Join me as I talk to a longtime friend who has been through the process and published two children’s books.
Our Featured Guest
Amy Jivani
Amy is a childhood friend of mine who has become a children’s book author. Her latest book, Meera’s Flowers, tells the story of a young girl celebrating an Indian holiday while living in America. She also wrote More Than Words: A Book About Body Language, a story about body language and feelings. Amy is a former first-grade teacher who is inspired by her students and her cultural background to write children’s books with ethnically diverse characters. Amy shares with us where she gets ideas for books and how the creative process works. We also discuss the concept of self-publishing compared to the traditional publishing route. We wrap up with Amy’s insights into the hardest part about writing and releasing a book during a pandemic.
You’ll Learn:
● Where Amy’s inspiration came from for Meera’s Flowers
● Amy’s advice for other aspiring writers:
○ Write something you can champion.
○ Storyboard your ideas as you begin.
● How the traditional publishing route requires resilience and seems like a “closed club”
● Why Amy decided not to self-publish her first book
● How Amy realized that creative stories could teach and reinforce important concepts to children in more memorable ways
● How Amy gives herself creative space to think and produce rather than setting aside a disciplined time slot
● The hardest part of what Amy has accomplished: getting publishers to see the quality of what she wrote and releasing a book during a pandemic when typical book promotion is a no-go
● How Amy handles the newfound attention of being a published author with humility
RESOURCES TO GUIDE YOUR BUSINESS JOURNEY
Disclosures: Please note that all opinions are my own and based on my personal experience. Sponsors are acknowledged. Some links in the description are affiliate links where if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a commission at no additional cost to you. I use these funds to continue to create helpful content to serve our field. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.
MY FREE ONLINE WORKSHOPS (These Can Be Watched At A Date/Time That Works For You):
MY FREE GUIDES:
🎤 Start your Podcast: The QuickStart Guide
MY COURSES:
🎧 The Healthcasters (A podcasting course + community for helpers/healers):
💻 Online Course School (A course to create, sell, and grow a successful online course): COMING IN 2022 (please feel free to download the online guide course above and I can keep you updated as I'm trying to build this with ample input and care including a chance to work 1 on 1 with me!):
MY FAVORITE SOFTWARE:
🧳 My Podcast Hosting Platform (Captivate-Includes 7 Day Free Trial):
🚀 My All In One Online Business Platform (Kartra-Includes 14 Day Free Trial):
🤖 What I Use For Evergreen Webinars (Easy Webinar)
🌐 My Website Host (SiteGround-Includes Discount)
🎨 My WebSite Theme (Divi)
MY FAVORITE GEAR:
📔 My Online Counseling + Coaching Gear
🎥 My YouTube + Live Streaming Camera Gear
SUBSCRIBE TO THE STC PODCAST:
Since 2015, I've hosted a weekly podcast where I interview successful therapists in private practice and other business owners to help us grow our impact + income in and beyond the therapy room.
The podcast has been downloaded over 1.2 million times and is heard in over 140 countries.
You can find also it by searching “Selling The Couch” on any podcast app (eg: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify etc) or simply saying "Alexa, listen to Selling The Couch" on your Amazon device. =
Or simply click below for ease =).
LET'S BE FRIENDS:
💌 Sign up to receive the free A To Z Online Course Guide + receive the weekly STC email newsletter (trusted by over 7k colleagues)
📸 Instagram (I mainly post "behind the scenes" stuff about my life and business)
WHO'S THIS GUY?
Hi. I'm Melvin. I'm a psychologist (PhD), entrepreneur, and online creator living in Philadelphia, PA.
In 2014, I began to think about how to use the therapy skills we learn in grad school, and in our clinical work into different realms (e.g., podcasting, consulting, online course creation, etc).
This allows us to serve others on larger scales while diversifying our income beyond 1 to 1 work.
I make podcasts and videos about business, tech, productivity, and lessons I'm learning from becoming the CEO of a lean, mean 5 person 100% remote team (we're not really mean..it just rhymed =P).
Mentioned in this episode:
Try Alma!
Building and managing the practice you truly want can feel overwhelming. That’s why Alma is here—to help you create not just any practice, but your private practice. With Alma, you’ll get the tools and resources you need to navigate insurance with ease, connect with referrals that are the right fit for your style, and streamline those time-consuming administrative tasks. That means less time buried in the details and more time focused on delivering exceptional care to your clients. You support your clients. Alma supports you. Learn more at sellingthecouch.com/alma and get 2 months FREE—an exclusive offer for STC listeners.
Sign up for the new online course workshop of a small launch to a $300K course at https://sellingthecouch.com/onlinecourseworkshop
Sign up for the new online course workshop of a small launch to a $300K course at https://sellingthecouch.com/onlinecourseworkshop
The AI-powered Podcast Player
