You Have The World At Your Fingertips
A few years ago, I attended the book launch party for Kristen Krueger at a local bookstore. A survivor of the Columbine High School shooting, we released her transcendent book Healing the Invisible Wounds of Trauma.
After sharing a few words, she asked if anyone had questions.
Immediately, an arm shot up in the back of the room.
“I bought your book last night here at the bookstore and read it in one sitting. I have a question for
you.
"When I was a little girl, I watched my dad pour gasoline over himself and then light himself on fire. My mom blamed me for his death. How do I move
on?”
I’m not making this up.
Then, over the next five minutes, Kristen, who was a licensed counselor, gave her a therapy session—in front of about 150 people.
When she finished, another hand shot up.
Again, a woman described her trauma and Kristen gave her us another therapy session.
After the book launch
party concluded, I looked around the room. Everyone was wiping the tears from their eyes.
“THAT’S why we’re in this business,” I said to Jen Clark, our
Operations Director.
Today, we're going to talk about how you're going to change the world with YOUR book.
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Quick Quiz
What do the people below share in common?
>Michael Jordan
>John Elway
>Serena Williams
They’re transcendent athletes.
>Abraham Lincoln
>Winston Churchill
>Mother Theresa
>Eleanor Roosevelt
They’re transcendent leaders.
>Johann Sebastian Bach
>Prince
>Lady Gaga
>Carrie Underwood
They’re transcendent musicians.
You know where I’m going with this…
>Fyodor Dostoyevsky
>Jane Austen
>Phillip Yancey
They’re transcendent writers.
>Uncle Tom’s Cabin
>The Lord of the Rings
>The Bible
They’re transcendent books.
Why You Need To Release A Transcendent Book
One of the definitions of
"transcendent" means "exceeding usual limits". That means it's high quality.
Here's why you need a high quality book: it builds a platform of authority for you to share your transcendent message. (More on the "message" part in a little bit.)
When done well, your book imparts authority to you as the author.
That’s where the word “author” comes from. Authority.
People take you seriously.
Research shows that books impart a greater degree of authority to a person on a given topic than keynote addresses, company websites, and blogs and
articles.
Now, if you throw a book together that looks…thrown together, it
actually works against you. Nobody will read the book.
But a book done well
builds a platform for you to be heard.
Read that again.
That's why you want to "exceed" the "usual limits" with your release.
Now Let's Talk About Your Transcendent
Message
Transcendent means more than "exceeding the usual limits." It also refers to something otherworldly, something spiritual, something that changes the world.
I can’t change the world with my book, you might be saying to yourself.
But what if you could change just one life with your book? Even just a little bit. And that person changes two lives, who in turn change four
lives.
All you need is a spark to start a forest fire.
We All Want To Make A
Difference
When I was child, I knew I wanted to make a difference in the world. So at five years old, I decided I wanted to be a pastor. And that’s what I did for 30 years of my adult life.
Ten years into being a pastor, I stumbled into publishing.
After ghostwriting my second book, I realized that the number of readers of my first two books could fill a football stadium. We’re talking 70,000 people.
And here I was, pastoring a church of 200 people in rural Iowa.
Seven years ago, I resigned from being a pastor in order to change the world through Illumify and the Illumify family
of authors.
What gets me up every morning
is the opportunity to help authors like you change the world.
Just writing
that sentence gets me totally fired up.
Here's How You're Going To Change The World
Transcendent books change the world.
My hunch is, you want to change the world with your book.
Here’s the biggest reason authors’ books fall short of that lofty goal: They do it themselves.
You could have a world-changing idea, but then:
- The book cover gets in the way; it’s just too busy or the artwork distracts from the title
- Your Amazon product description isn’t clear and
compelling
- There’s too much text on the back cover
- The font size of the interior text is too small or too difficult to read
- Or maybe you’re just not a good speller, and the misspelled words drive your readers away.
You need a copyeditor to help smooth out the rough edges. Not your niece who was an English major in college.
Then you need a typesetter who knows what they're doing.
And of course, you need a book cover that invites the reader to look closer at your book.
You might even need a book coach to make your story or message clearer.
When you work with a community of guides who are committed to you and your message or story, something amazing happens. They become a catalyst for your story or message.
Please Don't Settle
What is your powerful idea?
Parenting emotionally healthy kids?
Forgiveness?
Grace?
The power of God’s love?
Please don’t settle on writing a book only to make a lot of money or to attack someone or to be famous. You’re shooting dreadfully low.
Write a book that helps you sleep better at night, knowing you’ve made the world a better place.
Do everything in your power to release a transcendent book that brings healing, forgiveness, and hope.
If you’re going to build a platform of credibility, use it to make a difference.
Want to release that transcendent book? Then you’re a perfect fit for Illumify.
Let’s explore your dreams for your book and then let's strategize how to make it happen.
Click here to schedule a no-obligation consultation with me.
Let’s bring your book to life!
