Story Rebel
Get actionable advice, frameworks, and how-tos from fiction author and professional ghostwriter Jessie Kwak about how to use your writing to grow your business and spread your message.
Awareness = tofu = this chihuahua
A couple of years ago, my husband and I were cycling in a remote part of Scotland, on an island which seemed to be entirely populated by sheep. We’d seen only a handful of cars during our two-plus hours on that stretch of the road, including a tiny red hatchback that had been parked near a creek when we passed it. About forty-five minutes later, we’d stopped at a viewpoint to have lunch when that red hatchback came meandering by. It slowed. Stopped. And an old man got out and proceeded to...
Why funnels never clicked for me (until this)
Most marketers will tell you to think about your customer’s journey as a funnel. You’ve probably seen it before: Awareness — your audience realizes they have a problem or desire. They’re asking, What’s going on here? Why am I stuck? Interest — they’re curious, wondering, What’s out there that can help me? Who could help me solve this? Consideration/Intent — they’re learning the landscape, evaluating options, and asking, Why should I choose you? Evaluation/Decision — they’re ready to buy, but...
[TUTORIAL] How to create a quarterly content calendar
Today we’re going to be talking about creating a quarterly content marketing plan—in other words, a content calendar to guide your business over the next three months. What I’m about to tell you might sound like a lot of work. But I encourage you to stick with me. Because as we head into one of the busier times of the year, taking the time to plan out your content will keep you on track during the holidays. And maybe even get ahead, so that you can sail through the holidays knowing that your...
Wheels are *supposed* to move you forward 🚲
In my last email, I promised you that picking up the role of content marketer in your business wasn't actually going to add more work for you—because I know the last thing you need is another set of to-do list items piling on top of the mountain of unfinished tasks you already have. Trust me. We’re not adding new work to your plate, we’re adding a layer of strategy that will actually reduce wasted work. Making this mindset shift will be a total time saver and anxiety saver. Because here's the...
This fall, let’s fix your content strategy
Yesterday, my husband and I had friends over for brunch. After a few hours of chatting together, the boys retired out to the backyard to talk about manly things (RC cars and bicycles, I assume?) while my friend and I stayed inside to talk about womanly things, like entrepreneurship. She and I are both authors who are branching out from the traditional “write a book, sell a book” model of running our businesses. She’s building a membership community, while I’m creating Story Rebel. Different...
Choosing your lens
When I was in college, I was driving back to my parents’ house in central Washington State. I was only a few miles from home when I saw a couple standing beside their car on the side of the road. The hood was up. They were clearly stranded. This was out on the Yakama Reservation. And out there, when you see someone stranded on the side of the road you pull over to ask if they need help. So I pulled over. Turns out their car had died, but they were only a couple of miles from a cousin’s house....
What's inside the treasure chest? (Closing Sunday)
You’ve got stories. You know you’ve got stories. But when it’s time to actually share them—to write that About page, that launch email, that Instagram post—your brain goes blank. Or worse, every story feels too messy, too personal, too “who even cares?” Welcome to the Great Story Heist! It’s a 10-day guided sprint to break into your own story vault, steal back your most powerful content, and turn it into assets that connect, convert, and build your business. No more wondering if what you...
6 lessons from running the Story Finding Challenge
I’m very much a recovering perfectionist. I was one of those overachiever kids in school who was always praised for doing excellent work—and who therefore got a complex about delivering anything less than a perfect outcome. (Not realizing for far too many years that the effort was the important part, not the outcome.) So, yeah. I’ve spent a lot of energy over the years afraid to take action before I knew I was 100% prepared. Worried about making mistakes—especially in public. Terrified of...
Two Doors of No Return (and a gift for you)
A few weeks ago, I was trying to help a friend define the origin story of her business. She’s a coach, and she described how she guides women through periods of change. Career change, leaving a relationship, loss—basically any time in a woman’s life where she’s stepping through a door into something new. Because members of her target audience are all going through very different life experiences, she’s had trouble writing sales copy that really spoke to the transformation she offered. So I...
What's at stake?
A few weeks ago, I taught at the Cascade Writers Conference. The thing that makes that conference unique is that it is all critique-based. Basically, students are assigned to groups of five to eight, along with an instructor, and everyone participates in a critique workshop of each other’s work. This conference is primarily for fiction writers, and because everyone gets to rank their choice of instructors, the people who ended up in mine tended to be speculative fiction writers. There were...
Get actionable advice, frameworks, and how-tos from fiction author and professional ghostwriter Jessie Kwak about how to use your writing to grow your business and spread your message.