📈 I thought this explanation of story structures by Kevin J. Duncan on the Kindlepreneur blog was really well done. It's a great starting point if you want to learn more about narrative structure—particularly if you're writing fiction, memoir, or narrative nonfiction. Of course, these structures aren't as applicable when you're writing more educational nonfiction (think, a business book or self help)—more on that in this week's deep dive.

🪜 Do you need a platform to sell a book? Julie Trelstad over at The Platform Project says yes, and shares her framework on how to think about platform building in a post titled, "The Author Platform Isn’t a Destination. It’s a Ladder."

I really like her approach here, and thinking about pulling yourself up the ladder, rung by rung, feels much more doable than more generic advice I've seen.

📚 I LOVE LIBRARIES! And I love essays on how important libraries are, especially this one by Mark Leslie Lefebvre about how libraries act as a discovery tool for authors (rather than cannibalizing sales, as many authors fear).

I've literally had readers apologize for getting my book from the library—so let me make it clear that authors get paid for library borrows! And libraries are an amazing public service, too.

(Plus, I mostly read books from the library myself.)

Go check out Mark's post for a great deep dive into how the relationship between libraries and authors really works.

🌸 Anyway, I followed through with my threat to start posting on Substack again. I've had a number of essay ideas on more personal productivity and creativity that didn't seem to fit under the Story Rebel brand—so I dusted off the From Chaos with Love Substack. Head here for an essay on how sometimes the most productive thing you can do is nothing. (And to see my fun amateur photography of neighborhood magnolia trees!)

Climbing the Learning Curve

My husband and I are pretty handy.

We’ve replaced our garbage disposal and multiple alternators. We built a Murphy bed. And, that first COVID summer, we tackled our biggest project yet: remodeling our back patio so we could have friends over safely outdoors.

We taught ourselves how to properly lay paving stones and build a retaining wall. We learned how to use a ditch digger. We figured out how to mix mortar.

And we learned that the learning takes nearly as much time as the doing.

(As evidenced by the fact that our “summer” project went well into winter. We had our first official backyard gathering on New Years Eve.)

Investing in mastering a skill is incredibly valuable—and incredibly frustrating as you muddle your way through the learning process.

Learning happens on a spectrum. We learned:

• By teaching ourselves through trial and error
• By spending hours in research on the YouTube
• By consulting friends who are professionally handy
• By asking those friends to come coach us through that part of the project
• By hiring professionals and watching them work

The end result is incredible, and I’m proud of our effort! But, wow, was it a challenge.

My point is that none of us are experts in everything, and that’s okay. There are lots of resources out there to help us tackle big projects that stretch us—business projects, life projects, hobbies, you name it.

And, remember, there’s a spectrum to how you learn new skills:

• You can dive right in and learn the long way through trial and error
• You can seek out generic resources and advice and figure out how to apply them to your specific situation,
• You can bring in a coach to teach you shortcuts and give you practical, tailored advice
• You can hire a done-for-you expert and learn from watching them

This is the same when it comes to writing a book.

Writing a book is challenging

Every one of my book coaching or ghostwriting clients came to me for a variation on the same reason.

Writing a book is damn hard. And while the authors I’ve worked with are experts in many things, writing a book is a new stretch of their skill set.

Maybe you’re feeling that same thing.

If you’ve been thinking about writing a book for months, or years, and still haven’t made the kind of progress you wanted, you might be thinking you need more discipline. More time. A better routine. A cleaner desk. A less chaotic season of life.

Sometimes those things help—but often, that’s not actually why you’re stuck.

You’re stuck because you’re trying to teach yourself a whole new set of skills, while also accomplishing the work.

You’re trying to turn a body of knowledge, lived experience, ideas, stories, and ambition into something “book-shaped.” And if you haven’t spent years studying writing, story structure, and what makes a nonfiction book work, it’s understandably going to be tough.

Just ask me how many paving stones we had to re-position in our backyard because we didn’t know what we were doing at first!

This is a very different problem than, “I just need to try harder, or be more disciplined.”

And once you understand that, it gets a lot easier to figure out what kind of help would actually move the project forward.

Coaching support for nonfiction authors

In my experience, most people looking for book coaching are really looking for one of two things.

Help turning the idea into a real plan

They know what they want to write. They know why why the work matters. But the concept still feels slippery, and the process vague. They need help clarifying the core idea, shaping the structure, defining the reader promise, and creating a roadmap they can actually write from.

They don’t need someone to write the book for them—they need help making their ideas “book-shaped.”

Help staying in motion once the plan exists

These are the people who already have a direction, but know they’re likely to stall out if left entirely on their own. They want accountability, developmental feedback, help troubleshooting problems as they arise, and someone in the process with them as the manuscript takes shape.

You may not need more willpower

If you’ve been stuck on your book for a while, that doesn’t mean you’re not serious. It doesn’t mean you lack discipline. And it definitely does not mean you’re not a “real writer.”

It may just mean you’re trying to solve a learning curve problem with willpower.

Learning to write a nonfiction book is hard. But it gets much easier when you have the right resources and guidance at your side.

If that’s the kind of help you’re looking for, hit reply and let's talk.

(Or, learn more about my book coaching options.)

—> Read this post on the Story Rebel blog.​

🌈 Barnes & Noble is offering 25% off preorders through the end of today (3/26). Which means it's the perfect time to grab a copy of my client Erin Weed's forthcoming book, Just One Word. This was one of the most personally meaningful books I've worked on (I even got a tattoo because of it!).

I'll be sharing much more about this book and the process of working with Erin in the lead up to its launch on May—but I couldn't miss the chance to share this deal!

🤝 I was on The Awkward Handshake this week talking about building the community you want. We talked about my local writing community, what makes communities work, why curated spaces matter, and how good people really do know other good people.

💰 I also joined Stacey Brass-Russell for a really unique coaching episode on her Passionate and Prosperous podcast: "How to Get Unstuck and Find Your Next Business Move". Stacey coached me through my muddled confusion at how to make my own business work—and I just know our conversation will get your own business creative juices flowing.

Stacey's insightful questions and pushback really blew my roadblocks out of the way.

As she writes, "By the end, Jessie went from feeling like she was standing in a field full of unclear game trails to having one obvious path forward. If you've ever been at that exact crossroads—good at your work, ready for more, but genuinely unsure how to make the leap—this one is going to land."