Black Card Books

September 12th, 2016

What an amazing weekend! I attended the, Publish a Book and Grow Rich Bootcamp with Gerry Robert and his team. This is a free event spanning the entire weekend from Friday night to Sunday at 5pm. I have so many books in me, just wanting to get out, vying for my attention. I decided to attend this bootcamp because I heard about it, as serendipity would have it, right after I proclaimed to my husband that I was determined to publish a book. I saw it as a sign but I wasn't sure what to expect.

On Friday night, as all 200 attendees registered, workbooks were handed out. I didn't know anyone so I leafed through this document and was tempted to just sit somewhere with a coffee and work my way through it. Everything was in there from choosing my primary objective, identifying my target population, creating a blueprint for my book, getting it funded before I even started writing it, publishing the book and marketing it. I was so excited to read all this content. It was like finding a treasure map, right there in plain sight.

Gerry Robert showed up. I had received clips of the bootcamp via e-mail so I was familiar with his charisma and had heard some of his jokes but there is nothing like seeing him in person. This guy spoke to us pretty much non-stop for three days and I never felt bored. He weaves personal stories with visits from successful authors via Skype and carefully selected slides. He combines this with assignments from the workbook to keep us moving.

I've self-published two children's books, two short stories in a collective works, a deck of art therapy cards and will be releasing my first book in French in a matter of weeks. I know first-hand that getting the book done is rarely the hard part. It's moving the book and raising awareness about your book that can be challenging. As Gerry shared his tricks of the trade with us, I was thinking what a difference this would have made for me when I released my first book. I kept thinking, of course, that makes sense!

We got tips on writing, marketing and speaking. I enjoy public speaking. I would love the opportunity to speak about any of my books. Gerry taught us how to get invited to speak and then sell or give our book to audience members as a marketing tool. What I learned about getting advertisers through interviews and selling one bonus chapter to a co-author as a way to fund my book was pure genius.

I left the conference with clarity and purpose. There were publishing packages available at the conference. I don't have that kind of money at this time but, thanks to everything I have learned for free, I can now prepare the path of success for my book. Today, I will review all my notes and organize a step by step process for my next book. I feel so prepared and excited!

Thank you Gerry Robert for empowering me to do what you have done-start with nothing but grit and determination and end up on top.

Anne Walsh
www.artnsoul.org