Are you a business owner who has considered writing your own book someday? Could a book be a powerful driver of your business growth? How can you get your expertise out of your head so readers and potential customers can find you?
Our most recent guest, Mary E. Knippel, helps people like you do just that. She is fabulous at guiding you to dive deep into your own stories and bring them out into the world.
Mary is an author herself, a speaker, and the founder of YourWritingMentor.com
Practicing what she preaches, Mary published her memoir – The Secret Artist | Give yourself Permission to Let your Creativity Shine.
Mary has also led contributing authors to publish a compilation book titled Written in her Own Words.
Mary relies on 35 years of experience as a journalist to ask provocative questions which uncover the heart of your message with clarity and compassion.
“I grew up in a small town on a farm. I had a playhouse where I would go and write in my journal. I’ve always known the answers were at the end of a pen.”
Mary’s career began as a secretary. She was always editing and rewriting her boss’s work. Today she is still correcting the grammar of others.
“I’m the catalyst, muse, and cheerleader. Your story matters and you are the only one who can tell it from the inside out.”
Mary encourages her writing clients to be courageously transparent and vulnerable on the page. When it’s in print and somebody else has your book in their hands, they will be impacted by your story.
“You as the author are talking soul to soul because you put your heart on the page.”
Many people come to Mary and make the following statements:
- I don’t know where to start…
- I don’t know what to say….
- I don’t know what people can learn from me…
Mary’s solution:
“I’ll give them a writing prompt and say, ‘pick up your pen, set a timer for 5 minutes, and simply allow your pen to move across the page in response to the prompt’. Your heart knows what to write.”
Mary believes when your pen is moving across the page you are creating from a different part of your brain than when your hands are on a keyboard.
“When you’re grasping a pen it slows your head down so you can get your thoughts on paper. People have claimed they can’t read their own handwriting, and it doesn’t matter. You are making a connection to the page.”
Mary’s memoir, The Secret Artist is a series of essays she wrote before, during, and after her second breast cancer experience. She is an example of the ways she encourages people to show up where they are.
“It’s time you talked about your story. Think about when you were a kid. How did you lose yourself? Which activity carried you away for hours? Where does that show up in your life today?”
Mary suggests you may also consider the first job you were paid for.
“I had a client who was 10 years old when she got a job babysitting a newborn. Because she had a disabled brother, the young mother knew my client was capable of watching her baby.
I said to my client, ‘you were a ten-year-old who convinced an adult you could take care of a newborn. Don’t you see how that has been in your DNA your entire life?’
When my client gave this story at a professional meeting, the audience saw another side of her. They saw her humanity. She built rapport with many women at that event because she talked about babysitting.”
Mary takes pleasure in coaxing that type of information out of her clients. Not everything that goes in your journal is going to be published on Amazon, but she knows looking at all of your truth helps you decide where your story will go.
“We’re all storytellers and nothing is random.”
Mary sees our stories as part of a beautiful tapestry. We all have a thread, and if our thread isn’t there the picture isn’t complete. She helps people show up on the tapestry to represent who they are and what they believe.
“Many people believe their personal story doesn’t belong in business. No! Your personal story is the heart and soul of your business.”
Have you reader, been thinking to yourself, “Someday I’ll get around to writing my book”?
Here’s Mary’s response to that : “Someday isn’t a date on the calendar. So, if you’re serious, then put a date on the calendar to mark when you want your book published. Then we can begin planning.”
- Create a working title for your book
- Purchase a URL for that working title
- Get your content on paper
- Figure out who you’re writing for
- What do you want them to walk away knowing?
- What do you want them to do when they finish your book?
- How are you going to impact them and inspire them?
- What’s on the shelves where you think your book is going to be?
“Who are you in competition with, or how are you filling the gaps of what’s already out there?”
Mary is hosting The Wise Woman Wisdom Retreat November 15th-19th 2023.
“It’s for women who need space to tap into their creativity and what they want to accomplish in this wild, wonderful world. We’ll do some writing and hands on activities to get your juices flowing.”
Mary is looking for authors who are longing to get that story out. They will be an Amazon bestseller because that’s part of her program.
Volume 2 of her compilation book In Her Own Words is coming out in July 2024. You could be an author in July by writing your first draft and at the retreat!
Mary is offering a freebie of writing prompts to help you get started. Click HERE to accept her gift.
“You will receive a writing prompt every day in your email or a text, whichever way you choose. Unleash the writer in you!”
Monday, October 2nd is a workshop with Mary called Telling My Untold Story. Check out details HERE.
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