The Self-publishing Mentor

08/10/2025

29/09/2025

You’ve been saying “next quarter” for long enough.
It’s time to get that book started.

09/09/2025

I saw a some stories this week claiming “books are a con”.

It caught my attention because, on the surface, it sounds shocking. But when I looked closer, what the author really meant was this: books won’t make you money quickly. And that part is true.

Books take time, investment and focus. Funnels, ads and campaigns usually deliver faster ROI.

But that doesn’t make books a con.

Books play a different role in your business. They create legacy, authority, clarity and reach. They last longer than any funnel or campaign. They’re not about overnight wins - they’re about long-term impact.

So the real question isn’t ‘Are books a con?’ The question is: Is it the right season for you to write one?

Because when it is, a book can be the most powerful asset you’ll ever create.

What do you think? Are books worth the long game?

24/06/2025

👋 If you’re new here… or if it’s been a while… hi! I’m Erin — book publishing consultant, editor, and your heavy-lifting partner when it comes to writing a business-building book.

Over the years, I’ve helped hundreds of books get out of people’s heads (and Google Docs!) and into the hands of readers — the kind of readers who become clients, raving fans or stage bookers.

If that’s a dream you’ve been sitting on, you might be more ready than you think.

31/03/2025

You’ve already written half your book. You just don’t know it yet.

All those blog posts, email newsletters, podcast transcripts, course notes, and social media captions?

They’re content gold – and together, they could form the bones of your book.

The problem is:
> It’s not organised
> You don’t have time to pull it all together
> The blank page still feels overwhelming

That’s where my Book Outlining Assistant comes in.

With a little help from AI (and a lot of help from your own words), I’ll help you turn what you’ve already created into a book outline that’s about 50 percent done.

Want me to go one step further and gather your content for you? I do that too.
Book Outlining Assistant – £99
Add-on: Content Gathering Support – £499

DM me if you’re ready to turn your ideas into your book – without starting from scratch.

31/10/2024

No one writes a book the same way.

So many angles on this statement.

It could be how you write it. Maybe you’re an every day writer. Maybe you’re a once a week writer. Maybe you’re a go away until it’s done writer. (I’ve worked with all of these writers.)

Maybe you’re a hire a ghostwriter person.

Maybe you’re worried that your idea has already been written.

Remember you’ve not written it. Your ideas, your experiences, your passions and purpose have not been published in book form yet because YOU haven’t written it yet.

But there are a few things that I think are the same about most authors.

You want to change something - something big or little - but you want to share what you know to make life better for someone else.

You want to know that it will be worth it.
It’s hard to quantify that sort of ripple effect change but the things you can be certain of - that you’ll make back the money you invested - most authors, heck most publishing houses want to know that a book a good investment - worth the risk of money and time and all the other things (blood, sweat, tears) that go into it.

It’s the marrying of these two desires - the change and impact and the ROI which is where the magic happens as you bring your book together.

No one writes in the same way on many different levels but there is a common goal for most non-fiction, entrepreneurial authors. And what I do in my business is help people find that sweet spot.

If you’re looking for someone to help you do that and you want to self-publish your book in 2025, I’m always happy to chat to see if we can work together.

30/10/2024

Sometimes you push too much and it feels like a step back.

My long time connections may recall (of course you think about me ALL the time!) that I love to lift heavy weights.

But I've also had a year of injuries - first my wrist just over a year ago now - and then my ankle, as I was travelling to Atomicon.

But back squats were on the board and having successfully nearly equalled my best last week, I went full out and did 7 relatively heavy sets.

And my ankle has not liked it at all.
In fact it's been a set back.

And I've wallowed a bit.
But I also showed up to my PT session yesterday and we did some ankle rehab and some upper body strength work.

And I'm left with a choice.
Go forward with what I have and pull back a little but with self-compassion (aka take the weights down 20kg) or chuck it all in and give up.

I'm choosing small steps forward, even if I could do so much more if I was 100 percent fit.

Because times change and capacity changes.
But I'd rather keep going than give up.

23/10/2024

You’ve had writing a book on your to do lost for ages but you can never seem to find the time to write it.

The fear of going public with your ideas, your stories and being vulnerable when you feel that you’re still getting it all together and you’re not the perfect shiny version of a business owner who can teach others from that place has you stuck.

And you don’t know what you don’t know – whether it’s how to get from a blank page to a consistent writing habit or all the things that come after. What the process is, what legal considerations you might have, how do you even turn your words into a book?

You know all the reasons why being an author will stand you head and shoulders above the other coaches and business owners out there.

But the truth is that you’re busy and while you think you can write your book (I mean you have so many blogs and podcast transcripts already), all the other parts of publishing are something you want to leave to the professionals. You want the service of a traditional publishing deal with ALL the creative control (Just like Taylor Swift).

And you want the kudos that comes with being able to say you’re a bestselling author and the fast-track to clients knowing who you are and what you stand for that only a longer format like a book can bring them – all at their fingertips (and with a highlighter and lots of underlines if they are really invested in knowing you and what you teach).

I’ve worked with authors like you before. The ones that want to write the book but it’s not the right time. The ones that want the traditional publishing deal because it takes away the overwhelm and they have someone in their corner – but they don’t want to lose the creative control or wait the 18 months it takes to see their book on the shelf.

I am that person who knows both sides – the inside of traditional publishing and the pulls and requirements and all the stuff that being a self-employed entrepreneur brings. I get it and I am that person who can help you publish a self-published book that looks traditionally published. The authors who have worked with me have won awards and been accused of being inside their readers heads.

That book that you want to write.
Let’s get it started (and published) together.

17/09/2024

When you decide that you are going to write a book, it’s a decision.

Just like it’s a decision to focus on the next thing you are building and launching in your business.
Or to add a new strand to your marketing.
Or to do less in your business for a season to make room for something else.

Writing a book is something that needs to be planned into your year.
Otherwise you’ll find that it’s 2025 and you’ve written it into the vague part of something I’ll get to by Q3 part of your year planning.

It’s not enough to want to write a book.
The people who just want to write a book don’t ever make the time to do it.

The people who are most likely to write and publish their books plan it.
They have a date that they want to publish it.
They work with someone to work back what a schedule looks like to hit that date.
They work with someone to hold them accountable to that date and the many things that need to happen between I want to write a book and opening up the box of them and holding their published book in their hands for the first time.

Book a call with me if you’d like to talk about your book dreams and turn them into solid book plans. Let’s change write a book in 2025 to a proper publication date in 2025.

21/08/2024

People who self-publish are impatient.

I've just read a post from a connection on here where that was the key takeaway.

And to me it smacks of the ivory tower where traditional publishing still hides away.

It's not impatient to want to have control over your book's message, cover and audience.
It's not impatient to want your book to come out according to your schedule rather than your publisher's programme.

Yes, your book will reach more readers if you have a bigger platform, an audience ready to read your book, if you already speak at events and seek out PR – all the sorts of things that business owners of a certain level, who can afford to self-publish a title that would not look out of place on a shelf beside the traditional published titles – already are working on or have in place.

There is money to be made in self-publishing your book – you just need to get the positioning right and not cut corners.

If you are a business owner who wants to publish their book without cutting corners, so that it looks traditionally published, get in touch and we can have a call. I'd love to help you do that, with my years of experience in both traditional and self-publishing.

02/08/2024

Yesterday I lifted 57.5kg above my head. No photographic evidence, you’ll just have to trust me on that one.

Six weeks ago, I sprained my ankle on the way to a marketing conference in Newcastle – (Atomicon). I ended up in A&E instead of in Newcastle.
Nine months ago, I mistimed a 55kg lift and injured my left wrist.

Yesterday it was a scary decision to lift that barbell and jerk it. My wrist is still not what it was. I wasn’t stomping on my ankle so the jerk was very much arms and shoulders with a little knee dip.

But it was a decision.
I’d failed twice. At 50kg, I failed the squat clean. I could have stopped there but I power cleaned instead from there on. At 55kg, I decided I didn’t have it. Liz, my coach that day, and Riccardo aiming to lift 100kg next to me told me I’d decided I was going to fail before I started my lift.

And it was true. I did decide that.
I also decided that at 58.5kg but by them I was out of time in my class so I didn’t push on but I definitely failed that lift because of what I told myself, not what I was capable of. Even with the limiting factors of a dodgy ankle and a slightly dodgy wrist.

Writing a book is a decision too. There are always going to be reasons that you shouldn’t. Your dodgy wrist or ankle might be worrying about finding the time, or what you are going to miss out on (work or personal commitments) or even that self-belief around what you know and whether you can convey that on a page.

But it’s a decision.
And that’s why a coach can be amazing to keep you on track. To remind you that you are all up in your head and that you can do it. To tell you that you need to use hook grip and help you with your technique.

I don’t lift alone. I don’t write alone either.
Writing that book that you’ve been wanting to write for ages starts with a decision. It starts with backing yourself and knowing you can do it. You might need some help, but that’s what coaches and mentors are for.