But is this book really yours?

What is original thought in writing? And all those things you think….. those ideas you have….. Are you aware where they come from?  Are they even yours?

I have consistently found a strange phenomenon in decades of editing non-fiction -  That most of our thoughts are derivative. We live in an echo chamber, and it shows in a book

See the thing is… we follow all these experts and gurus, we read so many books, listen to so many podcasts. And they are indeed gurus as they have found a fantastically original way of challenging the way we think and putting it into words. Tony Robbins, Brené Brown, Louise Hay, Joe Dispenza, Marie Forleo, Robin Sharma, Esther Perel, Jay Chetty, Brendan Bouchard, Mark Manson, Martha Beck.

They gather a following. Then their language becomes your language.

They come up with a great theory or thought-line, then they make it a business. And suddenly everyone thinks like them. Everyone is talking about  ‘embracing vulnerability’, ‘dropping their armour’, ‘leaning in’, wanting ‘to belong’, ‘finding their North Star’ or realising it's  all 'figureoutable.

I fight against this hard, as a champion of original thought.

A good editor or publisher will wade through all the borrowed thoughts and identify them. Very often we get an entire book and run it through software that tells us, 80% of this is unoriginal.

So what do YOU think? I ask that again and again of an author on my mentorships and courses. What do YOU believe?  What have YOU learned?

That's why one of my first rules (of Sarah’s Rules of Writing if You Really Want to Write a Book) is to stop all of that for some time. Stop the research. Stop the podcasts. Stop the YouTube. Stop signing up to courses. Unfollow everyone. Stop packing your head with these other people’s ideas and allow your very own thoughts to form. 

How do you do this? Allow silence. Quieten the big voices in your field. Listen inward.

So my challenge to all non fiction authors is to detox from all these ‘thought leaders’ you follow, and find your own truths. Then write about those. Unorthodox, personal, real, and unique.

In general I admire anyone who invests two years of their life to write a book. I know how hard it is and the sheer determination it takes.

So I am just saying, make sure they are actually your ideas and that book is uniquely and deliciously you.

Key things authors can do to get a book promoted  > I have a great blog with a massive list of ways you can get your book noticed once its published.Please use it and work through this list to get your book promoted and more sales.