Are you easily distracted? Do you often lose track of the things that you need to do to finish your book?
In today’s training, Kim Steadman joins me as we share with you a way to stay organized so you can publish your book.
Listen Below:
Subscribe to the Podcast: iTunes | Stitcher | RSS
Click here to leave an iTunes review and subscribe to the show. Read my step-by-step tutorial and find out all the details here. If you have a specific question, I’d love to hear from you! Leave me a message here.
Interview with Kim Steadman
Shelley: The most rewarding part of my job is helping others get results and reach their goals. And so today I’m rolling out the red carpet and inviting you into my community.
I will give you behind the scenes look at what’s working for authors just like you. In this episode, I want to position the spotlight on one of my members, Kim Steadman. Welcome, Kim.
Kim: Hi Shelley, thanks.
Shelley: I’m so excited to have you because you have been rocking and rolling!
Kim was part of our last 90-day accountability group. She did amazing things! And today, she’s going to share more about it. I’m really excited for you all to hear from her because she is super organized. And she has a really powerful strategy to share with you today.
Let me just tell you a little more about Kim before we jump into the training.
Kim Steadman has administered alongside her family since the age of 12, in Grand Prairie Texas. After working in the private sector for 16 years, she felt the prompting to turn her heart towards home. I love that.
In the sanctuary of her little cottage in Texas with her husband and four children, she writes. She is fulfilling a childhood dream of being a published author. She recently published the Creative Prayer Journal, yeah!
Kim: Yeah!
Shelley: Thanks to her membership in Author Audience Academy. She is also the creator of the 21-day gratitude game. And she’ll be will be releasing her new book Coloring Prayer Journal this Spring; 30 days of Praying the Scripture over your Adult Children. Oh, I’m just so excited for you!
She also enjoys doodle drawing, crafts, DIY projects, hiking, and planning adventures for her grandson. You can find her at KimSteadman.com.
For this week’s Center Stage Spotlight Training, I’m going to have Kim share with you a specific success strategy in our interview together. I’m excited to learn from each other in this episode all about what she’s going to share.
It’s all about how to stay organized during the publishing process so that you can cross the finish line.
So, welcome Kim, and just to start off share with us a little bit about your publishing journey and how you were able to stay organized throughout.
Kim: Well, Shelley, first of all, I just want to thank you for asking me to be a part of your program.
I’m so thankful for stumbling upon you a year or so ago. And stalking you and your authenticity. I have been a collaborative author in a few works. But to have my name on the bottom of a book is awesome. It was my childhood dream to become a published author of my own book.
Your authenticity, having seen you and how you approached the writing process and leading off your webinars in prayer was just what drew me to you.
So, I dove into the Academy but really with another book in mind. It was the one that I started my organization process. When I was working in the public sector, I did a lot of project management. They would have different projects that would come along.
We were in the recycling industry, and cell phone recycling industry. We ran the gamut of not just smashing up phones, but repairing phones. And there were different processes that had to be.
So I just kind of had this knack for organizing with different things. But one of the things was spreadsheets. One part of my job had me doing spreadsheets with numbers. To be honest, I didn’t really enjoy it because it was numbers. They’re so boring unless you’re looking for your KDP reports.
Shelley: Yes, sales!
Kim: Yes, those numbers are exciting! J
The other one was the project management of taking a project and dicing it up into every feasible step that needed to be done by whomever. Some of the projects were my project alone but some of them involved other people.
We would write out step-by-step-by-step every little thing that needed to be done. So, when I became part of the Academy you have book-oodles of templates and checklists for us to follow. Those absolutely were what got my head rolling around.
It’s like falling back on something that I didn’t really like because it is a spreadsheet. But it was easier for me to wrap my head around the organization process. Plus, you can squish it down smaller and have it on Google Docs. So that’s where I started implementing that project management into my book writing processes.
Shelley: I love that! You are really gifted at that. I’m like, “I need to hire this girl.” But obviously, you left the corporate world for a reason. You wanted to be home for other reasons.
There is an obvious reason. You have a gift. You have a talent. But that was so neat to see how you organized it.
I talk about systems. When you have a repeatable system, it will just make you more productive. It will allow you to be more prolific. For those authors who freak out when they think of spreadsheets, it’s basically a checklist.
So Kim, share a little bit of how you organized it. Share the visual way that it helps you stay on track so that you could publish your book. You published it in 90 days in our last 90-day accountability group!
Just share a few the details about how you organized it.
Kim: At first, I had my skeleton of what I wanted the book to be. It was going to be 21 days. So, I had each little idea that I needed. I knew I wanted a scripture for each of the 21-day ideas. I also needed some type of short blurb about that idea. It could be an example, a short story, or just a more detailed explanation about that prayer idea.
So that was something that needed to be created for each day; a prayer and an idea.
What really got me started on this project management was the first book that I came into the Academy to write. It has coloring pages in every book. Now, digressing back, that was when my computer crashed. I thought I lost everything.
Shelley: Oh yeah, I remember that! Everyone listening, make sure your stuff is backed up!
Kim: Yeah! So that particular book was very detailed. It was a coloring page per, and a scripture per. So it was something written per. Each day was like five different parts. So I have it on my spreadsheet; Day One, the Scripture, and what translation I was going to use. I didn’t use the same translation.
Shelley: That is important to keep track of. You need to put that on your copyright page. We talk about that in Author Audience Academy. That’s brilliant! That’s so smart to do that.
Kim: That was one of the columns I didn’t have at first. But I learned it from you. I needed to know this. So I added that column so that when I reference a scripture, I have what translation I’m using.
So on the book that I thought I lost, that kind of got shelved for a little while. Then you started the 90-day challenge, so I started fresh on a new book. But I pulled out this template. I knew then, “OK, I’m going to have 21 days. I’m going to have a scripture. I’m going to have a thought. I have an introduction and I need my acknowledgment.”
I just had all of that listed out line by line. And I’m a very visual person. The good thing is when you have spreadsheets you can highlight in colors.
So, I would have myself organized with “This color meant finished. This color means I’m working on this section”. And that’s because if you’re working on a drawing or something that needs scanned, it sometimes is easier to scan ten or fifteen things at one time than to hop back and forth.
Then, I had my template. I had my organization all lined out. Then the first book that I thought I lost was actually retrievable. However, based on your input and coaching I went with the first book. I finished it because I needed to get something finished. Like you said, creatives will tend to bounce around. I’m a bouncer.
Shelley: I have been a lot in the past!
Kim: So new ideas and topics come in my head and I’m like, “Oh bunny! Chase that!” So I thought, “No, I’ve got my organization. I know that document has been retrieved. But, I’m going to stick to the 90-day plan for the creative prayer journal and my organization”. And got it finished!
So now that we finished that challenge, I was able to take my spreadsheet from where I left off. And I know exactly where I left off. So now I can begin again.
Shelley: Kim was willing enough to share and generous enough to share what she did. I added it into our Author Audience Academy publish module.
I just pulled it up again to look. You called it a book MAP; Massive Action Plan. I have an image of that in here. I just loved how organized you were.
One of the things I think some people who write devotionals, or those types of books, don’t think through, in the beginning, is, “What format to do I want each devotional, each day, to be?” That’s one of the things I had to do with my 21-day books as well as my devotionals.
That’s something you did, though. You thought, “I want to have a prayer. I want to have thought, an image, and a coloring page. What’s the quote on the coloring page going to be?” You had that out and so you knew that’s what you needed.
It’s like a puzzle; just filling in the blanks. Once you know the format you’re going to do for that book, it really makes it a lot easier. You can just start filling in the blanks.
If you want to just work on coloring pages one day, go for it. You can do that. And then you can see exactly where you’re at, and what you’ve done. I’ve done this before in mind mapping software. Spreadsheets are awesome too. Whatever you use, having a system is so powerful.
I just love the way that you did that. I love how it kept you on track, even when you thought you lost your book. Still, you came back around.
So what were some of the biggest things you learned as you went through the process with your first book?
Kim: First of all, the biggest takeaway is learning from somebody that has done the process like you. You can waste days trying to hunt and peck and Google. Say you may have a specific question about ISBN numbers. Depending on when an article was written, what you read online may be incorrect. It may have been written in 2010 and the process has changed.
Sometimes some of those articles that you go back on websites aren’t date. So you don’t know if you’re getting the current instructions that you need.
So just having everything is a big help. I’ve said it to people before, and I’ve been plugging you to some other folks as well. I said “If you’ve got a question about it, you’ve got it in there. You’ve covered it because you’ve done it enough times”. So that my biggest takeaway.
Shelley: And if you have a question, I will create a new training. Or I’ll tell you where to find it.
Kim: Exactly. So that’s been my biggest thing that I’ve learned with this book. It’s having that community that you created within Author Audience Academy.
I know me. I know that, unfortunately, like many of us, when we have set backs, we stop. Sometimes instead of it being a little setback, we take it as a huge throwback. And we stop. But if you have a community of folks that you can 
lean on for help and for advice, a little set back stays just that; a little setback.
You can keep the momentum. You can keep moving forward, instead of letting it totally rob you of having that success. That’s what it is. Writing a book, authoring a book is a success. I personally think that every person has a book within them.
Shelley: Oh yeah, I do too.
Kim: Whether they think they can write a sentence, or not, everyone has a story. Everybody has a book within them.
Shelley: You can work with a good editor or proofreaders. You don’t have to be the best writer yourself. You can even work with ghost writers. The community is so powerful and key.
I had created products for years without the community component. It’s a night and day difference when you have that active community helping and supporting. You have very active and helping people. I love that!
What happens in life, a lot of times can be summed up in the word “self-sabotage”. Sometimes things happen and we just get into that sabotage. It could be mindset like, “I’m not good enough. Who am I to write a book? I don’t know what I’m doing.” Or it could be technical problems, like you losing your book or thought you lost it.
That could have totally derailed you and you could have just given up. You could have said, “Forget it. This is too much hassle.”
And sometimes it’s the enemy. Many times for Christian authors, it’s a spiritual battle. It’s very real. Sometimes the enemy comes at us with his lies of, “Just give up. Why are you doing this? It’s not worth it.”
And it’s so easy to give in to some form of sabotage, whether it’s self-sabotage or other such. But that is the power of community. I’ve seen it firsthand. I saw the power with the 90-day accountability group. The momentum everyone had and all the books that were published. I’m so excited!
So share a little bit more about your book that you published.
Kim: Well, I happen to have it right here. It is “Creative Prayer Journal: A 21-Day Prayer Challenge”.
Referencing back to the book that I thought I lost, that book was, and still is, a passion heart project. I wanted to create a prayer journal for my mom who is a two-time stroke survivor.
One of the things that have been her problem was that stroke took away her short-term memory. She has a really hard time remembering things. She also has a hard time staying on task with something. And prayer was one of those things that were affected.
She’s a pastor’s wife and we’ve been in ministry since ’77, so you can see the struggle. When she sat down to pray she couldn’t keep her mind focused the way she used to. That first book was a mix of different, creative prayer ideas. It kind of focused in on the coloring page and fill in the blank prayer.
Through talking with her, that was one of the things she really needed help with. She wanted to pray specifically for people. But she needed a guided prayer so that she could insert their names.
Shelley: I love that!
Kim: Yeah. So, I had this pile of all these different creative ways to pray. Some of them were even ways I taught little kids in Sunday school years ago.
And by following your example that you teach in Author Audience I looked at all those ideas. I took your teaching of looking at the big picture and how the funnel can go that will lead you to what book to write.
So I just took all those creative prayer ideas and put them into one book. So it’s a journal you do for 21 days. Every day you’re praying by some different little creative prayer idea. Really, technically, I could write another book, a prayer journal for each idea, if I wanted to do 21 different books.
Shelley: Oh yeah, for sure. You have a series right there girl.
Kim: I was skimming through it this morning as I was doing my own. In fact, I heard on TV that one of the ministers was preaching the hand prayer idea. He was challenging his congregation to pray the prayer hand every day for 21 days.
I was like, “You’re taking my idea! That’s okay; it’s your idea too, but…”
Shelley: Sometimes it could also be a confirmation from God! I’ve had that happen too and it’s like, “Oh that’s a confirmation that the idea would be valuable”. God will lead you in that. That’s so exciting!
Now, if someone would like to get that book, or find out more about you or connect with you online, what’s the best way for them to do that?
Kim: Three main places. If they want to get the book, they can go to thecreativeprayerjournal.com and that will lead them right into the page. They can click the Amazon button to purchase the book.
I’m also on Facebook at The Refeather Your Nest. This is my Facebook page where I help empty nest moms. I encourage them to repurpose and redesign their life according to God’s master plan after the kids leave the nest.
You can also see what I’m blogging about and what all’s up in my little blog-o-sphere at KimSteadman.com.
Shelley: That is awesome! I love all that you’re doing so much. I know we could talk for hours. You’re such a wealth of information. Your corporate background and all that you’re doing, that can help authors.
I really love how much you share. Not only did you share your book MAP-ing system, you also put all the publish training into an Excel spreadsheet. It is now a module in Author Audience Academy.
Kim: Sorry.
Shelley: No, I love it! Everyone is different and everyone learns differently. For some people, that way of looking at it really helps. So, if you’re a member of Author Audience Academy, check out the publish module. You’ll find those two resources that Kim created for you and she uses.
I just am excited to see what’s ahead for you. As we close I would love for you to share just a take action tip. What could they do as a result of hearing this training today?
Kim: I think the biggest tip that I can give you is to write down all the steps that you need to do for writing your book. Just get it all out on one piece of paper, if you haven’t done that yet.
I wanted to write a book for years, but I didn’t. It’s because I had sticky notes here of this and that. But once I started funneling in all these ideas on one, two, three sheets of paper, you will get more organized.
Just write down and get that organization going. If you get organized, you’ve jumped over the biggest hurdle to getting your book published.
Shelley: Yes, I totally agree. I preach, teach, and live by this. I don’t always do it perfectly, but I try.
Take this interview for instance. I haven’t had an interview for a while. But I went back to my system; my checklist. I created a checklist for what I do in these interviews and it was all right there for me.
Sometimes when you publish a book you don’t publish another one for a while. But if you have your system and your checklist of what you did and how you did it, it’s just going to come back. You’re going to say, “Oh yeah, that’s what I did. Oh yeah, that’s how I got that ISBN. That’s what I did for this particular image.”
It’s really important to document as you go. Have some sort of central location to keep it. You can either use Kim’s system or use a system that works best for you. I always say, “Don’t try to shove a round peg into a square hole. Be who God has created you to be”.
So if you need just a pen and markers, go for it. If you want to use mind mapping, go for it. If you want to use Evernote, Trello, or some sort of online system, go for it. I know some of our members use Cambrian Flow. Do whatever works best for you. But this is such an important tip.
Wherever you’re at in the process right now, you can apply this tip today. You can apply it even if you’re in the marketing process. You should start writing down your systems. Write down what you’re doing. That way it saves brain power.
Research has shown that it will save energy and brain power. You won’t have to think about remembering anymore as it’s all written out already for you. It will help you cross that finish line, and get your book published.
It could help you sell more books, or develop a marketing system, whatever process you’re at. It will definitely make a difference.
Thank you so much, Kim, for being here and for sharing. I’m just so excited for you. Thank you again for your willingness to share.
Kim: Thanks for having me Shelley.
End Note
Thank you so much for reading this interview with Kim Steadman.
I would like you to attend one of my free training on Three Proven Book Writing Formulas Every Nonfiction Author Needs to Know. This is a fun and fast way to write a nonfiction book. But it will also be a book that you’re proud of.
Plus, I will give you two free gifts just for attending. No credit card required.
First, you’ll get my Ten Nonfiction Book Title Templates. You’ll also get my eBook titled “Brilliant Brainstorming”. It’s a 28-page eBook, and both of these bonuses at no charge. You will get these just for joining us for the training.
You can sign up for my free training by going to ShelleyHitz.com/Formulas. This training and the two bonuses are free! And I would love to help you write your next nonfiction book.
Until next time!
Watch the Video Below:
Click here to get notifications for my Facebook Live training.
Have Comments or Questions?
Share them in the comments below.
Leave a Reply