April 22, 2018

Shawndra Holmberg

Episode 8: You can share your message with the world – a conversation with writing coach Shawndra Holmberg

Shawndra Holmberg, CPO-CD, is the owner of Dhucks. She signs her emails with the title: Primary Instigator of Productivity & Organization for Writers, Creatives, & Dreamers. Holmberg understands the challenges and triumphs of being a writer. Her fourth book, 31 Small Steps to Organize for Emergencies, was just published in February. Shawndra has been in business for 12 years and has lately turned her passion to guiding, mentoring, and coaching fellow writers with a new business, HYH Book Coach. She’ll inspire you to share your message and get your book(s) into the hands of readers everywhere

On her journey to becoming an organizing & productivity consultant, author, and book coach, Shawndra Holmberg tackled jobs as varied as bioterrorism preparedness planner for the Hawaii State Department of Health on the Big Island, coordinated environmental and safety training on Johnston Atoll (approximately 850 miles southwest of Hawaii), and handled health and safety issues for a year at the South Pole station, Antarctica, with temperatures ranging from a balmy -7 °F to a chilling -112 °F.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

  • There are many great reasons to write a book – and why you can definitely do it
  • Why marketing your business is not a sprint – keep up the activities because they will pay off in the long run
  • The vital importance of adapting your business for economic upturns and downturns
  • Overcoming anxiety around networking
  • How to repurpose existing content to grow your audience
  • There’s not just one format for sharing your words – use books, blogs, vlogs, newsletters – whatever works for you
  • How to adapt to the always changing world of self-publishing
  • Editing is organizing for words.
  • Why it’s important to set smaller, doable goals.

The Golden Nuggets:

“If it’s a passion, find a way to keep it alive even when life circumstances change.” – Shawndra Holmberg Share on X “Write for the moment. Write for your clients. Write for you.” – Shawndra Holmberg Share on X “Don’t be afraid to tell people who you are – and what you do. Share your story because that builds trust. That builds a connection.” – Shawndra Holmberg Share on X “I was going to offer my first book for free. My friends and family said, ‘no you will not give this book away!’ I held my breath, moved forward – and they were right. It worked, and now I’m hooked.” – Shawndra Holmberg Share on X “Don’t sit down to write a book. Sit down to share a message.” – Shawndra Holmberg Share on X “I grew up thinking I couldn’t write, thinking writing was just too hard. I had this picture that writers sit down and come up with these beautiful paragraphs in one sitting, and it’s not true.” – Shawndra Holmberg Share on X “Rethink your idea of what a book is – it’s not necessarily 200 pages. Our clients are looking for targeted information. So maybe a book is not 200 pages. Maybe it’s 10,000, 12,000 or 15,000 words.” – Shawndra Holmberg Share on X “I recommend that you self-publish. Keep all the royalties for yourself. Grow all of your following. Grow your marketing. Grow your visibility in newspapers and radio.” – Shawndra Holmberg Share on X “Success is a moving target. When you meet one goal, that’s a success! Then you can move on to the next goal.” – Shawndra Holmberg Share on X
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