Holly Jean Jackson On The 5 Things You Need to Know to Become a Great Author

Write from the heart. Write your stories with vulnerable honesty to one person. If you want to connect with your reader, you must be personal. Tear down all the walls. Share the hard lessons you’ve learned. Be honest. Don’t hide behind any masks. Own your truth.

As part of my interview series on the five things you need to know to become a great author, I had the pleasure of interviewing Holly Jean Jackson.

Holly Jean Jackson, Holistic Business Coach, helps business leaders love their life and business again. Taking a holistic approach, she helps clients get their groove back physically, mentally, and emotionally. Holly sets three core tenants: health, clarity, and business. In fine-tuning these, clients can live the life of their dreams today.

Thank you so much for joining us! Can you share a story about what brought you to this particular career path?

Since I was a little girl, I fell in love with books. Books were my escape from reality. I loved the worlds authors had the ability to create. The way they brought characters to life. And how you could befriend and even fall in love with characters.

From there, I found that I had some talent in writing. We had a writing contest when I was in middle school on descriptive writing. I don’t recall what I wrote about, but I won that contest. At that point, my parents knew I had talent.

When I went into the working world, I took on many different roles in many industries. The one common denominator I discovered was the importance of writing. After four layoffs, I decided to start my own business. I became a holistic business coach because I wanted to help offer a road map for others to do the same. To leave corporate America. To stop climbing the ladder. And to define success on their own terms.

In starting my own business, I realized I loved marketing. I combined my two passions of writing and marketing than to offer marketing consulting. It took off with my clients right away. I write sales pages, blogs, email campaigns, weekly emails, social media posts and ad copy.

For years, friends have been telling me to write a book. To share my stories and lessons with the world. And then one day I met my publisher. She helped me break through all my excuses. That was less than 9 months ago. As I write this today, I have published my first solo book, Inspiration Contagion, Health Secrets for Raving Success. It’s the first of three in a series. In 2021 I co-published a short business book called Isolation, The Health and Wellness Business Killer.

I love writing. Now that I’ve launched my first book, I can’t stop thinking about the next one! It’s contagious….(pun intended).

Can you share the most interesting story that occurred to you in the course of your career?

The story that everyone loves hearing from me is the bear story. I had just gone through a divorce and was healing. I was owning my part of it. To do so, I was in a step study for codependency. One of the difficult steps in that journey is to complete your spiritual inventory.

I was struggling with this step. I had writers block….but mostly because it’s a painful list to write about.

So I decided to go backpacking alone in the woods. That very first night at my campsite, I was able to complete most of my inventory. As I had walked through the woods, there were these beautiful lakes offering a space for reflection. The perfect mirror for me to think about my inventory. The woods were burnt down and starting to regrow. This felt like a reflection of where I was in life. A metaphor for my process at that moment in time.

The third day of my trip as I left camp, I didn’t see a soul for hours. The woods were green, thick and lush. You couldn’t see around the next corner of the trail. I glanced down and noticed some fresh paw prints and another smaller set.

I realized in a panic that I was out there with a mamma bear and her cub….during a drought. As I turned the next corner, there was mamma bear. She immediately began charging me.

My life flashed before my eyes. But then I realized I wasn’t ready to die. So, I took a step forward and with every ounce of courage inside, I shouted at the bear. And it worked. She walked away. I was ok.

I share this story in my book and when I’m interviewed or on stages not because facing a bear is common. I share it because we all have bears in our lives. Perhaps today your bear is leaving an abusive relationship. Perhaps your bear is starting a business. Perhaps your bear is leaving your job for something you love.

Whatever your bear is I am here to tell you that there is no bear to large for you to CHARGE head on. And in doing so you will experience freedom and clarity. There’s no way around it though. You have to face it head on. You’ve got this!

What was the biggest challenge you faced in your journey to becoming an author? How did you overcome it? Can you share a story about that that other aspiring writers can learn from?

I started this book so many times only to stop. My biggest challenge was sticking to it. You see as a writer and author, no one gives you the job. You become an author when you decide you’re going to write and publish a book. It’s that simple.

Like Stephen King shares in his book, On Writing, it’s about putting the time in. Every day set aside time to write. Set a goal. Start with 1,000 words a day. Do that every single morning. No matter what life throws your way.

While I was writing my first book, the first challenge was overcoming all my excuses. My publisher pushed through my “I don’t have time” excuse. And she pushed through the “I’m not sure now is the right time” excuse also. She helped me realize I had three books in me. But I was trying to put it all in one. Once I broke it apart and outlined all three, I felt so much better. I had a roadmap and a plan to move forward.

From there the process was much easier.

I was also quite busy while writing my book, but it only took me three months to write it. I dedicated one hour every single morning to writing. Even while traveling with my partner in Mexico for three and a half weeks. I didn’t let anything get in the way.

I made my writing a priority. I scheduled time for it. That’s how you make it happen. For those of you who want to publish your book, start with your outline. Then schedule time every single morning to write. Set goals. And celebrate every single goal you hit.

You have an amazing story to tell. Stop getting in your own way. You’ve got this!

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Hmmm…. honestly nothing is coming to mind. I will share this…. getting out of my own way was the key. Breaking it down into manageable steps was a key lesson.

And knowing I didn’t have to get it perfect the first time. I schedule my writing time to write. Not to second guess myself or self-edit. Get it onto paper or onto your computer. Then go back over it with a fine-tooth comb.

Stop knit picking. Just do it. You’ve got this.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?

In addition to getting my first book, Inspiration Contagion, Health Secrets for Raving Success, into the world, I co-host a mastermind. It’s called Business Builder Ninjas. It’s a mastermind and community for business owners and entrepreneurs to grow their business together.

We discovered business owners are under incredible pressure that’s amplified by the isolation of this pandemic. We need community. And business community is different than your everyday community. You need people who understand your challenges and can celebrate your wins.

In the Ninjas community we focus on three core values: community, growth, and FUN. We help our members growth their business. You don’t have to go it alone. You don’t have to have all the answers. You just need to be in a community that can help.

Every week we have office hours where we either share a new growth or marketing strategy that we know works or we mastermind to help members solve problems. Our solutions are in depth. Members walk away knowing exactly what action they need to take next.

And if they get confused, lost, or stressed in between, they can reach out on Marco Polo in our video chat members only group. We share on demand support, ideas, and celebrations for members who need a super boost.

Our goal is to help over 500 business owners scale their businesses without overwhelm or burnout. We want to break the isolation trend. We want a community of ninjas who take action matching the size of their dreams.

And of course, my other big project is to start writing the next Inspiration Contagion book so we can continue to spread inspiration, hope, healing, and light throughout the world like wildfire.

Can you share the most interesting story that you shared in your book?

The most interesting story is one I’ve already shared here…. the famous bear story.

What is the main empowering lesson you want your readers to take away after finishing your book?

Healing is an inside job. It starts whenever you decide to get going. It’s never too late. It’s an ongoing journey. I’ve been at this for decades and I’m not perfect. In fact, I find myself reading my own book. It’s an ongoing trail map for success and healing.

It’s not for the faint of heart. But if you want to live a full and happy life, it’s worth it. If you want to have more energy, live full out and become unstoppable, then please read the book. And don’t just read it. Download the tools. Implement them. Use them.

Because nothing changes without action. I urge you to take action that matches the size of your dreams. I believe in you. You’ve got this!

Based on your experience, what are the “5 Things You Need to Know to Become a Great Author”? Please share a story or example for each.

1. Write from the heart. Write your stories with vulnerable honesty to one person. If you want to connect with your reader, you must be personal. Tear down all the walls. Share the hard lessons you’ve learned. Be honest. Don’t hide behind any masks. Own your truth.
   The first draft of my book shared quite a few vulnerable stories, but my publisher pushed me even further. She pushed me to add dialogue. To add how it felt. The thoughts I had going through my mind. Everything.
   It was difficult because quite of these stories are painful. To do what she was asking me to do, I had to relive each experience…many times. But because I went there and was brave enough to do so, my readers know it’s real. It’s authentic. And it resonates with them. And when we connect that way, that’s the beginning of community and healing.
2. Become a master at storytelling. When you’re out with friends, share stories. Pay attention to when they lean in. When they are surprised. When they ask more. Those are the stories you want to share. Experiment with what lands with your audience. Stories are what connect us to the world. To be successful as a writer and marketer, you must be a master storyteller.
   I love telling stories. When I’m with friends. When I’m networking. It’s a fun way to play with what resonates. I started doing quite a few podcast interviews as a guest. From that, I remembered how powerful my own stories were. I didn’t realize that my spinal fusion was such a powerful story. That people were amazed that I was living a thriving life.
   I took that and it gave me the ideas of the key stories to include in my books. I am obsessed with what stories people fall in love with. What stories hook people and why.
   When I hosted my own podcast, I became an expert at pulling stories out of my guests. I learned what questions I could ask that would get them into storytelling mode. Because I knew that’s what my listeners would remember most. People remember stories more than facts or statistics.
   Experiment, play with and have fun as you uncover your stories for your books, blogs, and social posts.
3. Know what your Core Message and Thread throughout your book is. My core message with my first book was around inspiration. Finding your own inspiration and spark within. So that you too can heal. So that you can plant that seed for healing. My thread throughout the book was the campfire. Imagining sharing my stories with you over a cup of cocoa or java. Learning about your stories. Sharing what’s worked and what has not. We heal when we share in circles.
   Because people love the bear story and when I looked at the stories, I planned to share in my book were all related to sharing in circles, I felt the campfire was a great thread. It was a symbol of community, connection and sharing stories.
   I knew that I wanted my book cover to reflect that. That I wanted to be speaking with you, the reader, sitting around the campfire in every chapter. Every story.
4. Know your reader. Know who you are writing the book for. Your book can’t be for everyone. So be very clear and specific on who it is for. This way you can choose the best stories to share for that person. It makes it easier to build connection with your reader when you know them. The biggest challenge I see clients struggling with is choosing their niche. They want to serve everyone. The reality is we want to attract those who we can help. And we want to help everyone else self-select themselves to find another service. We want to repel those who aren’t a fit. There’s nothing worse than a bad client or for that matter, a bad fit as a reader. We don’t want bad reviews. When you build your book launch team, try to get as many members as possible to be that ideal reader. That way you’ll know if you hit the mark or not right away.
5. Prepare for Book Launch. Don’t just expect that if you write an amazing book that people will magically come buy it. It’s a competitive and noisy landscape out there. Readers have millions of choices. Hundreds of platforms. Build out a solid book launch strategy. Or hire someone to do it for you. There’s nothing worse than putting everything into your book only to feel let down.

With my first launch, I learned a lot. I had 115 members on my book launch team. And yet, next time I know I need to do a better job of keeping in touch with my launch team. I need to have ads ready to run on Amazon. And much more. I learned a lot. And we had a successful launch.

Inspiration Contagion hit #1 new release in two categories on Amazon for several days. It also became a bestseller in three categories. That’s incredible for a first launch!

But the perfectionist and marketer in me has high expectations. And I will forever be committed to growth and learning.

Want to learn more? Let’s hop on a marketing consulting chat. I will give you the outline and foundation for a successful book launch.

What is the one habit you believe contributed the most to you becoming a great writer? (i.e. perseverance, discipline, play, craft study). Can you share a story or example?

Having a daily routine and sticking to it is a non-negotiable for me. I have a meditation routine with visualization every single morning. Even when I’m traveling. Even when I’m sick.

When I’m writing a book or have a writing project, I schedule writing in every morning. After my meditation, I do one hour of writing. And if I need more time, I block schedule two-hour chunks of time for a couple mornings a week.

Having this routine creates habit. Having a routine builds stability. Even when life is shaky you have your routine. Even when things shatter around you, you have your routine. Writing is always there for you. You just need to show up and do it.

As I write this, I am going through some very personal grief. I haven’t been able to stop crying for more than thirty minutes at a time. And yet, I show up. I do my practice. I meditate. And I write.

And it helps. It gets me into a state of flow. Reminds me of my purpose and passion in life. To share inspiration with you. If I can do it, so can you.

Why not get started today? Right now….

Which literature do you draw inspiration from? Why?

I draw inspiration from anything that brings me joy, wisdom, laughter, and emotion.

Specifically, I love historically accurate fiction. For example, I recently read Becoming Mrs. Lewis. The characters were ingeniously described. You fall in love with them right away. And I love how deep this author went with her research. It’s about as close as you could get to a true story that’s missing gaps.

I also find survival and autobiographical stories where people share their challenges and struggles and how they overcame them. How they shaped who they became. How they learned from them and grew. To me learning from our struggles and sharing is what it’s all about.

If someone can survive a storm on K2, who am I to complain about mundane things. And if people can live in parts of Alaska that most find uninhabitable then I can figure out small business challenges.

You are a person of enormous influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

Inspiration Contagion is the movement of my lifetime. It is the legacy I want to be remembered for. I want to help others find inspiration from within. Discover that spark that lets you know you can do anything you put your mind to. You deserve to live the life of your dreams. I believe in you.

If you want to be part of the movement, follow the Inspiration Contagion podcast. Buy a copy of the first book. Follow me on social media. Join my email list.

This is just the beginning!

I want to spread inspiration like wildfire across the world. And eventually I want to use what I learn and the leaders I meet along the way to develop a non-profit for children ages 13–16.

To help them learn soft skills like entrepreneurship, community, communications, mindfulness, etc. I want our kids to have every resource available for them to be who they want to be. For them to shine brightly with their gifts. For them to define success on their own terms.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

You can find me on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.

I would love to hear from you. What book are you aspiring to write?

And if you read my book, what did you think about it? Better yet, if you loved it, post your review on Amazon and Good Reads.

Thank you so much for this. This was very inspiring!