Writing the Service Piece or Self-Help Book–No PhD Required  

An estimated 40 million self-help books are sold each year in the U.S. alone and service articles and reported essays make up the bulk of the online and print magazine markets. This writing doesn’t just inform. It inspires, encourages, and entertains. It changes lives.

It’s also a ready-made market for authors. 
 
You don’t need to be an expert in the field to write a how-to or prescriptive, personal development book. Elements of a self-help book or service article emerge from the writer and their experiences as well as research, expert interviews, and anecdotes. 

But how do you write a book, article, or essay that shares your unique experiences and expertise in a way that universally connects with readers like the books written by Stephen Covey, James Clear, Mel Robbins’ and so many others? How do you create the service articles that inspire action and appeal to editors and readers?  

In this dynamic session, Polly Campbell the author of four personal development books and hundreds of published service articles will explain how to push back the self-doubt, find your voice, and write a book that will change lives. 
 
What You’ll Learn:
 
Owning Your Expertise: Tone matters in transformational pieces. Understand how to use your voice and share your experiences and expertise to empower readers rather than alienate them. 
Picking the Right Topic: How to craft a book idea that’s both personal and marketable.
Structuring for Success: How to balance your personal stories and motivation with practical applications, research, and expert perspective. 
Adding Essential Elements. Learn the elements every self-help book or service piece must have. 
Using Self-Doubt to Tell Your Story: Reframing self-doubt so it fuels and informs, rather than stalls, your writing.
The goal of every transformation piece should be to empower others. 

It’s essential then, that we learn to write them well. That we deliver an entertaining piece, with accurate facts and practical tips that elevate, empower, and inspire the readers instead of preaching to them. When we do that our work can change the lives of our readers, and writing it will change ours. 

Difficulty level: all_levels

Speaker(s)

• Polly Campbell

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