[Q&A] Author Claire Booth on the Achievement of Publishing Her First Book

Claire Booth is the founder and CEO of market research firm Lux Insights, and the author of The Achiever Fever Cure, published by LifeTree Media in January 2019. She has been interviewed on CTV Morning Live, The Social, The Marilyn Denis Show, and other major media outlets.

Claire Booth_author photoMany entrepreneurs these days are interested in writing a book, whether to boost their visibility, build their brand reputation, or share their knowledge. What was your reason and what pushed you to make it happen?

I have been interested in writing a book for several years, but never felt strongly enough about a topic to commit. Then, two years ago, a need to write suddenly became clear. I had experienced a period of intense self-transformation where I tackled my self-doubt and anxiety head-on. I felt pulled to write about what I learned, both to remind myself of what I now intuitively knew and also to share my learning with others.

Now that The Achiever Fever Cure has been published, I can say writing a book is one of the most fulfilling things I have ever done. It was incredibly therapeutic in that it was an exercise in self-awareness. I learned a lot about myself, for example, that no matter how many times I tried to talk myself out of doing it (I’m too busy, no one will read it, I’m an imposter) resisting my inner desire to write brought me emotional turmoil. In the end, I had no choice—the book had to come out.

Why did you choose to go the hybrid publishing route over traditional or self publishing?

Self-publishing was never an option as I knew it would be too easy to find excuses not to finish the book. And, as a first-time author, I had my doubts that a traditional publisher would be interested in working with me. Plus, I didn’t have my book plan fully sketched out and LifeTree offered a publishing program to help me do that.

What factors went into your decision to pick LifeTree Media as your publisher? What did you like best about working with LifeTree?

A friend introduced me to LifeTree and I liked their approach—firm accountability with plenty of encouragement. I spoke to another author that had published through them and they sang LifeTree’s praises. I had learned enough at that point to go with the flow so I decided not to make life difficult for myself and went with LifeTree. I’m incredibly grateful that I made that decision.

LifeTree provided a clear explanation of how the writing process would unfold and how long it would take, which allowed me to organize my life accordingly. The best thing about working with LifeTree was that they held me to deadlines without being a task master. I learned a ton about the process of writing, publishing, and marketing a book, and they kept me in the loop whenever I asked. They were also happy to handle things on my behalf that I had little interest in doing, such as working with the cover designer and writing description copy. They also helped me set up my author website, found me a PR firm, and got me started on building my social media presence.

Is there anything you would do differently if you were to write a second book?

I would like to write a second book so this is a great question. The next time around, I would bring in a partner to help me clarify my marketing plans up front so I know exactly who my target market is and how best to reach them once the book is complete. Having a better sense of how to market the book would help me be more focused in my writing. I would also spend more time refining the outline as I have learned that the up-front process of sketching out the details of the book is especially important. I would also be ready to expect the imposter syndrome to show up from time to time and not let it hold me back.

From the perspective of a self-identified overachiever, what lessons would you impart to first-time authors?

Don’t rush the writing process. It took me about two years to write/edit the book, which feels about right, particularly as I was running my company at the same time. I was able to write without urgency, and still feel like it didn’t take over my life for too long. And remember that finishing the book is just the beginning—the speaking/marketing/media activities that follow the writing make up a whole different world and require a different skill set, such as being able to succinctly share the key messages of the book, feeling comfortable with media, and pitching to different audiences all while confidently knowing you wrote something worth sharing.

Finally, how does it feel to have the book finished and out there in the world?

Cathartic. I am very proud of my book. Since it has been published, I have read it, cover to cover, at least 10 times and I am still not sick of it. In fact, reading The Achiever Fever Cure is actually my medicine to keep the sickness at bay, so I can see my book being something I will pick up from time to time for many years to come. Being a published author feels incredibly empowering too—if I can write an entire book and have it positively received by the media and my target market, what else can I do?

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Jesmine Cham

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