Contact Linda via email at Linda@expertauthor411.com or by phone at 703-957-9862
Visit my services page: https://www.expertauthor411.com/work-with-linda/
Expert Author 411 book mentoring programs give busy professionals, coaches, consultants, CEO’s and Business Owners a step by step process to write and publish a non-fiction book based on your knowledge and expertise in as little as 90 days! My clients want to use a book to get their message out into the world to teach or to inspire.
Whether you have an idea for a book or one that’s partially written, I can help you go from ‘wanna be’ author to published author.
In addition to my formal book coaching programs, I provide lots of free advice and information on the blog so that you can make informed decisions as you go through the writing and publishing process. I share industry news, tools, tips, and shortcuts as well as success stories and inspiration from my clients, other authors, and industry professionals.
If you’ve been trying to muddle through the self-publishing process on your own, and you want to finally finish your book, Welcome!
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Who is Linda Griffin? 
I’ve always considered myself a ‘techie’ from my days at Auburn University as a math major and my corporate career at IBM. When you’re a computer programmer, the fewer instructions you use, the better.
I love books and have been a lifelong reader. Early on, I discovered the Nancy Drew mystery books. The problem solver in me became fascinated with trying to figure out who-done-it.
After leaving my corporate career and starting a marketing company, I learned how to write sales copy, emails, and blog posts but those usually consisted of a few paragraphs or pages.
In the Fall of 2011, I started thinking about where I wanted to take my business in the upcoming year. I’ve traveled a lot both in the U. S. and abroad and I thought the Bed and Breakfast industry would be a good market segment for me to move into.
I felt an affinity with them because most innkeepers come to the business from a corporate career just like I did. They struggle with keeping their properties filled in the offseason. I knew I could take the marketing strategies I learned in corporate and modify them to apply to the B&B industry.
I decided to write a book specifically geared toward innkeepers and launch it at the next International Innkeeping Conference which was only 90 days away.
I was determined to have the book finished in time for the conference because I wanted to be perceived as a credible and trustworthy partner who could help the innkeepers achieve better profit margins.
Given the timeframe I had to work with, I knew I would have to self-publish. There was no way I would be able to acquire an agent, get a book contract, and get the book published in such a short time.
I proceeded to immerse myself in web research on self-publishing. I found a ton of information on how to write and publish a book but a lot of it was confusing. I did find some training programs but most of them were geared toward fiction writing and my book was going to be non-fiction and business related. The programs I found that promised to show you how to write a book quickly weren’t up to the standard I wanted to achieve. Some recommended that you just gather a bunch of blog posts, slap a cover on them and call it a book.
My requirements were:
- I wanted the book to look professional and serve to increase my credibility in the industry. In other words, I didn’t want it to look amateurish.
- I wanted to write a book that solved a big problem for my potential clients and would provide lead generation for my services.
I put together a plan and started writing but I quickly realized how hard this undertaking was going to be. Remember, up to this point, I had only written a few hundred words at any given time. Now, I was going to have to write about forty thousand words to have a viable first draft. After several weeks of writing, I completed the first draft, printed it out and started to read it.
That’s when I almost gave up! My first draft was horrible! I knew what I wanted to teach in the book, but I could see it didn’t flow properly. There were entire sections of information missing. Many of the sections that were written need to be re-written.
I sat at my desk and almost came to tears because I had already sent in the money to reserve booth space and a hotel room at the conference. I had purchased a non-refundable airplane ticket. If I didn’t get to that conference, I was going to be out a lot of money with no corresponding revenue to make up for it. To make matters worse, I was co-chairing a major event for a non-profit I volunteer with and it required a significant commitment in time. I just stared out the window of my home office wondering how I was going to get everything done. Even my dog came and sat beside me because he could sense something was wrong.
After having a pity party for a while, I decided to get back to writing. If I failed, it wouldn’t be because I gave up. I would get the book published or go down in flames trying!
I created a new plan, backtracking from the date the books had to be shipped to the conference and laying in all the tasks that needed to be completed. I devoted all of my time to the non-profit event and my book. Everything else had to be put on hold.
My life became a juggling act. I took calls from the book printer in the midst of event planning meetings. I carried the final proof with me on the Metro to review while I headed to the convention center.
The book, Maximum Occupancy, was published in time for the conference and launched to rave reviews from the innkeepers. Holding that book in my hands, I realized I had changed from someone who thought of themselves as a techie into a person who was a published author!
My superpower is taking a complicated process and creating a step by step process that simplifies it and makes the process accessible and achievable by others. That was the genesis of my Author Fast Track programs. They take the complicated process of self-publishing and turns it into a proven step by step process that anyone can follow to produce a high-quality non-fiction book that teaches or inspires.
I show subject matter experts how to quickly write, publish and market a book you’ll be proud to claim as the author. One that sets you apart from your competition and increases your professional reputation.
I published Book Smart to help those people who want to get an overview of my entire process and prefer to do most of the work themselves.
The Author Fast Track programs are specifically built for busy executives, business owners, coaches, consultants, and freelancers. In the programs, we focus on books that solve specific problems for the author’s target market. These are the easiest types of books for experts to write based on their knowledge.
First and foremost, I’m a relationship builder and a lifelong learner. My greatest satisfaction comes from working with others to help them achieve their goals.
Here are a few of the opportunities that arose for me as a result of being a published author:
- Keynote speeches at the annual meetings of the Pennsylvania and Kentucky B&B Association meetings
- Webinars for the Professional Association of Innkeepers International and the Virginia Bed and Breakfast Association
- The ability for my company to host a Business Building Conference specifically targeted to innkeepers
- The inclusion of the book in the new innkeeper package for the Wisconsin B&B Association
Linda Griffin holds a B.S. in Mathematics from Auburn University and an MBA from the University of South Florida. A graduate of Coach Training Alliance, Linda is a lifetime member of CEO Space and a former board member of the George Mason University Women in Business Alliance. Her non-profit work includes membership in Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. a public service sorority
The book, Maximum Occupancy, was published in time for the conference and launched to rave reviews from the innkeepers. Holding that book in my hands, I realized I had changed from someone who thought of themselves as a techie into a person who was a published author!
I published Book Smart to help those people who want to get an overview of my entire process and prefer to do most of the work themselves.