Dr. Paulette Harper

I started writing when I was 40, right when I got my divorce. What really drove my success was recognizing that there was a need - a space to provide people an opportunity to share their stories. People wanted to write, they felt they had a story to share, and I was there to guide them, mentor them, and show them how to do it the best way that I possibly know. I found that a lot of people want to write books, but they don't want to just coach themselves through it. They find out they spent a lot of money and they needed assistance. I really wanted people to do it the right way. The most fulfilling part for me is seeing someone else achieve their goals when I was part of that or helped push them in that area. When I take my authors through the process of publishing their books and they finally get the book in their hand and I see their face - that is so overwhelming for me. I know they're going to get there, but they don't know they're going to get there because of all the parts that go with it. Sometimes they don't feel like they're able to write, but when they finally get their book, it's a great feeling.

In this business, or any business that anyone wants to start out in, they have to know their why. When they have their why and what that why means to them, when business doesn't go the way that they want or the funds are not there, they can always look at that why as a reminder as to why they're doing what they're doing. That really does help an individual keep focused on what they're doing and the ultimate goal as well. I also want authors to think differently about what they write. Don't just think about a personal story or your own transformation - think about the reader. Think about what their needs are. This is one of the reasons why I want to focus on subject matter books. When it's a subject matter book, you find an audience who have a need for that book, and it could build into workshops, master classes. You can do more with a subject matter book than you can with a personal story. Your family and friends will buy your personal story, but there'll be more people buying a subject matter book because you're meeting a need and you are providing a solution to a problem.

Right now, I'm at a place where I'm feeling kind of fidgety. I've been doing this for a while now, and there's something else that I need to do. I love doing the anthologies for the authors and life coaching, I love doing that, but for me right now, I want to do something a little bit different, still with authors but something different. I'm working on a couple of things that I'll be releasing in about a month or so. I'm going to start a master class. One of the things that I've noticed with authors is we want to write personal stories, personal story books. I want to get the authors to not think about a personal story like your own transformation, but think about the reader, think about what their needs are. I want to focus on subject matter books - like X steps to do this. With a subject matter book, you find an audience who have a need for that book, and it could build into workshops, master classes. You can do more with a subject matter book than you can with a personal story.

Community is so vitally important to me. I know that it's so vital to have community, especially other women who are possibly further along than I am when it comes to business. Having someone that if I had a question or I ran into a dilemma, I can bounce ideas off of someone and just hear other people's input and ideas about business. Seeing what my audience needs and then building space for them, creating opportunities for them, and seeing them succeed - that's what drives me. When I'm seeing someone else achieve their goals and I was part of that or I helped to push them in that area, that's the most impactful thing for me. When I take my authors through the process of publishing their books and they finally get the book in their hand and I see their face, that is so overwhelming for me because I know they're going to get there, but they don't know they're going to get there. When they finally get their book, it's a great feeling. I also believe strongly in doing things the right way - I really wanted people to do it the right way, not just spend a lot of money without the assistance they need.