The Roadmap to Writing Success by Rebecca Hamilton

This course is a great resource for writers who aren’t seeing the kind of success they want to see in their writing career (yet). If you’re wondering what it is you’re missing in your mission to become a successful writer, this course can tell you the five things every author needs to have a successful career. Additionally, it has a vast service provider database, which you may find useful. (I know I have!)

Cost

FREE

Course Link

Get this course HERE.

Pros

• 100% Completely FREE Course
• Lets you know what you need to do to have a successful writing career.
• Gives you guidance toward a multitude of resources you can use to improve your author career.

Cons

• Doesn’t teach in-depth techniques the way her other courses do, but is still well worth taking.

Detailed Course Description:

Wish You Had An Exact, Step-By-Step Roadmap To Developing A Successful Career As An Author?

Calling all authors and aspiring authors! The Roadmap to Writing Success course has everything you need to plan the best path forward for your writing career—and the best part is, it’s FREE! Check out what’s included:

• The FIVE Things Every Author Needs for a Successful Career: You know you have it in you—let’s tackle it together.
• How to Plan Your Career for Six Figures a Year: And we don’t leave out any of the important stuff.
• Service Provider Database: A top-notch list of professionals who can help you reach your goals.
• Author Grow Author Case Studies: Learn from authors who have gone before you.
• And More!

Take the guesswork out of your career path with this FREE course, valued at $297. Register now while spots are still available!

The Roadmap to Writing Success will provide you with a variety of resources to help you plan your author career with Author Grow! We’ll give you a variety of free tools, as well as a list of resources and an overview of our courses to help you plan the best path forward for your author career!

Included in this Free Course:

• The FIVE Things Every Author Needs for a Successful Career
• Planning Your Career for Six Figures a Year
• Service Provider Database
• Author Grow Author Case Studies
• And More!

Full Disclosure: This course will teach you what elements of your author career are the most important for earning $1000 a month or more writing books but does not include the techniques on how to perfect those elements to achieve that income. This course will, however, guide you toward what resources are available to teach you those techniques.

Why Might You Need Rebecca Hamilton In Your Writing Life?

Once upon a time, a brand-spanking-new writer named Chelsea jumped head-first into writing books. She didn’t have a plan. She had no idea what she was doing, as a matter of fact. Worst of all, she thought that just cranking out the words would magically lead to success. I’d like to tell you it worked out well for her, but the fact of the matter is that it didn’t.

The truth is that it worked out horribly. I spent thousands of dollars and hours on things that didn’t actually help me in any way. I was actually pretty skeptical about Rebecca when I first came across her services on Facebook. I was so jaded (not to mention the fact that I was utterly broke) that I didn’t believe there was any way in HELL that her courses and services could turn my life around in the way that some of her clients claimed they did.

Then I saw actual screenshots of the income difference she made for some of the authors she worked with. I was already several thousand dollars in debt at the time, and in my usual, impulsive (classically ADHD) fashion, I made a snap decision to give her a chance. It was, without question, the best choice I ever made for my writing career.

She saw how I was struggling and helped me start a business as an author service provider to get me the funding I needed to next-level my writing career with her courses and services. Yes, you read that correctly. A New York Times bestselling author saw me struggling and helped me start a business to support my writing career. She didn’t have to do that, but I’m insanely glad that she did.

She is constantly finding ways to help the indie writing community out, even when it doesn’t offer mutual benefits for her. She has helped hundreds of authors next-level their careers, and even has some completely free resources to help you get started.

I really can’t say enough about how wonderful Rebecca is, both as a person and as a service provider for authors! She has several Facebook groups and a couple of websites. All I can tell you is join everything! You never know when or where she’s going to post some kind of incredible opportunity, service, course, or insanely good deal on any of the above! There’s a reason I’ve listed her at number one, guys. If you don’t read another section in this book, I honestly feel like this section alone is worth its weight in gold, as far as value for your money is concerned.

• OTOH Website
• Author Grow Website
• OTOH: Author Marketing for Kindle, Nook, & iBooks
• Author Grow Open Discussion

I have personally taken several of her courses, and I’m currently in a 1-on-1 mentorship course with her. I can tell you from experience that her courses are worth every penny spent on them. As a matter of fact, I think she should charge way more than she does for the amount of actionable information she gives you. Another thing I love is the lack of fluff you get when you deal with Rebecca. She gets down to business without dragging things out.

Here’s a quick rundown of all the courses I have taken, or that I’m currently taking, with Rebecca Hamilton and OTOH, Books/Author Grow:

• Author Grow Budget Publishing Mastermind Course – $20 Per Month
• Author Grow Rapid Release Publishing Mastermind Course – $80 Per Month
• The Secret to Series That Sell – $99
• One-on-one Mentoring with Rebecca Hamilton – $1,000 Per Year – Via Facebook
• Crafting the Breakout Bestseller – $299
• Creating a Plot That Sells (Via Facebook)
• Publishing for Profit (Via Facebook)
• Sales Page Course (Via Facebook)
• How to Write a Novella in 14 Days – $99
• Weekly Marketing Club (Via Facebook)
• More Words On the Page with Monica Corwin (Via Facebook)
• Free Course Group (Via Facebook)
• Writing & Self-Editing Course with Heather Marie Adkins (Via Facebook)
• Brand Building (Via Facebook)
• Newsletter Basics (Via Facebook)
• Growing Your Author Business With a $35 Start Up (Via Facebook)
• Developing An Epic Romance Into Your Series (Via Facebook)
• OTOH Fundraiser (Via Facebook)
• Releasing Books On a Budget (Via Facebook)
• The Bestselling Blurb Formula – $49
• OTOH Course Taste Tester – $35

That’s a lot of courses, right? For my thoughts on the ones I got the absolute most value out of, see the subsequent short chapters in this section dedicated to them. There’s a reason I take everything Rebecca offers the SECOND I can afford to take it. I’m serious about my career as an indie author. Everything she teaches is fluff-free, straight to the point, and 100% actionable information that you can put to work immediately. Take her courses. They’ll change (SAVE, if you’re anything like me) your writing life. Her courses currently range from FREE – $800+.

Rebecca Hamilton

Why does Rebecca Hamilton get a whole section of this book all to herself? She is, without a doubt, the most valuable resource I’ve come across in the publishing industry. She has a wealth of knowledge she’s ready to share with you, and I recommend you check it out as soon as humanly possible.

The Author Grow Open Discussion is a great place to start before we dive into individual resources I’ve used.

The Most Important Resource of All

YOU Are Your Most Important Resource

I want to take a little time to talk to you about some things that were going on behind the scenes in my life while I was working on this book and uploading it so it would release on its previously announced release date, although I had a feeling deep in my core that it wasn’t 100% ready to go yet. (I promise this has everything to do with how you are your most important resource. We just have a bit of a journey to go on to get from point A to point B, so buckle up, buttercup.)

Things That Were Going On Behind the Scenes While I Was Compiling the Initial Draft of This Book:

• A member of my husband’s family was diagnosed with cancer.
• An older friend of mine (who was honestly a lot like family) passed away.
• A horrific incident took place in our neighborhood, which resulted in the death of one of our neighbors. It’s so traumatic for the families involved that I don’t honestly feel comfortable giving you details about the incident, but it affected me and my work on this book nonetheless.
• One of my Granny’s last living siblings died.
• I am a service provider as well as a writer, and I spend all day every day putting my clients first, which is great for them, but wasn’t so great for the initial draft of this book.
• I struggle daily with mental health issues that include ADHD with severe executive dysfunction and Type II Bipolar disorder. There are times when the fact that I made it out of bed for the day is miraculous in and of itself, much less doing everything I plan to do on a day-to-day basis.
• I got sick repeatedly throughout the process of writing this book, and it’s hard to be your best self when you’re under the weather.

So, what does any of this have to do with you, much less the fact that you are your most important resource? I’ve made an example of myself yet again, and this is yet another opportunity for you to learn from my mistakes. I put myself between a rock and a hard place with the production of this book. It can be intensely tempting to spread yourself too thin in the interest of paying your bills. (Ask me how I know.)

Trust me when I tell you that you don’t want to give in to that temptation. I had no choice but to upload a product that I didn’t feel was ready, and the negative ARC review I got of that confirmed that suspicion for me. Still, I couldn’t afford to change the release date, so here we both are. If you take anything away from this book, I want it to be this message: YOU are your best resource, so don’t waste yourself! Give yourself the proper conditions and resources to grow into your best self, so you can put out the BEST books you’re capable of producing.

Alternately, we can frame that message in a little bit of self-deprecating humor for those of you who appreciate sarcasm and could use a chuckle at my expense.

Why is Top 100 Resources for Writers Structured the Way It Is?

One of the people who downloaded an ARC of this book was particularly harsh about several points regarding the very nature and structure of this book. Once I got over all the icky feelings that naturally come with a negative review, I thought it might be best to put on my big girl panties and address those points.

The anonymous reviewer had this to say: This book is a sales pitch for several people/businesses used by the author. 9/10 of the book is repetitious blatant advertising. The author uses ALL CAPS on practically every page to emphasize the same things over and over. She frequently states that she is using a Mac version of the software she touts and she doesn’t know whether or not it’s available on Windows machines. Don’t you think that you’d find out before writing a book about it? You can find out this information on the Internet without purchasing this book. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

1. I clearly stated in the book’s front matter that I have only included service providers and tools that I have personally worked with and would recommend in this book. I’m not looking up and compiling what other people had to say about popular service providers and tools here. I spent the money and time it took to test drive these tools and service providers myself.
2. I’m learning more and trying new service providers and tools out every single day. If I work with a new tool or service provider and have a good experience with them, it’s highly likely to show up on my blog or in a new resource I put together for you somewhere down the line. Just because a service provider isn’t listed here, doesn’t mean they aren’t good. I’m not going to include things I haven’t taken the time to personally work with and get to know.
3. I don’t believe in trash talking or tearing service providers and tools down. If I didn’t have anything positive to say about a service provider or tool, they’re not in this book because I firmly stick to the tenet that if you don’t have anything nice to say, you shouldn’t say anything at all. I’ve only included tools and service providers that I had above-par experiences with, and I’m excited to share those things with you! I’m sorry if it comes across as a sales pitch (although I’ve included plenty of FREE tools in addition to ones that cost money). I’m not here to sell you on things. I’m not a salesperson, and that’s not my job. I’ve honestly never been good at selling things. If I were doing something like that, don’t you think I would have pimped my own writing-related services before I shared other service providers’ repertoires with you? I’m here to tell you the things I wish I’d known in the beginning of my writing career.
4. I am actively working to improve this resource on a daily basis. I’ve got my big girl panties on, my cup of coffee in hand, and I’m attacking the issues the anonymous reviewer pointed out to me. I’m working on the all caps issue. I wanted this book to be personable and real, kind of like a conversation or texting with an old friend. I thought my voice, just as it is, would attract the right people. Some people aren’t into that, though, and that’s okay. I’m also working on the repetition. When I use resources, I don’t always read them in order from start to finish. I tend to skip around a lot based on my current needs, and I was working on the assumption that others might do that, too. I didn’t want you guys to miss anything, but I hate that it comes across as repetitive and boring. I’m not here to stuff my word count, so I’m cutting out a lot of the repetition. I’m also catching up the information for whether or not these tools are available on platforms aside from Mac.
5. Changes and updates are imminent and can happen at any time. To be utterly and completely honest with you, I got in a bit of a time crunch with this manuscript, and I was forced to upload before I felt things were truly ready to go. You can expect changes and updates to this resource throughout the year, in an effort to make this tool the absolute best it can be in spite of the fact that I got behind the metaphorical eight ball where time is concerned.

I’d also like to take a moment to note here that some of the links to resources in this book are, in fact, affiliate links, and I may make a nominal fee for referring you as an affiliate. I promise you I only recommend and affiliate with resources that I believe will genuinely benefit you. I know from experience because they did it for me.

Who is Top 100 Resources for Writers for?

This book is for brand-spanking-new writers who are just starting out their careers in self-publishing. This book is for the writer I was when I began my journey over 10 years ago. This is the quick-reference guide I wish I had when I was first discovering the incredible highs and lows writing as a career has to offer. This book is for writers who don’t mind real talk and a familiar voice. This book is for me before I became a USA Today Bestselling Author.

I know the day-to-day struggles of writing, especially when you don’t know what tools can really benefit you. I know what it’s like to dump thousands of dollars into tools and resources that don’t turn out to be worth it, but I’ve also found a handful of resources for which I’d make insane sacrifices to make sure I have access to them. I’m also guessing you’d rather learn from my mistakes than make them yourself.

This book is for new writers who want to suffer as little as possible along the path to writing success. Sure, you could stumble around, blindly throwing your money and time in all directions at once to see what sticks. I used to. Now, however, I’d rather work a little smarter than that. I’d rather strategically direct my time, money, and resources where they’re most likely to get me the best possible ROI they can.

Top 100 Resources for Writers – Going Forward

Once upon a time, I got in a hurry to get this book out there. In the interest of meeting deadlines, I finished the book and uploaded it as quickly as possible. My biggest mistake is always being impatient. Tell me if my story sounds familiar to you at all.

My day job had disappeared, and I desperately needed to replace that income. I panicked. I succumbed to that evil little voice in my head that told me something along these lines: “Just slap the book together and meet your deadline. People pump out worse books than this one on a daily basis and somehow still make money off them.”

Getting in a hurry and getting ahead of myself was a mistake. I got a review that said the book wasn’t worth a FREE price point, much less 99 cents. At first, I was angry, but only until I realized that review was right. In the state it was in at the time, Top 100 Resources for Writers WASN’T worth me giving it away for free.

So, obviously, Top 100 Resources for Authors has plenty of room to improve. That’s exactly what I’ve decided to do with it, too. Over the course of the next few months, I’m going to work to give every single chapter the attention and updating it deserves. I will be releasing, at minimum, one chapter per week on this blog. When I’ve finished, I’ll be compiling and releasing an updated version of Top 100 Resources for authors as a 100% FREE resource you can use.

What do you guys think? Let me know in the comments!

Success Celebration: USA Today Bestseller

I officially became a USA Today Bestselling Author with my C. J. Beaumont pen name on June 12, 2019. I’ve already gotten several texts wanting to know how I achieved USA Today Bestseller status.

To be blunt, it was 9 months of extremely hard work under the guidance of some AMAZING people who really know what they’re doing. The Fated Mates boxed set was an amazing experience for me. You will hear me sing the praises of the people I’m learning from OVER and OVER again because what they teach works. Rebecca Hamilton and Heather Marie Adkins at AuthorGrow know what it takes to hit the USA Today Bestseller List.

I don’t know how much longer they will be doing boxed sets, though. You can check out boxed set opportunities in the AuthorGrow Open Discussion.

My Favorite Secret Weapon for Effortless Mockups

I can’t even begin to tell y’all how much I love MockupShots.com. Okay, maybe I can. I love it enough that I decided to become an affiliate for it. If that’s off-putting for you, I apologize, but that’s a whole other blog post for another day. Suffice it to say I don’t share products and service providers I don’t believe in/haven’t worked with personally.

Now, back to MockupShots. You guys, I absolutely LOVE this program. Why? I love ANYTHING that saves me time, which in turn gives me more time to write. I also love how easy to use it is. Literally all you have to do is upload your book cover, and it instantly generates hundreds of professional-quality mockups of your book that’ll look GREAT in your Instagram feed. You can download each one you want with a single click.

If you want to save tons of time and have instant access to hundreds of professional-grade mockups (bonus: you no longer have to beg your friends to make pretty graphics for you), MockupShots is 100% the program for you.

Bonus #2: You can get the three mockups you see in the graphic at the top of this post for FREE just by clicking HERE.

Review: Rebecca Hamilton’s Publishing Mastermind Course

Other writers I know are constantly asking me if the buy in on Rebecca Hamilton’s Publishing Mastermind Course is actually worth it. Since this is such a frequently asked question for me, I decided to answer it with a blog post. So, let me tell you a little story.

I have had just ONE goal in life for as long as I can remember. All I’ve ever wanted in the world is to be a full-time fiction writer who works from home (or wherever I want, as a matter of fact). At the beginning of last year, to say that I was struggling would be an incredible understatement. The closest I could say that I was to achieving my life goal was that I had the at home part going for me.

I wasn’t making any money from my writing, or anything else, for that matter. I was bored, miserable, and constantly getting turned down when I applied for so-called “real” jobs because my degree meant I was over-qualified.

So, I cut back on my fast-food spending and got in on Rebecca’s Budget Publishing Mastermind Course when that was still available. Just one SINGLE tip from the very first lesson in the course (How am I gonna pay for this thing?) changed my ENTIRE life and enabled me to raise the money I needed to launch my writing career.

I’m not going to spill any of Rebecca’s amazing secrets here, but I will tell you that ONE tip from the first lesson helped me raise $13,000 to invest in becoming a full-time writer.

So, for those wondering if this course is “worth it,” I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt that it ABSOLUTELY is worth every penny, even if you never read beyond the very first lesson (which you DEFINITELY should).

You can CLICK HERE to change your own life with Rebecca Hamilton’s Publishing Mastermind Course.