Behind the “Seens” with Kayleigh O’Keefe, Founder and CEO of Soul Excellence Publishing
Interested in learning how to take an initial step into the world of book publishing? Kayleigh O’Keefe has some answers. She generously shares her personal experience (and now career focus) in multi-author book publishing. Listen and learn how this approach might just be the next best step on your journey to becoming an author.
Here are the highlights of our conversation:
How she started her publishing company
How a third-grade passion brought Kayleigh back to writing and publishing.
Working 14 years in corporate and start-ups helped her create her entrepreneurial approach.
Seeking a change and direction in her own life, she had the opportunity to become a published author without producing her own book.
It was a simple invitation for her to share her story which really opened her eyes.
She had the “a-ha” moment that “publishing was the path” for her to help people share their own stories with this new model of publishing of leadership and multi-author books.
Kayleigh knew she could hold the vision of her company and build the community, but she sought out the right team to support her in the actual book publishing tasks: editing, formatting, book design, etc.
How to be an author without your own book
An easy way to break into getting published is for people to participate in a multi-author book.
It’s less time, less commitment.
It gives you a taste of writing on a topic that is deeply touching and allows you to get your message out.
Once you have the confidence, you can see the path to your own book.
It also builds community.
How does the multi-author book process work?
Do the participating writers have to be perfect writers?
The most important thing in deciding who makes the cut into these books is their vulnerability or willingness to share.
Deciding if you are going to participate or be invited to participate is most often a “gut yes or no”
In addition to Kayleigh’s company, Soul Excellence, where are or how do you find these multi-author book opportunities? Look for communities and collectives that are aligned with your passions.
Kayleigh’s first book published was Leading Through The Pandemic: Unconventional Wisdom from Heartfelt Leaders
Wanted to find out how leaders had to change, move forward and grow?
Evolved out of Kayleigh’s passion for wanting to learn more on this subject.
Includes the message of 24 leaders from around the world and hit best-seller status on Amazon in several countries.
The time frame for the book was September to December 2020 and published January 2021.
With multi-author books you are able to capitalize on the momentum of the moment and get it done.
Kayleigh started recruiting for next book before she had even published the first one.
Next book up for is Significant Women: Leaders Reveal What Matters Most
It’s about how women define success on their own terms. How do these accomplished leaders make decisions, what guides their paths, and what’s most important to them.
It is coming out April 16, 2021
And now she is already building and recruiting for her next book, School’s Canceled: How Working Parents Fought For Their Children’s Education During the Pandemic. Education is a personal passion and she wants to hear and learn from parents who made it work over this past year.
How Kayleigh decides what her next book will be about? It’s two-fold: a response to what’s going on in the world and who she wants to meet and who she wants to learn from.
Favorite line:
Publishing isn’t the end game. It’s this beautiful way to create community and to collaborate on something tangible in the real world.
How to connect with Kayleigh?
Website
Facebook
Linkedin
Instagram
Twitter
Interested in exploring where you are in your writer or author journey? Let’s chat! If you want to learn more about how to be seen, be found, be heard, please connect with me on the socials or let’s set up a call to chat.