Do you ever wonder what it’s like to write a book of your own?

Speculate about the secrets of publication that lurk behind the magician’s curtain?

Long to know the crazy rollercoaster stories behind the creation of the books you know and love?

Well, here’s one author’s real, gritty take on all of those questions.

Ayodeji Awosika has not only written a book, he’s written, self-published, and sold THREE of them.

His latest, Real Help: An Honest Guide to Self-Improvement is a pull-no-punches look at creating success in a sometimes cruel and unpredictable world. It’s designed to cut through the fluff of self-help that sounds good but fails to help you really change.

This harsh yet hopeful roadmap to a better life took Ayodeji a year and literal “blood, sweat, and tears” to create. It is, in his own words, his “best work yet,” and you’re going to hear all about the whole process in this exclusive interview!

Ayodeji is a highly productive writer, producing thousands of words a day and an impressive portfolio consisting of hundreds of articles on Medium, LinkedIn, The Huffington Post, and more.

In this interview, I “sat down” with Ayodeji to hear his thoughts on the writing process, the difficulties he’s gone through and the sacrifices he’s made to bring Real Help to you.

From literally bursting a blood vessel during the writing process to going through a difficult divorce, Ayodeji has gone through the gamut of life experiences, and sacrificed enormously to see his work come to fruition.

This is his story:

Ayodeji Awosika, on the Writing of his 3rd Book, Real Help

What is your goal in writing Real Help?

My goal is to tell people the things they need to know instead of what they want to hear so they can actually change their lives.

Often, I think sugar-coated self-help advice just doesn’t hit a deep enough emotional nerve to get people to act. I definitely tried to trigger emotions with this book, many negative, to sort of shock people awake to their situation.

How long did it take you to write this book?

From start to finish including editing, roughly a year.

Did anything interesting happen during the writing of the book that affected it?

I’d say some of the life events that happened during the book definitely made an impact — I got divorced and a blood vessel in my eye exploded, leaving me partially blind for a while.

In a way, I’m glad for the adversity in my life and the ability to overcome it because it gives me even more conviction when I’m sharing the ideas with other people. Life will always try to throw you off balance. What you do when that happens makes a world of difference.

What is your usual book writing process and how does it differ from article writing? How much do you spend on research, planning, editing, etc?

The process of writing a book is a lot more in-depth than a blog post. Honestly, at this point, with blog posts, I just open up my computer and start writing because I’ve developed such an intuitive sense for it.

With books, I have to go through several iterations of exercises like creating mind-maps (basically brainstorming) and solidified outlines. This process goes for the entire book as well as each chapter.

First I plot out the entire book, then I plot out each chapter, then write. I definitely edited this book more than any of the others — at least a dozen times. I was tired of looking at the book by the time it was done and that’s how I knew it was ready.

Is writing a book for you more of a solitary endeavor or a team effort? Ie, How much do you work with or have you worked with editors, proofreaders/betareaders, etc?

Writing a book is definitely a collaborative process with a lot of moving parts and other people involved. I worked with an editing team of 3 total editors — proofreader, copyeditor, and development editor. I worked with a book designer, book formattter, and a virtual assistant to help me with a bunch of tasks related to the launch.

The great thing about the internet is that there are so many people available with the skills to help you put your projects together. Not only do you not need to go it alone, but you also shouldn’t try to.

How is writing, publishing, and promoting your third book different from the first two?

My audience is a lot bigger, which means my expectations for sales are of course, much bigger. I think I’m finally a good writer. It took me about five years to really feel like “yeah, I’m pretty damn good at this.”

This book is, by far, the best thing I’ve ever written. It’s twice as long as my first two books but also contains no fluff. This book contains my entire philosophy on life pretty much, so I’m really proud of it.

How did you come up with the promotion plan for this book?

My business coach, Deborah Hurwitz, helped me put together the idea for the launch, especially the part about reaching out to other like-minded people to help share the message of the book.

She made me realize how much value there was to go around, so I’m glad she gave me the push to reach out to people like you to help spread the word.

You mentioned that when you wrote your first book you took a course that helped. What course was it? How did it help and would you recommend it for other writers?

Self-Publishing School by Chandler Bolt. It’s the best online course I’ve ever taken. It breaks down every step of writing a book — every teeny tiny detail.

It puts the information together in a way where you have no excuses not to finish the course and almost all people do just that. I believe roughly 90% of people who take SPS do publish their books. I highly recommend it.

Want REAL Help Getting Traction in Life and Writing?

Are you tired of the empty promises in the self-help world?

Do you want to hear the truth about what it takes to change, even if it isn’t pretty?

If you’ve tried the “New Year, New Me” thing more than a few times by now, and STILL found yourself back where you started, Real Help is for you.

This is a book with zero B.S. It’s also a book that will challenge you so that you don’t B.S. yourself.

If you’re ready for an authentic and honest, sometimes brutally honest look at what it takes to turn your life around, grab your copy of Real-Help today.

And if you order your copy before the end of this month (1/31/20), you will also get these exclusive bonuses:

1. A premium course taught by Ayodeji based on how he made 6 figures on Medium
2. A free online masterclass on how to use your strengths to get traction on your life path and create a side hustle or passion project
3. Access to a private personal transformation Facebook group where you can contact Ayodeji himself and learn from live Q&As and other special content
4. And, an extra extra bonus: Access to the upcoming Brilliant Writer Genius Journaling Course from yours truly

Get your copy now!

This is the 2nd part of an exclusive interview series with Ayodeji Awosika, 6-figure writer and author of Real Help: An Honest Guide to Self-Improvement.

You can read Part 1 of the interview here, and get your copy of the book here. (And remember to shoot me an email for the free bonus courses!)

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