Ask the Expert: Podcast to Book Made Simple with Katherine Burrrows

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Hello, hello Amplifyou family Michelle Abraham your hosts. I'm here today with the behind the mic interview. And we're gonna do a little bit of a Ask the Expert as well at the same time here today. I have a special guest Katherine Burrows, Catherine is the big impact ghostwriter. And let me say hi to Katherine first and then we'll share a little bit more about Katherine with you. How are you doing, Katherine?

I'm great. Michelle, I'm so thrilled to be here. Thank you so much.

You're welcome. Well, I am finally excited to have you on the show. It's been a long time in the making getting you on here. So we're excited to dive in today. So Katherine is a big impact ghostwriter. But let me tell you a little bit more about Katherine. She comes all the way from Ontario, Canada. And so we are a fellow Canadians today on the show for you. Which is unusual. That's not usually the case on this show. Catherine is a ghost writer, a book coach and a podcaster. She's got a great podcast called the right connection. And she helps subject matter experts make a bigger difference by getting their brilliant ideas into books and out across the globe to improve lives, influence others, and change the world. So Catherine started ghost writing because she loves helping people use their professional experiences and insights to author a business book in their authentic voice, which is amazing. So Katherine, how take us back to how you guys started as a ghost writer, were you inspired as a reader first? Or how did you get into ghost writing?

Um, well, I have always loved writing. And I honestly don't remember a time that I didn't write or didn't want to be a writer in my life. So various, you know different things, career paths, and ended up leaving a corporate job and looking to start my own business. So when I was thinking, what kind of business should I start, I went back to that childhood love of writing. And I've always felt called to write and I've always felt called to help people with my writing. So kind of how could I put that together into a business. And so I started doing copywriting and you know, like social media, blog, post press releases, basically just whatever needed to be done. And I would attend our local networking events, of course, pre COVID. And you know, you're in a group of a bunch of people, but then people break off into these smaller conversations. And so I'd be in these little groups of four or five people. And someone would be telling a story, like how they started their business, or some obstacle that they had overcome to keep their business going, or to help a client or whatever it was. And I was just so struck by the power of these stories. And the person telling them was always like, so humble, and they didn't realize that this would be something anyone would really care that much about. But since we asked, okay, they would tell us kind of thing. And I'm just like, oh my gosh, like, if people knew this story, you like your inbox would be full, your calendar would be full, you'd have all the clients you need. So I decided that that's my mission is to tell those stories. And as I got into it further, I developed my business character analysis, which came from realizing that one of the key parts of those stories are the characteristics of the business owner. So with my business character analysis, I do an in depth interview with people, clients as I onboard them, and then I give them a report with their one defining characteristic, that overarching personality trait that really is, who they are and how they show up in their business. Three supporting characteristics, and then the culminating result, which is, of course, the magic that happens when all of those characteristics come together to really benefit their clients.

Wow, that's awesome. That's something that people are on a search for, like, Is it surprising the results to the business owner as of what those things are? Usually,

I get things like, oh my gosh, I never thought of myself that way. Or, you know, I've always wanted to be like that, but I didn't think that I was stuff like that. So I think like, you know if I can say this, it's a lot Little bit of a confidence boost to to them as well as giving us that foundational document to build their voice from for writing the book. So then as I progressed further and was using this analysis to write for people, I really realized that I wanted to do deeper dives, like writing a book with fewer clients. So I really get that strong connection with them. I really get to know who they are and all about their business. And so I have let go of all of the shorter content, and I now focus on the business books.

Awesome. So Katherine, tell us the million dollar question. Do we as entrepreneurs need a book?

Absolutely. Her book is a great way to have people get to know who you are your values, what you do, what it's like to work with you and how you've helped real people just like that reader.

Yeah, so powerful. You know, it's interesting, as I heard someone call it actually was Kim de who we had on the show last year, she calls it your big business card, right? It's your big business card.

It is and you know, a lot of people give those books away for free, because it's such a powerful way to bring in clients, not you know, and prospects, but also like to build your network. Because when people get to know you through a book, they can be more confident about referring you as well.

Absolutely. And you know, it's interesting, when we're looking at guests to be podcast guests to like someone says they have a book that sets them apart, like I assess them like miles ahead of everyone else, as a potential guests on shows to, it's interesting, I was just looking around in my room to hear my office, I have so many books, and all the books I have are people that I know, which is really awesome. That's a you know, you're in the entrepreneurial world, where all the books on your shelf are by written by people that you know, here or you met or had one of our clients Hillary to seizure disease, or launch a book this week, and it's called the relaunch and she got it in the mail yesterday. And I was just like, that's so cool. Seeing getting books from people that you know, that are the author, right? Super cool. No, Catherine, you do something so different. And no, now in my head, I'm a podcaster. I hate writing i That's why I have a podcast, Catherine, I can't write. It's one of those things. That's tricky. So now I know you come up with a really great solution for us. podcasters, who think we can't write? I know, really, we probably could. But it's not our favorite modality. So I'd rather turn on the microphone and start speaking, then putting my pen to paper and start writing. So you've developed a really cool program and really cool concept for us, podcasters, who already have content out there and the format of the show. So can you take us down that path a little bit here, share with us a little bit more about what that's all about? Sure.

So, first of all, you're not alone. There are a lot of people who hate writing and are much more comfortable with the spoken word. And that's okay, that's totally fine, because you should be working in your zone of genius. But to get all the benefits of the book, we need to get that fabulous content that you have in your podcast into the written word. So there's a couple options. I mean, obviously, there's the ghost writing option of just having me do that for you. In which we would, you know, create a plan together talking about who your audience is, and what your goals for the book are, and all that kind of stuff, and what kind of content you want to put in, like, which episodes do you want to focus on. And then I would get transcripts of that. And you can even send the audio files and all run it through my transcription software, or you can send me the transcript directly, whichever. And then we can create the book from there. But I also have a program called podcast about Made Simple, where I am coaching people through that process. And so I created some really detailed templates and a process that I'm working on right now called 90 days to 90 pages. So leave it up to us, I'll be like a years before we get it right. And

someone said to me, you have to make it easy, and you have to make it so I really really have taken that to heart. Michelle and I have been working over the last couple of weeks to really flesh out some templates that have a lot of the work done for you a lot of the structure in place already. And I'm actually this is like a little bit of a like secret secret.

Anybody else guys just for your ears.

But I'm I'm working on a theme of doing a quest and so I've actually drawn out a map where you like have to go through the map mountains and over a river and through the deep forest and stuff. So it's going to be like a whole journey that is going to be fun and it is going to be easy.

Awesome. I love it. And that's why it's called podcast, the book Made Easy. And I love it. It's simple. He has simple. And oh gosh, this is such a good idea. Because I think of this idea. And I'm like, This is awesome. But then I like staring at the computer and going, Okay, well, what, what what content that I put out there is going to go into the book, and how to organize and all that. And so the have kind of laid out this roadmap, and you're gonna coach us along the way in doing that, which is amazing. So what about people who have mostly like interviews on their podcast? Will this still work for their show? I know a lot of our podcasters who are listening, they do a lot of interviews.

Yeah, so there's a couple of different options that you people have published books, like my, you know, top 10 interviews, and they just published, like the transcript of the interview with, you know, some editing done to that. But if you want to focus more on your expertise, and getting your insights and your kind of intellectual property across, there will be some comments that you make, and some insights there. If you have other, like a keynote speech, a course that you do a workshop that you've done, that we have a recording for, or some notes for, or something, that's all contact, and I can also interview you. So, you know, for for doing the ghost writing, I often interview my clients and you know, they tell me, you're pulling the content from me because, like, I need someone to do that it's in my head. And I don't know how to get it out. I just need you to like, sit down and hold space and pull it out on me because I don't even know what to tell you. So

that's awesome. And so Katherine, for those maybe who are listening that might not be familiar with the term ghost writing, what exactly is ghost writing in in the sense that you're using?

So as a ghostwriter, that means that I am doing the physical writing, like typing, but I'm writing in your voice. So if we were doing Michelle's book, I would be saying, you know, I am Michelle, I, you know, the first person would be Michelle, not me. And so there's basically three different ways that that can go with, like the, the good knowledge moments of it. It can be 100% completely confidential, where you sign an agreement, and nobody ever knows that you had a ghostwriter. It can be something that you acknowledge somewhere in the book, like under the acknowledgement section, like thank you so much to Katherine for ghost writing this book for me. Or, and I'm sure you've seen books like this, it would say, by Michelle Abraham, as told to Catherine burrows right on the cover. Yeah. So there are books like that, too. So it's all you know about what fits your business.

You sound like the perfect magic, secret weapon for podcasters who don't like to write. I think this is like the perfect solution.

And I love to tell stories, and I really love knowing why people do things like I love getting into the like, what motivates you? What's your why, you know, who are you helping? And how, like all of that. It just like totally fascinates me, and I love writing about it and bringing that to the world, because so much of that tends to stay in the background.

Yeah, for sure. I suppose. And especially if people are speaking or writing it themselves, they don't want to be they think that their stories are important to share or, you know, they're a little bit more, you know, humble, they want to share that with the world, but you can get that out of them in a much better way. And I think that's interesting, because I'm just saying how like most podcasters but prefer to speak now you do both? Which one? Do I know which one you're gonna say that you prefer? Probably the writing part of it. But you do do both writing and podcasting. So that's awesome.

Yeah, so I really I did not know how much I would love podcasting. But I totally do. And when I first started, I was super tied to my script. I wanted to write it all it had a word for word and perfect sentences. The words were in a specific order for a specific reason I just that and I actually have worked through that had some great coaching on how to speak but you know, more for a podcast as opposed to like standing up and reading a book, you know, in a presentation like, you know, an author would do a reading of their book. Obviously, they're reading words that are written but a podcast is very different from that, right? Like they they tend to be much more Spontaneous. And so now with my guests, we jump on Zoom. And for like five minutes beforehand, we talk about, you know, a couple of points we're going to cover. And then we just like hit record. And that's been a huge process, letting go of my script that also become like the perfect balance too, because writing can be such a solitary activity, that I get to have those great conversations and connections with people. And you know, not always clients, but other people in my network too. So it really broadens how many people I connect with and get to know and I get to hear more amazing stories.

That's cool. And so let's switch the topic to your podcast for a second. So on the right connection podcast that you host, you, who are you interviewing on there?

So I interview some people who are clients, some people in my network, people who have written books, people who want to write books, and

not just net not necessarily authors who already have books, but people in your network that maybe could be writing books or wanting to write books as well.

Yeah, cuz we can talk about like, what's holding them back? And why have they not yet written a book? And, you know, why haven't they called me yet?

This sounds like it's perfect sales tool, sales conversation gathering, right there on your podcast.

So I also have solo episodes, too. And I've done a couple of different series, one about the power of storytelling, and one about bringing the five senses into your storytelling, which can totally work in your oral storytelling and your podcasting as well as in the written word.

Not so cool. You were mentioning a second ago about before the five senses one, the one that you said before you were you did a series on what was that one, again?

The power of storytelling

or storytelling? Can you share us a little bit about like, what is it about storytelling that is that that we should be using why we should be using storytelling, especially like in for our business and talking with about it like with in relation to our business?

Sure. So first of all, 65% of all human conversation takes the form of storytelling. So it's something that we're naturally used to, we're naturally programmed to process information that way. And also information that we receive in story form, we remember it up to 22 times better than facts alone. Wow. So it not only makes it much more detailed and memorable, but we remember it longer as well. And so when you think about your brand, and making your brand more memorable and staying top of mind longer, that's a huge benefit.

Absolutely, yeah. That's amazing. And storytelling, I don't think it's something that comes naturally to everybody. Is there a way that if it's you feel like you know, I feel like always like, short stories, like, okay, it gets to the main point of the story. Is there some techniques or ways that you can like expand those stories out?

Yeah, and I love adding in the five senses as descriptions. So you know, if you're thinking about where, what is your ideal client doing? So maybe they're a busy mom, let's say, and they've got like three kids under the age of six that they're running around, so you might sit there and picture that mom driving her minivan with the kids in the back? Okay, like what does she hear it probably hearing a little bit of screaming or maybe a little bit of whining or what are we gonna get there mom? You know, there might be some music playing in the background it's probably kids songs. You know, what is she smelling? Well, maybe they're like, you know, eating some french fries because they just went to McDonald's sorry, this is like a little bit cliche but

she's definitely drinking her coffee because she's lack of sleep and gone crazy.

She's got some nice hazelnut vanilla smell going on there with her coffee and you know like what's in the window like it can be some busy traffic maybe she's like driving down a country road because she's going to some like soccer field you know, like

yeah, that just adds so many more layers to the story than just like that wasn't driving oh my god my kids from to the soccer field this morning.

So and it helps you to get in to that ideal clients head more to what do you think about what they're experiencing in those five different kind of it's like a five dimensional way instead of like, just three dimensional. I know the fourth dimension supposed to be time but whatever. So you're thinking about all of those things that they are seeing here. Hearing, you know, smelling, touching and tasting. And it makes it much more vivid. And that ideal client comes more alive in your mind. And then that helps you to speak more accurately and more directly to them in all of your business content.

And school. It really solidifies that like branding, marketing stuff we've heard over and over like speak to that one person that's your call your avatar and even in the podcasting to speaking that one person. So now writing that out, you can hear you can Oh, with the five senses, I think will help you to like, visualize that person you're speaking to on your podcast, see, which is awesome. Very cool. Well, Catherine, I love what you're up to. And I just I love the idea of taking your podcast into a book, I think that's so powerful, especially because we're probably as podcasters more likely to lead to like the power of speaking over the power of writing. And so with your magic, support any your journey that you take podcasters on to get that created. I think that's amazing. How do we find out more about working with you, Katherine, and more about your podcasts to book made simple process?

Yeah, so I have all the information on my website, which is Katherine burrows, creative.com. And on the homepage, if you just scroll down a little bit, you'll find my ebook, the five big myths keeping you from writing your book. So I would totally suggest that you read that and have a good look and think about what might be holding you back. And I've

probably said about three of them on this show, didn't I?

Yeah, well, I'll tell you, they're the money myth, the content myth, the competition myth, the tech myth, and the time myth. All of those and how to overcome those things that are blocking you in those areas, then have a look at my ebook.

So the funny those same, almost the same five things that block people from writing a book is what also stops them from starting a podcast. Interesting. Very true. Yeah. Very interesting, very similar blocks that we have with both of those expression, expression dominant activities, right. Very cool. Well, Katherine, that's awesome. And guys, we will, we will connect that to our show notes, make sure you have all of Kevin's information, so you can reach out to her. So Catherine, what's the one thing you're looking most forward to coming up on your podcast,

doing a bunch more interviews coming up in August? So I'm just I'm actually just finishing up a series on the five myths where I spend an episode diving into each of those five minutes, and talking about how they were actually holding me back to so

amazing. The five things that helped me if I guess is back to what held me back from focusing too. So you guys are not alone out there. If you're feeling like you don't want to write a book, it's holding you back or you don't want to start a podcast same that I definitely go check out Catherine's podcast, the right connection. And I love that you delve into each of those five, so that's awesome. Well, Katherine, thank you so much for being with us today. So the awesome having you on. And guys, make sure you go and connect with Katherine. Check out her podcast go like give her some love. Give her a review on her podcast. And Katherine, I know we'll we'll bring you back again, sometime soon. Any last words for our podcasters out there who need to write a book?

You can do it. And you already have all of what you need to do it. You are a wonderful, authentic entrepreneur, and you already have lots of content.

Amazing. I think we're already steps ahead of everybody else. We have the content, right? Yes. So cool. Thank you so much. Katherine, have a great day. Talk to you ever. Alright, amplify you family. We'll see you again next week.