Jodi Brandon | How to Finally Write That Book

Being an entrepreneur requires more than business instinct: you need creativity too. Word nerd, editor and publisher Jodi Brandon helps people channel theirs into books.

Jodi always knew she wanted to work with words — but she also had “the entrepreneur bug.” 

After majoring in English and business at college, Jodi horrified her parents by moving to New York to work in publishing. 

She started on the bottom rung, as an editorial assistant, but was lucky enough to have a boss who helped her move up the ladder. 

When Jodi and her husband relocated to Philadelphia, she decided it was time to “strike out on my own.” Jodi started working with entrepreneurs who wanted to write books but didn’t know how, taking them from idea to manuscript to publication and marketing.

Jodi’s plans for her life and business changed dramatically when her mother was diagnosed with a rare type of cancer. They were told she had 12 weeks to live.

Jodi and her siblings decided she was best-placed to look after their mom, and Jodi took a temporary break from work. Fortunately, her mother beat the doctor’s expectations and lived for another two and a half years.

This was wonderful for Jodi and her family, but it made it hard to navigate work. After dipping in and out — and feeling guilty about not spending enough time at the office or home — Jodi put her career on hold.

When her mother died, Jodi struggled to return to her work routine. “That first day, I didn't even know what to do with myself,” she remembered.

On the advice of a friend, Jodi wrote short, achievable to-do lists. The boost of those small accomplishments eventually got her back in the flow.

“I felt like I was starting all over in business. But that's what got me through those first few days. That made me feel like, ‘OK, you can do this Jodi, it's going to be fine.’”

👱‍♀️ Name: Jodi Brandon

⚙️ What she does: Author, editor, publisher and entrepreneur. Jodi helps aspiring authors write, self-publish and market their books. She hosts the Write Publish Market podcast, in which she explains the ins and outs of booking publishing for entrepreneurs. 

📚 Organization: Jodi Brandon Editorial

💎 Words of wisdom: “Everybody's got something that they're dealing with. Don't minimize whatever your thing is, even if it's not what your sister's going through, or your best friend. Everybody's got their thing, and whatever that thing is, it is monumental to you and you need to treat it that way.”

🔍 Where to find her: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Podcast

💡 Way with words: Jodi recalls telling her parents that she wanted to move to New York to work in publishing after college, and being lucky enough to meet an editor who supported her ambitions.

💡 Striking out alone: After moving to Philadelphia, Jodi fulfilled her entrepreneurial aspirations, helping entrepreneurs write, publish and market books.

💡 Brain dump: Jodi’s advice for would-be writers who don’t know where to start: dump all your ideas on the page and see what stands out. This will show you what you really want to say.

💡 What to write: When deciding what to write about, consider your goals, what you want readers to take from your book, and how much personal detail you’re willing to share.

💡 Family emergency: Jodi talks about dealing with uncertainty over her mom’s health, and how the push and pull between work and home led her to take two years off to care for her mother.

💡 First day back: Jodi describes her fear on her first day at work after her mother’s death, and how she gave herself the grace she needed to get back into her routine.

💡 Marketing matters: Jodi explains why writing a book and marketing one require two different skill sets, and why selling your work is just as important as creating it.

*Jodi Brandon: *

“Everything starts with a brain dump. Clear your head, then take whatever you've written down and study it. You start to see patterns, and that's how a book's contents develop.”

“It's easy to make sacrifices for a season when you know when that season ends. It's harder when you have no idea.”

“Give yourself grace. Take a minute and catch your breath as best you can. Sometimes you're not able to catch your whole breath: sometimes you're still in the thick of it for longer than you thought you would be.”

“That first day back in the office, I was terrified. I felt like I had almost forgotten how to be ‘Jodi Brandon: book editor, entrepreneur, book coach.’”

“Finishing the book itself is the easy part. A lot of times, the real work begins in the marketing.”