Vicky Quinn Fraser’s Post

The Moxie Books Micro Hot Seat with the delightful Janine Coombes! Janine asked me: I want to do comedy but it feels frivolous. I can’t find time. How do I do that? And we had a chat about it. She has a plan. She has determination. Imagine what I could do for you in 90 minutes if I can help Janine this much in 15. DM me if you’re done with being stuck writing your book and let’s get that show on the road.

Everybody worries about being a good storyteller but story ain’t the big banana. Story is just the vehicle for your IDEA. If you don’t have a good idea, your story will have about as much impact as the Tories’ feeble election wailing. (For non-UK folks: that means almost NONE impact) Stop worrying about your writing for 5 minutes and focus on your idea. Then go and vote. *** I’m Vicky, The MicroBook Magician and nonfiction book coach, and I know how to help you find the angle that makes your book idea unique. There are 3 ways I can help you write your book this summer: 1. The VIP Book Accelerator Day (I have two spots for July) — take a quantum leap forward and leave the day feeling like a proper author with a plan you’ll actually follow. 2. Book Coach In Your Pocket (sold out for July, 3 spots for August) — 90 minute coaching call + daily personalised writing prompts/coaching nuggets. If you do the work, you’ll have your first draft done in 30 days. 3. Kickstart Your Book Workshop (Tuesday 23 July) — 90 minutes to give you a North Star for your book so you nail your idea, your ideal reader, and your outline. I’m also going to vote, then I’m going to lobby my new MP for proportional representation because Labour is going to be Tory-lite and this absolute shitshow cannot be allowed to continue.

“Why would anyone read my book?” ^^ A good question that you’ll have to answer if you do want people to read your book, but first this: Babe, why WOULDN’T they? Because this question isn’t really about the contents of your book. We can fix that later. This is about YOU. You’re worried you’re not interesting enough. Not famous enough. Not edgy enough. Not unique enough. Not “I nearly died one time when I was four years old and living on mouldy toast in New York’s grubby underworld, dodging meth dealers and city hall officials and the giant mutant rat that everyone KNOWS is down there but nobody talks about, then I discovered this one neat trick that uses a 🍆funnel and now I’m a bazillionnaire and every morning I drink liquified kale, have an ice bath, and beat myself with a whip made from my own pubic hair” enough. My love. My grasshopper. Listen to me and listen good: that kinda story is good for the clicks but let me just direct you to the things people binge day-in and day-out. • Silly arguments on Twitter • Real Housewives of Mars (or wherever) • GOGGLEBOX FOR FCKS SAKE • Soap operas (ESCANDALO!) • Whatever current feud is going on in your neighbourhood WhatsApp group (please spill the tea to me too) Yes, we like a big old Marvel adventure, but THIS is what keeps us interested. The little stories from people’s daily lives. The human details we can all relate to. I like a giant rat zombie adventure as much as anyone but it’s fluff. Sugar. I’ll eat it, then I’ll forget about it. Give me the inner workings of your mind and soul, though — something REAL — and I am HOOKED, baby. We don’t need a unique idea. We need YOUR take on it. So get to work. *** You don’t have to do this alone. There are 3 ways I can help you: 1. VIP Book Accelerator Day if you want to take a quantum leap and get this done FAST. 2. Book Coach In Your Pocket: a month of daily book coaching right to your brain. (Fully booked for this month but I have 3 spots in August!) 3. My Kickstart Your Book workshop (live later this month or recorded). DM me GIANT RAT and let’s have a conversation.

I am EXTREMELY EXCITED to be joining the QUEEN of Cashflow Yinka Ewuola’s Cashflow Summer to create myself a rich and rested summer 💛 I’ve just had a peep and what an incredible group of people this is going to be!!!

What is “cool”? I know, I know — if you have to ask, you aren’t it. If you don’t know why wide-leg trousers are suddenly on trend again, despite millennials’ dire warnings of waterlogged, grimy, wet-to-the-knees jeans, you’re not “cool”. If you cannot comprehend why teenagers are suddenly wild for Boomer-era Stanley thermos mugs, you are not “cool”. And if you trip over your own feet and blurt out the fact that you v much enjoy philately while trying to impress the boy you like in the year above, you are definitely not “cool”. I’ve always known I’m more clown car than cool. Never invited to the “it” parties, mocked by the in-crowd, eating my marmite sandwiches in the library at lunchtime with my nose in books about the Bermuda Triangle and the Marie Celeste. Definitely never on the guest list for cool clubs. Would absolutely not get into the Berghain, Berlin’s most exclusive techno club, presided over by Sven Marquardt who decides who gets in using an algorithm of his own devising. People queue for 8 hours, only to be turned away, and try again next week. Nobody except Sven knows how to get into that place; he’s scanning for some quality only he knows… Whatever he’s looking for, I know I don’t possess it: the marker of belonging to that particular brand of cool that would open that door for me. Cos we don’t live in a meritocracy, no matter how much some people insist we do. It’s all about who you know, what you put out, and how you connect. Dig a little deeper behind the Berghain, and you discover something interesting: the 8-hour queue is there for people who aren’t in the know. The way to get into the Berghain isn’t via queueing and luck; it’s via connections. Spend a little time in Berlin’s techno scene, getting to know the artists and DJs and venue hosts, and eventually — if they like you — you’ll find yourself invited to more exclusive parties and club nights. And, maybe, on the guest list of the Berghain. No queueing required. Who you know and what you can show opens doors that otherwise might remain firmly locked. Another way to open doors is to write the book only you can write. Especially if you want to raise your speaking profile or feature on more podcasts or in publications. I can’t guarantee a book will get you into the Berghain (even if it’s a book on techno) but it will put you firmly in the cool kids category. It’ll give you a leg-up, above your peers. But I also know one of the hardest things about writing a book? Thinking you’re not “cool” enough. GOOD NEWS: THIS IS TOTALLY NORMAL. Better news? I can help you get clear on your awesome idea, structure it like a boss so it feels easy to write, and believe you’re actually cool enough to write a book of your own (that you can be proud of). My doors are open for my revamped VIP Book Accelerator Day and there are two available for July! DM me “COOL KIDS” and I’ll give you the deets.

Are you doing the thing? Or are you doing everything except the thing? “Umm, are you inside my head right now? 😆 Gah. No matter how many times I read Steven Pressfield’s War of Art, I’m still here, not writing my book “because of all the other things” 🙈 RESISTANCE!” ^This was a comment on one of my Instagram reels. My answer? Yes, I am in fact inside your head now, because I’ve been exactly there. I, too, love Steven Pressfield’s War of Art, but here’s the difference: I know that reading a book isn’t going to magically make me able to write my own book. It’s not enough to know you’re feeling “resistance” — we all feel resistance. You need to understand why. But even more than that — you need to just get the fck on with it. I am the absolute QUEEN of buying books and courses and then not doing the thing (you should see the dusty old course graveyard in my Cupboard of Doom — there are CDs in there, kids. CDs. I do not even own a device that can play CDs anymore). So I get it. As I said, I’m in your head. I know why you’re not writing your book and I also know that’s a REALLY annoying thing to hear, but that’s why I’m a book coach. I know things. I have a very particular set of skills. There are 48 books on my shelves written by my wonderful clients precisely because I know why you’re not writing your book. The bad news is that, in that sense, you’re not special. The good news is that, in that sense, you’re not special! You are unique, but the challenges you're facing in writing almost certainly are not. I’ve seen hundreds of variations on the same few themes and I know how to get you unstuck. It’s up to you to walk through the door and write the thing, of course — but I can open the door and show you how to get through it. I can get you unstuck FAST. Like Kevin Casey, who started his book then sat on it for TWO YEARS. Until he booked a VIP Day with me and a few months later, his book “(un)selling” was an Amazon bestseller foreworded by Seth Godin. Ready to stop faffing and start writing? Then stop reading inspirational books about writing and ask for help from someone who’ll get you moving and keep you moving. I have two VIP Book Accelerator Day spaces in July. My DMs are open — hop on in.

Name that boy band! Prize for my favourite name. At 4pm today, I’ll choose my favourite suggestion, and the winner gets a copy of my newest book "Don’t Eat The Frog”. You in? *** [Photo credit and idea credit to Joe Fraser who first posted this on the book of faces] [Image: Three TinySheep in our courtyard looking very much like the album from a 90s boy band. Bronson is top right, on a stone wall, looking quizzically at camera. In the middle, Kernic stands at the top of the steps, head slightly tilted, looking at camera. These two are black sheeps. Bottom left is little Picard, looking at camera calmly. He is a tiny white sheep. They all need shearing. There are foxgloves in the foreground and a mess in the background.]