Episode 192

full
Published on:

23rd Jun 2025

EAP 192: Prolific on Purpose - From Combat Boots to Book Deals with G. Michael Hopf

In this episode of the Early Accountability Podcast, host Kimi Walker is joined by G. Michael Hopf, a Marine veteran, USA Today bestselling author, and founder of two publishing companies. G. Michael shares his incredible journey from telling bedtime stories to his daughters to writing over 40 published books, including a breakout novel that led to a major publishing deal with Penguin Random House. Together, they dive deep into what it really takes to achieve a big goal like writing a book, focusing on the power of discipline, visualization, and staying accountable to yourself.

Throughout the conversation, G. Michael offers practical tools and mindset strategies for aspiring writers, including the importance of treating writing like a job, creating a consistent writing routine, and using AI as a supportive tool rather than a replacement for creativity. He encourages listeners to stop waiting for the perfect time, stop overplanning, and simply start writing. His key message is clear and motivational: success begins the moment you decide to show up for yourself with consistency and commitment.

Topics Covered in This Episode:

  • How G. Michael Hopf wrote over 40 books and built two publishing companies
  • Why visualization and mindset are critical for success
  • The power of discipline and showing up daily, even without inspiration
  • Tips for overcoming writer’s block and staying creatively motivated
  • How to use AI as a helpful tool without losing your creative voice
  • Why new writers should stop overthinking and just start writing

About G. Michael Hopf

G. Michael Hopf is a USA Today bestselling and award-winning author. With over 40 novels and more than one million copies sold, his work, especially The New World Series, is known for its gritty realism, fast-paced action, and emotional depth. A former U.S. Marine with three deployments, Hopf draws on his military experience to bring authenticity to his storytelling.

In addition to writing, he’s the founder and managing partner of Beyond The Fray Publishing and Free Reign Publishing, two successful imprints specializing in true crime, the paranormal, Westerns, and speculative fiction. Under his leadership, they’ve published hundreds of titles, helping new and established authors thrive.

Based in San Diego, Hopf also mentors writers and consults on publishing strategy. His work blends compelling narrative with deep insight, whether chronicling survival, mystery, or the unexplained.

Connect with G. Michael

Connect with Kimi Walker:

·      Visit: earlyaccountability.com

·      LinkedIn: Kimi Walker

·      Facebook: Kimi Walker

·      Instagram: Kimi Walker

·      YouTube: Kimi Walker

Transcript
Kimi:

Okay, Kimmy Walker here and

Kimi:

welcome to the next episode of

Kimi:

the Early Accountability Podcast.

Kimi:

Excited to have my guest here today.

Kimi:

We have Jeff, who is a marine veteran and

Kimi:

a bestselling author, and he's gonna come

Kimi:

here and talk to the audience today about

Kimi:

how he has published so many books he has.

Kimi:

Tons.

Kimi:

He has two publishing companies, and we're

Kimi:

gonna dive into what it really takes to

Kimi:

stay accountable if you're chasing a big

Kimi:

goal, especially like writing a book.

Kimi:

Jeff, thank you so much for being here.

Kimi:

G. Michael: Kimmy, thank

Kimi:

you so much for having me.

Kimi:

I really appreciate it.

Kimi:

to have you.

Kimi:

This is, I said this is the first time

Kimi:

I'm having like, someone who could come

Kimi:

and talk who has written so many books.

Kimi:

I think this is definitely

Kimi:

something that is new for our show.

Kimi:

I want you to first start by

Kimi:

telling the audience a little bit

Kimi:

about you, who you are, and where

Kimi:

you got to where you're at today.

Kimi:

G. Michael: I'm a USA

Kimi:

today bestselling author.

Kimi:

I've, I penned 40 books,

Kimi:

exactly that number.

Kimi:

And was it 12 years?

Kimi:

12 years, 13 years, something like that.

Kimi:

So I'm prolific.

Kimi:

I've written a lot of books

Kimi:

in a short period of time.

Kimi:

I've since gone on in the midst

Kimi:

of writing all those books, I

Kimi:

started two publishing companies.

Kimi:

I've also I'm into some other kind

Kimi:

of more AI leaning companies that are

Kimi:

adjacent and they're complimentary

Kimi:

to the publishing and writing world.

Kimi:

I'm all in all writing.

Kimi:

If there's anything I know how to do, I

Kimi:

know how to write a book and I know how

Kimi:

to publish and market it successfully.

Kimi:

Okay, what made you write?

Kimi:

What was the motivation

Kimi:

from your first book?

Kimi:

G. Michael: This always surprises people,

Kimi:

is that my very first book I published in

Kimi:

2011 was a Children's Illustrated book.

Kimi:

Wow.

Kimi:

G. Michael: Yeah.

Kimi:

So that's what kind of got the

Kimi:

whole creative juices rolling.

Kimi:

Like at night, I had two daughters.

Kimi:

It was like my job.

Kimi:

I jump in bed with them and I read books,

Kimi:

the stack of books on the nightstand.

Kimi:

And I got done one night.

Kimi:

And what we'd finished the book.

Kimi:

I always wanted more.

Kimi:

I got into telling him this

Kimi:

story about this dog called Kiki.

Kimi:

And Kiki would tell we'd go on this

Kimi:

adventures with Kiki all around

Kimi:

the world and all these fun things.

Kimi:

And one night I got done and I

Kimi:

went in, I told, tell my wife.

Kimi:

I was, what would you think

Kimi:

if I wrote a children's book?

Kimi:

Take the story I tell the girls

Kimi:

and turn it into something.

Kimi:

She's fine.

Kimi:

Just you know, don't get

Kimi:

your day job kind of thing.

Kimi:

Okay.

Kimi:

I set about doing it and I got it done and

Kimi:

I promoted it and I actually sold, I got

Kimi:

all my money back 'cause children's books

Kimi:

can be a little bit expensive to produce

Kimi:

because of the illustrations, right?

Kimi:

I really hustled and I was able to

Kimi:

get all my money back and, but that

Kimi:

kind of showed me, okay, so idea.

Kimi:

Layer in discipline and consistency

Kimi:

and there I have a book in my hand.

Kimi:

Okay, that's really cool.

Kimi:

Then I was reading a lot at the time.

Kimi:

This is where it kind

Kimi:

of transition to novels.

Kimi:

I had that done and at the same time

Kimi:

I was doing a lot of reading and there

Kimi:

was a book that I felt was missing.

Kimi:

I was really into the apocalyptic

Kimi:

genre and I was like, okay, if I can't

Kimi:

find it, maybe I'll just write it.

Kimi:

That's what some of the really good

Kimi:

advice I would give writers there is

Kimi:

write a book that you want to read.

Kimi:

Make yourself be the first reader.

Kimi:

Cater to yourself when you write the

Kimi:

book because if you try to write the

Kimi:

book for other people, you sometimes get

Kimi:

out of yourself and to the point where

Kimi:

it, you cannot be in a creative flow.

Kimi:

That way you're not connected.

Kimi:

Always write the book that you wanna

Kimi:

write, that you want to read, and.

Kimi:

I set about to writing it and took

Kimi:

me about 18 months to complete it.

Kimi:

And I was just inspired

Kimi:

by Stephanie Meyer.

Kimi:

Are you familiar with her?

Kimi:

Stephanie Meyer Twilight books, turn

Kimi:

in the movies and things like that.

Kimi:

I'd never read her books.

Kimi:

I still haven't to today.

Kimi:

Sorry Stephanie, but I did see the movies.

Kimi:

But what I loved was her story and.

Kimi:

Her story inspired me as far as how

Kimi:

she started, came with her, the first

Kimi:

book or the idea, and the characters

Kimi:

came as like a dream, and then she

Kimi:

set about to writing it at night.

Kimi:

I essentially just mimicked what she did.

Kimi:

So when the girls were in bed and

Kimi:

the wife was in bed, I literally

Kimi:

considered writing a second job,

Kimi:

and I would sit down at night.

Kimi:

I blocked out a certain amount

Kimi:

of hours, I was very desperate.

Kimi:

The discipline comes in, it's a job.

Kimi:

I've gotta show up for my job.

Kimi:

I'd sit down a few

Kimi:

hours and I would write.

Kimi:

I would commit to doing 2000 plus words.

Kimi:

And then of course, if you do that every

Kimi:

single night, it's just like anything.

Kimi:

You just take discipline,

Kimi:

compounded labor, and then

Kimi:

boom, you've got 2000 words.

Kimi:

You give it 60 days,

Kimi:

you got 120,000 words.

Kimi:

You've got yourself a novel, easily there.

Kimi:

That's what I did based

Kimi:

upon Stephanie's own story.

Kimi:

And then I eventually that turned

Kimi:

into the novel, which I then

Kimi:

had an agent, a fire, the agent

Kimi:

self-published, and the book took off.

Kimi:

And then here I am today.

Kimi:

What would you tell anyone

Kimi:

who I know you said right from

Kimi:

what you would wanna read?

Kimi:

Would people stay motivated, saying

Kimi:

okay, I don't have an audience yet.

Kimi:

Will this be good?

Kimi:

Will this kind of take off?

Kimi:

What would you say to people who

Kimi:

are like, okay, nobody knows me.

Kimi:

Who am I?

Kimi:

G. Michael: I had that same issue.

Kimi:

Nobody knew who I was like I was.

Kimi:

Who am I?

Kimi:

I think this is very important and this

Kimi:

just comes down to mindset, and this is

Kimi:

something I've always had later in life.

Kimi:

I did start to train myself to in that I

Kimi:

only, I know this might sound odd, I only

Kimi:

see what I want to see in my mind's eye.

Kimi:

Okay.

Kimi:

G. Michael: I don't look at the fear, I

Kimi:

acknowledge it's there, or the doubt those

Kimi:

things happen to everybody in life, right?

Kimi:

Doubt, fear, is this gonna work?

Kimi:

I acknowledge it and then I push it aside.

Kimi:

And I was working a job at that time I

Kimi:

was doing underwater construction work.

Kimi:

I was a commercial diver.

Kimi:

So I would be in the water every day

Kimi:

and I would only see book signings.

Kimi:

I would only see people around

Kimi:

the world reading my book.

Kimi:

And there's no.

Kimi:

Exaggeration.

Kimi:

I only saw me being

Kimi:

successful as an author.

Kimi:

I didn't see, who am I, imposter

Kimi:

syndrome stuff, will this work?

Kimi:

I didn't see any of that.

Kimi:

I actually saw book signings and

Kimi:

people reading the book around the

Kimi:

world, and I just pushed all the other

Kimi:

stuff aside and just I get I just

Kimi:

kept doing what I said, I'm an author.

Kimi:

I'm not going to be an author.

Kimi:

These are important words about mindset.

Kimi:

I am an author and what do authors do?

Kimi:

Authors write.

Kimi:

right.

Kimi:

G. Michael: And so I did that

Kimi:

without thinking anything else.

Kimi:

And so that's, I know it, people

Kimi:

are looking probably for something

Kimi:

that, because it can't really con,

Kimi:

oh, I actually, I'll say it this way.

Kimi:

You can control your mind if you really

Kimi:

just don't look at the fear, don't

Kimi:

look at the things not working out.

Kimi:

Look at it that it will work out.

Kimi:

And I really hone that so today that

Kimi:

I look at everything that happens

Kimi:

in my life as an opportunity,

Kimi:

whether it's good or bad.

Kimi:

Even if something bad happens, I reframe

Kimi:

it and I go I always, I only look

Kimi:

then in a bad situation for the good.

Kimi:

I say in everything that happens,

Kimi:

there's something I can find

Kimi:

there that's an opportunity.

Kimi:

I reframe everything.

Kimi:

And so even in then, 'cause my wife and I

Kimi:

weren't doing, we're like, we were having

Kimi:

some struggles at the time financially.

Kimi:

Then I released the book, like sat

Kimi:

on Amazon for about 10 days, just

Kimi:

selling a book here and there.

Kimi:

And I was thinking it'll make at least

Kimi:

enough I can take my wife out for

Kimi:

dinner or something, maybe once a month.

Kimi:

And then 10 days later it just took off.

Kimi:

Oh

Kimi:

G. Michael: And this is

Kimi:

another mindset thing where.

Kimi:

When the door of opportunity is open.

Kimi:

This is when you're at that table,

Kimi:

kinda like the poker table analogy.

Kimi:

You just go all in.

Kimi:

And so I let it sit there and was going.

Kimi:

I was ticking away sales, like

Kimi:

hundreds of sales, hundreds

Kimi:

and just boom was just going.

Kimi:

I went to my wife and I

Kimi:

go, I need to quit my job.

Kimi:

So I can get a sequel out because

Kimi:

the door of opportunity is here.

Kimi:

I need to go in, I need to quit the,

Kimi:

she goes, you can't quit your job.

Kimi:

This is crazy.

Kimi:

But I know my wife well enough that

Kimi:

I presented a spreadsheet that showed

Kimi:

what I'd made in the first month.

Kimi:

I. Versus what we made

Kimi:

the whole year before.

Kimi:

I had made more in that one month

Kimi:

than I'd made the whole year before.

Kimi:

And she goes, okay, good.

Kimi:

Do it.

Kimi:

I quit my job immediately and

Kimi:

set to writing the sequel.

Kimi:

'cause I knew that's a moment that

Kimi:

doesn't come around very often.

Kimi:

If I knew, if I sat around and

Kimi:

took 18 months to write a sequel

Kimi:

I may, might miss my opportunity.

Kimi:

And I still believe today that I made the

Kimi:

right decision because it changed my life.

Kimi:

I wrote the sequel.

Kimi:

The sequel took off.

Kimi:

And then all these publishers are

Kimi:

calling Penguin Random House calls me up

Kimi:

because of how it's selling and said they

Kimi:

wanna sign me to a huge four book deal,

Kimi:

six figure advance, all these things.

Kimi:

It was just a short period of

Kimi:

time, like my entire life changed.

Kimi:

changed.

Kimi:

G. Michael: Yeah.

Kimi:

Just utterly changed and just 'cause

Kimi:

I just stepped out of the fear.

Kimi:

I stepped out of the that doubt.

Kimi:

I only saw what I wanted to

Kimi:

see and I took risks and I took

Kimi:

chances and it worked out for me.

Kimi:

That's crazy.

Kimi:

You talk a lot.

Kimi:

I know too.

Kimi:

Discipline is big.

Kimi:

That's like a marine mindset, right?

Kimi:

When you're talking about this

Kimi:

and you're talking about these

Kimi:

visualizations this is all I see.

Kimi:

This is the reality of, I see.

Kimi:

How, what would you tell people, or

Kimi:

what would you tell us to look for?

Kimi:

How do we know when we have enough

Kimi:

discipline or when we're leaning

Kimi:

more on inspiration than discipline?

Kimi:

What are some signs to look for in that?

Kimi:

G. Michael: that's a good question.

Kimi:

Inspiration can only take you so

Kimi:

far, I think this is where it's in a

Kimi:

harder time where you don't want to

Kimi:

do it, where you then still do it.

Kimi:

That's where discipline's key.

Kimi:

' cause there's moments like it's a Sunday

Kimi:

morning, you don't wanna get up or it's

Kimi:

a Saturday, you just don't wanna do it.

Kimi:

Or so you know, for some friends are going

Kimi:

out and you wanna go out with them, you

Kimi:

still get your word count in and you go,

Kimi:

I'll be there a little bit late because

Kimi:

you're giving, this is what's important.

Kimi:

I think you have to give, you

Kimi:

have to make a pledge to yourself.

Kimi:

So how important are

Kimi:

you to yourself, right?

Kimi:

And, you give yourself that word.

Kimi:

You are like, I'm going to do

Kimi:

this for you, for my future self.

Kimi:

I'm doing this right now.

Kimi:

I'm putting this effort

Kimi:

in and it does pay off.

Kimi:

And so it's in those moments

Kimi:

where again it's harder is where

Kimi:

the discipline means everything.

Kimi:

'cause again, inspiration and

Kimi:

motivation can be fleeting.

Kimi:

You might wake up one morning feeling

Kimi:

really motivated and and or something

Kimi:

bad happens that day, you just don't

Kimi:

wanna sit down and do the work.

Kimi:

That's where the discipline, because

Kimi:

you're doing it for something bigger,

Kimi:

you're, you've got this dream.

Kimi:

And if you look at anyone from sports

Kimi:

athletes across the board or anyone,

Kimi:

they always lean in on discipline.

Kimi:

I was listening to Tom

Kimi:

Brady talk about something.

Kimi:

You think he wanted to go out

Kimi:

there every single time and train.

Kimi:

As long as he was training Tiger Woods

Kimi:

was talking about the same thing like.

Kimi:

Discipline is key because you're

Kimi:

doing it for your future self,

Kimi:

for that dream you want to obtain.

Kimi:

And and this is why you treat

Kimi:

it like a job and like you're

Kimi:

not gonna show up for your job.

Kimi:

Of course you are.

Kimi:

You've, and, but you're

Kimi:

also doing it for yourself.

Kimi:

You're pledging to yourself.

Kimi:

'cause I love myself.

Kimi:

I want my future self to be successful.

Kimi:

I'm going to do this.

Kimi:

I'm gonna dedicate whatever

Kimi:

that an hour a day, or two hours

Kimi:

a day to do this one thing.

Kimi:

No matter what, rain or shine, no matter

Kimi:

what, and that builds, by the way,

Kimi:

when you do that, it builds so much

Kimi:

confidence in yourself as an individual.

Kimi:

It really adds to character, I

Kimi:

believe, because you look at yourself

Kimi:

like, look what I've been able to do.

Kimi:

Especially when you take it out and you

Kimi:

stretch it out over a period of time.

Kimi:

You go, wow, the last six months

Kimi:

I really buckled down you.

Kimi:

You actually are impressed with yourself.

Kimi:

Look what I've accomplished, and

Kimi:

I'm telling you right now, if you

Kimi:

have a book that you wanna write.

Kimi:

You do a thousand words a day?

Kimi:

In two months, that's 60,000 words.

Kimi:

That's a book.

Kimi:

That's a book.

Kimi:

It's in rough draft form,

Kimi:

but it's still a book.

Kimi:

Yes.

Kimi:

Consistency sounds like it is

Kimi:

part of your accountability.

Kimi:

Like you said, I need to do.

Kimi:

G. Michael: Absolutely.

Kimi:

I'm counting to myself and

Kimi:

if I can't be accountable to

Kimi:

myself, this is what I believe.

Kimi:

This is a core value system.

Kimi:

I can't be accountable to anybody.

Kimi:

You have to love yourself, and you

Kimi:

have to be accountable to yourself.

Kimi:

Or if you can't, give yourself your own

Kimi:

word and you violate that, or you lie

Kimi:

to yourself like that you gotta do that.

Kimi:

I think once you have that basis

Kimi:

of a core in yourself, then you

Kimi:

can give that to anybody else.

Kimi:

So with especially

Kimi:

something like writing a book.

Kimi:

I have I guess it's a two part question.

Kimi:

I guess burnout and ai.

Kimi:

So how do you deal with like burnout or

Kimi:

writer's block or when you just don't have

Kimi:

that creativity or you can't, get past

Kimi:

these thoughts or get them down on paper.

Kimi:

How do you do that?

Kimi:

And then now with the world of ai.

Kimi:

How much do you like, recommend

Kimi:

writers use that or not, or what kind

Kimi:

of balance do you recommend for that?

Kimi:

If it's man, I just can't get this

Kimi:

down, or I can't think this through

Kimi:

what do you feel like is appropriate

Kimi:

or a good gauge for a beginner?

Kimi:

G. Michael: Those are two

Kimi:

great questions by the way.

Kimi:

So writer's block, I can

Kimi:

say I've never had it

Kimi:

Okay.

Kimi:

G. Michael: and, but I

Kimi:

will say this I know.

Kimi:

Writer block where people are

Kimi:

paralyzed for months on end.

Kimi:

I guess if I've had moments where I

Kimi:

sit there and I'm looking at something

Kimi:

and I was like, how should I do that?

Kimi:

What I've seen work with other writers

Kimi:

'cause I network with a lot of writers.

Kimi:

That's something I really

Kimi:

think is a key thing to network

Kimi:

with people in your space.

Kimi:

Very important.

Kimi:

But get back to writer block thing.

Kimi:

Anytime I'm just looking at something's,

Kimi:

I wonder what direction I should go there.

Kimi:

I don't consider it writer's

Kimi:

block, but where I'm just sitting

Kimi:

there creatively, I have to remove

Kimi:

myself, get up and move your body.

Kimi:

Get up and go for a walk.

Kimi:

I'm not kidding.

Kimi:

And don't wear a headset.

Kimi:

Just go for a walk and be by yourself.

Kimi:

The process of moving your body

Kimi:

and you're just thinking about

Kimi:

it, you'll start just the wheels.

Kimi:

You, I call it mental writing.

Kimi:

You'll just start just

Kimi:

playing it out in your head.

Kimi:

That's why you can't have distractions

Kimi:

or music and things like that.

Kimi:

Lisa, I can't.

Kimi:

I just don't have anything on it.

Kimi:

I just go out and I'm, I go

Kimi:

out in nature or I just go walk

Kimi:

around the, the neighborhood.

Kimi:

I just look around and as I'm just

Kimi:

processing those story, I'm working it

Kimi:

out and I usually can work through it

Kimi:

fairly quickly, so within a half an hour

Kimi:

to an hour I kind of work through that.

Kimi:

Then I come back.

Kimi:

I either, if I can't get back

Kimi:

to, I will have my phone and I'll

Kimi:

take notes on it or take like a

Kimi:

voice note and just start talking.

Kimi:

Yeah.

Kimi:

Make a, like a make, make a voice memo.

Kimi:

And sometimes I, I knew another

Kimi:

guy, Franklin Horton, he will

Kimi:

does lots of voice memo writing.

Kimi:

He'll go and he can't think of it.

Kimi:

He'll go and he'll just start

Kimi:

talking about the story.

Kimi:

Just start rambling on and

Kimi:

eventually it comes to you.

Kimi:

And also now you're just, and it's there.

Kimi:

And now you've got a record of it.

Kimi:

If you ever get stuck,

Kimi:

just move your body.

Kimi:

Don't be distracted and go do some

Kimi:

mental writing, but move your body.

Kimi:

Go for a walk, go for a long walk.

Kimi:

AI.

Kimi:

This is gonna be, this is gonna

Kimi:

I might be a heretic when I

Kimi:

say this to other writers.

Kimi:

I'm speaking blasphemy now, but I think

Kimi:

if writers or anyone that's creative is

Kimi:

not using ai, they're cheating themselves.

Kimi:

Yeah.

Kimi:

G. Michael: I think the future

Kimi:

is, go the future's here.

Kimi:

I feel like Kimmy, I feel like we are

Kimi:

in 1995 in the dawn of the internet.

Kimi:

That's where we are

Kimi:

Dial up.

Kimi:

Yeah.

Kimi:

G. Michael: now.

Kimi:

And if I don't care where somebody

Kimi:

is, I mean what they do creatively,

Kimi:

if you're not learning how to prompt

Kimi:

like the best prompter in the world

Kimi:

and learning how to leverage that

Kimi:

tool, you will be left behind.

Kimi:

You are gonna get left behind and.

Kimi:

It's a tool, and look at it that way.

Kimi:

Look at it as a resource

Kimi:

for research, for ideas.

Kimi:

It's, the intelligence of

Kimi:

it is getting to the point.

Kimi:

You're able to, you're hiring an

Kimi:

assistant for 20 bucks a month.

Kimi:

That can do little tasks for

Kimi:

Yeah,

Kimi:

G. Michael: that can help.

Kimi:

And so with being a writer is more than

Kimi:

just sitting down and writing if you're,

Kimi:

'cause writing is a business, I think,

Kimi:

by the way, once you become an author and

Kimi:

you're out there you're promoting your

Kimi:

marketing, you're, there's all these other

Kimi:

facets of just, besides just sitting down

Kimi:

and being the storyteller, use AI to help

Kimi:

and assist with all those other things

Kimi:

to free up time so that you can write.

Kimi:

Now, if you're using it

Kimi:

for creative writing.

Kimi:

That's fine too.

Kimi:

I don't have hangups.

Kimi:

I don't use it.

Kimi:

Some of my other companies use it

Kimi:

for some other stuff that we do.

Kimi:

Personally, as a novelist, I don't

Kimi:

use it to help with anything.

Kimi:

I have used it to help

Kimi:

with creating a synopsis.

Kimi:

by the way, what is it about a

Kimi:

synopsis is like those 300 words

Kimi:

are like the hardest words to write.

Kimi:

got it.

Kimi:

G. Michael: They really are like, how

Kimi:

do you take your entire book and then

Kimi:

concise it down to 300 words without

Kimi:

giving away a bunch of spoilers?

Kimi:

And AI has helped me with that.

Kimi:

And it's also helped me with some

Kimi:

plot ideas for some other things that

Kimi:

might some of my other companies.

Kimi:

So I'll jump on there and just

Kimi:

ask it, like gimme some ideas

Kimi:

and it just rattles off stuff.

Kimi:

But I again.

Kimi:

I'm not a ludite, meaning someone who

Kimi:

does, who's afraid of technology, I

Kimi:

think, and there's a lot of writers

Kimi:

that will say anyone who uses it.

Kimi:

They're not like, I don't listen to them.

Kimi:

I just use it, leverage it.

Kimi:

Learn how to use it like a master.

Kimi:

And you're you.

Kimi:

You're not gonna get left behind you.

Kimi:

You gotta embrace it.

Kimi:

Have to.

Kimi:

Would you put a timeline

Kimi:

or, I guess I would say someone

Kimi:

wants to write their first book.

Kimi:

Would you say put a certain timeline on

Kimi:

how long that it doesn't get drug out to

Kimi:

okay, I've been doing this for the last

Kimi:

three years, or I. What kind of a timeline

Kimi:

do you think they should say to Okay.

Kimi:

From now to first draft,

Kimi:

G. Michael: I can write a

Kimi:

book pretty quickly now.

Kimi:

Like I wrote the sequel in two months.

Kimi:

Which 'cause I dedicated all my time to

Kimi:

it, so I was able to do it and I'm able

Kimi:

to do it the most words I've ever written

Kimi:

in a day was 17,000 words when I had

Kimi:

a deadline for Penguin and I wrote it.

Kimi:

By the way, this is the

Kimi:

days I used to drink.

Kimi:

I don't drink anymore.

Kimi:

I did it when I was hung over.

Kimi:

So I was like, I should give

Kimi:

myself an award for that.

Kimi:

But I had this deadline.

Kimi:

I was procrastinating with

Kimi:

Penguin, and I finally told my

Kimi:

wife, like I owe them this book.

Kimi:

It's still gonna be late.

Kimi:

And they'd gimme this big advance.

Kimi:

So I like sat down, hung over

Kimi:

from and it's a horrible story.

Kimi:

And you direct

Kimi:

G. Michael: My daughters are like,

Kimi:

don't let my daughters hear this.

Kimi:

But I no longer drink anymore.

Kimi:

So anyway, the timeline, I think

Kimi:

what I think three years is too long.

Kimi:

I think you're not taking writing serious.

Kimi:

Then.

Kimi:

I know some people might get mad if

Kimi:

I say that, but if you are going to

Kimi:

write, if you want to complete your

Kimi:

book, you have to give yourself a

Kimi:

deadline and you have to commit to it.

Kimi:

Like I said, maybe you don't do seven

Kimi:

days a week, but you treat it like a job.

Kimi:

You'll get the book done,

Kimi:

you'll get the book done.

Kimi:

If you commit to a thousand

Kimi:

words a day, like I said, you do.

Kimi:

A thousand words a day and you do

Kimi:

it for five, that's 20,000 words.

Kimi:

If you just do it like

Kimi:

Monday through Friday, right?

Kimi:

That's five, 20 days, 20,000 words.

Kimi:

If you want, you're shooting for

Kimi:

60,000 words in three months, you'll

Kimi:

have a book and that this is where

Kimi:

the discipline comes down, where

Kimi:

you have to like, you set the goal.

Kimi:

And then you just, you dedicate to

Kimi:

yourself, you make a pledge to yourself.

Kimi:

I'm gonna sit down every night or

Kimi:

whenever that, whenever you find the

Kimi:

time, and I'm gonna write for an hour or

Kimi:

two hours, or whatever that is, and you

Kimi:

just hammer out the words and just go.

Kimi:

Okay.

Kimi:

This has been great.

Kimi:

This is really informative.

Kimi:

I think you've given us the

Kimi:

clear blueprint for beginner

Kimi:

to published in no time.

Kimi:

So it's actually just disciplining,

Kimi:

getting those schedules down and out.

Kimi:

So Jeff, how would people like

Kimi:

find all your bestsellers?

Kimi:

Where can they go to find all

Kimi:

the books that you publish?

Kimi:

I know you've done self-publishing and

Kimi:

you've been through publishers, where

Kimi:

can people find out more about you?

Kimi:

G. Michael: Yeah my website's

Kimi:

the best place, gmic hop.com.

Kimi:

And the books are all on Amazon, or,

Kimi:

ebook, paperback trade, paperback audio.

Kimi:

Some of them are also Barnes and

Kimi:

Noble stores and things like that.

Kimi:

The books that are through penguin.

Kimi:

But yeah, so people wanna reach out to me.

Kimi:

Just there's a contact

Kimi:

form on the websites.

Kimi:

The best place to get ahold of me.

Kimi:

I do respond to all my emails.

Kimi:

And I'll this one kind of.

Kimi:

New writers sometimes will put

Kimi:

obstacles in front of them.

Kimi:

They'll go, oh, before I write this

Kimi:

book, I need to take six months of

Kimi:

creative writing, or, I need to have

Kimi:

a degree in creative writing and or

Kimi:

maybe I should be thinking about a

Kimi:

publisher before I even start writing.

Kimi:

All that's no, just Eris Hemingway,

Kimi:

advice to the new writers.

Kimi:

The same advice I give,

Kimi:

and that is just right.

Kimi:

Just sit down and start writing.

Kimi:

It doesn't have to be perfect.

Kimi:

That's what editors are for.

Kimi:

That's truly, that's what be,

Kimi:

and this is something too.

Kimi:

Be the storyteller.

Kimi:

You're not an editor, you're not

Kimi:

a proofreader, not a formatter.

Kimi:

You're the author.

Kimi:

Be the storyteller.

Kimi:

Put the words on the page.

Kimi:

You don't have to be the best

Kimi:

writer from, I'm horrible when

Kimi:

it comes to grammar and stuff.

Kimi:

That's, again, that's

Kimi:

what editors are for,

Kimi:

Got it.

Kimi:

G. Michael: and be the

Kimi:

storyteller and just sit down

Kimi:

with discipline and consistency.

Kimi:

And you'll have a book in

Kimi:

the end, I guarantee it.

Kimi:

Thank you so much.

Kimi:

We really enjoyed having you on the show.

Kimi:

Why don't you leave us with, what

Kimi:

are some words that you live by?

Kimi:

What's one of your favorite mantras?

Kimi:

G. Michael: That's the

Kimi:

thing I always tell authors.

Kimi:

It's very common for new authors to

Kimi:

put obstacles in front of their way.

Kimi:

Because they don't want to have the

Kimi:

come face to face with completing the

Kimi:

book possibly, and it not doing well.

Kimi:

But if you really wanna write

Kimi:

the book, you just have to write.

Kimi:

That's what writers do.

Kimi:

You just write, you don't edit, you

Kimi:

don't do all these other things.

Kimi:

You don't worry about coverage.

Kimi:

You don't worry about editors,

Kimi:

you don't worry about publishers.

Kimi:

You don't worry about, what

Kimi:

should I do This, should it.

Kimi:

You don't worry about any of those things.

Kimi:

Where am I gonna market it?

Kimi:

All that comes after you

Kimi:

have the book done anyway.

Kimi:

So Janice, do you have

Kimi:

a book you wanna do?

Kimi:

Just write it.

Kimi:

Okay.

Kimi:

Jeff, we're gonna make sure to

Kimi:

have all of this in the show notes.

Kimi:

We'll have all the links where people

Kimi:

can go to get all your books, any version

Kimi:

like you said, eBooks, audio and just

Kimi:

find out more about your stay in contact.

Kimi:

Thank you so much for coming

Kimi:

on the show and just giving

Kimi:

us all of this information.

Kimi:

This was really good.

Kimi:

It was really informative and I'm

Kimi:

so appreciative that you come on

Kimi:

the show and giving us all of this

Kimi:

information, all of your expertise.

Kimi:

Thank you so

Kimi:

G. Michael: I appreciate you, Kim.

Kimi:

Thank you.

Kimi:

Oh, thank you.

Kimi:

Until next time.

Show artwork for Early Accountability

About the Podcast

Early Accountability
The Early Accountability Podcast transforms Dreamers into Doers and Visionaries into Victors through goal activation strategies that abandon excuses, jumpstart motivation, and ignite results. Early Accountability Coaching is a specialty focused on helping those who are in the fragile beginning stages of a new endeavor, professional project, lifestyle change, or mindset shift.

About your host

Profile picture for Kimi Walker

Kimi Walker