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
- Website: http://www.gmichaelhopf.com
- Email: geoff@gmichaelhopf.com
Connect with Kimi Walker:
· Visit: earlyaccountability.com
· LinkedIn: Kimi Walker
· Facebook: Kimi Walker
· Instagram: Kimi Walker
· YouTube: Kimi Walker
Transcript
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.