What if the book you never planned to write became the business you were always meant to build?

Cathy Derksen didn’t grow up wanting to be an author. She wasn’t a writer. She’s dyslexic. Books weren’t even on her radar, let alone publishing them. But somewhere between a divorce, a career change, two teenagers, and a quiet voice she couldn’t ignore — she ended up in a book. Then another. Then she started making them herself.

Today Cathy has contributed to twenty-four anthologies and created ten multi-author books of her own, giving over two hundred people the chance to become published authors for the first time.

In this conversation, she shares how it all started, what it really takes to coordinate a book with twenty authors from around the world, and why the multi-author model might be the most underrated visibility tool in a creative entrepreneur’s toolkit.

Highlights

The calling doesn’t always make sense. Listen anyway.

Cathy’s first chapter wasn’t planned. It wasn’t strategic. There was a book being put together called Emotional Intelligence, Mental Health Matters and something in her just knew her story had to be in it. She’d just come through a divorce, a complete career change, and the chaos of raising two teenagers through all of it. The dust was barely settling.

“There was just, I describe it like almost like a calling. There was this feeling in me that my story had to be in that book. I wasn’t allowed to say no to whatever this message was inside me.”

She thought it would be a one-time thing. That was her twenty-fourth book ago.

Not every next step comes with a clear plan or a logical reason. Sometimes it just comes with a feeling you can’t shake. The question isn’t whether it makes sense. The question is whether you’re willing to listen.

You don’t have to write the whole book. You just have to write your chapter.

One of the biggest lies the publishing world tells creative entrepreneurs is that becoming an author means writing eighty thousand words alone in a room until something coherent comes out. Cathy’s model dismantles that completely.

“I don’t forget though, my books are all multi-author books. So I’m only writing one chapter.”

One chapter. One story. One slice of your expertise, your journey, your perspective wrapped inside a book with nineteen other voices all pointing toward the same theme.

Your story is a sample of your work. Treat it like one.

Cathy is deliberate about how she coaches her authors to write their chapters. It’s never just a personal essay. It’s always a combination: your journey, what you learned, and the tools or strategies that can help the reader move forward too.

“Someone reads the chapter, now they feel like they’re connected with you. They feel like they understand more about what you do, why you’re doing it. And then you’ve got that part where you’re giving your tips and strategies, which really is kind of a sample of what you do in your business.”

The reader sees themselves in your story. They trust you because they know you. And then they get a taste of what it’s like to work with you. The chapter does the work quietly, and the right people follow.

The book creates a deadline. The deadline creates momentum.

One of the most unexpected things Cathy sees happen with her authors is what the book unlocks beyond the writing itself. Suddenly there’s a launch date. A real one. And everything that’s been sitting on the back burner, the website, the LinkedIn profile, the social media cleanup, has to happen now.

“There’s a deadline… I need to get my website done. I need to get my social media stuff cleaned up and set up. So suddenly there’s this motivation to get all those things together. And so really what it’s done for their business is that it has accelerated and amplified everything that they were doing.”

A project in motion moves differently than the one that’s always “almost ready.” The book doesn’t just give you a chapter. It gives you a reason to show up fully and a deadline to complete it.

Twenty authors means twenty networks. All pushing towards the same goal.

The visibility math on a multi-author book is something most people don’t think about until they’re inside it. When twenty people from around the world are all promoting the same book at the same time, something happens that no solo launch can replicate.

“You’ve got 20 communities that are now connecting and overlapping and collaborating and tagging and liking and sharing. And so it really does become a wave of activity.”

Cathy’s books have hit international number one bestseller status on Amazon — not because of a massive ad budget, but because of twenty people with twenty communities all riding the same wave at the same time. The key, she says, is being ready when that wave comes. Your website, your profile, your offer all need to be in place before the launch, not after.

Imposter syndrome shrinks when you’re not doing it alone.

Cathy is honest about what holds most people back from writing their book. It’s not time. It’s not skill. It’s the quiet voice that says who am I to think anyone wants to hear what I have to say.

“For most people, imposter syndrome is one of the big things holding them back. And so when you get started by participating in a multi-author book, now you’re working with a group of people. So you’re all going through that together.”

There’s something about doing a hard thing alongside other people that makes the hard thing smaller. You’re not the only one writing your first chapter. You’re not the only one scared of what people will think. And when the book comes out and someone you’ve never met tells you your story changed something for them, that’s the moment the imposter loses a little ground.

What becomes possible changes everything.

Cathy’s favorite story from her books is about a woman in her seventies who had spent her whole life feeling like an outsider. Too spiritual. Too different. Too much. She did one chapter in Cathy’s first book and got such a response that she couldn’t stop.

“In the three years since that first book was published, she has done two books with me, completed two solo books, and she started a YouTube channel. She went from someone who is just living like… she couldn’t tell anyone what she was really wanting to do — to someone who is now a four times bestselling author.”

That’s not a publishing story. That’s a permission story. And Cathy builds those, one book at a time.

Closing Reflection

Cathy didn’t plan any of this. Not the first chapter, not the ten books she’s created, not the two hundred authors she’s helped become published for the first time. She just kept listening to the voice that said keep going and built something real around it.

Her work is proof that you don’t need to write the whole book. You don’t need to have it all figured out. You just need one chapter, one story, and the willingness to say yes to the thing that keeps calling your name.

If you’re an author with a story worth sharing, leave a comment and tell us about your work. You deserve the spotlight too.

Ask what makes you come alive?

And go do that.

Because what the world needs is more people who have come alive.

And to me, that just sums up everything that we each need to think about that what makes us come alive?

And again, that feeds right into that zone of genius.

What are we here to do?

What is our thing that we're supposed to do?

And go do that.

Welcome to the Standout Creatives, where making money and creating meaningful work go hand in hand.

You're already passionate about what you create.

Now let's turn that passion into a standout business.

Marketing.

Your work doesn't have to be overwhelming.

It can actually amplify your creativity.

I'm your guide, Kevin Chung, and this podcast is your roadmap to creative business success.

I'll show you how to turn your unique talents into a business that truly represents who you are.

Let's get started.

Hi and welcome back to another episode of Standout Creatives.

And Today, about Kathy Dirksen.

Kathy, can you let everybody know about yourself, the work that you do and how you got into it?

Sure, yeah.

I'm on the west coast of Canada, so near Vancouver.

And the main thing I do is I create multi author books to give people opportunities to become published authors without having to write a whole book themselves.

And it's a great way of building visibility, increasing your authority and credibility in your business.

And of course, just the value of sharing our stories, learning from each other and, and getting away from that feeling that we're alone in whatever our big journey is.

Awesome.

And I see the, the books are behind you for when some of them.

So there's quite a few.

Can you talk a little bit about how you got into writing, not just for the books, but in general?

Like what were, what were your first interests in books and writing?

Yes.

Yes.

Yeah.

Lately I've been kind of laughing.

And if you'd asked me five years ago if I saw myself getting into writing, publishing, any of those things, I would have laughed at you because there was nothing in my past lives that pointed in this direction.

I, I was not one of those people that had it on my bucket list that I was going to become a published author.

And I really kind of got involved with it because almost by accident, there was a group of people here that were creating multi author books.

And I'd been aware of them, but I, you know, didn't really feel it was something I had to do.

And then they had one come up and it was called Emotional Intelligence, Mental Health Matters.

And at that point in my life, I had come Through a divorce, a complete career change.

I had two teenagers along the ride with me through that chaos.

And you know, the dust was just starting to settle from all of that.

And there was just, I describe it like almost like a calling.

There was this feeling in me that my story had to be in that book.

So even though it was never something I was going to do before, there was just like literally I wasn't allowed to say no to whatever this message was inside me that was saying, you need to be in that book with this story to help other women going through similar things.

And that's where it all started.

Oh wow.

Had you written anything before?

Even short form blog post?

Nothing?

No, no.

Writing was never a big thing of mine and, and, and I'm actually dyslexic, so.

So reading and spelling and all those things are not something that come naturally to me or things that make me go, oh, I want to do this for fun.

Oh, that is so interesting.

Sometimes our origin stories are out of.

It feels like they're out of nowhere, but sometimes they're just like one spark of inspiration or that's the way sometimes it happens.

Or other times you'll have like a series of different things that led you to this space.

Yeah, yeah, exactly.

And, and I did not know at that time when I did that first chapter in that first book, I thought, okay, I'll just do this one because this voice is telling me I'm going to do this.

And I thought I wasn't.

I had no plans of doing more.

I had no plans of making a habit of it.

But now my 10th book that I've created and coordinated is coming out in a couple weeks and of all the books I participated in, that will be the 24th book that I am a co author in.

So what year did you start in?

Oh wow.

And of the books that I've been creating, it's been three and a half years.

So in three and a half years I've published 10 books.

That's so interesting because so many people say that I can't write a book because it's impossible.

Right.

Or it's so difficult or they, they make up excuses on why they can't do it.

But you're an example of someone who had no thoughts of writing or even reading books and you made it into your career.

Well.

And don't forget though, my books are all multi author books.

Yeah.

So I'm only writing one chapter.

But still to bring all of my books that I create, I focus on having 20 people per book and those people could be anywhere in the world.

So every time I start a new book, I literally go out around the globe saying, here's the new theme and title.

Who wants to play?

And so it's.

Yes.

So besides the writing, there is a lot of coordinating and I, I often describe like herding cats of, you know, finding the people, bringing them in, helping them get their chapters ready, taking it through the publishing process with the team that I work with.

And it's like I said five years ago, I never would have guessed that this was what I would be doing, but this is definitely what I'm supposed to be doing.

Yeah, I, I have found it to be the same exact wrangling of cats process that you just described.

I'm working on the first one with somebody else and it's interesting because they all agree to be a part of it, but trying to get them to submit the things and look over things, it takes some time.

It's not impossible, but you know, it just takes some reminders.

People are busy.

This is not the only thing that they're working on.

There's lots of stuff people are doing and this just happens to be one of them.

So just remembering it's not always about the thing that you're working on because it's me.

People have so many other things, especially if they're business owners.

Right, exactly, exactly.

Yeah.

Can you talk about the first chapter submission that you, you wrote and I guess how you got involved with that particular anthology?

Yes, yes.

And as I mentioned, it was literally a calling that I describe it as.

And in that one I talk a lot about what it was like for me in those, the early days of when I did leave my marriage, leave behind a 25 year career, supporting my kids through that emotional turmoil and all the changes in our life as we went through all of that and, and you know, just kind of knowing that I think as, as people, we learn so much from each other's stories.

You know, whether it's getting away from that feeling of being alone in our journey, whether it's just looking for an inspiration of how do I get through this challenge in my life?

How do I change something I want to change?

And I think just sharing our stories like that creates such an impact on the people that are looking for that.

Yeah.

What were the other stories in this anthology about or like the theme?

I guess.

Well, with that first one that I participated in, there was quite a range of different themes.

So it's all, you know, all focused around emotional intelligence and, and mental health and those kinds of things.

But, but that's one of the things I love about multi author books, that every chapter is a standalone story.

So besides having that common theme of the title, their standalone, you know, pick up the book, you can open it at any page and start a chapter and it's a completely separate story from all the rest.

And, but I mean, and I think too, and that was actually right before COVID that I started that I was involved in that book.

And I think if we were to redo that book now, the stories would be so different.

And actually I, with that group that I did that first book with, I ended up doing three books with them all together.

And so that actually did take us through Covid.

So that one, that first one was really focused on, like I said, those early days and getting through that, leaving the marriage, changing my career, starting all over again.

And then the next one was really focused more about how are we getting through that.

The chaos that Covid brought.

And the funny thing was at that time my career, I was a financial planner.

And so while the rest of the world suddenly went quiet and everybody stayed home with COVID my life was actually, I was doing double time.

So I was working from home, but I still working.

And because of everything that was going on with the markets are crashing, people are out of work.

You know, all these people are isolated and they're scared.

They don't know what's going on.

As the financial planner, I was the go to person.

So you know, I would have these, you know, quite a lot of my clients were elderly women that were alone in these, these seniors residences and they were trapped in their rooms because of COVID And so I'd be the one they would call, you know, not only about why are my investments disappearing, but I'm alone, I'm scared, what's going on?

You know, so, so my chapter in that one was really about, you know, the rest of you are sitting quietly trying to come up with things to entertain yourself with and I am going crazy trying to keep everybody else, you know, sane and comfortable and understanding what's going on.

And with that chapter, I started out by describing it as if I'm in some kind of a hurricane and I'm holding onto a pole in the middle and everyone's trying to hold on to me.

Oh wow.

You know, so it's, it was quite different.

Yeah.

I just love the, when you think about anthologies and all the different themes, you are allowed to tell so many stories about yourself through different chapters of your life, different parts of your life.

And as people follow the different books, they can see your whole life unfold versus, you know, if you were to tell it through an autobiography, it would all just be happening at one time.

Yes, yes.

And you want to get the experience of all the people who are also surrounding you and their experiences.

Yeah.

One of the other books I was involved in, I titled the chapter Business and Butterflies, and I kind of described the.

The journey of being an early entrepreneur, like being, you know, a caterpillar, cocoon, and then a butterfly, you know, and kind of that.

I was describing it like you're stuck in a job, then you hate, and you just feel like all your potential is.

Is not being used.

And that's like that caterpillar.

Right.

And then you come or the egg.

And then as a caterpillar, you're now the entrepreneur, and you're just hungry for information, and you're eating everything up and you're learning so much, and then you have to.

The part.

The part that I really was focusing on is that the cocoon part of.

I think one of the hardest parts as an entrepreneur is we feel like it should be easy.

It feels like we should just kind of do these steps, and it should just work.

But there's usually a lot of messy middle stuff, and the identity shifts that.

Figuring things out that, you know, your relationship with money, all of these things, things that come together as an entrepreneur.

So I described that.

That cocoon part because, you know, one of the things people don't often think about in the cocoon, that caterpillar is literally melting down to almost nothing and then being reconstructed into a butterfly.

And so thinking of that as like an early entrepreneur, where you literally are melting down your previous identity and what your life was before, before you can come out as that butterfly.

Who is that?

The entrepreneur who is feeling confident and moving into success and starting something completely new.

So.

So that was one of my chapters, too, Kind of really using that analogy.

Yeah.

What was the name of that book?

Well, that book was with somebody else, and with that one, they didn't have a different title for every book.

They just called it Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3, which I found kind of boring.

I like having a title that means something.

It also draws people in, I think if you just have it.

Anthology.

Oh, definitely.

What is.

What is the reoccurring or common themes of the book?

It's hard to tell.

Right?

Yeah.

Yeah, that.

With that one, it's really just all people that are part of A community that's like an entrepreneurial speakers group.

And so, yeah, so every single chapter, there's.

There's no through line.

There's no common thread.

They're all just different stories, which.

But, yes, I. I like the common thread.

Yeah.

Can you talk about your.

The job that you were in when you wrote the first chapter of your first submission and how you made that transition because you automatically go into creating anthologies.

Right.

So how did you go from.

No, no.

And I'll even take it a step back from there, too.

My.

My original career was in medical genetics, so I worked for about 25 years, mainly in hospital labs and public education.

That was back through the 90s with the.

With the Human Genome Project and the cloning of Dolly the Sheep and all those crazy things.

But I wasn't sure what it was supposed to be.

And just kind of intuitively I got a message that I was supposed to do something that was creating a true impact in the lives of women around the world.

So I kind of got this message, but I had no idea what it was.

What could that be?

And so that first career change, when I was going through, then into the divorce, I went into financial planning because I was thinking, well, this is how I can help women change their life.

So many people say they're challenged financially and just need someone to help them.

So that's why I went into financial planning.

And that's what I was doing when I first started, started getting involved in books.

And so I was working in that field.

And so for about.

That was about 10 years, I worked as a financial planner.

And then that message came back again that, no, this is not the right answer.

This is not what you're supposed to be doing.

And so it's actually five years ago this month that I made that big decision to leave the comforts and security of a job behind and actually just let myself figure out, what is it I'm supposed to be doing.

And so that's when I first left my job.

I really still didn't really know exactly what I was going to do, and of course had that idea, well, I'll be a coach, you know, maybe like a money coach, life coach, based on my previous careers and stuff.

And it still didn't feel right.

And it really wasn't until, I think, like I said, so far I've done 24 anthologies that I've contributed to.

I was working on my sixth or seventh one with other people when it just kind of hit me like.

Like a ton of bricks.

Like, this is what you're supposed to be doing.

You're supposed to make these opportunities available for other people to share their stories.

And so at that point, I went to one of the publishing groups that I had been working with that I really loved and just proposed a collaboration and said, well, how about if I'll do the front end?

So I create my themes and titles, I find all my people and get their chapters ready with them, and then we take it over and they do all the publishing.

And so that's what we've been doing now for, like I said, three and a half years, ten books later.

And it's a perfect collaboration because, like I said, I do the part I love to do, and then they do the stuff they're really good at, and together we create great books.

And I guess right now it's been over 200 people that have done books with me, so I feel like I'm creating an impact in the world that, yeah, five years ago I hadn't even imagined.

Yeah, that's so beautiful and interesting because we usually find our way to the thing we need to be doing because it keeps calling back to us.

You had the calling the first time.

Oh, you need to be helping more people, and this is how you can do it.

Oh, I'm just gonna use my experience.

That did not work.

So you go back, okay, you do something else for a while, and then something else calls back to you.

If.

If something keeps on calling back to you, that's probably the thing that you should be looking to work on.

Right?

And if you want it hard enough, it'll just cycle back into your mind until you.

You at least give it a chance.

I think.

I think part of it, too, is needing to be open to hearing that voice and.

And that part of learning to listen to your intuition and trust it.

Because I think without that, I. I think we'd probably just be going in circles and.

And denying those feelings and denying that, that.

That inkling that you're supposed to be doing something and just keep.

Keep working harder at a job or something like that, rather than actually branching out and doing something completely different.

That, like I said, I would have laughed at you five years ago if you told me this is what I would be doing.

So funny.

What was your process of writing?

Because you said you had never written before, at least to be read by a mass audience.

I would guess.

So what was that experience like writing your first one and then has it gotten easier over time, or is it pretty much very difficult every time you write?

Well, luckily, the group that I started with had a really great process for helping us kind of think of what was the story we wanted to share.

How could you put this together?

How would you make it relatable for the people reading it?

So.

So their process really definitely was very helpful.

And of course, they had an editor and a team that would go through, like, when you'd hand in your first draft and they would give you feedback and help you work it through like that.

And I. I do a lot of that, you know, with my authors right now, too.

But the thing I found now.

So now that, you know, after doing 24 chapters in different books, I. I sometimes I start feeling like, oh, I can't say that I've already said that.

Oh, I can't tell that story.

I've already told that story.

Or, you know, that kind of thing that you're kind of like, oh, I need to find something different to say or some other story to share.

And I often have to keep reminding myself that, that it's unlikely that somebody is getting all my books and reading every single one of my chapters.

You know, in most cases, people pick up one book and, you know, they'll read that one, but they haven't seen all the other stories and chapters.

So.

So I have to keep reminding myself of that.

But I definitely.

That is the.

One of the things that kind of sl me down these days when I'm writing the next chapter for the next book is, what do I say this time?

Oh, yeah, that's just the same thing that you go through as somebody marketing your work.

You think you're marketing yourself too many times in the same way.

But chances are, the majority of people, even if they're following you, even if they are signed up to your emails, even if they watch some of your YouTube or wherever you may be online videos, they still don't know all the stories.

Right.

It's just.

Yeah, exactly.

And sometimes when you rehear a story, it reinforces some of the ideas.

So just because you've talked about something before doesn't mean you can't even perfect it to make it a better, more compelling, you know, different story.

Yes, no, exactly.

And I think that's something to really keep in mind, too, is that every time, like you say, every time we hear a story, we hear it different.

So depending on where we are in our life, what we're going through at the moment.

And that's one of the things I love about choosing titles for my books.

I love picking a title that kind of hits people at different times in their life or different moments.

So some of my previous books that I've created, the first one I did was called Embrace Courage.

And I think my heart kind of chose that title because I knew that I would have to embrace courage for this first time that I'm going out to the world and saying, I'm putting together a book.

Would you like to put your story in my book?

And that took a lot of courage.

Oh, yeah.

And one of my other ones is called Ripple Effect of Impact.

You know, really sharing how each one of those authors is creating impact in the world and.

And how that's creating a ripple effect.

And one of the other ones that we had just came out last fall was Passion, Purpose, and Possibilities.

So, you know, each one of the authors is sharing their own perspective on all three of those words and what they mean to them and what.

How that has, you know, interacted in their life.

So.

So I. I love just being able to.

Having that freedom to pick a title and then find the people who have a story to tell.

Yeah.

What.

What is your process for picking one?

Does it usually come out to you like the story of your own transformation?

Quite often it's more kind of general themes.

And now I've got to the point where I've got a list.

So when something comes into my mind, like, oh, that would be a great title for a book, I write it down.

So now I've got my list of things that I've thought about and think, okay, yeah, that'd be a perfect title.

Or.

It was funny, yesterday, I was.

I was on Facebook and I was going to somebody's profile that, you know, someone that I knew that was doing an event, and.

And she had this big banner at the top, and it said, courage is contagious.

And that's exactly what I was planning on writing as the title of one of my new books.

So I had to message her.

I love your banner.

That's a great title for a book.

Awesome.

Can you talk about the process of running your first anthology?

What did you learn from that?

What were the challenges of that and what made you decide to keep on doing them?

Because obviously, there is a reason that you continued.

Yes.

Yeah.

And I think the reason I continue is that I see the impact that it does have in the lives of each one of the people that participates and how it changes their business, how it Changes their.

Their.

Just their perception of themselves.

And.

And one of the things that I love the most is, to me, there's a shift in what's possible.

And they say that, like, 92% of people have it on their bucket list to become a published author, but only about 5% of people ever do.

And so for most people, even if they had it on their to do list to be a published author, they've put it way back on the far back burner, thinking, well, that'll never happen.

That'll be cool, but that'll never happen.

And so when it does happen and they've got their book in their hand, there's that shift in, wow.

I didn't think that was possible now.

I just did that now.

What else is possible?

So I think that's one of the big things for me that keeps me wanting to do more and more is, you know, I see that over and over and over again.

I see that spark of inspiration and that spark of, wow, what else can I do?

So I think that's what keeps me going.

When I did the very first one, like I said, I had no background in any of this.

I had no background in bringing teams together.

I had no background in.

In herding cats and all those things.

So.

So really with the first one, every single step was a new.

A new experience and a new feeling of, wow, what do I have to do next?

Or, what's the next step?

Or, how do I bring these people together?

How do I kind of help them write their chapter and get this together?

So.

So it was a massive learning experience.

And actually now with you asking that question, I think back to that first book, and I think, wow, how did I even do that?

Like, you know, invent something from nothing.

Yeah.

Sometimes you just figure things out as they come.

You're like, oh, what is the next thing I need to do?

And you just go and do that thing because you need to figure out, oh, where do I get it published?

Do I need ISBN numbers?

How do I list on Amazon or whatever all those different tasks are?

They just happen one step at a time, and you just figure them out one step at a time.

No one knows what they're doing unless they've learned from somebody else.

Right.

So the only other way to learn is by doing.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Trial and error.

Yeah.

Can you talk about some of the results from that first book and what those people who experienced it were telling you about their experience?

Yes.

Yeah.

Well, one of my favorite stories that started with that first book, one of.

One of the ladies who was in that book.

She's 75 years old now, so she was in her early 70s when we first started and she'd always been someone who was a little different.

You know, she was very spiritual.

She was into a lot of like crystals and energies and all that kind of thing.

So her whole life she really felt like an outsider.

Like nobody understood her.

She just like.

And felt that nobody wanted to hear what she really had to say.

Like she was hiding who she really was.

And, and she'd had this idea that she wanted to publish, but she knew she just had kept it so far on that back burner.

And then she did that first book with me, Embrace Courage.

And she got such a great response.

She had people asking for more.

It's like, you know, tell me, teach me, you know, what else can I know?

And she was so excited.

And then she jumped into my second book as well.

And the next thing I knew, she decided to do a solo book and then another solo book.

So in the three years since that first book was published, she has done two books with me, completed two solo books, and she started a YouTube channel.

Wow.

So she went from someone who is just living like feeling like she couldn't tell anyone what she was really wanting to do to someone who is now a four times best selling author.

A very popular YouTube channel where she does, she talks about the crystals and the energies and all these different things that she does.

And she's realized there's a whole world out there of people that do want to hear it.

So I mean her, her immediate family and community might not understand it or under, you know, like see value in what she was doing, but there's a whole other world out there that does.

And they're asking for more.

Yeah, that's the beauty of the age that we live in, the Internet, where we can instantly connect with just about anybody in the world who has access to technology.

And it just shows you that just because the people you surround yourself with now don't get it, that doesn't mean there are people out there who are in the same like space as you.

And it's great when you can find those connections with people because although without this technology we would never have.

Oh yes.

Anybody else existed.

Right.

No, that is very true.

So that's one of my favorite stories with my books.

But so many times though, I see, you know, women that they had started a business but they weren't quite sure what to do.

But now the book is getting launched and so there's a deadline there's like, oh, I need to get my website done.

Oh, I need just to get my social media stuff cleaned up and set up.

I need to.

So it suddenly there's this motivation to get all those things together.

And, and so really what it's done for their business is that it has accelerated and amplified everything that they were doing.

And because my books are all international groups of people participating in, one of them now has you in a group.

So my people, we have LinkedIn, group chats and those kind of things, we have group zooms where everybody gets to meet each other.

So you're now amplifying yourself into networks, 20 different networks and communities around the world.

So I mean, that in itself is a great way of building visibility.

Yeah, I love this idea of the book not only as a way for people to write and get read, but a way for them to really push themselves to do other things and discover that other things are possible.

Because without that they wouldn't have a need for a website or they, they might do it in the future.

But that's like a I'll do it someday versus you're setting this timeline for them to really kickstart the action that they wanted to take this whole time.

And I think that's such a beautiful gift that that's been unexpected probably from this.

Oh, yes, yes.

Yeah.

And another thing that I find quite often a lot of people do have that dream of being a published author, but imposter syndrome, I would say is one of the biggest things holding people back from writing their book.

Or some have written a book, but they don't publish it because they feel like, oh, I'm not an author, I can't publish a book, or who am I to think that other people want to hear what I have to say and messages like that.

So for most people, I'm sure imposter syndrome is one of the big things holding them back.

And so when you get started by participating in a multi author book, now you're working with a group of people, so you're all going through that together.

As most of the people in my books, that is their first time getting published.

And you're moving through this process in a way that is mostly done for you.

So you're writing your one chapter is the stuff you've got to do and everything else, you're literally being carried through this process and then it gets published and it's out there and you've got your book in your hand.

So getting past the imposter syndrome, or at least that first layer of it, I think is also a huge value in being in a multi author book rather than trying to create a solo book and put it out there in the world on your own.

Yeah, it's a good starting point versus jumping into the deep end.

It's like a tape to like an appetizer, right?

Exactly, exactly.

Just get a taste.

What would you recommend people have prepared?

So you said that some people needed to get things done before putting their chapter in.

What would you recommend people do in order to make the most out of being a part of a book like this?

Yeah, yeah.

Again, you know, especially, you know, looking at those that are entrepreneurs, because not all of my authors are entrepreneurs.

For some of them it's just about sharing their story, like how I was with my first book.

But definitely for people who are entrepreneurs, you want to be ready for that wave of activity that comes with it.

I mean, we've all heard of the algorithms and everything on social media and how the more that you are connecting and overlapping and people are commenting on your stuff, the more it builds you in the algorithm.

But if you're not ready for that, so say you don't have your LinkedIn page set up, or it's your old job, it's not your new stuff, or you don't have a website in place yet, then those are definitely things that you'll want to have ready.

So you imagine it's like somebody on a surfboard.

When that wave comes, you have to be ready to jump on it.

Right now you can't, I mean, you can't say, oh, I'll get the next one, but you're losing that wave.

So you think about it like that.

Before that wave hits, you want to have all those things in place so that you are ready to, to jump on it with your social medias ready to go, that you've got your community activated and they're ready to jump in with you.

And so, so those are kind of how I would look at it.

Yeah.

And I think that applies especially true for people who are writing a full book for themselves.

Right.

I don't know of many people who write a book without having some sort of either online presence or, you know, email list or something that allows people to continue to keep up with them once the thing is done, because otherwise you're losing your opportunity to really connect deeper with more people.

Yes, yeah, exactly.

And, yeah, and going back to the idea that, you know, with my books being having 20 people from around the world in that, imagine now you've got 20 communities that are now connecting and overlapping and collaborating and tagging and liking and sharing and, you know, so it really does become a wave of activity.

Would you say that would be the.

The way that your books are mostly discovered is through the process of having everybody cumulatively, like, push it at the same time, and everyone essentially makes it look like it's in so many different areas.

That's definitely a big part of it.

Yes, yes.

And.

And especially for hitting the bestseller status on Amazon and that kind of thing, because with all of my books, we hit international number one bestseller.

And that is definitely made easier by having 20 people around the world promoting the same thing at the same time.

What other tools do you use to help push the books?

Well, we definitely encourage people to do a lot of speaking, so things like being on podcasts like this where they could be talking about the books, talking about their chapter and how their chapter, you know, feeds into their business.

And with my books, I always love to suggest that when people write their chapter, they write it in a way that creates a sampling of their business.

So with my books, it's always a combination of your.

Your own personal journey, what you've learned along the way, and then some tips or tools or strategies to help the reader on whatever their journey is.

And so you imagine that as an entrepreneur, for most of us, what we're doing in our business is where life has brought us.

So our.

Our journey has led into what we're doing.

So really, this chapter creates a very impactful know, like, trust.

Someone reads the chapter now, they feel like they're connected with you.

They feel like they understand more about what you do, why you're doing it.

And then you've got that part where you're giving your tips and strategies, which really is kind of a sample of what you do in your business.

So now the.

The reader, they trust you because they know you, and now they got a bit of a sample of what you do.

So it kind of leads into that, oh, I need to talk to that person.

I need to learn more.

Maybe I'd like to work with that person.

So I. I love creating that connection inside the chapters.

Gotcha.

So it's really about, I think, like any other type of business, at least the small business, the solopreneur business, it's about making connections with people and having them understand you, your story, and how you can help them versus just saying, oh, just buy this thing.

Because anyone can post that on social media.

And it is what it is, and people will usually just scroll past it and I think that's why books are especially important for small businesses, to get their message out because you're building a container for them to really describe, talk about the thing more deeply versus just constantly blasting out the same message.

Oh, definitely, Definitely.

Yes.

Yeah, yeah.

And with the books that I do as well, after we do our Amazon launch, when the book is out, we give the PDF version of the book to all of the authors and they're free to share that any way they like.

So, so that's kind of another way that we push the book out even further.

And of course, when this one person shares the book with their community, now that community is reading the chapters from all of those other people that are in the book as well.

So, so the.

I, I love not.

I share the PDF copies all the time.

So when I'm on, on LinkedIn doing messages with people and oh, here's a book, you'll love this one.

Oh, here's a book, you'll love that one.

And you know, it doesn't, doesn't.

You don't have to wait for a book to get mailed from somewhere, just here's a PDF copy.

Go ahead and read it.

Yeah.

Can you talk about how your process has evolved from the first time that you did it to this one that's coming up like almost in a couple of weeks, right?

Yes, yes.

Well, it's definitely gotten more fine tuned and especially around timelines and those sorts of things.

I would say that the first couple books that I did, it probably took us well over a year to do the whole thing.

So to find those 20 people, get them finish their chapters, get all the chapters edited, do the marketing, get the book out there.

Whereas now there's definitely a much quicker route to bringing those people together because that's always the deciding factor on timelines really is how quickly can we get those 20 people together and then we can move the whole thing forward.

So, and I think part of it too now, because I've done so many that now I'm getting more known in the community is, oh, she's the one that does books.

If you want to do a book, go talk to her.

And, and I have a lot more people, a lot more of my authors that are coming back to do more books.

So I've now got a few ladies that are doing their fourth book with me.

So they, they did the first one, they loved it so much, they did another one and they said, oh, another one, oh, another.

So, so that definitely helps too when they, when they keep coming back and Then they tell their friends, oh, come do this next one with me.

You know, it's kind of a fun thing to do with people.

Sorry,.

Yeah, that's actually how we met is through somebody that's participating in your current book.

It's because I talked to her on my podcast and she's like, oh, I'm going to do a chapter Kathy's.

You should talk to her about how she works through her anthology.

So that's.

It's all about people.

Sorry.

No worries.

I can mute your side.

Sorry about that.

If you want to drink some more, They mark this.

Perfect.

Yeah, exactly.

So the people that have been in my books and have enjoyed the, the experience are now going out into their communities and saying, oh, you need to come and do this.

This is a great thing to do.

You should talk to this person.

So that's definitely helping to put it out there in a bigger way.

Yeah, it's all about building trust with the people you work with so that they are recommending you to others.

Because I think that's the best recommendation you can get is always from somebody that you already know.

Can you talk about the other part of your business that, that you've been doing the retreats?

Oh, yes, yes.

And with, with one of my books, with one of the books that I did with somebody else, they were doing billboards in Times Square.

So I went along for the trip and I thought, wow, this is really fun, I should figure out how to do this.

And so I, you know, figured out the back doors of getting onto the billboards and getting that all coordinated and, and now it's become something that I do.

Last year we went for twice.

This year we're going again a month from now.

So in, in March we'll be going again.

And so basically we, with people that have been in my books, we create billboards.

This time we're doing a combination.

Some have the book in the middle and a group of the authors around the book.

Others are solo billboards.

So we've got just that one person in the book and whatever other message that they want to include in it.

And we do a three day retreat while we're there, so that way we can be there in person, be there with the photographer to, to celebrate our billboard up there on the big screen.

And, and for the people that aren't able to come in person, the location that I use, there's also a live stream camera on it.

So from anywhere in the world they can watch live and see their billboards.

It's really fun.

And I. I see it as kind of another one of those things about creating possibility, you know, because most of us are aware of billboards in Times Square, and it's like, wow, that'd be so cool to be on a billboard in Times Square.

But we don't think that would ever happen.

And again, it goes even further back on the back burners than the book did.

And.

And.

But then once they see themselves up there on the big screen and they've got the photographer there and all that stuff, it's another one of those things where they're thinking, wow, I never thought that would happen.

What else can I do?

Yeah, it's just a compounding effect of empowerment and sharing stories and really helping people make it a bigger impact, because I think the more that we can share our stories with others, the more of an impact we're likely to make, because we're just being seen in so many different places.

And it's important to.

To know that when you have a story in a book like this, you can be a part of something just bigger than yourself.

If you were just writing a book for yourself, definitely.

What was the process like for actually creating this retreat that you have?

Well, one thing I've learned as an entrepreneur is to find people who are already good at what you want done.

And so just like with my books, I found a publishing team that is wonderful at all things to do with the publishing end.

And so I let them do all of that.

And when it comes to the retreat, I just happen to meet somebody that.

She's like, oh, I help people create retreats.

I'm like, oh, that sounds interesting.

I need that.

And so I work directly with them, which is wonderful.

And so they do all the background stuff.

So they do the negotiating with different hotels.

They.

They do all of the, you know, locking in rooms and all that for us.

They have all the insurance that's required for doing big events like that.

They coordinate all of our.

Our excursions and other outings that we do.

They even set up.

They're actually based out of Australia, but they actually set up all of, like, the Ubers and everything.

Last time when we were there in November, that.

My coordinator is over in Australia.

She's booking the Ubers on her account in Australia for us in New York.

And then I'm getting the text message saying, okay, your vehicle's coming.

And.

And she's messaging me, is he there yet?

Are you okay?

So.

So, yeah, so they do all that background stuff.

So really the part kind of like with my books, the Part that I do is I bring the people together, get them all set up, and run them through the process.

I think that's one thing that we can often underestimate or overestimate our ability to do things like delegate or hand off the things that we're not the best at, because obviously, with enough time and enough patience, we can do anything.

But there's so many things that you don't know that other people can handle for you.

And being willing to do that is, I think, one of the best ways to grow as an entrepreneur.

Because at a certain point, you're gonna definitely.

Yes, no, I. I agree.

And.

And that's something that I do need to continue to get better at and even kind of within the main parts of my business, you know, looking at bringing in a virtual assistant or someone to kind of help with more of the administrative side of things.

And because, yes, we, as.

As entrepreneurs, we have to look at where our.

Is this what I should be spending my time on?

And who could do this faster and better?

Yeah.

Knowing we each have our own zone of genius in the work that we do, and we should let other people help us with their zone of genius, because we can't be good at everything.

We can be very good at something, but being good at everything is not really possible, especially considering how many things go into every part of the process.

Right.

Oh, exactly.

And some people actually love technology and administration, and some of us don't.

Yeah.

So whatever it is that you don't like to do, figure out a way to find somebody that can help you.

And that can just be starting very small.

You don't have to say, oh, I need to offload all this stuff.

Everything takes takes time.

And the only way to start delegating all of it is to start with something small and just figure out what it is that you don't like to do.

Because the less, like, the thing that you don't want to do, you're less likely to do them, right?

Oh, definitely.

Definitely.

Or that's going to cause you grief while you're doing it.

Yeah.

What do you see the future of your anthologies being?

Do you have any other plans for it in the retreats, or are you content with the way that they're going currently?

I. I see them staying mainly the same model, but being able to expand it even further.

And so to, you know, again, with this idea that.

That what I love to do is bring this opportunity to as many people as possible.

So.

So the more books I do, the more people I'm bringing This to.

And so that's kind of where I see the first step of what I'm changing is, you know, you know, again, going back to bringing in a virtual assistant, bringing in someone that can help with things that take time.

And that way I can expand what I'm doing and focus on the stuff that I'm doing.

Well.

And the other thing is, like I said, so far my retreats have been going to New York and doing billboards.

But I'm also loving the idea of my.

My authors are all over the world.

I would love to be able to travel and actually go places and meet some of these people that I've been working with all this time.

And, you know, I've got people, you know, Australia, New Zealand, uk, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, India, Africa, Dubai, literally all over the world.

So I would love to combine my retreats in different places and actually get together with some of these people.

And the first step in being able to make that happen is to declare it to the world.

Right.

And say, this is what I wanted.

You're coming, world.

Look out.

Where would your ideal location be if you were to choose right now to host a retreat?

The first one I'm thinking of doing is something.

I'm thinking of doing a retreat in New Zealand and then going to Australia and doing some smaller events.

Is that a place, part of the world that you've always wanted to go to?

Yes, yes.

Yeah, exactly.

The benefits of owning your own business and setting your own standards and creating.

Exactly.

And being able to work from anywhere.

And one of the other ones, I've got a couple of my authors are in Dubai and, and I, I'd never really thought of going to Dubai before, but now talking to them and I've now met some other people, have traveled to Dubai.

I'm like, oh, maybe that would be kind of cool to go somewhere like that.

Yeah.

And the possibilities are really endless.

As long as you can figure out a way, logistics and financially to make it happen.

Right.

There's nothing stopping you but you.

Well, and that's why I love this, the retreat organizing group that I'm working with, because they're game to organize retreats anywhere.

So.

Yeah.

So the only thing to do is now to either wait for time or wait for the opportunity and just do it.

Right.

Put a pin in the map.

Amazing.

Just got a couple more questions left.

Do you know any else who runs out a standout creative business and what do they do to stand out?

What was that?

I didn't hear you, sorry.

Oh, do you know anyone else who personally runs a standout creative business and what do they do to stand out?

Oh, that's a.

Let's see.

I know so many different entrepreneurs that are doing amazing things.

Of course, as soon as you ask a question, then my brain goes blank and maybe I'll have to send you a list.

Let's see, who do I know?

I know a lot of coaches that are doing amazing things, helping people change their life and step into new identities of who they could be.

Definitely some great business coaches that are helping people like myself that are relative of newbies in the entrepreneurial world and helping us figure out what it is we're supposed to do next or how do we grow this business.

This retreat organizing group that I mentioned, they're, you know, helping a lot of entrepreneurs create retreats in different places that, that really amplify our business.

Let's see.

Now I'll definitely have to.

I'll have to make a list and send it to you.

Great.

So that everyone can check out all the different.

Because I'm sure you're connected with so many.

Especially since your books are business.

Exactly.

Exactly.

Yeah.

Awesome.

What is one extraordinary book, podcast, documentary or tool that has had the biggest impact on your journey?

Let's see.

I think I will go with books by Brene Brown.

I think, you know, in that in those early days when I was considering being an entrepreneur and never done something like that before and kind of like what I was talking about earlier with the butterfly and the complete meltdown and the messy middle of becoming an entrepreneur, I think her books and how she just puts things in perspective gave me a lot of new tools on how I can learn these things, step into new opportunities and move forward like that.

So that's where I will.

Yeah.

Books by Brene Brown.

Great.

Yeah.

I think it's so important to open ourselves up to possibilities through what other people have done and can teach us versus trying to figure everything out on our own.

Because everything.

If you're doing everything by yourself and figuring out on your own, it takes a lot longer.

Right.

You can fast go in circles.

What do you think makes a creative business stand out?

And what would you say makes your business stand out?

I would say the thing that makes creative businesses stand out the most is that the people behind them creating them are doing it really from the heart.

They're creating a business that really is an extension of themselves.

And, you know, unlike the idea of thinking, okay, what product sells, I'll do that.

Business creative business owners have thought, what am I good at?

What Are the gifts like you say that are what's my zone of genius and how do I bring that in the world?

And.

And, you know, kind of like what I was saying, how I built my business, everything I'm doing now, I could not even have imagined five years ago.

Everything in my life right now has come from being creative, thinking about, how can I make this work?

What's next for me?

And so to me, that's the big difference with creative businesses is that it's coming from the heart and it's stepping into that zone of genius.

Yeah.

Creating for the sake of amplification and heart and all these things versus obviously, anyone can create a business for money.

And that's.

That's great.

I mean, there's nothing wrong with that either.

It's just.

I think creative business have that extra piece of people are doing it for a very specific reason and not a.

To make money.

Yeah, exactly.

Can you give everyone who's listening a challenge on how they can start standing out?

Well, I always love.

One of my favorite quotes is, don't ask what the world needs.

Ask what makes you come alive.

And go do that.

Because what the world needs is more people who have come alive.

And to me, that just sums up everything that we each need to think about that.

What makes us come alive and.

And you know, again, that feeds right into that zone of genius.

What are we here to do?

What is our thing that we're supposed to do and.

And go do that.

And sometimes that ends up coming in the most unexpected ways.

Like yourself with a book submission you had no plan on submitting to until you were called to do it.

Right.

Sometimes it'll find its way to us versus us trying to find our way to it.

Right.

Exactly.

Awesome.

Well, Kathy, this has been such a good time talking to you, and I think you have so much to teach people, especially those who want to go and write their own, be a part of a book or be an author, and helping them reach their goal much quicker than they can if they're gonna write a whole book for themselves.

So that's amazing.

Can you let everybody know where they can find you online or keep up to date with all the stuff that you're doing?

Sure, sure.

And yeah, and I've always got new books coming up, so as other books get published, I start a new theme.

And I'm always open to ideas as well for new book titles and themes.

So definitely, you're welcome to bring me ideas and the best places to find me.

My website is inspired tenacity.com and there you'll get there's places you can download free PDFs of my books.

You can see what the current projects are right now that we're working on.

And LinkedIn is the main social media you'll find me on.

So just look me up there and I'd love to connect.

Yeah.

Can you spell your name so everyone can who's just listening can find you?

Sure, sure.

So Kathy Dirksen is C A T H Y D as in dog E R K S E N awesome.

Well, Kathy, it's been amazing talking to you.

I love your mission and all the work you've been up to.

It's been a pleasure.

Thank you very much for having me on.

It's been great.

Okay, bye.

Thanks for listening to this episode of Standout Creatives.

If you're feeling stuck, let's chat and see how we can help you start standing out instead of burning out.

You can sign up for a free strategy [email protected] if you want to keep up to date with everything I'm working on, including interviews, essays and upcoming projects, head to standoutcreativebusiness.substack.com and if you have any thoughts on this episode or just want to chat, you can follow me on Instagram standoutcreativebusiness.

Thanks again for tuning in and as always, lean into your creativity and curiosity.

I'll see you again on the next episode.