I Sold Over 100k Books in 2 Years and You Can Too!
Part 1 – Mindset

By Becky Cummings

“Whether you think you can or you think you can’t – you’re right.” Henry Ford

When I was teaching in the classroom, I would dream of being an author and school visits around the country. I remember one author in particular that came to my school, Marc Tyler Nobleman. I secretly confessed to him after his visit that I wanted to be in his shoes. He offered to help if I needed it and it wasn’t before long I was emailing him for advice! Back in 2009, if you wanted to be an author you typically would send out query letters to publishers and see if they had any interest in your ideas. I wanted to write a non-fiction, sort of self-help book for kids, detailing all the things they really needed to know in life that they wouldn’t learn in the classroom. It was a unique idea and I got several rejections. Soon after I found out I was pregnant and decided to put my book idea on the back burner.

Fast forward almost a decade later, as a mom of 3 young kids, owning 3 small businesses, I was still being called to write! I wasn’t exactly sure how to do it, I just knew it was something I would do. I started to act as if I was an author. I set aside 4 hours a week to write. I started watching every YouTube video I could find made by real authors, and I told people I was writing my first book.

That is what I want to talk to you about today. The absolute most important step to be an author, or really anything, is to set your intention to do it. You must KNOW in your heart that you are an author. The “how” will unfold! Let’s dive in further.

Step one to writing a successful book –

1. Develop your Mindset

You must accept these as truth:

1. You are the creator of your life. It is blank canvas and you hold the brush. Your possibilities are endless and in your control.
2. If all possibilities already exist, then your desired outcome is happening now. How do you get your avatar (this physical human suit) to experience the one you choose. Think of your life like a CD where all possibilities (all the music) is already loaded on, every song, but you can only listen to one at a time. Which song will you choose to play?
3. To paint your canvas your THOUGHTS, WORDS, ACTIONS, and FEELINGS are your tools – your different brushes.

Many people get stuck because their words and thoughts are not in alignment with their desires.

They take on a victim mentality and have many excuses like, “This is too hard. Too expensive. I’m not famous enough. Hardly anyone gets published. No one cares about what I have to say – I’m just mom. I’m just a teacher.”

When this occurs, you can’t align to your desired outcome.

You must train your mind to align with your desires. Here are some ways to make that happen.

1. Use positive affirmations – write them out and say them all the time! Stick them on sticky notes around your home and repeat them whenever you see them. Write them out in the a.m. or before bed.

“I write excellent books.”
“I have valuable things to share.”
“I sell these books. I know what people need.”

2. Train your words. When you speak to others about your desire to be an author say, “I choose” instead of “I want.” When you say I want to be an author, the universe hears want which is lack and will keep you in that mode. If you choose it, then it will be brought into alignment for you. People or opportunities will arise to help you with your goal.
3. Take action – what would a real author do? Start to act as if. Spend time browsing in Barnes and Noble, set aside weekly time to write, join FB groups for illustrators and authors, and connect or follow other authors on social media. Join their email list to see how they engage with their audience. Jump on mine here!
4. Visualize big – Start to make movies in your mind doing the things you desire. Are you on a stage speaking in front of kids or at a bookstore signing books and speaking about your new release? Are you on Amazon seeing your book in the top 100? So many authors would like to go big, but they go into it with a hobby mindset.

5. Feel all the wins! If you have gratitude for the small wins, bigger ones will come! I remember when my book My Magical Words was selling 5 copies a day. I was so bummed. Until a friend reminded me that I needed to be in a state of gratitude to increase that number. When I started being thankful for those 5 a day, it slowly become 10, then 25, and now it’s anywhere between 50-100. At Christmas its gone over 200 a day!

Once your mindset is positive you can start to make good progress. In part 2 I’ll tell you about choosing a topic for your book. You may already know what you want to write about, but there is so much to consider to make it successful. So be sure to sign up for my blog posts and follow me on Instagram, Tik Tok, and Facebook as I take you through my journey to selling over 100K books in 2 years!