3 Benefits of Joining a Masterclass

I have found that the best workshops for my learning style are like mini-boot camps. They are goal-oriented and time-sensitive with students who are enthusiastic and ready to achieve their goals. 

I want to be surrounded by people who, like me, are hitting the pavement, ready to go.

What is a masterclass?

A masterclass or mastermind group is a peer-to-peer mentoring concept used to help members solve their problems with input and advice from the other group members.

In addition to you achieving your goals (e.g., fully funding your book), participating in a masterclass has at least three tangible benefits.

1) Accountability

When you know you’re meeting every week and will have to speak up and discuss your project, you end up getting more done than when you operate in a vacuum.

I’ve met so many authors who have said that they have completed manuscripts that are collecting dust for years. YEARS! Life gets hectic and in the way of accomplishing our goals.

All of a sudden, what we once thought was a priority gets replaced by the urgency of the NOW and we end up dropping our work. It happens all of the time.

By joining a masterclass, your peers are committing to holding you accountable, and likewise, you are serving as their accountability partner. Simply by asking someone, “What are you struggling with this week?” forces a type of self-reflection that may be missing in the lone writer’s world.

2) Expert guidance

As lovely as peer-to-peer groups are, and I’m part of many of them, it’s extremely helpful to have an experienced person guiding the group. Masterclasses are generally organized by someone with experience who is not only skilled at managing people but at helping them reach their goals within a certain time period.

When I hired my marketing coach, I desperately needed direction. I needed someone to ask me questions that I didn’t know were important and hand me an extensive to-do list that would advance my career to the next level. I didn’t know what I didn’t know and I needed help. Big time.

Without an expert guiding the way, peer-to-peer mentoring groups remain largely self-serving. Yes, you will probably reach your goals, but it won’t have the time-sensitive boot camp nature that masterclasses or masterminds often have.

Really great masterclasses contain exercises and action items to help the participants cruise through the material, apply it, and advance more quickly than working solo.

3) Personalized tutoring/mentorship

Readers of blogs and listeners of podcasts are subject to the limits of the creator’s pace. A masterclass incorporates established material (courses, blogs, podcasts, etc.,) with tutoring to allow participants to advance at their pace, ask questions, and receive individualized support.

The opportunity to ask questions, gain clarification, and obtain peer and mentor support is a unique feature of the masterclass design that is lacking in other online course forums.

Helping more authors successfully crowdfund their books 

After beta testing my Crowdfunding for Authors course, I noticed that the group interaction was where a lot of the magic happened.

However, the course is self-paced, and some students didn’t launch their campaigns at the same time. That’s totally fine but I saw a missed opportunity.

By grouping together crowdfunding authors who are all launching at the same time, we can create a network where we share resources, leverage marketing opportunities, and get real-time support before and during their campaigns.

The mentoring support happens in the crucial pre-launch phase and the peer-to-peer support happens during the campaign phase.

Crowdfunding is all about community and so often, writers find themselves trying to build a community from scratch. It’s much much much easier to build momentum, rally positive energy, and battle the self-doubt when there is a network of like-minded people doing the same thing at the same time. (the whole, A rising tide lifts all ships, concept).

Interested in joining a master class?

If this sounds like a concept that would be of interest to you—an online course with guided expert mentorship and supportive peers—then click here to apply to work together in a free 60-minute call with me to find out more or send me an email here.

If you’re serious about getting your book fully funded in the next few months, then click here to find out more.

5 Reasons to Share Your Big Ideas

Doers are people who get things done. We all know who they are.

They are the person who is always busy launching their next project, speaking at conferences, and is rarely sitting still…ever.

They are agents of action.

As a writer, there is a natural tendency to shy away from sharing our ideas with these productive, efficient people with the fear that they will steal and act on our novel ideas.

However, in doing so, you are cutting yourself off from their valuable resources, networks, and the potential for a positive collaboration with someone who can help you take your idea to the next level.

It’s okay to share

The truth is, other entrepreneurs aren’t looking to steal business ideas from their friends. Has it happened? Sure, but in most cases, the value of someone’s business reputation is worth more than taking a blog idea for a few clicks or a new product venture from a friend.

Doers are acutely aware of:

A) the level of work required to take an idea to market,

B) they are too busy working on their own ideas to steal anyone else’s projects and

C) they don’t have the amount of passion that you do for your idea to bring it to fruition.

Let’s be real: no amount of clicks or shares on a plagiarized article is enough to justify ruining my ethical and moral code—resulting in a blackballing from the writing community and damaging my reputation.

When I conducted outreach to fellow writers and described my idea for an anthology, I was initially cautious about someone stealing the idea for themselves.

After going through the self-publication process myself and I experienced the exhausting grunt work firsthand, I finally appreciated the monumental amount of effort required to transform an idea in my head into a physical book on a shelf.

Nobody was going to steal that idea and beat me to market. It is way too much work.

What you get from sharing your ideas

A positive result from both of my anthology projects with other writers was that I developed an extensive network of people with whom I share my ideas for articles.

We serve as sounding boards for one another and help problem solve, critique, and provide helpful ideas when someone hits a stumbling block.

5 Benefits from sharing your big ideas

Here are five benefits you’ll receive when you share your big ideas with people who get things done. Surround yourself with doers, build trust and rapport, and you’ll see the advantages of sharing your big ideas with a supportive network.

  1. You’ll gain confidence and accountability.
    It is easy to hold onto an idea and not take the necessary next steps to bring your concept to completion. Those next steps are hard, but when you confide your big idea with a doer, they will give you the feedback necessary and resulting confidence to either change course or move forward.
  2. They can help you troubleshoot obstacles—both known and unknown.
    There is a steep learning curve when you enter any field, and brainstorming with someone experienced in that field can help identify challenges that you may not know existed. They can also help you avoid common pitfalls.
  3. They may know of other resources that can help you get to the finish line.
    Doers know other doers and tapping into their vast experience can help put you in contact with the right people to transform your project from “just a good idea” into a complete product.
  4. An insider’s perspective is priceless.
    Some days you need a safe space to vent, and no person better understands what you are experiencing than someone who has walked the path before.
  5. By having a sounding board, you can get experienced advice to see if your idea is possible before investing valuable resources.
    The expert opinion of someone who has been there and done that can help advise you on whether you can proceed with a green light or if you should pump the brakes.

You get out what you put in…maybe more

In summary, sharing your big ideas with people who get things done will benefit you tenfold. Don’t be afraid to give voice to your dreams and commit to taking them to the next level.

Share your ideas with a few friends, be prepared for honesty and hard work, and watch your dreams come to life.