“The mastermind is an incredible opportunity for authors in all phases of their career. J. provides undivided attention and detailed feedback about the craft to each author, pointing out their strengths and areas of growth, as well as poignant tips and strategies about marketing, mindset, and many other pivotal factors that lead to author success. Most importantly, the program inspires helpful, engaging relationships and community with other authors that will last well beyond the meetings.”
“J.’s mastermind has been a great experience. I’ve been able to share with and learn from authors at different stages of their careers. I appreciate how J. respects all the members, their writing style and interests, and has real insight into how to live a successful author life.”
“A mastermind group can be a force multiplier for an author. J. Thorn’s is a perfect example of a mastermind group that not only helps authors improve their craft but also to learn from other authors about how to manage all the aspects of the business side of writing. If you crave a safe environment to grow as an author, I would strongly encourage you to enroll in this mastermind group.”
M.A.
“J.’s mastermind group is an awesome way to raise your author career to the next level. There’s just enough structure to keep things moving, but more than enough flexibility for the discussion to cover subjects important to you, whether craft or business. I learned a lot from J., but was surprised that I learned as much from the other mastermind members.”
“The reason why is the collaborative environment. Everyone’s encouraged to contribute, and each member takes their turn in bringing their writing or question to the group.”
“Being in a mastermind means that you have access to an expert knowledge base which gives you the ability to ask deep, specific questions and get really helpful answers. You can build long-term relationships that open doors to opportunities in the years to follow. Both masterminds that I’ve been in have forced me to re-examine my experiences and my view of the industry, as I’ve talked with people with different experiences, from different career stages, and found what they have to share and how I can apply that knowledge to my career.”
“The knowledge that you have from doing this for 10 years is very different than somebody who’s been doing it a year. There might be someone who has had slow, consistent success over a long time and another with only one year, and they’ve knocked it out of the park unexpectedly. Those are both super useful success stories from completely different sides of the game. Or the person who’s been working for 10 years and not gotten anywhere. Those stories are all so valuable.”
“And my story’s going to be completely different from all of those. Being able to take all of this information together, as we’re sharing our stories in-depth, not just the shallow part that we tell friends and family, is extremely helpful. And then also consistency and accountability. We all set our own personal goals, but every week we’re meeting with people who want to know how we’re progressing.”
“Finding a community is immensely valuable. You gain a network of friends who understand your professional goals and genuinely want to help with advice and support. They’re extremely honest. When you get to know people and connect with them, they openly share failures and successes. For me, it really cut down on time spent sifting through Internet advice and engaging in trial-and-error. The mastermind members have already done the legwork. They said, ‘Hey, this is what got me really great results, and this other thing didn’t.’ So, for me, it was a tremendous time-saver in terms of my learning curve.”
“We get so narrowly focused in our preferred genre, it’s valuable to get ideas from others with different perspectives. People shared ideas I hadn’t thought about. For example, success stories and tips and tricks that made me say, ‘Oh, I could do that, or I could make that work in my genre.’ I definitely think a wider viewpoint is important because sometimes we get tunnel vision. It was helpful to expand my concepts about the various paths I could take.”
“I grew tired of masterminds where I was asked to talk about my goals. Visualizing what I would achieve that week or that quarter didn’t work for me. When I failed to meet the targets I set, I fell further behind my peers.”
“Having someone I can learn from, someone in the group I can give a hand to, and then knowing someone is at the same level to challenge me, that is the perfect mix in a mastermind. I’ve been in a couple of groups like this, but I haven’t always recognized where I could offer support, or be comfortable enough to believe I was on equal footing with anyone.”
“For me, finding where I fit as an author is the biggest reason to be in an author mastermind. A weekly writing challenge with a deadline provides me with feedback and purpose. Showing up as a member pushes me to build new relationships and trust that when I need support, I’ll have it. Plus, showing up means I’m part of the support team for everyone else. Masterminds have given me a place to ask questions and be vulnerable and grow.”
“I see some similarities between conferences and my experience with the mastermind. There are three benefits to going to a writing conference that are similar to the mastermind. The first one is that, for the time you’re there, it forces you to focus on the topic at hand. Without that, I’m limited by my powers to be an autodidact. Which I can do to some extent. But when I’m really forced to show up and participate, then that’s an hour—plus the hour spent in preparation—where I’m not doing anything else but considering the writing life.”
“The second way is the mirror-neuron effect. When I’m around other writers, I find myself automatically imitating their behavior in a way that is helpful. If I’m going to imitate somebody, it should be somebody whose traits I want to manifest. I’ve noticed this effect occurs at both conferences and the mastermind.”
“The third way is tribalism, which I think is the most powerful for me. ‘People like us do things like this,’ as Seth Godin says. I’ll find myself thinking and manifesting in ways that are in line with the tribe. If I know that everybody else is writing, then I want to make sure that I’m doing that also—just on a very basic social-tribal level—and that’s helpful, and it moves me toward my goal.”
“Another analogy for the important difference between a conference and a mastermind is an intense, insightful psychedelic drug trip, versus a daily meditation practice.”
“They can both be helpful. A conference produces a state change. It’s very intense; there’s a lot going on, a lot of insights. But the effects can start to diminish over the next few weeks, and you’re back where you started. A mastermind, on the other hand, is more like a daily meditation practice. There may not be as many fireworks. But when you do it regularly, there’s a greater likelihood that it’s going to result in a permanent behavior change over time.”
“This is my first mastermind. I think that there is something that solidifies a skill when you commit on paper and then show it to people who are nice and knowledgeable but are not obligated to tell you everything is perfect. The more I write and share, the better I get.”
“A mastermind gives you the opportunity to get ideas and concepts from a lot of other people, from different walks of life, and about different things. Other writers can give you an idea, or you can bounce an idea off of them, and you can get ideas that you wouldn’t necessarily come up with on your own.”
“For me, a mastermind makes me write because I know that I’m going to be held accountable every week. And if everybody… and I’m competitive, so if I think everybody else is writing, I don’t want them to be writing more than me.”
“I’ve tried writing groups, and they’ve fallen apart, or the person who organized it disappears. And so, local writing groups haven’t really worked for me. I’ve also tried writing prompts with friends. But we’re friends, and so we’re not always honest with our feedback. I also think there’s value in paying to be part of a mastermind because I want to get everything, I want my money’s worth, and I want to participate.”
“I joined a mastermind to acquire a new skill set. But then it expands and from there. Learning and interacting in a low-threat environment is positive.”
“Meeting and connecting with other authors at a similar point in the writing journey is super cool too, because we all have similar concerns and problems, but we all have different ones, too.”
Want to take your writing chops and business savvy to the next level? Check out The Author Success Mastermind group at https://theauthorsuccessmastermind.com/join/
Posted in Mindfulness, Productivity, Recent, Self Improvement
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