How To Write A Book With A Full Time Job, with Dr. Luissa K
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(Intro
- The process of writing a book with a full life
- How to handle the surprising extra work of a project) [00:00:00]
Shawn Buttner: Almost every creator that I know starts the same way, in that they have a full time job or a full time life, and they start their passion project as something they do on the side, or as something that's not their main thing. And today's guest on Creators That Crush will talk about the process of writing a book, while being a medical director, owning their own practice, being a single mom, and Their story of overcoming being a refugee from Romania.
welcome to creators that crush the podcast that helps you move from crushed to crushing it as a creator. I am your host and certified high performance coach, Shawn Buttner, and our guest today, Dr. Louisa Kapreno is going to share her story and her process for. Writing her book. So if you've ever wanted to write a book and you're [00:01:00] curious about how publishing works or how much time it'll take or some of the common struggles that you might run into writing a book, then this episode's for you.
And if you just are a fan of the Being creative, Every creative process and every creative project will face similar struggles and a similar sense of figuring it out that I think Dr. Louisa really exemplifies. And so, it's such a great conversation andI'm really excited to share this with you.
So, with that said, let's jump right in with Dr. Luissa Kaprano.
Ecamm Live Recording on 2025-01-30 at 14.08.42: Welcome to Creators That Crush, Dr. Louisa.
we want to address the question today,
How Creators Can Write Their Book With A Full Time Job.
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Ecamm Live Recording on 2025-01-30 at 14.08.42: how creators can write their books while having a full time job and a full time life. could you Maybe go into your thinking about the process of writing books,
and, how'd you really get
started as an [00:02:00] author?
Dr. Luissa K: I am a former refugee, from communist Romania.
I came to United States, um, 38 years ago for a two months visit. And,due to some very unfortunate circumstancesI was forced to stay, uh, in the United States,
I was a month shy of being 19 years old. a few months after, I landed here, and I realized that they, going back, to my family, my friends, the life I knew. I started for the first time thinking, I should probably start putting things on paper. I, started writing, the first chapter, uh, hand write it, and it was in Romanian.
and then, um, after, not very long, I put it away, put it away in a folder in a box, and it was forgotten there for quite a few years.fast forward,to 2015. here I am a,medical director of a
very established practice in the [00:03:00] Midwest.
and, I was a single parent at the time, and all of a sudden I started thinking back. I'm like, I think there is time to start thinking about writing that book. So it starts like a little seed. It's like, well, I wonder if I could do that. then, the little person on my left shoulder says, I don't think you can the right, the little person on my right shoulder.
I kept saying,why didn't you just give it a try?and, I said, okay, I am going to do it, but I'm going to do it a different way. This time, I'm very good on planning and very self discipline. And, I said, I will start taping myself because it's faster. So 15 minutes.
every day
in the morning before I get ready and go to work.
Um,I say that the road to failure is paved with good intentions. Mine only lasted a week.
Shawn Buttner: The reason was because my [00:04:00] mornings are dedicated to my workouts.
Dr. Luissa K: Every morning I work out, I wake up around 5. 30, I work out and then I start my day. and of course now I would have to change my entire calendar, my entire schedule, and frankly speaking, it wasn't going to be feasible to work in it.
I then started looking, hey,maybe I can find a book coach. so I started looking online, researching, and,
found,
Stacy Ennis. that's really how it started to take shape. I spoke with her on the phone. We had a really hard to hard conversation with My goals are, and, if she could help me write this memoir,
the
writing this book came from the desire to help people.
Now, remember I am a doctor. I am a high risk pregnancy. physician specialist. I own my own practice and, I do full 100 percent [00:05:00] telemedicine,So I've always wanted to help people that's why I'm a doctor, right? And I have to me that is my calling.
But this time around, I wanted to help people spiritually too.with their mental wellness, because there is a lot of people like me out there who had a very tumultuous past, traumatic past. I'm a trauma survivor, and they have a hard time. They struggle to overcoming fear, shame, and the struggle for self worth.
So, having a book coach, unlike what you may read,on the news and the media, it's not a measure of your weakness. It is a measure of your strength. And how soFirst, you realize that you are one person. [00:06:00] That you can only do so many things, right?
you are holding a full time job, or sometimes even two. You have to feed your family. You have to, daily go to work and be present there a hundred percent. And do an excellent job of what you do. And then you have this other side passion. Hey, I have a story to tell.
And the message to share with the world. I would love to do this, but frankly be speaking life is life and you won't be able to fit it all.
So then you have to accept that.like we were talking before, Shawn, remember I said, yeah, I can actually run my entire practice and be everything for everybody from the cleaning lady all the way to the CEO.
I don't think first is sustainable. Second.it's really going to wear, wear out more and you won't last more than a week if that, right? And how many patients, how [00:07:00] much difference am I going to make? So,
I am hiring someone just you are hiring a scribe, scribe.
that's their talent. To put it all on paper, but the story, it's all yours. That person will not be able to write that book and send that message to the world because you are the brains of it.once you realize that, it'll be like, voila!
Wow! That is actually, I have the tool to make it happen.
Ecamm Live Recording on 2025-01-30 at 14.08.42: Right .
I
want to say, like, crooked line of how the book came together. It was an idea. You stepped away for many years. You came back. You're trying to make it work.
Shawn Buttner: step
Ecamm Live Recording on 2025-01-30 at 14.08.42: back. You go, hey, I need some help here. You get some accountability and some deadlines and some consistency. And then you're able to write the book.
throughout that process, I'm Curious.
Most Surprising struggle with writing a book with a full time job
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Ecamm Live Recording on 2025-01-30 at 14.08.42: What did you find was the most [00:08:00] surprising about things you were struggling with because I'm sure even getting the coach that you mentioned, like sometimes you got to step away, you have craters block and that's something everyone faces. what are some of those struggles that you were surprised maybe
Shawn Buttner: to
Ecamm Live Recording on 2025-01-30 at 14.08.42: have with the coach
and what helped you move through it?
Dr. Luissa K: a
Couple of them. Yes. I am not a writer and I am not, I'm not, Daniel Steele.
I'm not doing this for a living. This is Hobby Hobby I just say it happens to intertwined together in my scope of helping people. the one thing I have noticed both in writing the book, publishing the book and marketing the book,
Really,
Three Processes to selling a book...
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Dr. Luissa K: those three processes are three separate processes and a lot of people out there.
That the entire industry has, has us, the authors focus on one
Shawn Buttner: selling
Dr. Luissa K: the book, [00:09:00] but nobody tells you that there is so much to do until you sell that book. when I start, I started like all writers do. Okay. And I don't care what other people say, but I can tell you. When you sit down and first do that blank page, I want to write the book.
I want to sell my message. I want to sell this book. That's all you think about. And soon after I started working with her, I just realized that this is not about the book. This is about your message. The book sells in itself if you can carry your message the right way. And,it took me by surprise, I have to say,
and
also it is the, it is extremely painstakingly long
Sign Up For A Free Creator Strategy Session
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Shawn Buttner: As we've talked you might be thinking to yourself, Hey, I need a little bit more help. I know that I've had experienced that [00:10:00] myself. I recently have hired a podcast coach business coach to help me with my creative business and just getting that extra perspective of someone that's been through it or has a process to walk you through can be immensely helpful.
And I would love to offer you a free Creator performance strategy session, where we'll go through your life, your creative business, the things that you're struggling with, and the things that you want to get out of your creative business and create a strategy plan for you. And we do this through a questionnaire.
And we do this through focusing on specific high performance habits, any creator can implement to increase how they feel in their business, to feel less like an imposter, to feel more confident when you create. So if you are interested in getting a little bit more extra help. Go to the [00:11:00] link below in the show notes to schedule your Creator Strategy Session.
I have about 10 slots open each two weeks to do these. So if you're thinking about it, definitely go to shroudwalker. com backslash apply. And that will get you scheduled, okay? So with that, back to the show.
Dr. Luissa K: Two things I want to emphasize as part of the process, book 101, is your community, you have to lean, you have to lean in your community, you have to lean on your family and friends, because this is no easy task, so when you write your book and you get, let's say, to the beta readers,
I did not know what a beta reader was, Shawn.
What's a beta
What's a beta reader? I was like, I had to look it up. It's okay to say you don't know. So I am that person that I will, if I don't know it, I'll tell [00:12:00] you.
yes, lean on your community. It's okay. I asked the friends. I asked family members. Hey, do you want to? I'm going to send you a copy of my manuscript.
and please read it and give me an idea. what you think. I need your transparent view. Now, you may take it or you may not. But at least you have, you need to have somebody else's opinion. Like I always say, you need another lens to look through. Because we become very focused into that when we go to the rabbit hole, and we are not, we start not seeing it.
Things that are very evident, and, it is very important to do that. But also one thing that nobody told me, but I figured out on my own pick different people from your own. better
readers. don't pick your family because they're gonna break your heart, and they don't, they're gonna shield you.
So don't be afraid to [00:13:00] pick, a co worker that you trust. or, from different Ages, different stages of life. different views I had a wide variety of better readers because I wanted to hear, and yes, my primary audience is females, right?
I want to hear from a male.
want to to hear what is middle aged man is telling me. Or this 20 year old is telling me, I want to hear that. I asked the physician as much as I asked a nurse, as much as I asked, one of my friends is a factory worker. I wanted to hear it all because that's what, you don't know who's picking up your book to read.
Shawn Buttner: I love pointing out, I every creator has started their projects and realize, go confidently you do thing.
Ecamm Live Recording on 2025-01-30 at 14.08.42: you can create a podcast. You can write a book, but now you have to operationalize it
Shawn Buttner: your
Ecamm Live Recording on 2025-01-30 at 14.08.42: life a little bit.
You have to tell people about it
Shawn Buttner: and
Ecamm Live Recording on 2025-01-30 at 14.08.42: sell it in a way. [00:14:00] so I think that's an amazing call out. This idea of
Shawn Buttner: Creating
Ecamm Live Recording on 2025-01-30 at 14.08.42: the thing, and then all the work it is to validate the idea, because yeah, your friends and family want you to succeed, and so they will not maybe give you as honest feedback as the factory worker that you just said.
So I love those callouts for the audience. To make sure you're getting diverse perspectives, and know that the process, there's so much unknown about the
Shawn Buttner: and
Ecamm Live Recording on 2025-01-30 at 14.08.42: you will be learning
Shawn Buttner: the
Ecamm Live Recording on 2025-01-30 at 14.08.42: whole way. And it's okay if you need some help in any of those areas, right? Because back to your point earlier too, is you will burn yourself out trying to do everything and it might not actually be the best use of your time.
Costs Of Creating With A Full Time Job
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Dr. Luissa K: Yes. Definitely. And talking about burningout, burning yourself out financially. This is the last but not [00:15:00] least important point.
it is expensive to have a book coach.
It
is expensive to hybrid publish.
um
you know, there are three kinds of publishing. It's a traditional publishing, hybrid publishing, and self publishing.
I didn't even know there were three tribes when I started writing.
Shawn Buttner: Mhm,
Dr. Luissa K: mean, really, think about it. Would you know that unless you were in the field? I'm a physician again. I don't do this for a living. I was like, Oh, there's three types and I found out, what's one versus the other.
What are the pros and the cons?
remember writing a book it's not all about the writing it's writing, publishing, and marketing, and I think people need to really remember that they are together.
and you have to remember it's a long process and it's an arduous [00:16:00] process. I think the one that What surprises. The new authors, the most is the marketing
I'll give you what happened to me, right? So I'm finished a book, we got the manuscript together
and
then, I started pitching it to the publishers and,the chances to get picked up by a hybrid publisher is about one in 10, 000.
and, I, did get thankfully picked by, a hybrid publisher.
then came the contract and, it was just very well broken down. And I was like, wow,my
husband said, wow, that's this book of yours.
it just takes a life of its own. It's becoming a monumental. Monumental and more ways than one, right? I said, let me say this, honey. I really can't because now you see, Shawn, we added the point of no return. And that's what I said to him. What? What do you want me to do this? This project?
this is my book. This is my [00:17:00] message. But if I don't continue, it's going to end up in a drawer.
All
that work.I've decided to go ahead and publish it
I'm still working full time here. it was, a very challenging year and, a lot going back to the third part, marketing, a lot of authors, we think that, Hey, once it's published, we put it out in the shelf. we put it out to the world.
once it's out there in the world, people are going to pick a, my book and my book only read it. Okay. Cause it's my book. Do you know, it's my book. And
a little bit of statistics 1 million books published.
In the United States every year and 4 million self published,
So the competition is fierce out there. so just by our books coming on the market and be put on a shelf, that doesn't guarantee [00:18:00] anything. You have to do the work or you have to hire a marketing agent.
I am emphasizing that this will consume you. So you have to create some healthy boundaries. but in another thing is you have to do it while it's still fresh. You can't let it cool off so much that it's going to be a tremendous task to pick it back up.
Like you can't wait three years after it's published and now it's Oh, I have time now to do this.
Shawn Buttner: Wow.
Ecamm Live Recording on 2025-01-30 at 14.08.42: writing a book is very much a longterm process. So
Shawn Buttner: have
Ecamm Live Recording on 2025-01-30 at 14.08.42: you broke even or done better than recouped your cost yet on your book? She's shaking her head no.
Okay.
Dr. Luissa K: I don't think I ever will.
because it's the only way you can get close to even is if you do a lot of public speaking,
my profession as a physician comes first. My profession comes first. I love what I do. I love being a doctor, and, [00:19:00] I don't. Do thingsI didn't want to say it half ass, but hey, might as well.
Yeah,
I am very good of saying,my platter is full. I can't take anymore because I can tell that I can only divide myself so much.
Plus, I do have to fill my cup. I have to take care of myself and you must take care of yourself because you'll burn out.
for me, my workouts are my zen time.everybody needs time alone. I don't care what they say. Even the most extrovert does have time of it by himself. Don't you agree with me?
Ecamm Live Recording on 2025-01-30 at 14.08.42: I do.
people don't realize that we do need time to kind of quiet down our brains and be like, okay. I'm in my zen time. And now I am all empowered. My mind is with me. I can do this. I can do anything I want to do. it is important to remember that, you have to recharge your batteries.
Dr. Luissa K: You have to give time to your loved ones. you really don't just want [00:20:00] push, Push, push, and you know, somewhat, I am guilty of that, especially as I went through my medical training,
Shawn Buttner: that you don't want to get to the finish line by yourself, all alone. It's no fun. Because you really want to celebrate this with your family and your loved Yeah,
The Tension Between Pushing And Success
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Shawn Buttner: the
Ecamm Live Recording on 2025-01-30 at 14.08.42: idea of was it lonely success? Where you've put everything into your career and then you don't have anyone to celebrate it.
it's something that I'm always talking about and thinking through in my life.
Like for my business, how do I want my life to be?
and I want my family
and friends to know who I am because,
Shawn Buttner: was
Ecamm Live Recording on 2025-01-30 at 14.08.42: there.
but there's also that push to like, I really want to do an excellent job
with the podcast.
And so there's always that tension. And I think.
If you can find the right tension, it's very healthy for us.
Shawn Buttner: If
Ecamm Live Recording on 2025-01-30 at 14.08.42: one or the other pulls you too much, it can pull you off
message.
Go At Your OWn Pace: A Lesson From Triatholons
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Dr. Luissa K: And you're so [00:21:00] right on that because I see that with triathlons, I'll give you, I'll tell you a funny story, but it's true. about a few years ago, I usually do,an Ironman, or a half Ironman a year.
And,
this one year I wanted to book two and I messed up on my math. And I scheduled two, six weeks apart.
Oh, wow.
Yes. the thing with this is you either schedule them like two weeks apart, or you give yourself you know, three months, six months, something, a big distance so you can recover and then ramp up. by mistake, I did it six weeks and it was, I already paid for it and I didn't have that down time. and one was when it's in Boulder, the other one was in, Arizona in Tempe.
Shawn Buttner: And by the time I approached, and I got close to the second one, I didn't have any more fun. It became a chore and I [00:22:00] hated it. And to the point that as soon as I had done the second race, I took a six months break.
Dr. Luissa K: I was like, I don't want to do it. I realized that it became a job. And The minute it becomes a chore. You got to pull back and reassess because nothing good comes out of it. and I, it took me a while to reconnect myself and find myself and cause I love doing races, but if I don't do them at my own pace, because again, I have other things that I to do besides, I'm not a pro athlete so
It's like, now that's the fun is gone. What the point?
Ecamm Live Recording on 2025-01-30 at 14.08.42: Oh, absolutely.
I think go at your own pace in your creative endeavor, in your life. And it is something you've exemplified in the fact that you're a doctor first, you're not a writer, you're not a marketer.
And most people think, oh, if you're an author, you're sitting in a cabin in the woods, with hot drinks, and, your typewriter, or your notebook, and you're writing, [00:23:00] and that's the romanticism of it.
Shawn Buttner: But
Ecamm Live Recording on 2025-01-30 at 14.08.42: going at your own pace, you're like, I need a different way in order to get this out into the world, which I just want to honor, And each step along the way, it's been, how do I get this process to work with me to accomplish the goal and the resilience and the puzzle solving and
Shawn Buttner: okay,
Ecamm Live Recording on 2025-01-30 at 14.08.42: there is a way to make this work the way that works for me. I just want to honor that. That's such an amazing thing
There IS No Wrong Way To Create Anything
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Ecamm Live Recording on 2025-01-30 at 14.08.42: So many of us creators need to remember that there's no right way to do anything.
And it's a very personal thing.
Dr. Luissa K: I highlight and honor that. I completely agree with you. You know how they say, don't run somebody else's race. Run your own race.
because
you don't know what they go through or what's in their mind, It's your self accomplishment.
It's you that should be happy. and I am a true believer in that.
Ecamm Live Recording on 2025-01-30 at 14.08.42: [00:24:00] same.
so you wrote this book,
Shawn Buttner: you
Ecamm Live Recording on 2025-01-30 at 14.08.42: poured your heart into it.
Shawn Buttner: It's
Ecamm Live Recording on 2025-01-30 at 14.08.42: very personal. You went from refugee. I'm sure that's part of it and trauma and coming out on the other side and dealing with mental health.
first off, how did that feel to finally have the book written and your idea and your message out in the world?
How It Feels To Finish Your Creative Work With A Full Time Job
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Dr. Luissa K: It
was very cathartic.it
was very hard when you write a memoir based on especially very traumatic events that has happened like it happened to me.
I had to build up some courage, to share it to the world because all. Survivors, we have to battle shame and disappoint, self disappointment and shame and struggles with self worth and ask ourselves, A, what will people think of me?
Or,
Shawn Buttner: why [00:25:00] didn't you just go out there and tell the world earlier? and,
Dr. Luissa K: it
was very hard. but I believe that through my life, people change. and so did I. And I realized that I can bring this out into the world to show people that everyone,
every human out there has this.
powerful desire to overcome. They have it in them. I had it in me. We just have to dig deep inside, find it, then take it out into the world and run with it. And don't let go until accomplished.
I remembered, back in about a year and a half ago, before the book hit the shelves,
I,
I
asked my husband, I said, I'm about to let this out, and this will change my life, right? And [00:26:00] how, it's coming out. I said, people may think, people may ask me, or people ask themselves, when they hear me speak, Who is she to talk about this?
Right?
And
My husband is a very funny man, but he has a sarcasm, like of the, like English comedians, they you said?
can always mute you.
hmm.I said, you got a point there.
Shawn Buttner: ha!
Dr. Luissa K: but seriously, it's, it was, it is a growth. You grow within when you take this on, when you choose to, to write. It is my life, my first 15 years in this country.
And,
what
it really says is We cannot change the past.
we can
let go of the past. Because in order for [00:27:00] us to transform and become a better version of our old self, is to let go of the past. I'm not saying forget about the past.
I'm saying let go of the past. Allow yourself to leave that shore and go there In that little boat, it's called life.
find your inner desire in your inner dream and choose to thrive in life, not only survive.
Ecamm Live Recording on 2025-01-30 at 14.08.42: what came to me is why you're talking about it, is the boat that pretends to be at dock never draws anchor. You're always going to be pulled towards shore.
You can't sail away until you let go of that weight. I love that. That's beautiful. Speaking of beauty,
The Most Beautiful and Surprising Result About Writing Your Book
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Ecamm Live Recording on 2025-01-30 at 14.08.42: In this whole process, what has been the most fun or most beautiful thing about writing your book, putting your humanity and your story into this memoir?
Dr. Luissa K: when [00:28:00] I get,
whether it's a phone call, a text message, an email, or, someone coming during my book signing events and say
that
was such a beautiful story and thank you for sharing because it makes a difference in my life.
And
I don't need to know the ripples that I make in someone else's life. if my book and my story and my message changes one person in a million,
that's enough for me.
Ecamm Live Recording on 2025-01-30 at 14.08.42: Wow.
Shawn Buttner: before we wrap up, real quick, how often, what's the ratio of people that tell you this really meant the world to me and this changed me for the better?
How Ofter You Get Positive vs Negative Feedback
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Ecamm Live Recording on 2025-01-30 at 14.08.42: have you found people to be generally more supportive than
not?
Yes.
Dr. Luissa K: if I would say
99 to 1
amazing support.
one of my friends, he's a retired general, in the Air [00:29:00] Force and,
he texted me and I actually kept his text to the day and he says, It amazes me the fact that I thought I knew you and then I read the book and I achieved another level of knowing you and that it actually gives me goosebumps to even say that, imagine how deep that is when someone says that I knew you were amazing. I know you were, accomplished woman. But then, you have to go through all this, like you said, come through the other side. And I never knew that. And it's a different level of knowing someone.
That really hit home.
The Ripple Effects Of Our Creative Work
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Ecamm Live Recording on 2025-01-30 at 14.08.42: I'm sure that wasn't an intended,
outcome of the work, but
it's very, Insightful thing to reflect on. You don't know how it's going to
impact
People, how it's going to ripple out and how it might ripple back in your life in [00:30:00] very meaningful ways.
Dr. Luissa K: we don't give ourselves enough credit because we don't think, we think we're just a pebble.
We are more than that. We are interconnected.
Ecamm Live Recording on 2025-01-30 at 14.08.42: Awesome.
Learn More About Dr. Luissa K.
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Shawn Buttner: Before
Ecamm Live Recording on 2025-01-30 at 14.08.42: we go, where can people find the book or find more about you?
Dr. Luissa K: my literary website, which is DR Louisa, L-U-I-S-S-A k.com.
if you go on my website, you can sign up for my newsletter. my book is, on all the venues,
and also I sell them privately. So if anyone wants to buy directly through me, then they can shoot me an email at, hello at drluisakay. com. And I'm more than happy to, to, send them a copy.
Ecamm Live Recording on 2025-01-30 at 14.08.42: I'll have.
some of those links in the show notes below. So if you didn't catch it because you're driving or working or whatnot,we got you just, check below. thank you so much.
Dr. Luissa K: Thank you, Shawn.
I hope.
that
your listeners can get a glimpse, like [00:31:00] a really, an unbiased glimpse of how it is to become an author while juggling a full time job in life.
Ecamm Live Recording on 2025-01-30 at 14.08.42: Hey, if you are loving this episode of Creators That Crush, as we're talking about productivity and content rhythm, and you're like, Hey, I really want to crush it more in my creative space. I want to let you know that I have a free five day email course that'll walk you through your performance on everything outside of the thing that you create.
Shawn Buttner: Go to creators that crush. com, provide your name and email, and I'll send you the free five day course where you get one email a day. starting with focusing on getting clear on your goals, your psychology, your energy, your productivity, and then people skills. People love this course. So sign up again at creators at crush.
com or check below in the show notes for the link.
