Remi Owadokun: Before you write a book, determine what success means to you

Remi Owadokun is a Certified Health Coach, Life Coach and Founder of the Total Makeover Program. The Total Makeover Program is a lifestyle brand dedicated to equipping individuals to live healthy, happy and better lives.

She has written not just one, but four bestsellers. In this interview with SLA, she shares her experience as a best selling author.

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 What made you decide to write a book? 

 Well, I was indecisive. I was not sure anyone really wanted to read my story. In fact, I felt it was too ordinary and way too familiar but I had gotten a few requests from people who were interested in reading my book if I wrote it and so I started writing and stopped in chapter 3 or 4.

I had never written a book and wasn’t sure what I was I doing. My mentor found out about my book and he served as an accountability partner until it was completed.

I was not thinking of the bestseller status at all at the time, just writing the book and holding it in my hand was such a big deal that I did not realize that they were much bigger things to aspire to.

So, once I published my hard copy, I put up a new goal. I wanted it to be a bestseller.

[bctt tweet=”That your book is an Amazon bestseller does not necessarily mean that your book is a good book. It – @remiowadokun” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”]

As a 4 time best selling author,  how did you feel when your books achieved bestseller status? 

The first time was a very huge deal for me as I held best-seller status for about a week. On Amazon, bestsellers are announced on an hourly basis.

The highest number of downloads made per hour determines who is a bestseller. So for me to have this for almost a week was massive.

I had set a high standard for myself, I couldn’t go below my first book. If the first book became a bestseller, all my books would be so and that determined how I approached the entire process.

How has this benefited your brand and business?

I would say for my brand, it gives a nice ring to it when I say I have 4 best selling books. It has also helped position myself as a Thought Leader on the topics I have written about.

When I get invited to speak or participate in a panel, the audience is more willing to listen, and the organizers are more open to inviting me on their platforms.

Can you share some tips on how intending authors can make their books attain Bestseller status?

That your book is an Amazon bestseller does not necessarily mean that your book is a good book. It just means that people bought or downloaded the book on Amazon.

It doesn’t even mean that people read it. So I would implore that you invest the time to put out very good work, do your research and put your heart in whatever you are doing.

Build a community of people who love your work and be consistent in giving value.

If you don’t want to end up with boxes of books in storage, it is important that people are hungry for your book even before you decide to put it out.

So share, share and share until they can’t wait for you to write a book they can buy and read.

[bctt tweet=”Find your authentic self and be true to it – @remiowadokun” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”]

What would you say are the general worries of potential authors and how can they scale these hurdles as they attempt to write their own books?

 Everyone is different and so everyone has different brands of fear, so it is hard to call it one thing. It might be the fear that no one will buy the book, that no one will read it, that people will question your work, that people from your past might see it, that it might be a failure, that it might be a success.

It could be anything. My recommendations would be to pass the thoughts through the lenses of critical thinking.

Determine why you want to write the book and what success in that area means to you. For some people, they just want to complete a writing project, not necessarily put it out.

For some people, it is to get it into the hands of people without profit attached, for some they want to become famous or make money. So determine your why and let that guide your process, strategy.

When it comes to writing, no one really puts their best works at first, so don’t wait for it to feel perfect, even if it feels so in a few years you will look back and wonder who wrote it.

Who are your favorite authors?

Paulo Coelho, he is a remarkable storyteller and I love storytelling. Chimamanda Adichie is also a great storyteller and I love her style of writing.

Where do you see your work in the coming years?

I see my work developing into other expressions of art like plays, films, cartoons etc.

Final words for young African women in business and career

Find your authentic self and be true to it.

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