A Brit Writers Exclusive Interview – Mindy Gibbins-Klein

Mindy Gibbins-Klein established The Book Midwife® in 2001 so that she could fulfil her lifelong dream to provide personal and professional development services, and she has helped over 500 people to achieve their goals in writing their own books, articles and whitepapers quicker.
Publisher and founder of Ecademy Press, Mindy is the UK’s leading authority on writing and co-operative publishing, and passionately believes that every book deserves to be written and published, but only if it is the best book it can be.

Brit Writers spoke to Mindy…

Who is the wonderful Mindy Gibbins-Klein?
I’m just someone who wants to encourage people to share their wisdom and their story with the world! I love seeing people express themselves through writing, and help others in the process. I am also a dedicated entrepreneur who believes that taking risks always pays off, and that there is no glory in hiding your light under a bushel.

What inspired you to set up The Book Midwife?
I was running a marketing consultancy with an emphasis on books, since my first book was in print and I was learning the hard way about how to promote and sell books! I received a client’s book for promotion that made me very sad because there were so many things wrong with it and I knew he would never be willing to make all the changes as it would basically have meant starting over! I thought it would have been better if I had been involved from the planning stage and I could have helped the author make it a better book and saved him about a year. So I changed the emphasis of the company to one of strategising, supporting and encouraging authors all the way from initial idea to finished manuscript – to help them write great books fast.

As a successful author yourself, what advice would you give to new writers?
Don’t try to do it all yourself! We all have skills and talents, and it is important to spend as much time as possible on those, to make an even greater contribution to the world. When I see authors struggling and wasting time on things like multiple rewrites, trying to do their own editing, ISBNs, printing issues and other tasks that are easy to outsource, it makes me sad because that’s all time they could and should be spending writing more great material.
I would also like to tell every aspiring author not to give away their power! Don’t let someone else tell that your book is not worth writing or publishing! We tend to look externally for validation from others, that our writing is worthy and ‘good enough’. Trust yourself and your own instincts more.

How important are initiatives such as Brit Writers and why did you decide to become a Sponsor of the Brit Writers’ Awards 2012?
Brit Writers and other initiatives that encourage people to write and express themselves are absolutely essential. Writing and self-expression have been proven to increase feelings of self-worth in people, and that is something that has suffered in our society recently, with the economic challenges, lack of employment opportunities and general negativity and fear.
I see a lot of synergy between the work of Brit Writers and my two companies, so I just had to get involved and support the programme. We all share the same goal: to encourage people to write from the heart and get their message out into the world.

Is it true that you’ll be publishing the winner of the Non Fiction category? And what type of writer would be your ideal winner?
Yes! We are very excited about this. Most of our authors at The Book Midwife and Ecademy Press write and publish non-fiction, and this is the area that we are known for. The ideal winner will have a deep knowledge of and love for his/her subject, and that will be evident in the writing. The book will add value to people’s lives and it will be one that we will get behind 100%. Oh, and it will help if the winner is ready, willing and able to grasp all the promotional opportunities with both hands!

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