Gabriella Goddard is the founder of Goddard International Ltd., innovators in personal development Gabriella works as an Executive Coach and Speaker. Her clients include senior executives in FTSE100 companies, TV presenters, authors, journalists and entrepreneurs. She is regularly featured in the media including International Herald Tribune, Weight Watchers Magazine, The Times, The Guardian, The Daily Mail, BBC Online and on BBC Radio, Radio 5 Live and Discovery Health channel.

Originally from New Zealand, Gabriella enjoyed an extensive career in international marketing and branding before making the “gulp!” decision to set up her own business. Gabriella lives a free-spirited life with bases in London, New York and Spain. www.gulptime.com

Welcome to Beyond the Books, Gabriella. Can you tell us whether you are published for the first time or multi-published? Can you give us the title of your book?

Hi there. I’m the author of an exciting new self-help book called “Gulp!: The 7 Day Crash Course to Master Fear and Break Through Any Challenge” which has just been published by Bantam Dell in the US. This is my first book and I hope it’ll be the first of many!

What was the name of your very first book regardless of whether it was published or not and, if not published, why?

”Gulp!” is actually the first book I’ve ever written which was why it was such a big to get it finished! But more about that in a moment.

For your first published book, how many rejections did you go through before you either found a mainstream publisher, self-published it, or paid a vanity press to publish it?

I spent a year pitching my book idea to various publishers. But prior to even doing that, I spent six months working with a fabulous Book Coach, Julia McCutchen, who helped me hone my proposal writing and helped me to believe that I could actually string some coherent sentences together. I pitched my newly honed proposal to five mainstream publishers and I was overjoyed when two of them called me in for a meeting. They liked my ideas, but felt they weren’t quite “strong enough” to be commissioned. But it was a huge confidence boost and I realized that this was serious now, and I to sign with an agent. So I pitched my proposal to an agent and she took me on immediately. Within two months I had a book deal signed with Penguin UK. Bantam Dell then purchased the US rights for Gulp! less than a year later. So it’s all been a bit of a whirlwind.

How did the rejections make you feel and what did you do to overcome the blows?

On one hand, receiving the rejection letters was really hard. But on the other hand, they really served to motivate me to keep on trying. I always knew in my heart that my book would be published so I just kept chipping away. And when my spirits dipped, that was when the organic dark chocolate came out.

All I can say is that if you want to see your book published, you should never give up trying. Listen to the feedback you get and take it on board. Don’t be too disappointed by the rejection letters. Expect to get some, and then turn them into paper airplanes when they arrive.

When your first book was published, who published it and why did you choose them?

“Gulp!” was first published in the UK by Penguin in May 2006. When Penguin read my proposal, they instantly “got it,” so when they made me a really good offer I jumped at it straight away.

Then, when the contract arrived, it was one of the scariest moments of my life. After all that dreaming, there in right in front of me on the kitchen table was a contract. Now all I had to do was write 60,000 words – and make ‘em good ones. It was a real moment and it was this experience which motivated me to explore fear in such detail when I was writing Day 2 of “Gulp!” I tried all the techniques out on myself first – and thankfully they worked.

How did it make you feel to become published for the first time and how did you celebrate?

It was an amazing feeling to be published for the first time. I raced up to the book store with my camera and was like a proud mom taking photos of “Gulp!” sitting on the bookshelf. I organized a launch party at Penguin’s penthouse suite in London, and invited all the people that had been important supporters on my writer’s journey. And while we sipped champagne on the balcony overlooking the River Thames, we were blessed with the most beautiful sunset. A sight to be treasured forever.

What was the first thing you did as for as promotion when you were published for the first time?

The first thing I did to promote Gulp! was to place adverts in a couple of magazines targeting people interested in personal growth. Big mistake. They looked fantastic – but didn’t work very well. I also gave a number of talks and emailed everyone on my contact list about it.

Through trial and error, I’ve discovered that the book marketing methods that suit me the best are the online ones – virtual book tours, blogs, podcasts,online radio and video clips.

You have to find out what works for you. And that will take time – and expect to make mistakes along the way.

If you had to do it over again, would you have chosen another route to be published?

As a first time author, being published by a big name publishing house has been a real privilege. And I’m now starting to write my second book which I’ll be pitching to publishers sometime over the next six months.

My biggest realization about the world of publishing is that it takes a heck of a long time to get a finished book on the shelf. It’s all a little too slow for my Aries creative drive. That’s why I’ve also gone down the route of self-publishing three personal growth audio books which are now available internationally. I’ll also be releasing some eBooks on Amazon Kindle later this year.

So a blend of publishing routes is what works for me. And this has been incredibly stimulating from a creative perspective, because writing for the audio medium is quite different from writing for the printed medium.

Have you been published since then and how have you grown as an author?

Well, I’m working on my next book now, and boy oh boy is it a heck of a lot easier. I’ve learnt so much about being an author over the past two years. In “Gulp!” I talk about the importance of sparking your imagination, trusting your instinct and planning your way forward. And this is how I’m approaching my next book. With this framework, it feels natural and easy.

The other big wake up call has been that as an author, your work doesn’t stop once your manuscript has been submitted. A large chunk of your role is to market and sell your book as well. This takes time, energy and financial investment, and I’m a lot more realistic about the commitment involved in making this happen.

Looking back since the early days when you were trying to get published, what do you think you could have done differently to speed things up? What kind of mistakes could you have avoided?

There are only two things that I would change. Firstly, I would have spent more time just writing. It takes a while to find “your voice” so the more practice you get, the faster the process. The second thing is that I would have been a lot clearer about the “hook” of my book. I wanted Gulp! to be a general book that could help people face ANY challenge. But the problem with that is it’s too broad for the media. They need something specific to really hook on to. It’s taken me a while to translate the essence of Gulp! into a singular marketing message – which is to “Give Up Living Passively!” Ironically, with the recession looming this is an ideal message for the tough times ahead.

What has been the biggest accomplishment you have achieved since becoming published?

One of the moments that I’ve cherished the most so far this year was seeing “Gulp!” on the bookshelf next to Deepak Chopra’s latest book in one of New York’s biggest Borders. After conjuring up that vision well over three years ago, it was amazing to see my dream crystallize. It just goes to show that what may seem impossible at first, can be possible.

If you could have chosen another profession, what would that profession be?

To be honest, I’m 100% happy with being a writer. I also speak at conferences, run my online personal development business and coach senior Executives. So I guess you could say I’m multi-professional.

Would you give up being an author for that profession or have you combined the best of both worlds?

I definitely think I’ve combined the best of both worlds. The only thing missing now is my talk dark handsome man and my house by the sea.

How do you see yourself in ten years?

In ten years time I’d like to have published a number of books, some of them novels in different genres (eg. romance, suspense). I’d love to have written a song that has been recorded. And I’d also like to have written the story line for a documentary or film.

But most of all, I hope that I’ll still be happy doing what I’m doing, taking good care of my health and really enjoying life to the fullest.

Because that’s what’s most important.

Any final words for writers who dream of being published one day?

My first piece of advice is to never give up. I know it sounds clichéd, but you never know when your luck will turn.

My second piece of advice comes from Day 6 of “Gulp!” which is to “focus and flow.” Be very focused about what you’re doing. Set deadlines and proposal submission targets. Develop the writing disciplines of a published author. And then flow with it and watch what happens.

And my third piece of advice is to stay inspired. Writing is a creative process so do things that spark your imagination, like watching a movie, or going for a walk in the countryside or taking a painting class. Just one spark could change your manuscript forever.

And if you need a little inspirational lift right now, you can visit YouTube to see the official book trailer for “Gulp!” (so just turn the speakers on, sit back and enjoy!)

Thanks for inviting me to be a guest on your blog. And anyone who wants to commit to writing their book can come and join the One Big Gulp! Campaign – it’s free and you get a downloadable Workbook, plus daily emails for 30 days, regular podcasts and chances to win free copies of Gulp! and coaching sessions with me. Join today at www.gulptime.com