10-Week Testimony Writing Course (& Publishing Services)
God has written an incredible story with your life. Learn to tell that story in an organized, compelling, industry-excellent way. This 10-week course will equip you to do this well, launch you into writing on your own, and leave you with a published book in hand that you can share with the world.
In this course you will learn to:
You will also have access to:
✓ Over 60 minutes of instructional videos for review
✓ 12-page course worksheet
✓ Private coaching in a group setting
✓ 3 private 1:1 coaching sessions
✓ Knowing how to copyright your work
✓ Full publishing services
✓ Your very own paperback book & e-book for sale online
✓ 10 free author copies to give away
Course Schedule & Details
Meeting time: This group meets 1x a week on Tuesday evenings, 7-8:30PM. Join us in person or remotely on ZOOM.
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Dates: June 4th -August 13th
• June 4, 11, 18, 25
• July 9, 16, 23, 30
• August 6, 13
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Important Details: Learning is cumulative. Each session is unique and packed with information, activations and coaching you will need to succeed at writing your story. We ask for your consistent commitment.
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For participants adding on publishing services: While the course is 10 weeks, you will have 4 additional months post-course to write your manuscript on your own. After you submit your manuscript to our online portal and we've had time to review your work, you will be contacted to set up five additional 1:1 private coaching sessions for the purposes of editing, formatting and publishing your book.
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At the end of the publishing stage, your book will be available online for purchase as a paperback book or e-book and you will receive 10 free author copies to give to friends and family.
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Word Count CeilingTo participate in this discounted coaching and publishing track, we have set a word-count ceiling of 20,000 words per manuscript. This helps keep your price point within the $8.99-10.99 range, which secures your profit margin on printing costs, and it structures our publishing services' time of completion and cost to produce your book.
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Standard Publisher/Author AgreementWhile our publishing and author coaching services are priced at roughly $0.10 per word, our publishing agreement with you will determine our financial agreement for sales made after your book launch. We offer a standard 30/70 split, with the author keeping 70% of all sales made online in our regular distribution channels. In our agreement, we establish a fixed $ price per book purchased by a major distributor in the case that your book options for a bigger distribution channel. We take care of working with the distributor, printing your book for this major sale, and agree to pay you within 30-60 days after monies are received from this deal. We do not collect money made from sales that you as an author make from your author copies since you are purchasing those copies from us at cost.
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Book Format/Design DecisionsWhat the publisher decides: Inside layout, font, and book size (typically 5'x8') Back cover material Back cover layout Pricing and ISBN What we determine together: Book title and subtitle Front cover design
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Copyright OwnershipWe will walk you through how to copyright your book so that you will be the owner of your copyright for life. Copyrighting is done through the USA Copyright webpage for a cost of $65-80, which you will pay directly to their agency. ​ Our publishing agreement establishes that you, the owner of your copyright, are giving us the license to publish your book. There is never a copyright ownership transfer between publisher & author.
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Translations, Audiobooks, Additional CoachingWhile we offer services in several languages as part of our set fee, you will have an option to pay for additional translations of your book to be produced (Typically priced at $.05 per word as an add-on). Additional add-on services include producing an audiobook, and booking additional 1:1 coaching hours to develop your manuscript. While every writer is different, we are confident that the resources and e-course we've provided you along with your 5 built-in 1:1 sessions are sufficient to get you to the publishing finish line with a book you love.
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Payment ScheduleAfter we've reviewed you intake form, you will be contacted to set up your first 1:1 coaching meeting and make your first down payment of $250 (students) or $500 (all others.) You will also receive access to our 3-part Testimony Writing Course e-course to get started structuring & writing your story. You will be set up on an automatic payment plan of $250 per month for 8 months when you make your down payment. Payment plans kick in the 2nd month.
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Drop-outs & RefundsWe've set up our billing in such a way as to give you an 'out' should you want one after the first milestone. In the first month, you will receive access to our Testimony Writing Course e-course along with resources and your first 1:1 author coaching session. Should you decide in this first month that moving forward with writing your book is just not for you, you will have the option to stop where you are. Your down payment will not be refunded to you, but you also will not be billed in our monthly payment plan afterward. However, once you make the decision to move forward with your book after the first month and a payment plan has been initiated for you, there will be no refunds for drop-outs, missed sessions, delays or other such events. Paying writers have priority in our coaching schedule and inbox, so if you decide not to take advantage of the 9 months of intensive attention we've allotted to give you, you will drop to the 'back of the line', so-to-speak, and authors hitting their milestones and tasks will take priority. We encourage you to take this writing & publishing process seriously! It's possible to complete the entire program in 3-5 months, but we've added in a big cushion for new writers because we know that making decisions on your manuscript can take much time.
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Timeline ManagementThis author track is set to run 6-9 months with milestones & deadlines along the way. We expect any willing writer to succeed within these parameter, but should you get stuck, stop moving forward, or decide to postpone your finish line, be advised that your automatic payments will continue to be billed and authors putting forth work will be given priority. Authors who start and stop and do not meet milestones, will not be given top priority in our schedule beyond the 9 month mark. We believe in the structure and quality of our Testimony Campaign author track and don't foresee any writer falling behind who is persistent, passionate, and responsibly prioritizing tasks. This fine print section is here to address those writers who decide to start/stop along the way.
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Author CoachingYour author coach for 2024 is Delfina Geus. You have the option to meet in person 1:1 in Redding, CA or via ZOOM if you are living abroad.