Fairy Godmother Resources
Helpful Free Resources
Fairy Godmother Manifesto
"If you could wave your magic wand and fix one problem for your audience, what would it be?"
What started as a question in my coaching course unexpectedly turned into a fun way to describe my mission. The answer I discovered might be yours as well.
Five Steps to Share Hope from Your Story
If you want to encourage and support others with the lessons you learned in a difficult situation, this is the place to start.
These are the first steps every woman needs to take in order to tell her story, grow, and heal. All my programs begin here.
Unraveling the Golden Thread in Your Story
Identify Your Niche and Connect with Your Audience
The experts agree that it's important to understand your audience and know your niche. For multi-passionate women trying to sort complex life stories into something usable, it can be more complex than we think.
Creating Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo in Your Life
Hope for Overwhelm, Frustration, Disappointment, and Confusion
When life doesn't make sense, every new "answer" can turn into another dead end before you realized it. Let's step back and look from a different perspective. So some, the process is magical.
Coaching, Courses & Programs
As you you consider working with me, please know. . .
I am not a licensed medical or mental health professional. I am a life coach and editor with a background in holistic healthcare. What I offer is for educational purposes only. Only you and your team of licensed professionals can make informed decisions for your care.
While I’m happy to assist any woman who has a story they want to tell, with the clients who continually find me, it seems I specialize in women who have walked through hell and survived. I teach them to reconnect with their spirituality, dreams, and desires to build the life they’ve always longed for, which includes telling their story, but my process is not a substitute for appropriate medical or mental healthcare.
I am aware survivors have triggers, fragile emotions, and need a compassionate ear. I am a survivor too. I intimately understand the process involved in healing, recovery, and moving forward to create a healthy life. I’m also keenly aware some women rush to use public writing as a substitute for therapy. I do not and will not support that action.
I approach every client as someone has begun to rebuild their life. I support them as they create a simple plan and realistic steps to keep moving forward. That usually involves taking the wisdom they learned and sharing it in a way that will help others who are where they were.
Every client who is a trauma survivor needs to be far enough along in their healing journey to recognize triggers, manage PTSD, and be willing and able to do the work; or actively in therapy with a licensed professional to handle unexpected emotions and memories that may arise. I reserve the right to terminate participation in any coaching session or program where I feel uncomfortable with a client's emotional state or the direction they wish to tell their story.
On My Bookshelves
As a writer and editor, I possess a deep love of books. And I have the bookshelves to prove it. {insert giggles}
The titles listed below are ones that have been pivotal in my story. Some of them are new reads and others I haven't looked at in years. I've tried to pick the most beneficial and basic, but it's so hard to choose.
I'm a fan of buying used and local or grabbing them at the library. If you can't find them that way, each book cover in this section takes you to Amazon.com. I am an Amazon affiliate and earn a small commission for every qualifying purchase you make.
Nonfiction Writing Skills
I learned many of my writing skills by spending six weeks in ninth grade diagramming sentences for fun. As an editor, I began to notice patterns in my authors that taught me more than any nonfiction writing manual I've seen so far. Most of my other skills came from trial and error. That said, these have been influential.
During lunchtime conversation at a writer's conference in 2001, Roger Palms encouraged me to keep publishing. Then I read his book. It inspired me to push on and become the writer and coach I am today. Only available on Kindle and used.
If you want a crash course in developmental editing, this is your resource. It's a dry read but has a bunch of good information.
I should put this under the recovery section, but it's a solid writing resource. It helps you fully understand the behaviors associated with an emotion and what it looks like in print.
Again, a great recovery resource and highly recommended as you tell your story.
Editorial Secrets
by Janel Guevara
Not Yet Published
I took everything I learned as a magazine editor and put it into a practical, easy to use format. I had intended to finish it in 2021, but Keep My Children Together (See Below) bumped the publication date out to 2023.
Fiction Writing & Storytelling Skills
Learning fiction based writing principles has helped me as a nonfiction storyteller.
This is meant to be a guide to tell your story in a stand-up club setting. Thankfully the principles on how to uncover and use the events in you life are timeless.
Every great story has certain elements and patterns. This is the cookbook to help you write yours.
Brutally honest and painfully accurate. Learn what makes editors cringe so you can remove those mistakes from your story.
I haven't been able to fully harness the power of his system, but his thoughts on writing and publication are ones I shared as a nonfiction editor.
They show you how to use the snowflake method to craft a story.
Recovery Resources
When I think of pivotal resources in my trauma recovery journey, the principles and advice these books offer have been most influential.
Trauma is complicated and comes in so many shapes and sizes. Best practical, normal human, guide I've seen.
Uncovering how trauma is pass from generation to generation is fascinating. Thankfully, we can break the cycle.
Our bodies know even if our minds refuse to believe. The research behind new trauma recovery.
For those of us who have been in the church, it can be hard to reconcile the love of God with the unnecessary pain we've felt. This a good first step towards spiritual healing.
While I'm not motherless myself, it is a part of my family story. I feel the loss accutely. This has been a pivotal book for dear ones in my life.
Other Helpful Titles
I could list hundreds of books.
I have been a personality test junkie for more than thirty years. Despite taking all the tests and looks at so many types, I never fit anywhere until I discovered the enneagram. Out of all the enneagram books I've read, this has the best "in your head" descriptions I've seen.
The things that make us happy don't always make us happy. Gretchen provides practical conclusions about happiness and brings a fresh approach on how to find it.
As a follow up to her book The Happiness Project, I loved how it was the beautiful next step. Routines help us find happiness in ways we don't expect.
Using the story of Queen Esther, Gina offers us the keys to the next step in life. It makes sense of our pain and helps us redeem it.
My first book as a publisher!
Helping Rosa share her grandmother's story has been an honor and privilege. It was a huge undertaking, but well worth it.
Tools & Resources I Use for My Business
When you're just starting out, it's hard to know what you need or who to trust. I've been building and maintaining website and an online presence since 1998. These are my favorite resources. I use them personally. They are or have been critical to what I do.
Each link opens in a new window. I earn a varying commission if you choose to sign up.
Kajabi
Hands down, Kajabi is the simplest online platform I have ever used. I have been building websites since 1997 and worked with a bit of everything. I got tired of having one piece of my site here, another there, and juggling a third somewhere else. With integrated email, automations, ecommerce, digital product hosting, built in coaching tools, and ease of use, I'm a #kajabihero for life. Learn more and get a special deal → here.
Online Genius Legal Templates
If you plan to do anything online, you need to protect yourself legally. Bobby Klinck is not your average Harvard Law grad. He's down to earth and offers legal and marketing insight in words normal people understand. Purchasing his Online Genius Template Library has given me so much peace of mind. Bobby provides his DIY Privacy Policy for free, but make sure you check out his other templates too. Grab them → here.
Zoom
As a virtual coach and educator, having easy to use video conferencing is a must. I started using Zoom long before COVID made it cool. The ability to record meetings and have multiple clients enrolled in group programs makes the pro version a must. Get 30% off a yearly subscription if you use my affiliate link. Sign up → here.
Hope*Writers
While my specialty is nonfiction developmental editing and one-on-one author coaching, Hope*Writers is a community dedicated to supporting authors on their publishing journey. They have a ton of resources to walk new writers through the basics of how to break into writing for publication. I've been a member since the beginning and learned so much from the other editors and publishers. Join or sign up for their waiting list → here.
Transformation Academy Coaching Certification Courses
If you plan to help others living through difficult situations, I strongly recommend enrolling in a coaching program to make sure you understand the appropriate way to support your audience.
I've been coaching since 1994 when I finished my naturopathic degree. We didn't call it coaching back then, but it's what I did. When life coaching appeared on the scene in 2001, I knew the tools it offered were the missing pieces I wanted as a health consultant. At the time, there were no formal courses so I learned everything I could by reading enough books to get a masters degree in counseling.
In 2020, I decided to look for a life coaching program with continuing education credits to become officially certified as a coach. My search led me to Transformation Academy. From the beginning, I've been impressed with TA's courses and material. I already had a good grasp of the basics, but I began to understand the principles with so much more depth as I worked through their simple, step-by-step teaching style. They dropped some gems I had missed and offered me new tools to support my clients.
Please note that this material is designed to teach coaching to and for neurotypical people. If your clients are neurodivergent, the information can be applicable, but you'll need to supplement your program with additional resources specifically designed for your neurodivergent audience.
I recommend them to every client interested in coaching or course creation. Learn more about their Master Life Coach Certification Program → here. Use the coupon code master12786 to get 90% off the Master Life Coach Certification!
