I AM A FULL-TIME VOLUNTEER
Matt Bird founder of PublishU, talks with Gill Taggart, a full-time volunteer and author of As Told By.
Matt: Hello Gill, I love the different colours you dye your hair. What colour are you today?
Gill: Today I am pink, fading pink - I’ll be purple again soon!
Matt: So tell us about you and what you do?
Gill: I describe myself as a full-time volunteer across several charities.
Matt: What first inspired you to write a book?
Gill: I tried to write books when I was at school; I was 9 or 10 years old. I filled a whole exercise book with one story. I gave it to my teacher and sadly I never saw it again.
Matt: Recently you’ve written another book, please tell us about it.
Gill: As Told By is a collection of Bible stories as told by the characters in the story. So rather than writing about Abraham, I’ve written as if I were Abraham. How might he have felt having a miracle child and becoming a father in his 90s?
Matt: What inspired you to write in this way?
Gill: I was training to be a ‘local preacher’ and was introduced to
narrative storytelling, where you put yourself in the story. So you tell the prodigal son's story as the father or son.
Matt: You mentioned being a ‘local preacher’ - what does that mean?
Gill: It’s what the Methodist Church calls volunteers who have been trained (but not ordained) to lead worship services and give sermons.
Matt: This is your second book. What was your first book about?
Gill: My first book is called Restored, Recycled, Remade. Many things get in the way and stop us from seeing God, and I wrote about some of them.
Matt: You have become a serial author!
Gill: A friend took the PublishU ‘Writing My Book’ course and wrote about it on Facebook. I saw it and signed up!
Matt: How did the course help you?
Gill: The course helped me with structure by providing a book outline template. Setting goals and checking in weekly with you and my course cohort focuses on you. You do it if you say I will write 5,000 words this week. Otherwise, you say you’ll do it sometime, which never happens. www.PublishU.com
PLATFORM
Matt: You probably remember me saying once you’ve done the ‘Writing My Book’ course once, you have all the tools and techniques to go on and write as many books as you wish to! So I wondered if you have a third book on the way?
Gill: Actually, I have!
Matt: Oh my goodness! I didn’t expect you to say yes, but I am delighted! So, without giving too much away, what’s it about?
Gill: I thought I would look at a children’s book. I shouldn’t have said that because now it’s out there, and I will have to do it! It’s called Bible Tales, which are Bible stories told through the perspective of the animals involved.
Matt: You talk a lot about faith, and I’ve never asked this question on a PublishU podcast before, but what does Jesus mean to you?
Gill: He is a friend. I hate religion, which is just man-made rules and church doctrines: You must do this, you must do that. Jesus came and lived among people, talked to them, and made friends. He ate and drank with tax collectors and sinners. He took on the religious leaders. God sent his son, not a committee or a thesis from heaven. He wants us all to be in a relationship with God and know how much God loves each one of us.
Matt: Thank you for expressing your
EVERYONE HAS A BOOK IN THEM
• Do you dream of writing a book one day?
• Are you keen to write a book but uncertain where to start?
• Have you started writing a book but found yourself stuck?
I encourage you to consider joining a ‘Writing My Book’ online course. Through it, you will be coached through a proven step-by-step process for writing your book in 100 days.
Do you have a voice inside your head whispering or shouting that you can’t write a book? That voice may say, “Who do you think you are?” “What have I got to say that has not been said?” and “You haven’t got enough content to fill a book?”. The truth is that you are worth more than you think and can achieve more than you can imagine, even writing a book within 100 days.
A recent graduate of the ‘Writing My Book’ course said, “I never thought I would write a book, let alone in 100 days. Now I have. I’m asking what else I have told myself that I cannot do that I actually can.” Writing a book within 100 days will smash the glass ceiling of what you believe you can achieve and open new opportunities and possibilities for your life and work.
There are three possible next steps…
• Find out more about the ‘Writing My Book’ course and sign up for one that suits your schedule. CLICK HERE
• Request a complimentary ‘Exploration Call’ with book coach Matt Bird to discuss writing and publishing your book. CLICK HERE
• Get your free copy of the ‘My Book Idea’ workbook to help you generate, evaluate and choose the idea for your book. CLICK HERE
I very much look forward to the possibility of being your book coach!
Matt Bird is the CEO of PublishU; he is a prolific author who has written 20 books, won a Book of the Year prize and writes for The Times newspaper. He is a professional speaker who has spoken in 50 countries to more than a million people,
He was placed in remedial English classes at school and graduated believing he was stupid because that is what most of his teachers told him. Later, he discovered he had dyslexia; he has gone on to value his dyslexia as a gift. He specialises in helping others overcome obstacles to become authors and speakers.