Angela Vassallo (00:02.968)
Hello and welcome to the podcast, Launch Your Second Act. I have a fabulous guest on here today and her name is Susan Dean from Dean Publishing. And over a decade ago, Susan founded Dean Publishing and she swiftly established it as a trusted branch leading entrepreneurs, speakers and coaches. Her unwavering commitment to nurturing talent has resulted in the publication of over 300 authors.
and stories enriching. As the driving force behind Dean Publishing, Susan proudly operates it as a female led family owned business with her daughters, Chloe and Monique, who also play an integral role in its success. Love that, love female founders. And with over 25 years of experience as an entrepreneur, coach, workshop facilitator, and now publisher, Susan serves as a guiding light, supporting and encouraging individuals to share their stories and knowledge with the world.
And Susan will also help you to not only write, but also how to produce, publish and promote your book so your business will prosper. And she also helps you to kick that self doubt, the imposter syndrome, the time constraints and anything else that might be holding you back to actually start writing this book and turn that dream into reality. So welcome Susan, it's so fabulous to have you on the show.
Angela Vassallo (01:28.056)
Oh, fantastic. And I know I've been wanting to interview you for a while because, you know, I'm also an author and I wrote my book in 2016, The Second Wives Guide. And, you know, that book, I did quite well and promoted that and went overseas and went on all the morning shows and that type of thing. And I know that, you know, when you think about writing a book, I always thought that I, you know, didn't have...
Susan Dean (01:28.492)
So great to be here, Angela.
Angela Vassallo (01:51.128)
I didn't think I could write a book. I didn't do that great at school. I didn't believe that I was good at English, but these hold them back. And I know that you've been able to create this business and this system that helps so many people bring this idea of writing a book into reality. So it's just so awesome to have you here. So Susan, just let me ask you firstly, I know that you're a woman in her second act and you've got your business, Dean Publishing. Tell me a little bit about how that started for you.
Susan Dean (02:26.252)
Well, I like you wasn't that great at school. I think I was there for the fun. And I have a great story around how one of the teachers wrote a couple of topics on the board. And I think it was when the alien landed in your backyard and one of them was called drugs at school. And I went, okay, I'm gonna pick that one. And I went and studied and my dad was in the army. So he had this big book all about the different.
Angela Vassallo (02:26.776)
Yeah.
Angela Vassallo (02:40.792)
Mmm.
Susan Dean (02:54.636)
types of drugs and I studied it and you know and it wasn't something always that I was interested in in doing homework I was too busy you know catching up with friends but I found this passion and the book was the story was was a fiction it was a story that wasn't true but it was too I wanted to sort of share a message and so it was this story of these three girls and went on to kind of have that you know when you have a moral to the story and a learning anyway.
Angela Vassallo (03:16.664)
Yes.
Angela Vassallo (03:21.496)
Oh!
Susan Dean (03:22.956)
Long story short, I got expelled because the teacher thought I was on drugs and my English teacher did not connect with me. I know crazy, right? And you know, at the time, you know, I was one of these ones that would have the odd normal cigarette and I don't know, you know, in the second act, anyone listening might know that you used to have.
Angela Vassallo (03:26.36)
Yes.
Angela Vassallo (03:35.704)
Yeah.
Angela Vassallo (03:40.216)
Yes.
Angela Vassallo (03:47.)
Oh, sir.
Susan Dean (03:47.724)
little lucky cigarette where you'd lift up and there'd be a number on the inside of the packet and you'd turn your cigarette upside down. Anyway, funny enough they were like pulling that apart thinking I'm on drugs and so for me it was like gosh what I was passionate about kind of got really pushed aside very quickly because this teacher did not like me she thought that I was into drugs and I wasn't and it was just the research and the writing so I kind of put that aside for a while and
Angela Vassallo (04:15.992)
Mm -hmm.
Susan Dean (04:16.46)
I ended up going through as a youth worker and again, I would tell a story and those stories would make a difference. You know, it would be the My Friend John stories, you know, oh, do you think I could do that? And they would get their own inspiration from me sharing those stories. And the transition sort of just kept going. And I was, I started in life coaching and worked with Dr. John Gray, who wrote the book Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus, a lot of.
Angela Vassallo (04:37.752)
Fabulous book, yep.
Angela Vassallo (04:42.584)
Yes.
Susan Dean (04:45.676)
fabulous book and an amazing guy and and basically from there it kind of went well he shared story and knowledge you know I would share story and knowledge how do I take everything that I love doing which is helping people you know get their message out there to the masses make a difference and combine it to give people that passion and that that purpose like when we find that passion and purpose it lights us up.
Angela Vassallo (04:53.688)
Mm -hmm.
Angela Vassallo (05:11.352)
Yeah.
Susan Dean (05:14.028)
We don't want to do anything else because we're so passionate about it. And so I want to be able to help people easily share their message, their knowledge. We all have knowledge. We all have a story. And our books can not only change lives, they can save lives. So my, why my passion, my second act is being able to bring all that together to help other amazing people share their stories and message.
Angela Vassallo (05:18.072)
We all do, yep.
Angela Vassallo (05:25.784)
Yeah.
Angela Vassallo (05:35.64)
Oh, that's great. Yeah. And you know what? I think you do such a great job with that because there's so many authors that you have been able to help them publish their books. I've seen so many of the books and they're doing so well. So, you know, it's a really big pat on the back to you for the business that you've built and, you know, and how many people you've helped be able to write that book. Because like I said, I really believe that everybody has a book inside them. Everybody has a certain amount of knowledge and expertise and skills that they can share their message.
and it can impact a lot of people's lives, but it is something where people have that limiting belief that, you know, that they don't know if they can actually write it. So do you, what is one of the tips that you could give someone just to begin? Like just to think about what would be the first step if I was to say to someone, because I know when I talk to women who are in their second act, part of what they, some of the women will say to me, I would love to write a book, but I have no idea where to start.
Susan Dean (06:06.124)
Me too.
Angela Vassallo (06:35.192)
And I know that that's part of your system that you've created, your stress -free book system, which is a simple process and frameworks for anybody who decides to write a book to be able to help them bring that to life. So tell me a little bit about that book and maybe some tips for somebody when they're just really in the early days, but would love to think that this could be a dream and a reality for them.
Angela Vassallo (07:06.264)
Hmm.
Susan Dean (07:07.084)
Absolutely. I always say, you know, there's there's so many people that say they want to write a book, but there's only about three percent that actually get out there and kudos to you. You're one of those that actually got out there. Yeah. And and look, don't get me wrong. There's a little bit more as starting to grow in this in the self publishing. But people people get stopped because they want to do a good job. But there's so many moving parts to a
Angela Vassallo (07:12.184)
So it's, yeah, it's that little, is it? 3%.
Angela Vassallo (07:22.392)
Yep.
Susan Dean (07:35.916)
to a book. It's not just writing it. It's about having someone else help make that book amazing because the author has the knowledge. It doesn't matter whether you're in business, whether it's learned knowledge because you've become an expert in a particular area or whether you're just someone that's got a passion. Maybe you're a mum that's learned techniques on how to get kids organised for school.
or maybe you've become really great at being, you know, an amazing wife, you know, and all of the knowledge that you shared in your first book, people are looking for knowledge. They're looking for, you know, a blueprint and something that saves them going through these, you know, obstacles on their own. Just like your first book, you know, someone gets into a sort of a second marriage or a partnership.
Angela Vassallo (08:11.672)
A blueprint.
Angela Vassallo (08:25.944)
Planted family, yep.
Angela Vassallo (08:34.04)
Hmm.
Susan Dean (08:34.06)
What do they do? Where do they start? If they've got no friends to talk to that have been in that, they can start looking and hearing from your experience. So you don't need to be just a business owner. I mean, by all means, I think sharing your knowledge through a book will help definitely grow your business. We just had one author, you know, that really is quite new. Not a lot of people know about it.
Angela Vassallo (08:46.136)
Sure.
Angela Vassallo (08:58.2)
Mm -hmm.
Susan Dean (08:59.66)
But she did have a bit of a following. She had about 4 ,000 people following her, which is not bad. She has in a matter of weeks turned it into over 100 ,000 followers. She's now had to reinvent her whole business because she said, I can't do one to one anymore. I'm now 100 ,000 and growing, I have to do one to many. You know, so I think what's important of where to start.
Angela Vassallo (09:06.936)
Wow.
Angela Vassallo (09:12.728)
Yeah. One too many. Yep. Yeah.
Angela Vassallo (09:21.976)
Mm -hmm.
Susan Dean (09:28.46)
is think about one, what are you passionate about? Where do you wanna make a change? Is there something that you're passionate about that you wanna be able to share with somebody? The other thing is, I always say, you don't wanna die with the knowledge inside of you. How many people are maybe stuck and they don't have a friend or they don't know somebody else that's going through what they're going through?
Angela Vassallo (09:39.896)
Yeah. Yeah. Can you help? Yeah.
Susan Dean (09:56.236)
or maybe they privately want to start learning how to do things themselves. You can pick up a book for $30. So if you have knowledge, someone else is going to be going through what you're going through. Maybe slightly different, maybe not exactly, but your story shared forward can truly change people's lives and save people's lives. So I think if you're not in business, just writing a book to leave that legacy behind.
Angela Vassallo (09:56.76)
Yes.
Angela Vassallo (10:16.952)
Mm.
Angela Vassallo (10:22.488)
Yes.
Susan Dean (10:23.66)
to leave your knowledge into the world to help another that you may not even know is a brilliant way of giving back to the world. And if obviously you're in business. So where to start is to look at what would you like to see a change in the world or what knowledge or what struggles maybe if you've gone through, what adversities and you had to sort of figure your way around it on your own. What did you do that could help others? And...
Angela Vassallo (10:25.944)
Yes.
Angela Vassallo (10:36.632)
Mm.
Susan Dean (10:52.524)
what's important is to just start out by dumping down, it can be like on post -it notes or in a big sheet of paper, what are all the things you want the reader to know? You know, all that particular person that you might think of one person that you could impact. And so what do you want them to know? And just writing it all down or putting it all on post -it notes and dumping it. What else? Keep asking yourself, what else do they need to know? What else?
Angela Vassallo (10:53.336)
Hmm.
Susan Dean (11:20.62)
And then from there, you can put them into what we call like group them together. So say for example, you're wanting to teach somebody how to, you know, start planting their own vegetables in their own backyard. And you want people now are starting to, including myself, grow on my own vegetables. They're becoming very expensive. I get to have beautiful, fresh vegetables.
Angela Vassallo (11:43.992)
Mm -hmm.
Susan Dean (11:50.348)
If you want to start something and you've someone that's done that on your own, what did you do? Sometimes people might as simple as pay to learn that. So you might go, well, you need to know this, you need to do this and then group them together and then they start forming kind of your structure and your chapters. And then it's just about writing inside of those. Now that's, you know, one part, the structure is so important, but you know,
Angela Vassallo (12:01.304)
Right. Yes.
Angela Vassallo (12:09.336)
Hmm.
Susan Dean (12:18.284)
What's so important is to just have that courage that if just one person, I remember one of our authors said, if I just change one person's life, my job's done. Now she obviously changed many people's lives.
Angela Vassallo (12:24.152)
Yeah, you've made a difference. Yeah, yeah, that's right. You change many. So that's pretty much where you start. You think about your idea and your message. What knowledge do you have that can help people? You write them possibly on like post -it notes. I know that's how I started. I remember putting, you know, big board up and I'd started with these post -it notes and then you sort of put them into groups and then you bring them down to categories, which can eventually turn into your chapters and your subheadings. And then you sort of break it down from there.
Susan Dean (12:36.076)
Yep, change.
Angela Vassallo (12:54.36)
So that's the sort of thing that you teach. Cause that's, that's like to you that, and I've done it too. It kind of like you understand that, but not everybody does. So once you sort of get around somebody that can, I've always said, you know, why, why try to figure it all out on your own? You know, you've got to, you've got to invest in the people that had the expertise just like you to be able to help you, you know, write the, you know, create the, you created the system and how to figure it out the best way and then fast track things.
Because you know, why take such a long process and a torturous process when you can fast track it for yourself?
Angela Vassallo (13:33.528)
Yeah.
Susan Dean (13:36.556)
Absolutely and the writing is really just one part of it. So what people don't understand is there's so many moving parts and to have your book Stand out. It's it's just about the what we call planning first What's the topic going to be doing that research around what other books are around out there? How do you stand out from the rest? How do you make your book different than the rest? And there's the the preparation phase. How do we look at keyword searches now?
Angela Vassallo (13:43.768)
Mm.
Angela Vassallo (13:51.736)
Yes.
Susan Dean (14:06.284)
How do we look at getting into what categories do we want to do? There's the marketing. The writing is one little portion of it, which we call the production. And it's still one part of various portions of production. Because once you've done all your planning and preparing, all your research before you start writing is very important. Then you get into that writing aspect. And then the structure is so important.
Angela Vassallo (14:21.56)
Yes.
Susan Dean (14:33.58)
You know, I remember one of our authors wrote a book and we're like, no, you can't put that up the top. You need to keep the suspense. The reader needs to be wanting to turn that page. And so the suspense of that's in the wrong order. You need to put that down the bottom. So I think a lot of people doing it themselves, they're trying to figure it all out. Whereas what we've done is gone, well, if you want to write a book, but you want to self publish and you want all the benefits of self publishing,
Angela Vassallo (14:40.376)
Yeah.
Angela Vassallo (15:00.376)
Mm.
Susan Dean (15:02.828)
That's great. But what if you could work with a professional publishing team that gets their books out into Simon & Schuster, into the bookstores? What could I do if maybe my book gets to that level? You know, what is open to me in the publishing and the distribution, you know, stage? How do I upload it? What categories do I put it on? There's so many small little parts. Then once my book's done, how do I market it? How do I get it onto social media?
Angela Vassallo (15:07.928)
Mm -hmm.
Angela Vassallo (15:20.888)
how to market, how to promote it. Yep. Yeah.
Susan Dean (15:29.676)
How do I build it into a funnel so that it's growing my business? Or how do I get it into the right people's hands? And there's so many moving parts to that, that is not just what some people think, I just write the book and then I just upload it. You know, it's the design, it's the language that has them, yeah, take that words and knowledge that you've got and turn it into compelling writing. You know, sitting on the edge of our seat writing, wanting to know more writing.
Angela Vassallo (15:37.816)
Yeah.
There's a lot to it.
Yep.
Angela Vassallo (15:48.6)
Mm -hmm.
Susan Dean (15:59.308)
And you know, and obviously the layout, you know, what's in it for the reader? You know, you've got to turn it around. It's great to tell a story, but what's in it for the reader? So there's lots of moving parts that we take people through from planning to preparing before they even produce, pre -produce, produce. Then there's, you know, promoting it, prospering from it. What else can you do from that book? So, you know.
one writing is one little element but I wanted to leave people with a um with a bit of a um tip and there's also a free resource that I'm happy to share with you which is the Dean Publishing dot com forward slash S Susan review and we can put that there but that just gives you two little downloads but remember that's one part of you know our massive yeah process that you need to
Angela Vassallo (16:45.272)
process. Yeah, yeah. And that's the thing. It's like, why try to figure it all out? You guys tick so many boxes to be able to help people. And I think that, you know, if I had that in the beginning, it would have helped me a great deal. Because, look, writing a book is a massive commitment. And it is something if you're going to start, you want to see it finished. And a lot of people probably do start and not necessarily finish it. So, but once you do, it's literally like giving birth.
Susan Dean (16:55.596)
all about.
Angela Vassallo (17:12.152)
but it's such an achievement and to get that done and to get that out there and really tick that box. And you mentioned, you touched on it before about the benefits of writing a book because I know that you said this woman had started with 4 ,000 followers and ended up with like 100 ,000 and that is because a book gives you so much credibility and...
And once you write a book and it doesn't necessarily have to be 65 ,000 words, it can be a 20 ,000 word book. It doesn't really matter, but a book will give you credibility. So can you explain some of the benefits of what having a book will do not only for you personally, but also for your business?
Susan Dean (18:01.868)
Yeah, personally, I think what's good to touch on is so many of our authors have said that was a self -development course. I did not realize but...
Angela Vassallo (18:03.48)
Yeah. The research and what you go through and yeah. Yeah. You learn a lot about yourself. Yeah.
Susan Dean (18:15.436)
It was a self -development thought. Learn a lot about yourself. And that's why with the with the Stress Free Book System, we have it as supporter. So the team's always in there. So you've got those Q &A's as you go along. You've got the team to bounce ideas off. So you're not writing alone. If you think, should I do this title or this title? You've got a team of experts to bounce ideas off. But what's and when you get start, you've got a community there because...
Angela Vassallo (18:27.768)
That's awesome.
Angela Vassallo (18:34.104)
Yes.
Susan Dean (18:45.42)
It is, it's like a self -development journey you're going through. You're starting to explore those. We've got a whole video series on author anxiety and what stops people because you mentioned it. How many people start a book and it's still sitting there on their computer or in paper, they've never published it. So we support and get people through that finishing line and add their product out to the world. But personally, you know, the benefits are that you've left.
Angela Vassallo (18:49.688)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Angela Vassallo (19:02.968)
Mm -hmm.
Angela Vassallo (19:14.328)
minus his life, yeah.
Susan Dean (19:14.956)
legacy, you're going to help someone, you're going to actually make a difference in someone else's life and that's what is so important. So you get a lot out of it yourself as an author but you also get to impact other people and leave that legacy in the world and even for your children to read if that's for them or other peers to read. The other thing is for business, well that's never -ending. You know, I grew my whole coaching business from a book as did
Angela Vassallo (19:19.736)
Sure.
Angela Vassallo (19:33.176)
Yes.
Susan Dean (19:44.108)
many of our authors and you can do many different books. So you can do a lead gen book which might be something that is a smaller word count. Let's do it in black and white. Let's keep it a low cost and let's get it out there into as many pages. It could be you know as I know when you go to expos or you go to different events you'll get a brochure or a magazine or a flyer. You can throw them out. No one throws out a book. They don't.
Angela Vassallo (20:02.872)
Yeah. Nobody throws out a book. People can't bring themselves to throw out a book. No.
Angela Vassallo (20:12.472)
Yep. I'll tape it. Yeah.
Susan Dean (20:14.444)
No, so you're always there, even if they put you on the bookshelf, they'll always be at the front of the line. So what I feel is a book is there for a long term. So if you invest in doing it right, it will suffice you for decades and decades to come because it will help be a lead gen. It's an authority builder. It's something that PR love. People on podcasts love an author because they get to then promote their book.
Angela Vassallo (20:18.168)
Mm -hmm.
Angela Vassallo (20:24.408)
Yes.
Yes. Yes.
Angela Vassallo (20:43.48)
Yes. Yep.
Susan Dean (20:44.172)
something to give away becomes a win -win but also they know that they must have knowledge or they must have a story to share because they've done a book. So I think that booking getting booked on podcasts like I said media we've had our authors on sunrise on the Today Show on all of your major sort of ABC you know your major magazines why because they love an author they love to know that they can see that authority that credibility.
Angela Vassallo (21:03.48)
Yeah, they do.
Susan Dean (21:13.932)
And like I said, also for people to start following you, they read a book, they, you know, people are a little bit more, who is this person now? They want to read the book and then from the book they'll go, okay, now I'll follow them. Oh, what courses have they got? What businesses, what services have they got? What other products have they got? So it's a nice way of getting people to follow you and to come to get to know you more.
Angela Vassallo (21:16.792)
Mm. Mm.
Angela Vassallo (21:38.84)
Yes.
Susan Dean (21:39.436)
And then obviously people that already follow you want to learn all those little intricates that you share in your book. So, you know, there's a million different ways that a book grows your business, but yeah, you can build it into your funnels. There's so much you can do with a book.
Angela Vassallo (21:47.032)
Absolutely. Yeah. No, it's so true. And you know, one of the things that I remember when I wanted to write my book, I was watching Bethany Frankel on The Real Housewives of New York, and she was just pumping out these books every six months to a year. And I'm thinking, how is she doing this? Like, she's just got this confidence of just, there's another book, there's another topic, there's another book. And she was so busy and she had these businesses, she was doing what she was doing. And I thought she gave me so much inspiration to say she can do it.
I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna write this book. She got it out there and made it happen. And when I saw her in Sydney recently, I told her that, I said, you inspired me to write my book because you gave me, you just gave me the inspiration, but also gave me something to say, you know what, if she can do this, I can do this as well. And I think that's what it holds, some people hold themselves back to think that writing a book is this huge, big thing and that they're not good enough to do it. We all know that that's a limiting belief.
But when you do actually figure out and you do get that block out of the way, it is something that you can definitely achieve. And it will take time, it will take effort. There's no doubt about it, but anything worthwhile takes time and takes effort that you can have.
forever. So she was kind of like a role model to me and and then yeah, it was just great to sort of catch up with her recently and talk about that. And she's like, when's your next one coming out? I said, it's coming. I'm working on it.
Angela Vassallo (23:20.056)
Absolutely, yeah.
Susan Dean (23:21.196)
Absolutely and and you know I'm sure someone like her would have had a team behind them and that's why you know we work with really busy entrepreneurs you know we've got some exciting books coming up from from some authors that have created you know billion dollar empires and they're telling you the story because they were side hustle businesses that are now in you know we're doing you know
Angela Vassallo (23:27.544)
Yes?
Angela Vassallo (23:34.904)
Wow.
Angela Vassallo (23:49.688)
Wow.
Susan Dean (23:50.348)
Priscilla from Bang and Bod, who's got the cream that's in Mecca and she's just got, you know, big deals that I can't sort of talk about, but they'll be coming to fruition. Her story, she is just an average girl that had a dream, that started to, she had an issue with her skin. She then backed herself and created this. There's so many little nuggets in there. They're inspirational stories. Now these people are so busy.
Angela Vassallo (24:07.768)
Yeah, right. Inspirational stories. Yeah.
Susan Dean (24:19.148)
So we have our top level program where these busy entrepreneurs say, come in, let me tell you, go away and help write it. So we do have that done with you kind of service that is more the high end people that go, I just want this book done, I'm too busy, I have no time, but I've got the money to invest. And we've got ghostwriters, editors, designers all in -house. The stress -free book system, what's so exciting about that and why we developed it is not everybody's ready to just,
Angela Vassallo (24:23.352)
Mm -hmm.
Angela Vassallo (24:28.825)
Yep. Help me write my story. Yeah.
Yeah.
Susan Dean (24:49.004)
the bigger dollars there there may be their businesses isn't aren't as established and they've got a little bit more time than they do money to invest this is there's still investment that has to be made in a book there's no question there's investment in doing it but the return on investment and the return is I've never had an author within our system that's come back and said it hasn't been one of the greatest experiences of their life and and you would know opening your book is like birthing a baby.
Angela Vassallo (24:54.712)
Hmm.
Angela Vassallo (25:06.456)
Experiences, yeah. Yes, yes, yeah, absolutely. It is, it's like birthing a baby. Absolutely it is. And what do you see as the common challenge that most people have, like authors, to get started? What is the challenge that they find?
Susan Dean (25:19.372)
moment.
Angela Vassallo (25:28.248)
Yeah. Yes.
Susan Dean (25:30.572)
like you mentioned people believe that what have I who am I who am I to write a book they're comparing themselves with an Oprah Winfrey or you know and they're saying but what have I got to share and I think it's that limiting beliefs that author anxiety oh my god I'm putting it out there we get it at the beginning and then we get it with our authors at the end because they start going oh my god it's real it's getting out there oh my god it's a physical book
Angela Vassallo (25:32.696)
Yeah, sure.
Yes.
Angela Vassallo (25:45.944)
Yes.
No, I know it's all happening at once. Yes. Yeah.
Sure.
Susan Dean (25:58.06)
But why then they're pretty excited. So we help guide everyone through that. But definitely I think what we need to do is have a supportive team around us to keep cheering us on. But what I want people to know is your book can make a complete, can really make a difference. We had a book that we, these are some of our books that are behind me. But basically, yeah, we had some,
Angela Vassallo (26:03.96)
Yeah.
Angela Vassallo (26:16.184)
Yeah, I can see those.
Susan Dean (26:26.124)
books, we just had What's My Body Telling Me and Dr. Anthea, first book ever. She's one of the authors that's just gone boom. She just got best seller in women's health. And this is someone that's never done a book before, but without guidance and support, she said, I just did not know that this is what I was going to be able to achieve. But we had another gentleman, Autism Feels, and he's written a book about his experience.
Angela Vassallo (26:30.456)
Fabulous.
Yeah.
Angela Vassallo (26:40.184)
Yeah.
Angela Vassallo (26:48.408)
Mm -hmm.
Susan Dean (26:55.436)
where he has a podcast, that autistic guy or the autistic guy and his podcast just talks to other people but he was he realized his diagnosis after they diagnosed his son and then he started to put the pieces together and realized well gosh this is why I've struggled so he's shared his journey around that now he's making a profound difference to people's lives by sharing his
Angela Vassallo (26:55.672)
He's very similar to him.
Susan Dean (27:25.42)
journey. So you don't have to have a bricks and mortar business or a product. If you're a life coach, a speaker, a trainer, a message to share, you have to have a book. There's no question about it. But if you're a person that has just gone through maybe a personal challenge, or you've had to figure something out yourself, you can share it as well. And you can share that message and make a difference and build a business from a book.
Angela Vassallo (27:28.408)
Yep. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. I agree. It helps.
Angela Vassallo (27:37.304)
Yep.
Angela Vassallo (27:43.672)
Yeah.
Angela Vassallo (27:48.76)
Yes.
Susan Dean (27:55.148)
which is what a lot of people have done as well by sharing their story. They've then started up a podcast. They've been started coaching. So people think, do I need to have a business to write a book? No, you just have to have a message, some knowledge, something that would share. And I always say to people, there's someone before you, you know, your book doesn't need to be, you know, that book up there. Maybe you're the gap.
Angela Vassallo (27:55.448)
Yep. Yep.
Angela Vassallo (28:01.911)
No.
Angela Vassallo (28:15.512)
That's the question. I want to find the staff that are in the room.
Susan Dean (28:24.204)
missing. You know, maybe you're the gap that's saying, well, there's there's really um in depth books. I wanna find this gap where there's not a lot of books around this, you know? So, it could be anything that you've gone through that you've had to figure out yourself that you don't want someone else to have to go through what you went through and figure it out themselves.
Angela Vassallo (28:40.088)
Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, that's great advice. It's so true. And I know that also when I did write my book, that's exactly what I was thinking about because, you know, I was just trying to think it was quite a niche market. How can I help other second wives and stepmums to maybe dodge a bullet or two, you know, because I'd gone through it all and made the mistakes. I thought I want to help so many other women. But one other really good thing that I was advised to do was to get case studies.
So it doesn't always have to be about you because I think some people think, I don't have enough information or enough, you know, I don't know how if I could, I'd have enough for a whole book, but you don't have to always make it about you. You can always, you know, find other people similar to you and then bring in their stories and create a whole book around, you know, same subject, but other people's stories. And then they can get, they might relate to that person or that person or that person. So that's really a really great way of people thinking when they write a book.
don't always think that it's just has to be your words. You can actually do a lot of research and bring in these case studies to help build your message and your brand as well.
Susan Dean (29:51.916)
Absolutely, I've got one lady at the moment that's doing that where she's going to go and interview a few people in this age range where they've just finished uni and they're about to step into the workforce and then they get these skills the first time they've been in a workforce. But getting different people's perspectives from the different stages allows her to then put her opinion on it where she can say, you know, Mary had this struggle and how Mary could have
Angela Vassallo (29:53.336)
Yeah.
Angela Vassallo (29:57.656)
Mmm.
Susan Dean (30:20.748)
handled this better would have been XYZ so you can kind of use those case studies or use statistics from them and then put your opinion or your you know your sort of take on it that helps elaborate and and what I also say to people is it's in the way you format the book as well. We format the books beautifully people now we're wanting things quicker faster you know you've got to be able to make it
Angela Vassallo (30:32.056)
Mm.
Angela Vassallo (30:45.24)
Mm -hmm. Yeah.
Susan Dean (30:45.739)
what's in it for them. So sometimes you can make the book a little bit of a story combined with a how -to and also a little bit tasky. So maybe there's some lines in there or maybe there's some questions that they get to ask themselves as the reader to fill in. Maybe there's some steps, you know, think outside the square. What we do in the, you know, when working with our clients is that we really get you to open up your mind. So when we're teaching you,
Angela Vassallo (31:04.728)
Mm.
Angela Vassallo (31:12.792)
Mm.
Susan Dean (31:13.132)
you know, we might be talking about, okay, great, you've got your topic. Now what I want you to do is do this, this and this. So we're really getting your creative juices going to create a phenomenal book that people are talking about, but you feel ultra, ultra proud about and you know that you can sell it. Why? Because it's a damn good book because you've had that support to critique it and massage it and just the knowledge that we've got being in this industry for decades.
Angela Vassallo (31:18.168)
Yes.
Angela Vassallo (31:22.296)
Yeah.
Angela Vassallo (31:25.72)
Yeah.
Angela Vassallo (31:33.816)
Yes.
Susan Dean (31:40.556)
and my editors, all of them have been in the industry. So what we do is take advantage of the self -publishing, but we get you to be commercial traditional publishing standard so that your book can be out there and be in competition with some of these others. And that's why I say to people, you don't need to be known, the book can help you become known or actually take you from where you are.
Angela Vassallo (31:57.624)
Mm -hmm.
Susan Dean (32:06.924)
to another level like it has, you know, but it's about knowing all those little tricks of the trade, you know, to get your book. How do you get your SEO search up for your book? How do you get that in front of your ideal audience with social media and so forth? So.
Angela Vassallo (32:15.)
And you're not even thinking about that when you're starting to write a book. So, you know, that's the beautiful thing about it. Yeah, no, that's fabulous. It's really great advice, Susan, because I know that it is this so many, like you said, there's so many moving parts, there's so much to it. But it doesn't have to be overwhelming. If you just take it by step by step, you know, follow your system, follow the framework, somebody's already created the wheel, why create it yourself? And just, you know,
Susan Dean (32:24.748)
Writing a book is just one more bit. Yep.
Angela Vassallo (32:44.632)
follow the system. And I think that's brilliant what you guys have done there. And I want to thank you for today, because all the information you've given has, I know is going to help so many women in their second act. Because like I said, I meet so many women who say, I would love to write a book or I had this idea. And you can see straight up, they've got this limiting belief that you know, they don't know if they can do it or will share don't know how to share their message or don't even know where to start. So that's why your expertise is perfect for
somebody coming along that is in that stage of life and you're never too old and it's never too late. And I think that, even like we talk about your 40s and your 50s in your second act, this is the time where you have the time to actually sit down and focus on yourself because you've been running around doing all these things for so many people for so many years. And now's the time to say, okay, I could possibly sit down and do your course or work out my message and figure out what I have to say.
and definitely write a book. So I'm always encouraging people to think about what's next and that the book writing could be a possibility for them as well. I think, yes.
Angela Vassallo (33:59.288)
Yep.
Susan Dean (34:00.428)
that definitely sparks people's passion. And what I love about being in the second act is there is guaranteed that you have knowledge. You've gained knowledge. You're in your second act. You're not, you're not, you know, in your 20s anymore. There's a lot that you've learned that if you could help somebody else with that, that's your legacy that you're leaving in the world.
Angela Vassallo (34:01.912)
Yeah. Yeah. You've got the knowledge, yep. Yeah.
Angela Vassallo (34:12.28)
Absolutely. Yeah, no, that's awesome. But thank you so much, Susan. I know a lot of people will benefit from this today. This has been an amazing podcast. So tell us, we're going to put all of your details in the show notes. So for anybody that wants to connect with you, that's interested in writing a book, I know that I'll let you also know everybody that Susan will be on our masterclass next Tuesday, the 7th of May at 12 o 'clock.
and she'll be sharing a few more of her tips and guidelines and frameworks for anybody else that's interested. So our masterclass is coming up. You can also see that in the show notes as well. It's angelavasalo .com forward slash masterclass. And then we'll catch up with Susan on there too. But if anybody wants to connect with Susan directly, Susan, how can they find you?
Angela Vassallo (35:06.584)
Yes?
Susan Dean (35:08.012)
If they go to either DeanPublishing .com and check, you can click on expert call or if you go to StressFreeBookSystem .com and I'll give you some links to go into your account that will, yep, yep. And I'll give you some links also that will go in and make sure that they go.
Angela Vassallo (35:11.48)
Yes.
Angela Vassallo (35:17.08)
Yeah, stressfreehogsystem .com. Yeah, brilliant, great.
I'm gonna put those in the show notes for people to connect with you and yeah, that's fantastic. But yes, definitely let's get all these books out there and everybody share their message into the world. I think it's so important, but thank you for today, Susan. It's been fabulous and you've been an amazing guest. Thank you. You're welcome.
Susan Dean (35:47.436)
Thanks for having me.
