DEBBIE WILLIAMS's Podcast
DEBBIE WILLIAMS's Podcast
Holding Your Dream In Your Hands
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Tarnya Coley is an award-winning publisher who has helped countless women unleash their creative potential and share their inspiring stories with the world. With a passion for storytelling, She has published multiple books, including her bestseller, "Plan it. See it. Anticipate," which has received glowing endorsements from renowned motivational speaker Les Brown. she was honoured with a prestigious SIMA global award for her exceptional leadership and influence as a woman in 2021. She is the visionary behind TC Publishing and in this episode she shares her journey of becoming a publisher and why she is dedicated in helping others share their story.
Links:
https://ibelieveican.co.uk
debbiewilliamspodcast.com
A part of the storytime, she has published multiple books, including her best enough, Planet, See it, and Discipate, which has received glowing endorsements from renowned motivational speaker Les Brown, who was honored with a prestigious FEMA Globe Award for her exceptional leadership and influence as a woman in 2021. She is the visionary behind TC publishing. Please welcome Tanya Coley. Hello, Tanya, and welcome to the podcast.
SPEAKER_01Hi, Debbie. Thank you for having me. I'm super excited.
SPEAKER_00You've recently experienced a career change where you've transitioned into that of a publisher. Can you tell us more about that experience?
SPEAKER_01Yes, it was quite an interesting experience because I've been a lecturer for over a decade and absolutely love what I do, teaching health and social care, childcare and sociology, and helping students to become nurses and going into the healthcare profession. And in 2018, I handed in my notice, and that was quite scary because stepping into something different, wanting to start my own business, working for myself because in my career, which I loved, I was overworked, overwhelmed, and underpaid. I don't know if anyone can identify with that, but I wanted to do things on my terms and being able to help people to get on stock and live their purpose. So I started my company in 2018 called Tanya Kohli Limited. Couldn't think of another name, so I just thought, why not name me after myself? And under that, I do book publishing and I help people to find their voice, pen their stories, and publish their books. And I'm also an author of five publications.
SPEAKER_00So tell us more about that experience because transitioning from a full-time role and then going solo on your own might have been quite liberating but quite scary at the same time.
SPEAKER_01Yes, two key words you said they're liberating but scary. And I was just talking to somebody earlier about stepping out of your comfort zone. If not now, when? As the famous saying goes, feel the fear and do it anyway. So, yes, it was liberating. Yes, I'm gonna start my own business, yes, I'm gonna do this and that, but then it dawns on you, you're not gonna have a regular income like you used to, and the security. How are you going to start from the ground up? And those things started playing on my mind, and I thought, no, have a plan. One of my books is called Plan It, See It, Anticipate It. So that is exactly what I did. Yes, it was a scary thought of stepping out on my own, but yes, it was very liberating, and it's about it will work if you work it, and that is what I did. I wrote down what I wanted to do, how am I going to get there, got myself a coach, and just started building and going for it.
SPEAKER_00Why was it important for you to set up this publishing company and why specifically in helping people find their voice?
SPEAKER_01For me, when I wrote my own books, I know how it felt, knowing I wanted to write a book for a very long time. Well, I don't know if anyone can identify with this, having those thoughts of can I write a book? You know, I'm academic, I can write academically, but can I write for my audience? Would anybody be interested in reading what I've wrote? My writing's rubbish, all those things. And when I wrote it and I got great feedback, my first book was called Open Doors about my journey, and I thought, wow, people were interested in reading my book. Some were a bit nosy, wanting to know what happened in her life, but it was quite interesting, and then I thought, if it's great just to hold your book in your hand and that dream, I can do that for others. So I do publishing training every year, and I thought, you know what? I can do this for others. I've I've gone through the process myself, I've self-published four of my own books, I can help others. So I built a team, I have a team of editors, formatters, cover designers, and we help people, and I know how it can be for them, knowing that they want to do something for years, getting their thoughts out of their head and onto paper, and then the final product of actually holding their dream in their hands because sometimes their stories, some of them feel quite embarrassed about their stories, maybe it's about abuse, they've made to feel embarrassed, made to feel shame, not really shared it, but know it can empower and give other people hope. And when they actually do that and write their stories, and the great feedback that get from other people, and it's just liberating for them as well. So that's why I do what I do.
SPEAKER_00I totally agree with you. I think everyone has a story that somebody else wants to or needs to hear.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Some people don't realize that their stories are relevant, yeah. And every story is relevant. What do you think someone who maybe have thought about writing a book in the past but didn't have that confidence to actually go ahead and do so?
SPEAKER_01That's a great question because I come across a lot of people that do have those stories, but not having the confidence to go out and do it. And someone said to me, Have the courage, and that's a great word, having the courage to do it, and knowing that if it's inside of you and you want to do it, it's meant to be done. Just take pen to paper. Or there's other ways that you can write your book now. You can speak into your phone, where you know, dictation button on your laptop and all of that, but get your thoughts out of your head and onto paper, just write. That's what I say to people. Just write what's in your head and in your thoughts because after you've written it, then you can reorganize things. And as you're writing, depending on what you're writing, if you're writing your personal story, depending on what you've been through, it can be a healing process for you as well, and it helps you to heal. Once you've got it out onto paper, it's that relief, it's that joy, it's that excitement, and knowing it's helped you. And I often say to people that your story is not for you, it's for others to give people that hope, to give people the answers, it's like a blueprint for other people that they can follow and guide. And I say that you may not travel the world, but your book will, and you may not know the impact it will make, but knowing that you've written it and it's helping others, and that's the main thing.
SPEAKER_00That's really quite powerful. You may not travel the world, but your book will. Tell me more about your family because I understand that your mother has also written a book.
SPEAKER_01Oh yes, my mum is one of my authors. My first book, Open Doors, what came out in 2018. I share her beginning of her story because I thought it was very important to let people know that your past doesn't define you. She was 16 when she had me in the 70s, taboo back then. She wasn't married, and her dad said you need to leave home. And 16, pregnant on the street, and she had a dream to become a social worker, and she did, she was the first person in her family to graduate university and become a social worker. And then years on, I set up my publishing company, and mum said, I've always wanted to write devotional books, and I said, Well, you've come to the right place, Mum. So she wrote it, and we've published two of her devotionals. She's currently writing another one, and she's also done a prayer journal. So that's exciting for mom being on that journey, having that dream, that goal to write a book, and she's been able to do it.
SPEAKER_00What would you say is the process? So you've put pen to paper. What next?
SPEAKER_01Having a book plan, I think, is important because it helps you to get those ideas out onto paper, and thinking about what is it that you want to write, why do you want to write it, and I also think about who's your audience, who are you writing for? Because that will form how you write. Is it for children? Is it for teenagers? Is it for adults? Because then it's the language that you will use. Once you've gotten it out onto paper and you've written your book, I think the key next step is to self-edit your manuscripts. Yes, you will hire a professional editor, or you'll hire a book publisher, and they have those editors on those teams, but to self-edit your own book is important. I say read through your manuscripts aloud so you can hear the mistakes, or you know, you forgot to put that full stop or that comma. And don't worry about your grammar because there's grammarly. You can use those apps on your uh laptop, and also your editor will be editing your books. I know a lot of people will say my grammar's no good. Don't worry about that, it's the story that matters because only you can write your own story, and then I say read it backwards because it's psychological, you know how it goes from beginning to end. And making if you're like me and I go through my manuscripts, I put things in red, and that's because I haven't finished that thought yet, and I'll get back to it. But now I think, oh, I finished, but then when I'm going through it, I will see things that are unfinished, and I'll think, Oh, I could use a quote here, or I could expand there. So that's the next step after you've finished writing your manuscript, is to self-edit.
SPEAKER_00Can I just ask you, what would you say has been the highlight for either yourself or your mum in particular, especially writing devotional books? What has been that highlight immediately afterwards?
SPEAKER_01The highlight for my mum, as she was sharing with me, is that her devotionals are helping others, that she finally got the courage and the confidence to put pen to paper, and we published it, and then having the book launch, and then afterwards, people messaging her, contacting her, and how helpful and useful the book has been for them on their journey, and likewise with myself, it's just knowing that we're helping people, and that is why I do what I do is to help people, and that's the great joy I get from that seeing that big beaming smile on people's faces after that you know they've read my book and said it's helped them, and I'm just glad I was obedient to just write it, not knowing who it was going to help, but sometimes people do get in touch with us and say, Thank you for writing your book, it's really helped me on my journey.
SPEAKER_00What would you say is the top tip for someone who's heard your journey? They're really inspired by what you've said in terms of writing a book, putting pen to paper and sharing their story. What would you say the first thing for them to do?
SPEAKER_01The first thing for them to do is to uh think about why they want to write their book because the journey it can have its ups and downs. And when I sign people up to my author's lab, which is a 90-day writing program, they have many, like I said, many ups and downs. But if you look at your why and reflect back onto your why, why you want to write your book, that's gonna inspire and motivate you to move forward. So, for example, you're wanting to write your book, why? Because some people their why isn't strong enough. I just want to write it. Or I've had someone say it's about revenge, and those types of books are not going to inspire people to have that change and transformation, and maybe you're still hurting in the process, so it's think about your why and then write down your why because when you're feeling down, when you're feeling demotivated, you can look back on your why, and that will propel you to move forward. And a lot of people that want to write their books with me is because they want to help others, they have a story that's going to inspire others, and so when you're feeling a little bit down, you can look at your why and think, okay, I'm writing this because I want to inspire others, and that will spur you on. So that's the first thing is write your why, and then you need to get to work because I said before, if not now, when? And your mindset will play a lot of tricks on you, like I said before. Why should you write it? What qualifies you? No one's going to read your book. You have a similar story to everybody else. What's so different about yours? And I say, what's different about yours is your own experiences and your unique voice in how you write. So that's really important. Look at your why and then get to work and start putting pen to paper.
SPEAKER_00Tanya, that's very great advice. I'd like to thank you so much for being a guest on this podcast for your wonderful advice.
SPEAKER_01You're welcome. Thank you for having me. It's been a pleasure.
SPEAKER_00If you would like further details about Tanya, then please follow the link in the show notes.