We Women Writers

Kathleen Gage - Empowering Women Through Writing

• Jane Jones • Episode 17

Share episode

In this episode of the We Women Writers Podcast, host Jane Jones speaks with Kathleen Gage about her writing journey, the importance of discipline in writing, and how writing has been foundational to her business success. Kathleen shares her experiences, offering encouragement and criticism, while emphasizing the importance of women embracing their voices and writing. The conversation highlights the power of mentorship and the importance of being proactive in sharing one's work. Kathleen also discusses the surprising successes of women writers and the strategies that can lead to a fulfilling writing career.

Takeaways

Words have a significant impact on both the writer and the audience.
Criticism is part of the writing journey; it's important to process it.
Women should start writing from where they are, not wait for perfection.

Quote:

"My writing is the foundation of everything I do."

Resources:

https://www.healthylifestylesolutions.org/guests/kathleen-gage/

https://www.amazon.com/Message-Inspiring-Thoughts-Uncertain-Times/dp/0965815943/ref 

https://www.amazon.com/Power-Up-Profits-Womans-Marketing/dp/098923570X/ref

Send us a text

Jane Jones (00:28)

Welcome to Women Writers I'm Jane Jones and I'm your host. For those of you just tuning in today, we have a treat for you.

Today we have with us Kathleen Gage, who will be speaking to us about her writing story and the journey to her program Power Up for Profits. Kathleen Gage is the no-nonsense, common sense, online marketing, strategist, speaker, author, and product creation specialist. Welcome Kathleen to the Women's

 

Kathleen Gage (01:11)

Nice to be here, Jane. I am, I'm excited because I always love talking to writers or aspiring writers, and I love sharing my story of what, what, what it took for me to actually start making money at writing.

 

Jane Jones (01:23)

Excellent, that's going to be really helpful, and so one of the reasons we're really glad to have you with us. So let's jump right in, shall we? Please tell us about your personal writing story, your journey.

 

Kathleen Gage (01:37)

Well, you know, I actually started writing when I was a kid. I used to keep journals and I had a diary and, know, it was the diary that you had the little lock that had a key that never really worked. And the first time I wrote something where I really felt it was a significant piece was in the third grade. And it was a fantasy story, and it was kind of a mystery fantasy. And my teacher loved it and she was very encouraging. And she said, you have a future in writing, well, that was my third-grade teacher, my fourth-grade teacher was completely the opposite and really discouraged me and said, You have no talent, don't even think of being a writer, and you may as well just hang it up. And it's interesting when you look at the impact that teachers can have on children and how important their encouragement can really be.

 

But when I really started writing and making a living at writing was in my 40s when I started my business and that was 23 years ago, I started my business. And I always wanted to be a writer, and just be known as a writer. And I never really identified the fact that I was making money at my writing until one day it was, I was in the middle of something, and I had a really profitable day, and it was from an information card, and I had written the entire thing. And I sat back, and I thought, “Huh, I made money from my writing”. So, for me, it wasn't so evident as writing a book per se, even though I've written several books and they've all done quite well. It was really an aha moment through an information product. But it was interesting because I'm in a class through my church, and the other night somebody asked me, they said, “What do you do?” And I said, “I'm a writer”.  And I sat back and I thought, yeah, I'm a writer. That's what I do as well. I'm a speaker. I'm a consultant. So, it's a combination of things for me.

 

Jane Jones (03:29)

Perfect, excellent. So, what kinds of things do you do now that maybe you draw on from your years before to get, actually get writing, like to sit down and do it, and then to keep it, keep writing?

 

Kathleen Gage (03:48)

Well, one is I love to write, you so I can't say that it's a struggle for me. It's just something that I do. I blog a lot. I have two blogs. I do an incredible amount of blogging. Like a blog post for me can be anywhere from 800 to 1500 words. And it doesn't take me too long to do what I call a down load. There are occasions where I know that I do need to write something specific, maybe an article or maybe working with a client, help them with a sales letter. And in those cases, what I do is I just discipline myself to put a certain amount of time aside. And during that period of time, I do nothing but writing. And it's always interesting when I hear people say, I have to wait to be inspired. Truly, if I had to wait to be inspired, I would be on welfare, I mean, and that's honest to goodness truth, because at one point I actually was living a completely opposite life that I'm living today. At one point I literally was out on the streets, I was homeless, I made really poor decisions, and I was always waiting for that inspiration. And fortunately, I had a mentor at that time who kind of took me under her wing, and she said, you know, it's not about waiting for the right feeling to come along, it's not about everything has to be perfect. And we were talking about this before we went live, is that you can't wait for everything to be perfect. If your job is to write, if your job is to generate the revenues that puts food on the table, pays the mortgage, takes care of the family, takes care of the animals, then that should be inspiration enough. And for me, part of my inspiration is knowing that my words do impact people. My words do influence people. And I think when I finally understood that, that's when it became easy for me.

 

Jane Jones (05:33)

Okay, you mentioned a couple of things. You mentioned about a download when you say you're writing a download. Could you, you know, expand on that a little bit for us, please?

 

Kathleen Gage (05:44)

Certainly, it's where I just get real quiet, I get centered, and if you will, I let Source Universe, God, whatever higher power, whatever name you want to give to it, but that energy that just works through me, and it's like I really feel that I'm more of a vehicle. I'm not necessarily the creator of the message, I'm the messenger. And it gets me out of my own way, it gets me out of ego, because... I've been known at times to have a very big ego. like, look how great I am. Look what I've done. And life has a way of kicking me in the backside to say, no, no, no, let's get you a little humble here. So, when I step out of my own way and when I really allow myself to be the channel and the vehicle for the words that need to come through, whether it's through writing or speaking, and to me, the two are so integrated in my life. And it's just that I've been given a gift.

And it's my responsibility to use that gift. So, the download comes from just allowing the information to flow through me. Now what's interesting is there are times that I can write something, and I have to take a break away from it to get a different perspective. Like if it's a real heated issue, recently we've gone through a lot of heated issues in our country. And there are people posting all sorts of stuff on Facebook and Twitter, and there's a part of me that wants to just react to it. And there's that other smarter part of me that says, okay, I can write something, but let me take a break away from what I've written to come back to it to see if it's really appropriate for me to post that. If that's the influence I want to have, if that's the message I want to give to people.

 

 

Jane Jones (07:23)

Excellent, being able to wait is really important and knowing that the words that you are going to use, not only the words you speak, the words you write, are important. What do you think about the words that you actually, the effect of those words on you and when you speak them and when you write them, do those have an effect on you as well?

 

Kathleen Gage (07:49)

Now, when you say the words, are you talking about what I write? Do they have any impact on me? Yeah, absolutely.

 

Jane Jones (07:56)

Any words we speak, however, in the context that we're talking about, the words you write, and when you're speaking like you're speaking to us today, do those impact you personally?

 

Kathleen Gage (08:06)

Yes, yes, I really, and again, that's when I know that I'm in the zone. That's when I know that I'm just doing a download is when I can just be writing and writing and writing, and I'm not thinking too much about what I'm writing. I just let it flow through me. And then when I step back and I read it, it's like, wow, where did that come from? And to realize that that is the gift that I've been given is to be able to share the information that not only impacts my community, but it also impacts me. And I'm truly a believer that it's about walking our talk. It's like if we say something's true, then it's really holding ourselves to task with that of having the integrity to live the words that we speak and we write. That's my own personal philosophy.

 

Jane Jones (08:53)

And that's for other individuals who aspire to that or to absolutely in agreement. You're a real good match for somebody like that, right? Yeah. How has your writing journey influenced your work, the power up for profits?

 

Kathleen Gage (09:12)

It’s been the foundation of everything I do. If it wasn't for my writing, I wouldn't have the business that I have. And I have a very successful business. I, as a result of my writing, not only have I been able to write books that have impacted people, but I've also been able to create information products. I've also been able to write articles, blog postings. I do speaking engagements that I sometimes will write out the general essence of what I want to say, just so I can get a sense of the direction I want to go. But I don't write my speeches where I speak them word for word. When I get on the platform again, that's a really powerful place for me to just let source work through me and to know that whatever's supposed to come out of me will come out of me. But my writing is the foundation of everything I do, and it has afforded me a very, very blessed life without a doubt. But a lot of it also has to do with affirming the reality that I create. For example, instead of saying, everything is so tough, the economy is tough, because of the election, this or that. Instead, I just say, okay, I'm blessed because I have this skill, this talent, and I get to use it. And it's like it says in the Bible. There were the sons that had the talents, and the one who used the talents and gave the talents away was the one that was the most blessed. So, I believe that anybody who is listening and watching this that really feels called to right, don't stop yourself. Get out there and write. Get out of your own way and really bless others with the gift that you've been given. I truly believe that's what we're here to do.

 

Jane Jones (10:53)

Excellent, I absolutely agree as well. You mentioned earlier about a teacher that was particularly difficult, had a very opposite perspective of you and your writing than was actually true. So, how did you process it at the time, and then how did that shift possibly, and then how does it continue to help you?

 

Kathleen Gage (11:17)

As a child, what I really did is I shut down. It was like, they must be right. They're the authority figure. They must be right. And so, for me, when I was growing up, I didn't really have the encouragement to go out and be a writer. It came later on in life. And it's interesting because when I did end up on the streets, one of the things that I did was I kept a journal. And I don't know where that journal is now, but I do know that every day I would write my thoughts down, write my feelings down. And that was a really important part of that period in my life, where it took me well into my 30s and 40s before I really believed that I was a good writer. And actually, at one point in my 30s, I got a job with a radio station when I was in broadcast media. And part of my job was to write commercials for my clients. And so, my writing took on a different flavor at that time, but it would be like a 30-second commercial, and that commercial could either bring business into the client's place of business or not. And so it was really important that in 30-seconds I'd be able to condense the message very effectively. 

 

Jane Jones (12:27)

Gotcha

And that was a successful experience for you.

 

Kathleen Gage (12:31)

Yes, it was. Yes, it was. I actually started out in sales, and then from there I went into writing commercials, and then I went into voicing the commercials. Fortunately, it was a small enough station in Santa Rosa, California, that there was a lot of flexibility.

 

Jane Jones (12:48)

Perfect, excellent, good, excellent. I would like to explore a little bit more about this negativity. Because how does it now, how does that experience in the subsequent years, how does, or does that, and if it does, how does it wind its way into the work you do.

How does it help you in your work with women?

 

Kathleen Gage (13:09)

Well, to really realize that just because somebody has an opinion doesn't mean it's the right opinion for me. And to also know that the more visible you become, the more you put your work out in the world, the more you're opening yourself up for criticism. And if you cannot handle criticism, then you probably won't be able to handle being a published author. Because no matter who you are, no matter how good a writer you are, no matter how powerful your messages, if you're writing fiction or nonfiction, if you can't take criticism, then you're going to shut down, and you're not going to give your gift to the world. And I truly believe that what helps me is that I do turn my life over on a daily basis to my higher power. It's like I say, okay, guide me, give me the tools for what I need for today. And without that, my life wouldn't be what it is. And so if I get criticism, I have to step back and say, okay, what is this really about? Why is it, if it's impacting me in a negative way, why is it impacting me? How important is that opinion? If it's one person saying it, well, it's their opinion. If it's a lot of people saying it, well, then I need to look at it.

 

Jane Jones (14:19)

Okay, perfect. So, there's women listening who are particularly holding on to this desire, and perhaps if the holding on is because they're afraid a little bit by a little bit.

 

Kathleen Gage (14:36)

You know, with writing articles. Start with writing a blog post. I have a client that I just recently started working with who's an amazing, amazing fantasy artist. She does animal pictures. She does, like she'll do what she calls essence portraits. Well, she'll take the essence of a person and create a fantasy figure around it. And I was encouraging her to start blogging, and I said, there's so much you can write about. And she goes, I have nothing to say. I'm an artist.

I have nothing to say, well that was about a week ago, and today we had a consulting call, and she said, I have so much to say, this is amazing. And sometimes it just takes somebody to show us the direction and to encourage us. Because I know for me, if I didn't have some people that encouraged me to put my gifts to good use, I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing. So, I have coaches, I have mentors, I have colleagues that were in masterminds together, and we lift each other up to help cultivate our gifts. So, I would say start right where you're at. Don't try to go from not having a book to being a New York Times bestseller overnight. Really look at where can you put your words to good use. And there's so many opportunities. It could be on your Facebook wall. If there's a cause that you believe in, write about it, tweet about it. Obviously, Twitter does work. We just had somebody elected to public office that used, you know, whether we agree or disagree with this person's platform, and I think we know who I'm talking about, he used Twitter very, very effectively. We may not have agreed with it, but it goes to show the power of the written word.

 

Jane Jones (16:17)

Absolutely, absolutely. So that speaks directly to the next question I have is that what have you seen or what have you experienced with clients that are women that have surprised you and pleasantly surprised you in areas that they excelled in or

 

Kathleen Gage (16:37)

I have a client that just had her book published, and she had been thinking about it for probably 20 years. And what we finally did, she kept trying to write and write and write and said, here's what we're going to do. I'm going to interview you, and I'm going to start pulling the information out of you, and then you can write it. And it was amazing. That was a turning point for her. That was the catalyst for her realizing that she had a lot of valuable information. She's in her seventies.

 What was so exciting is to watch her grow and develop as her book grew and developed. And just the amazing, amazing wisdom that she brings to the experience. And what I love is I'm seeing more and more women over the age of 60 that are coming into their own and realizing they have something really valuable to say. I love when I see women as we get older realizing the value that we bring to the experience. And so, I think what I'm really noticing is that more women by watching other women are getting the courage to get their message out there.

 

Jane Jones (17:53)

Yeah, excellent. That's totally wonderful. I really appreciate that comment. So now speaking about the work that you do and what inspires you about the women you work with.

Kathleen Gage (18:03)

Really, Jane, where I see many people, they stop themselves as they might write a book, they put it up on Amazon and they wait and they wait and they wait. Well, you have to be proactive in getting the word out to people. And one way to do that is make sure that everything on Amazon is set up in a way that it's easy for people to find you.

 

Jane Jones (18:51)

Okay, excellent.

 

Kathleen Gage (19:07)

Yes, you know, when I first started out, I remember just getting that first book done was such a thrill, and I wrote it was a really a labor of love. I wrote it for a friend who, he had passed away at the age of 36. And it really was my thoughts about his passing at such a young age. It's called Message of Hope. That book never really went anywhere because I didn't do a lot of marketing behind it. One of my most recent books, Power Up for Profits, The Smart Woman's Guide to Online Marketing, that book not only filled a three-day event, that book hit number one on Amazon in every single category. It did really well overall.

It generated thousands of sales in a 24-hour period and continued to do so for quite some time. And I don't say that to impress anybody, but to impress upon you, there is a lot of power in strategy. There's a lot of power in starting right where you're at because little would I have known 20 years ago, 25 years ago, 30 years ago when I first started writing what the potential was and how many avenues there are now for authors to make money. But it's really about you have to be strategic. This is amazing because you're providing the best of the best to the market to learn from. We're sharing our strategies because we love sharing our strategies and because they work. But realize that you can make a great living as a writer, and it takes work. It's not some pie in the sky, you know, press the easy button kind of thing. It definitely takes work. You've to roll up your sleeves. You've got to get in there. You've got to do the work, and you've got to know that you've got something important to say.

 

Jane Jones (21:09)

Perfect, excellent.

And so, this writing journey that started where somebody really sat on your genius, your brilliance, and it took a long time, but now that it's out, away it goes. So, someone who's experiencing the same thing, it's just one day, do one thing each day, and keep moving, and find what it is you love to do. Yeah, a little bit at a time.

Well, Kathleen, I would like to thank you so much for your kindness and your generosity. We really appreciate, I'm going speak for all the ladies in the audience, really appreciate you coming in and sharing this with us.

Well, I just want to tell everybody thank you very much for listening, and we'll see you next time. Thanks for joining us. 

Thanks for joining us. Bye now.