Listen To What Your Book Is Telling You

Most folks browse the Table of Contents when they want to discover what a book is about.

But have you ever browsed the Index?

We have a terrific hack for authors courtesy of Dr. Stephanie Cawthon, participant in the first Cohort of the Your Bestselling Book acclaimed online course, professor of psychology at UT Austin, and author of Disability is Human: The Vital Power of Accessibility in Everyday Life. 

Stephanie just finished putting together the Index for her book (which she started writing one year ago today, during our YBB Fall 2023 Cohort!). The Index-generating software showed her which were her most frequently used words.

In essence, Stephanie listened to what her book was telling her. 

Want to know something?

She was shocked at the most commonly used word in her book, Disability is Human:

COMMUNITY.

That's right. In a book about how to recognize the humanity in disability, reduce ableism, and create accessible spaces...

COMMUNITY is the secret sauce.

Not just in frequency, but in consistency throughout the book. It took creating her INDEX for Stephanie to truly understand that!

WRITING TIP OF THE WEEK: Check Your FUWs (Frequently Used Words)

Listen to your book - and take note of what it’s saying to you.

Use AI to generate a list of your most frequently-used words. 

Are you saying what you intended to say? Are there any surprises? Hit Reply and share with me. 

Aloha,

MeiMei

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Accessibility is not just a ‘to-do’ list at work. It’s a ‘to-be’ list in everyday life.

~Dr. Stephanie Cawthon, Author of Disability is Human