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EP616: Crystal Adair-Benning - Creating A Thought Leader Brand Through A Book Funnel
75 Plays27 days ago
“The real true gift is helping other people realize the power in their own stories.”
Have you ever wondered what it's like to write incredible stories and help others shine, all while staying completely behind the scenes? What drives someone to choose anonymity while crafting masterpieces that change lives?
Many of us wrestle with the balance between creative freedom and the need to step into the spotlight, especially in a world where visibility seems key to success.
Crystal Adair-Bening is a highly sought-after ghostwriter and Word Magic book coach who has ghostwritten four New York Times best-selling books. Known for her ability to help rebels, misfits, and change-makers bring their stories to life, Crystal's approach marries creativity with strategy. Her work ensures her clients stand out as thought leaders, while she remains comfortably behind the curtain, letting their stories take center stage.
Expert action steps:
- Start by writing it down.
- Make writing a habit, not a hobby.
- Focus on writing the best book, not accolades.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/crystaladairbenning/
Websites: https://wordmagiccopywriting.com/
Visit eCircleAcademy.com and book a success call with Nicky to take your practice to the next level.
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Transcript
The Power of Storytelling in Events and Books
00:00:03
Speaker
You cannot create an event that isn't about telling some kind of a story. You cannot write a book without telling some kind of a story. The person that I worked for was offered a book deal, but turns out she was dyslexic, i couldn't write, didn't do her own research, and I was doing it all. So she asked me to go straight her book.
00:00:20
Speaker
which I did. And long story short, it was published two weeks before I turned 16, went immediately to the New York Times bestseller list. So now I'm a four times New York Times best selling ghostwriter, and I help people basically take their wisdom and their IP and turn it into the magic of a book.
00:00:37
Speaker
I kind of infused storytelling into even a business book so that it becomes a personal anthology, a personal legacy for somebody as to like what they've gone through, what they've learned, how they've come out on the other side, and how other people can learn from them as well. The world is filled with stories. We all have incredible stories. And I think if we actually told more of those stories, we could help more people. I believe if people want to write, they really should write.
Meet Crystal Adair Benning: A Ghostwriting Journey
00:01:05
Speaker
Welcome to the Thought Leader Revolution with Nikki Ballou. Join the revolution. There's never been a better time in history to speak your truth, find your freedom, and make your fortune. Each week, we interview the world's top thought leaders and learn the secrets of how they built a six to seven figure practice. This episode has been brought to you by eCircleAcademy.com, the proven system to add six to seven figures a year to your thought leader practice.
00:01:36
Speaker
Welcome to another exciting episode of the podcast, the Thought Leader Revolution. I'm your host, Nikki Ballou. And boy, do we have another exciting emerging thought leader. two Today's guest has co-stricken four New York Times bestselling books. She is a word magic book coach, and she is one of our new emerging thought leaders. I am speaking of the one, the only, Crystal Adair Benning. Welcome to the show, Crystal. Thank you so much, Nikki. What a great intro. So tell us your backstory. How'd you get to be the great Crystal?
00:02:20
Speaker
Oh my gosh. Well, it was a dark and summer night. How did I get here? i you know like Like a lot of people, um I fell into my zone of genius by accident. It wasn't something that I even recognized as a as a zone of genius back then. um So the story goes, I was 14 and I was working for a radio station.
00:02:41
Speaker
And back then, because I'm i much older now, i won't I don't need to tell you the age, but I'm much older now. But back then in radio stations and in books and ah publishing, if you had a following, a publisher would come to you and say, hey, I want you to write a book and I want to give you a book deal. And so the person that I worked for was offered a book deal. But turns out she was dyslexic, i couldn't write, didn't do her own research, and I was doing it all. So she asked me to go straight her book.
00:03:08
Speaker
which I did, and long story short, it was published two weeks before I turned 16, went immediately to the New York Times bestseller list, and she stiffed me and tried to pay me in dog food. And from there, my career kind of catapulted.
00:03:24
Speaker
I know, crazy, right? But from there, luckily, her publishing company knew what had happened, heard about it, took me under their wing. And I essentially grew up in the publishing industry with publishers teaching me everything that I know and use.
Crafting Personal Legacies through Business Books
00:03:39
Speaker
So now I'm a four times New York Times best selling ghostwriter, and I help people basically take their wisdom and their IP and turn it into the magic of a book.
00:03:49
Speaker
That's a great segue into the next question I was going to ask, which is, tell me you know what kind of problems you solve for your clients and who your clients are. So why don't you kind of expand on that? Yeah, totally. So I mean, most of my clients, I consider them rebels, misfits, or world-changing humans, which makes it a very broad statement. right But really, it's people who, specifically, I work with people who ah either have an incredible personal story or they have developed a business process that has really kind of got the ability to magnify and amplify their expertise. And I take all of that and turn it into a book that obviously makes you an authority and an expert. And I do that through the art of storytelling. So, you know, yes, you can write a book that's a simple step one, step two, step three. But I kind of infuse storytelling into even a business book so that it becomes a personal
00:04:43
Speaker
um anthology, a personal legacy for somebody as to like what they've what they've gone through, what they've learned, how they've come out on the other side and how other people can learn from them as well. So I write yellow brick roads, essentially is what I do. And that's super, super cool. So why is this important to you? What's the debt you're looking to make in the universe?
00:05:04
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I think that first of all, I didn't know that writing was like a talent that other people didn't have. Right. Like true honesty, i I honestly thought everybody could get up and write a book the same way that I could get get up and write a book. I thought that it was something I didn't think it was special. I thought it was just normalized. I um learned pretty early on that was special, but I was nervous about it because I grew up in a household that was like, you know, if you're going to be a writer, you're going to be broke drunk or at a bar.
00:05:34
Speaker
And I was like, whoa, that's not what I want for my life. Oh my gosh. So I was still working for the publishing industry. I was still making money. I was still making royalty checks consistently. But because of that upbringing, I actually went out and became an event planner. So to most of the world publicly, I was an event planner, not a writer. And I you know i was really good at being an event planner, but I was really great at being a writer.
00:06:00
Speaker
And thankfully for COVID, I'm one of those, I call myself a COVID success story, but because the world shut down and events were no longer a thing, live events were no longer a thing, I was running five and 10,000 person events. We couldn't run those during COVID. um I actually left that career path and finally called, you know was just like, I'm just going to tell people what I do and this is this is what I'm going to do.
00:06:24
Speaker
um and The methodology for me has been like whether it was running an event or whether it was writing a book, the idea is storytelling. You cannot create an event that you run that isn't about telling some kind of a story. You cannot write a book without telling some kind of a story. and so the The real tie-through for all of this for me was that I was a storyteller my entire life.
00:06:47
Speaker
And why shouldn't I get paid for it? And why shouldn't I help other people find the right words to tell their stories? The world is filled with stories. We all have incredible stories. And I think if we actually told more of those stories, we could help more people. And so for me, this is my chance to give back is is helping write books. I mean, let's be honest, I also get paid really well for doing it. And I love what I do. But the real true gift is helping other people realize the power in their own stories.
00:07:12
Speaker
That's pretty darn brilliant, I should say. You're telling a great story about why storytelling matters, Crystal. So I got to say, that's pretty darn awesome. You know, I'm a writer myself and it it had always been my dream to write. Now I got into business ah and, you know, i I run a company and I do podcasting as well, but I've i've written and self-published 11 books. It's amazing.
00:07:41
Speaker
Yeah, my latest one is, let me grab it. My latest one is this one. It's called Get Booked and Get Paid,
The Joy and Fear of Writing
00:07:51
Speaker
how to generate six figures plus a year through the podcast guesting. And I talk about how you can be a guest on other people's podcasts and generate leads, sales, and clients. And yeah all this is awesome, but I'll tell you my,
00:08:09
Speaker
my My secret, what I've wanted to to do all my life is be a novelist. And I've written a novel right now, and I would love to have this novel be published and sell well. And if it doesn't, at least if me get me learn enough from the process to write eventually write the novel that does that. Because that's what I've wanted to do since I was a kid, and I ran away from that.
00:08:34
Speaker
you know People told me, go, go, go do business. This isn't going to work for you. this is you know And I'd written something before and I took it to to Random House and they said, no, no, no. And it wasn't good, but it was it was a start. Someone should have nurtured and my talent, but nobody did. I should have nurtured my own talent. And yeah you know whenever I speak to a writer, there's a little bit of excitement, a little bit of fear, the little boy fear. And I was like, can I still do this? Or is that, no, no, you're on this path of business. Totally.
00:09:02
Speaker
I got to do this. I got to find a way to make this happen. That's the bottom. Listen, i'm I'm with you. I think that anybody that wants to write a book should absolutely write a book. um The fear never goes away. You know, I have four New York Times best sellers and every single book I write, whether the plan is to turn it into a New York Times bestseller, whether the plan is just to write a book for marketing purposes or personal purposes.
00:09:26
Speaker
There's like this mentality of you're only as good as your last book. Does that make sense? And so like I'm always pushing, always striving, always being like, God, this next book has to be the best book ever and whatever. And it's different in my world because I don't put my names on my books. but Like my name, you will not find it on my my client's books. Like I am essentially a ghost. I don't exist. I get paid to not exist, if that makes sense.
00:09:51
Speaker
and But there's still that ego and that leverage and that desire to always want to put out something that's so good, that changes the world, that like people see it and are like, oh, that's so good. So I believe if people want to write, they really should write. and you know, there's always ways we can improve our writing and there's ways that we can like challenge ourselves to do different things. I actually got involved in my first novel. and So you're talking about wanting to be a novelist. I actually did my first novel with a client recently and was like, wow, I didn't think I had it in me. But like, truly, the novel actually gave me a new creative outlet that I never would have pictured myself in.
00:10:30
Speaker
I thought I was really like nonfiction, business books, memoirs, like that was my that was my genre. And I had so much fun with the novel. So I think there's an element of whenever we want to create a great book, it's like passion and commitment. But it's also just enjoying the process. So if you want to write a book, because you also would enjoy the process.
00:10:50
Speaker
I think far more of us would go far further if we stopped worrying about how the book's going to do commercially and we just wrote it because for the love of writing and for the love of telling stories. And so my advice is like, if you take the Words New York Times bestseller out of your mouth,
00:11:06
Speaker
and just write because you like for the pure joy and for the pure like I did it, I made it, I created it. I mean my first bestseller, I didn't plan on it being New York Times Bestseller. I was 14. I didn't know what a New York Times Bestseller even was back then. Like I still remember the day they told me and everybody was so excited and there was a huge party and I literally sat there like I don't I don't get it. What happened? but What happened to this book? What did we do? I was worried we'd done something wrong oddly enough. Super funny because I didn't know.
00:11:36
Speaker
And I think the reason I was able to create that first book was because I wasn't worried about it being a bestseller. I was just worried about putting out the best possible book I could. And that has been my motto through every book. Whether the client comes in knowing they want to create a New York Times bestseller or not, my goal has always been, how can we create the best possible book? like The most fun, the most engaging, the best storytelling, the coolest characters, the most engaging content. How do we create that? And then everything else just kind of falls in as bonus once you're done.
00:12:10
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Thank you for saying that. That's really good. So your ideal client has typically been a business person of some sort. I'd say more about your ideal client.
00:12:21
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, my, my, the person that comes to me often has had to have been, so if we're talking in the business category of books, they have to have been in business for at least three years minimum.
Navigating Success: Marketing and Client Relations
00:12:32
Speaker
Usually it's a lot longer than that, but three years minimum. So the idea is if you have ah a piece of intellectual property that you're using, so say you're a coach, right? And you have this process that you use to coach,
00:12:44
Speaker
And you might have pulled it from a bunch of different sources, but the way that you package it together is all yours. Nobody else is doing it the way that you do it. We can turn that into a book. The reason why I say at least three years is because I need you to have been doing the work and using your IP at least for three years to prove that it's actually working.
00:13:05
Speaker
Like we need the proof, I need the data, i need the I need the client testimonials, I need the use cases that show that the way that you do things is is legit and then and that we can market that. If you just come up with an idea and try and sell it without actually practicing it at all,
00:13:20
Speaker
and It's too hard to write, it because we don't have proof. And in the business realm, we actually need proof. So my clients, at least three years in business, they've got some type of intellectual property that they know and that they love that they want to be known for. And typically, they want to, they either want a New York Times to seller, not a mandatory thing, and and fewer people actually want it these days, which is interesting.
00:13:43
Speaker
Or, more importantly, they want to be seen as an authority or an expert. They want to use it either in the work that they do or to stand on more stages to impact more lives. so That's the end goal. I wholeheartedly agree with that. I mean, my books have been written to establish my authority in particular areas in business.
00:14:01
Speaker
my first book helped me make over three and a half million dollars in sales. So I totally 100% buy into that. That's 100%. So how do you go from having the book as an authority to a book that can actually sell?
00:14:17
Speaker
Because to me, I've got authority, right? Right now, what I really want to do in the two books, two of my books became New York Times bestsellers, but that's because I have a famous co-author and he he had a show and he went and we sold lots of those. But how do I, Nicky Baloo, right now, take this latest book of mine and get my first thousand people to buy it on Amazon?
00:14:42
Speaker
Yeah. So the the big challenge is you're going from writing, and a lot of people get misconcerted. There's writing, which is ah a talent in a skill set, and then there's marketing, which is a talent in a skill set. And they're they're separate. they're not the same they They're not the same skill set. They they are not mutually exclusive. like they They separate.
00:15:02
Speaker
The way that you create a New York Times bestseller, the way you sell more books is by getting really good at the marketing machine behind those books. So whether it's organic marketing and like doing launch squads and connecting to people, whether it's sending copies of your books out to famous people and non-famous people who are going to promote it on social,
00:15:19
Speaker
whether it's doing an affiliate version of getting people to promote your book and help you sell it, whether it's stepping on stages and instead of taking a set fee for stepping on stage, they have to purchase a certain number of your books, um whether it's running advertising campaigns, PR campaigns, whether you're on every podcast that exists, every newspaper article, every TV show, it's a PR and marketing machine that moves books.
00:15:44
Speaker
is the short answer. um but But the most important thing, the the way that you can do it, even if you don't have all of that, is you have to have a book that has some type of leveraged IP that is so different that it is game changing. Nobody has ever heard it that way. Nobody has ever thought of it that way. And it really makes you kind of step out and go, oh shit, I've been doing it wrong ah my entire life. This is game changing for me. So when you think of books like um I'm trying to think of something off the top of my head that I haven't written because I can't talk about those. um Mark Manson's, right? um So if we talk about like the the type of book that's going to go change something, sometimes it's sometimes controversial.
00:16:26
Speaker
Right. Like we love a controversy. Nothing sells more books than a controversy. This is really good. No, this is crap. Nobody believes it. Blah, blah, blah. If we can get people talking about our books, good or bad, that's going to help you generate some marketing fuel. But the big ticket, the big way we sell that nobody talks about is the fact that it takes money and time and energy. You have to commit to writing the book and then you have to commit to the book tour. You have to commit to being consistent with your marketing. You have to be consistent, consistency with you know whether you're gonna sell it on, like run ads to it, whether you're gonna do a ah ah double down on a grill and marketing campaign, it's consistency and it's marketing. That's how we sell books. it has It actually has very little to do with the writing unless it's controversial and gets some talking. It's actually more about how did you plan to market and sell your book in the first place?
00:17:20
Speaker
that's That's very good advice. Thank you. So let's talk more about your kind of ideal client. How do you go about finding or attracting these guys? So the short answer is I don't. I don't do a lot of trying to attract them. I don't do a lot of advertising and marketing. I am considered a secret weapon for a reason. um My name is probably one of the most whispered names in rooms at times. right So somebody will finish their book with me.
00:17:47
Speaker
somebody else they know says, oh I've always wanted to write a book, but you know I think I'd have to hire a ghostwriter. My name gets you know casually passed across the table to that to that person. and So most of my clients come prepped and ready. They know what it's going to cost. They know what it's going to take. They show up on my doorstep just like, yep, you're my human. Let's do this, um which is really great for them. I'm super excited for them. It's a little more of an interesting process for me. So I have At this point, I don't work with clients who I can't get along with. If we have competing personality types and I have to write for you, I can't. It's not going to work because we have to build a very healthy, sometimes unhealthy relationship with you teaching me what you know.
00:18:29
Speaker
So I have to genuinely like the person. I have to know their backstory. So there's a lot of getting to know you back and forth communication. um And really, I want to work with the right client, meaning like, you can have the best topic in the world. But if it doesn't interest me enough to make me want to think about it day and night for a few months,
00:18:47
Speaker
I'm, the answer's no. I'm just not your person. So you can like the style of writing that I can, that I do. You can like the clients that I've worked with. But if your book doesn't like resonate with me personally, I can't write it. um That's not to say that we can't have differing opinions inside the books. I write books for people all the time where they talk about stuff that is not in alignment with who I am or what I'm about. I can still write it about it.
00:19:11
Speaker
But I have to genuinely like you as a human and agree with the end messaging of the book in order to even start writing it. And that's that's just a personal preference. The second is, you know, money and contracts and confidentiality clauses and all of that good stuff and timelines. But really, it's about like, are we a good fit? And most of the time they come because and they'll just like it's funny because I'll usually get a text message from the person saying, hey, so and so told me about you. I'd love to connect about my book.
00:19:41
Speaker
And it's almost like the secret code of like, oh, we're doing this thing. OK, let's. And then we sit down and have conversations about it. But the process from like the first time they contact me to starting a book can sometimes be upwards of two years. It just depends on how busy my workload is, um because I can only write one book at a time. So if I'm writing a New York Times bestseller, for example, those can take up to a year. If I'm writing just somebody's marketing book, those are typically done in 90 days.
00:20:08
Speaker
So, you know, if I've got four books for 90 days, that's my entire year. I'm only producing four books a year. Or if I'm working on a big book, I might only be producing one book that year. So it kind of depends on my schedule and my calendar as well.
00:20:25
Speaker
Coolio Coolio. So basically attracting clients is a word of mouth for you. People tell people about you and that's it. Yeah, it's fun to be it's fun to be a secret. I mean, I have websites and stuff to you. Like you can go look, but I can't part of the thing with being a ghostwriter, as you probably know, is like we don't talk about our clients. We don't talk about the people we work for. We don't talk about the projects we work on. um I have copies of all the books in my home. Many people show up at my house and are like, oh, who'd you write for? And they start going through my bookshelves trying to guess. um I keep a lot of different books on my bookshelves, not all ones I wrote. So good luck to you. I wish you the best. Have fun. Not even my husband knows who I write for. I have a special room in our house that's locked that is my writer's den. And he's not even a allowed in there. It's a confidentiality thing. Good for you. so Yeah.
00:21:17
Speaker
Crazy question, given the fact that you're not fishing for clients, why do you go on podcasts?
Podcasting and Ghostwriting: Crystal's Strategy and Lifestyle Choices
00:21:26
Speaker
I mean, listen, I'm not fishing for clients. That doesn't mean I don't want new clients, right? Sometimes the clients that come, like I said, they don't have the right project for me or it's not the right offer. I also think that the job that I do is something that not a lot of people know even exists.
00:21:44
Speaker
right um It's only been the last probably two to five years that I've actually even heard somebody say the word ghostwriter. Prior to that, I literally felt like a ghost and nobody knew what I did. you know like It wasn't a common um attribute. It wasn't something that people spoke about. so Now that it's kind of out there and people understand, and especially now AI has developed and people understand the value of having a writer and actually writing it yourself,
00:22:10
Speaker
Thank you, AI, for that. um The benefit is that people are actually seeking out people like me now. right And they're doing it more publicly because they don't know how to find me. um the The only way you can find me before, there was no website. There was just an email. like There was a phone number. You had to text it, and then I would text you back. That used to be how you get ahold of me. Now, you can go on a website, and you can find me, and you can send me an email, and we can start the conversation there. But still, there's this level of secrecy and and and and subtleness to it, but I'm always on the lookout for the for the next great book. like um Personally, for me, I am always on the lookout for the next great book. I mean, it's nice to have clients that reach out, but sometimes they're not the right fit. And to be honest with you, I want to write for people I want to write with. So sometimes if I'm not in that right network, I'm looking i'm still like looking for that human. So I think podcasts are important for somebody like me, because even as a ghostwriter,
00:23:06
Speaker
You never know where in your next client is going to come and you never know in that next book that's going to light you up and get you really excited to write is going to come down the pipe. So where it's going to come from. Well, I'll tell you, you know, um as the man who's the world's expert on how to get clients through podcast, guesting, listening to you, I just go.
00:23:29
Speaker
This woman is like legit ripe for learning what I do to help people get deals you could probably by going on not a ton of shows, but on a few shows, set yourself up with enough projects for five years, given what you say you do 90 days at a time or one year. And I just thought to myself, like, okay, if she's looking for clients, this would be very valuable for her. If she's not looking for clients, then I'm just curious, like, why would you go on a show? Like, if you've got a lineup where people already know who you are and find you, then why'd you go on a show? But if you're if you are,
00:24:09
Speaker
You should read my book. You should talk to me about the methodology because honestly, it's it's for you It's a no-brainer and I ill talk offline because I don't want to give away all the secrets and buy the book That's what it is. You gotta to buy the book I tell people that all the time you want to know go buy the book. you'll pick right look That's right, but that's but That that's powerful. So I'm going to ask you a bit of an off the wall question. OK, just given this. Oh, I love those. So face when yeah you are obviously.
00:24:40
Speaker
um You're obviously somebody who does something she loves and who's made a big dent in the universe and in the world. Like, why aren't you writing books on your own name, too?
00:24:54
Speaker
Oh, that's easy. I have no desire whatsoever to jump on Oprah's couch or go on a big, lengthy book tour or have people stalk my house. I have no desire. I don't want that. And that is not the life that I've signed up for. I think that there's a level of when you put your name on a book like yes, you're an expert. Yes, you're an authority. um But you have some fame and some level of success that goes with that. and And that is a lot of expectation. There's nothing wrong with that. I love that for my clients. That's what they signed up for. That's what they want. It's not what I want. At this point, I want freedom. I want time freedom, money freedom, energy freedom. I want to be able to ah pack my bags and head to the Maldives on a Tuesday because I freaking can. And I like the anonymity of my personality being like, I can be and do and show up however I want as long as I do the work. And somebody else gets to take the fame. i also
00:25:49
Speaker
just really like putting other people forward. I really like being a connector and being like, this is the next person you need to know. This is this really cool thing. Plus my dog, truly, I get a masterclass in everything that I have to write. So every book I've ever written, I got an actual masterclass from the human who knows it better than anybody.
00:26:10
Speaker
essentially for free, who's paying me to write this. like I have the best job in the whole wide world because I get to learn shit for free from really cool humans who like invented it. And I get to be at the forefront of that. And I wouldn't trade that for the world. like All the wisdom that I know and have gained and earned in my life often came because I had several hundreds, it feels like at times, master classes from other humans on the stuff that they know better than anybody. And it continues to make me a better writer because as you teach me what you know, I can then go and apply it to the next book. And then I learned something new and I apply that to the next book. And I don't mean like actually writing your content in somebody else's book. I just mean if
00:26:52
Speaker
If I learn a fact and then you want to fight that fact or you're writing something else about that fact, I can say, well, what about this? And it brings a new level of knowledge, a new level of wisdom to the books that I write. So being a lifelong learner and a person who is curious and questions everything, I wouldn't give that up to have my name on a book any day of the week.
00:27:15
Speaker
OK, that's that's cool. So my next off the wall question is so as a person who loves to write and is seeking cool, interesting, fun people, humans, as you put it, to collaborate with. Yeah. Do you ever get frustrated the more people don't know who the heck you are and what you can do for them?
00:27:39
Speaker
I mean, every once in a while, absolutely. and There are moments, especially when I get in rooms with really incredibly powerful humans. And and thankfully, I'm in a lot of those rooms. But when I get in those rooms, and, you know, people don't want to know my name, or they've hired somebody else, and I knew I would be a better writer for that project, like, there are moments when for sure I'm like, Oh,
00:28:01
Speaker
I just wish more people knew what I did or knew my name or um you know I was the first thought or the first point of contact for that thing. Absolutely there are those moments. And I 100% believe that there are no accidents in this world, that everything is happening for a reason. And if I didn't get the contract, there was a reason I didn't get the contract. And I'm probably better off for it. It wasn't meant for me. So to a certain level, I've had to kind of develop that thick skin to be like,
00:28:30
Speaker
cool it wasn't meant for me and what tier is mine and and I get to own that but yeah absolutely there's moments when I'm like damn like I belong in a few groups for example where um like mastermind groups and stuff where they will bring in guests like writers to talk about the writing process and I'm like oh my god I know this better than they do like I could talk the publishing industry all day every day and tell you the secrets and they'll bring in somebody who's written like one book And like, oh, best-selling author. And I was like, yeah, yeah, cool. Talk to me when you like know the industry inside and out quite like I do. But there are moments when I'm like, but that's not my deal. I haven't talked about that. They don't know that about me. I'm actively choosing not to participate necessarily in that much notoriety for who I am. So one of the downfalls is that they don't know to have me guest speak, or they don't know to put me forward first.
00:29:24
Speaker
So sometimes it bothers me. Most of the time I've made my peace with it just and just it is what it is. So Crystal, a year from now, three years from now, where would you want to be that would have you crying tears of joy in your life and business journey?
00:29:41
Speaker
oh
00:29:44
Speaker
I mean, ah it's really funny. So i I love my career, a hundred million percent. and I never picture leaving my career ever. um But I do want to probably within the next five years, slow down the number of projects that I'm taking on and take on very select projects with very select humans. I i still do take on quite a bit. um maybe Not more than I should, but I definitely take on quite a bit. So I would like to slow it down and work on a few more big quality projects versus um just pumping out a ton of like marketing books and and like expertise books. So that'll be the shift in the next probably five years. But truly, the thing that's always on my mind, first and foremost is um and it's I'm not a tradwife by any means, but it's always putting my husband and my marriage and my family first.
00:30:34
Speaker
and like really kind of getting to have that time and that commitment with them. You know, my husband's business is really busy and it's set to take us to some foreign countries. So I wanna make sure that I'm, you know, I'm i'm there for for him and for that and doing the best work that I can still do for as long as I can do it. And protecting my brain has been super important to me. So for anybody who writes or is creative or uses their brain to make money,
00:31:01
Speaker
You know, for the next five years, my commitment, you know, some people will talk about going to the gym every day. My commitment is to like my my mental health and my brain health for the the next solid five years. Well, the rest of my life, but definitely for the next five, it's protecting my creativity and my brain and making sure that that is top notch. You're a good woman. That was a wonderful thing you said about your husband and.
00:31:27
Speaker
There's a lot to be said about traditional wives and taking care of family and caring about your kids. And i that's a whole conversation for another time. But I want to say that i of everything you said today, what made me have the most respect for you was what you just said.
00:31:46
Speaker
Well, thank you. Yeah, it's important. It's always been important to me that marriage and family comes first, which is, again, part of the ghost writing. Why ghost write? I can still be at home with my husband and support my stepkids and be with family what I need to be.
00:32:01
Speaker
And especially as, you know, as parents age and you want to be around more, I have more of that ability now than I ever would if I was an actual, and not an actual writer, because I am an actual writer. But if I was a writer with my name on a bunch of books and having to do book tours and stuff, I've i've witnessed my clients and seen what that looks like. um And it's not for me. And I'm OK with that.
00:32:22
Speaker
um
00:32:25
Speaker
Crystal, this has been a fascinating ah interview and I always look forward to speaking to fellow writers. It excites me and it fills me with a bit of fear at the same time because because I think I Before I pass on from this planet, I got to do something to scratch that itch in a big way. It reminds me of that. And as I said, it's exciting and scares me at the same time. Thank you for that. um Offline, I'm going to chat with you about a couple of things. Sounds good. God bless you. um Thank you for what you do. Thank you. What's your website? How do people find out about you and your works?
00:33:10
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. So the website right now is word magic copywriting.com, but it's probably going to shift in the next week. So it's actually going to be right W R I T E word magic.com. And that's the easiest way to find me and connect with me. I'm usually around on socials, but drop me an email. If you're lucky, I'll drop you the secret phone number you text me on.
00:33:33
Speaker
yeah God bless your heart. So we end off every episode by asking you for your top three expert action steps. These are bullet points, the three best pieces of advice you have from my list. What say you?
00:33:46
Speaker
So the first one is that if I wanted to write something, I wouldn't, I would stop waiting, like actually write it down. if If you're ready to start writing, like commit to it and write it down. And if that right now just looks like writing down all the ideas you have and just solidifying like, yeah, this is probably the book I want to write, that's cool. But start by writing it down. The second thing I would look at is um making it a habit, not a hobby. So writing is a habit. It's not a hobby. It's something, you know, there's lots of people that are like, oh, well, one day I want to write a book. Well, the way that we all get there is by starting creating it as a habit. So even if that means you start with, I love the artist way as a book. So the the idea being that you write five pages every morning or three pages, whatever it is. But the idea that you sit down and you commit to it. So turn it into a habit.
00:34:40
Speaker
And the third thing I would do is honestly take the words bestseller out of your mouth and just really focus on what is the very best book I can possibly write. And stop worrying about accolades before you even hit the page. Just write the very best book that you can. And more people move further in the publishing industry when they just take their expertise and their their experiences and they write the best possible book they can, not worrying about how it's going to end up or whatever.
00:35:09
Speaker
but always remember it's for your audience. So how do you create the best story for them? And then those are usually the ones that go on and become beloved books that we you know rip pages out of or write in the margins or scribble on or you know pass down to our friends. Those are the types of books that I'd rather write anyway, rather than the book that's literally like never been opened on somebody's desktop. Amen. Crystal, thank you so much for your time.
00:35:39
Speaker
And thank you for bringing a powerful ah perspective on writing, one that I've never had the privilege of hearing before today. My pleasure. Listener, we're going to have Crystal's website in the show notes. um I hope you have a chance to check it out. And if you've been thinking about writing a book and you know you need ghostwriting help, reach out to her.
00:36:07
Speaker
And that wraps up another exciting episode of the podcast, The Thought Leader Revolution. To find out more about today's guest, the one only, Christo Adair Benning, go to the show notes at thethoughtleaderrevolution.com or wherever you happen to listen to this episode, be it iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Audible, YouTube, Rumble, or what have you. Until next time, bye-bye. This episode has been brought to you by ecircleacademy.com, the proven system to add six to seven figures a year to your thought leader practice.