I'm just about finished with @Julie Broad's book and this one paragraph really stands out to me -- especially in light of (and tying into) her new video, "Is AI Stealing Your Book Sales?" While it's true that AI is sneaking into and taking up space in so many areas where humans used to be, it cannot take the place of a BRAND. Here's what Julie writes in the 'Author Brand' chapter of the book: "Your brand at a high level is about how you make people feel, what you are known for, and how your brand came to be. It's important to know your origin story, share it as part of your brand building, and work that into the development of your author platform." THIS is where and how we win over AI. Some of the most successful businesses are personality-driven brands. In today's world where human connection has shrunk significantly, the real human expression of brand can be a massive differentiator. AI cannot show up as a live personality. Nor can AI replicate or achieve how we show up as humans or tell our stories. It cannot create origin stories that have the depth of soul, passion, mission or emotion that we do. Long live the army of soul. If you had to sum up your origin story in one sentence, what would it be? Here's an impromptu go at mine that led to 3 published books: "Girl survives horrific trauma, goes on a PTSD healing rampage, then creates trauma recovery programs designed to facilitate knowledge, education, and transformation." Well, something like that. It's late and the pups need to go for a walk so I'll leave it there for now. Can't wait to see your origin story summaries!

This is a question I love to ask writers even before they start writing (and yes, I totally stole this from Simon Sinek). If you're able to put into words why you're writing this book and why you're the best person to write this person, your point and impact will come across even more so to your readers. So... What's your why?

Hello! I'm a brand strategist and marketing designer and have written an ebook on branding, but am now working on a full-length book concept. I enjoyed Julie's webinar and look forward to the resources and discussions here as well.