Hi, I’m Cathryn. I’m a Book Coach and Publisher who also does a fair bit of writing for media, speaking gigs, and the occasional karaoke session. But only in front of a large audience. I’m not into those small, private karaoke rooms. Think of somewhere between a hall and a stadium. That’s my jam.

But seriously, while I joke (kind of) about loving a big audience, I’m very serious when it comes to coaching. When you start and finish your book (I’ll be honest, it’s the keeping-on-going and finishing which gets people stuck), I’ll be cheering like the embarrassing parent whose had one too many beers at a football game.

After 15 years of working in marketing and media, I finally wrote that book I’d been dreaming about. In fact, I started it when my newborn son was 6 weeks old. “Now that I’ve got all this free time, I can start writing that novel!” I thought. Clearly I had baby brain and wouldn’t know a good idea if it poked me in the eye.

A few months later, after spending months writing when he was asleep and driving myself into the ground with exhaustion, I took a break from my book. It was a sexy comedy, and it’s hard to be funny when you’re exhausted and on the verge of tears all the time.

Just over a year later, I was talking to my husband about my unfinished manuscript, which was silently mocking me from my desk. I hated the fact I hadn’t finished it and I  knew that it was time. My husband agreed and supported me. “You don’t want to wake up at 70 and say ‘Damn, I wish I’d written that book,” he said… and it was the final bit of motivation which drove me to get it done.

Going back to the book, I’ll admit I was still exhausted, because I was back working full-time and my son wasn’t a great sleeper, but I was also determined to finish it and decided that I could survive on an average of four hours’ sleep a night for a few months. So, guided by the wisdom of two published authors, and a mentor, I discovered the ‘secret formula’ for finishing a book and got my first draft finished.

From there I went on a huge journey of editing, pitching agents, getting excited and then let down by said agents, self-publishing, publicity, author talks, photo shoots and more. If you google my novel ‘Sex, Lies, and Cruising‘, you’ll get an idea of what a crazy ride I had doing everything from morning television, to prime time FM radio, large metro newspapers, and magazines like Cosmopolitan (which was my #1 target publication to reach my audience).

There was even ‘talk’ about my book being made into a TV show!

From there I personally managed to get Big W (Australia’s biggest book retailer) to stock my book, and negotiated a deal with a wonderful distributor which saw my novel going into small and large bookstores across Australia and New Zealand.

Last I heard it was with a major distributor in London who is looking at selling it into bookstores across Europe and the UK.

Now, as much as I love writing, and had started on the next two books in the trilogy, I felt a new calling when I discovered coaching. Wow. I once described coaching as a lighthouse shining out over a stormy sea. As sappy as it sounds, that’s just how it felt when I discovered the power of coaching. I wanted to be the best coach I could, so before I started working with clients, I studied a Diploma of Leadership, Coaching and Mentoring – run by Queensland TAFE and accredited by the International Coaching Federation.

I went into it thinking that coaching was basically giving people advice (which I used to love) and by the end of the first lesson I was almost holding back tears. I know, right? I sound like a complete doofus but if you’ve ever had an experience where something resonates with you, especially if it’s the very first time you’ve had that feeling – it can be pretty overwhelming!

After doing some general ‘life’ and business-related coaching for a while, I worked with my own coach (I basically think it’s essential to have a coach and experienced mentor in business) and identified my ‘zone of genius’ – which is just a fancy way of saying that I get to use all the skills and experience I’ve gathered through a career of marketing/media, book publishing and coaching, and put them together in one awesome and powerful package.

This is how I became a Book Coach.

A few years later, the business has grown from strength to strength. Today, we are a team of 15 industry professionals and experts, and we help coaches, consultants, speakers and entrepreneurs write and publish non-fiction books including self-help, business books and memoirs.

We support and guide you from your idea right through the planning and writing process, so you know exactly what to do and have the accountability you need to get it done. You will then work with my team to have it edited, designed, and printed, and put out in the world!

In 2021, we have taken it up a notch.

After observing the extreme success of some of my clients, and the beautiful books making much less impact by other clients, I realised the missing ingredient… Leveraging.

Most authors are so focused on creating a beautiful book, that once it’s published, they take their foot off the accelerator, and don’t really ‘do’ much with the book.

Thought Leaders Academy is our 12-month program which goes beyond the book, and turns authors into thought leaders. With an incredible faculty of experts in speaking, media, profile building, funnels, courses, and more, you will learn all the ways to skyrocket your profile and your income using your book (because it’s not through sales!).

Being the CEO of Change Empire Books, and delivering this new, world-class program, is a privilege and an honour. I hope we see you in there soon.

Cathryn Mora
CEO, Change Empire Books