We have had the pleasure of working with Lisa Allen for many years, through website and brand redesigns, ongoing tech and social media support, and more. A well-known confidence coach and seasoned speaker, Lisa reached out to Market Refined Publishing this time with a clear message and a big mission: to help women ditch self-doubt and lead with purpose. Her new book, Your Confidence Compass: From Self-Doubt to Self-Leadership, would be a signature piece of that mission—and she needed a publishing partner who could help bring every layer of it to life.
From the collaborative book mapping and content development to her personalized influencer packages, Lisa’s project was a joy to manage, and a great example of a client who leaned in and showed up ready to steward her message well. The final product is fantastic—it absolutely highlights Lisa’s personality and brand and will be a great companion piece to her coaching business.
About This Recent Project
Manuscript Development & Edits
Through her years of coaching and teaching, Lisa has cultivated a library of resources and tools, paired with her experience and wisdom, to assist others with identifying their strengths, weaknesses, and next action steps. The challenge was organizing that wealth of information in a format that allowed a reader to follow their own self-coaching journey. To help overcome this challenge, the editorial portion of the process needed to be deeply collaborative and involve multiple members of the MRP team.
In Phase 1 of the edits, Mara started with a developmental review of the raw content, and—through a series of Zoom calls and Asana conversations—worked to restructure and refine the manuscript. Then she and Lisa worked through the developmental edits and final content additions together, in detailed conversations about content clarity, chapter flow, and how best to maintain Lisa’s coaching voice throughout the book. Her thoughtful questions and responsiveness were key in helping Lisa clarify complex sections and fully align the tone with her audience.
Raejan stepped in to manage Phase 2 of the manuscript edits, polishing the content through copy and line edits in a way that preserved Lisa’s warmth while ensuring professionalism and consistency across the pages. She focused on grammar, punctuation, clarity, and line-level edits that elevated the final read and ensured that all quotes and Scriptures were accurate and consistent throughout.
Phase 3 of the editorial process brought in Randi for the final proofread and formatting of the manuscript. Randi’s care and attention to detail solidified the file, tying up all loose ends to be sure the document was properly and professionally styled and error-free, ready for Nelly to begin the interior design.
Cover & Interior Design
Lisa already had a pretty concise vision of the design she wanted for the book’s cover. The title of the book and the visuals included in the content, plus her clear input, provided a strong starting point for our talented book designer, Nelly. Lisa promptly made her selection from the initial iterations of the design and, with a few minor adjustments and a surprise addition of animal print stilettos, the front and back covers were refined and ready to print.
Once the manuscript was finalized, Nelly then crafted the interior layout for both the print and digital editions, highlighting the fun SHOE types and interweaving the coaching resources in a way that made the book fun and memorable for the reader. From chapter openers to spacing between paragraphs, every detail was designed for both aesthetic appeal and readability. {Spoiler Alert: The appendix of the book also provides exclusive access to on-brand tools and exercises to expand the reader’s experience. Don’t miss out on these!}
Publishing & Optimization
We designed and formatted Your Confidence Compass for both IngramSpark and Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), in both print and eBook formats. Publishing on both platforms allows for expanded distribution and greater visibility across major retailers—including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, Walmart, and more.
Sara used her expertise to create our typical metadata research package, establishing categories and keywords to maximize the book’s reach and exposure particularly on Amazon. This package also provides ad hooks, comparison titles, and AMS keywords to be sure that our authors have the necessary tools to create ad campaigns on Amazon during or post-launch. As an added value to the research package, Sara also created marketing copy for the back cover and product description and fine-tuned Lisa’s bio for her author profiles online.
Mandy oversaw the setup of all product listings, managed metadata implementation, and created Lisa’s Author Central and Goodreads pages. She also ensured all technical files for paperback interiors and ebook editions were optimized for smooth delivery and approval on both the KDP and IngramSpark platforms.
Marketing & Publicity
As part of the full-service marketing and launch roadmap, the MRP team provided a thorough marketing and launch strategy tailored to Lisa’s message, platform, and goals. This included a branded sales page on her current website, a 6-part email campaign, a digital assets package and content calendar, and a custom influencer publicity campaign complete with hand-packed swag boxes for like-minded influencers, all of which utilized the time and talents of Sara, Mandy, Christa, and Randi to bring the various milestones to fruition.
Lisa’s busy coaching and speaking schedules often limited her availability to us through this phase of the project, so our team pivoted as needed to ensure that we maximized every opportunity to promote and market the new release well. One particular shift in the original plan was moving from a traditional publicity and outreach campaign to the influencer packages, a first for our team. Rather than working to garner media and podcast appearances for Lisa, which required a bit more of her time and presence in the conversations, we opted for the swag-filled boxes and a few custom and unique print items for a carefully curated list of leaders who would appreciate the message and value of the book.
Together, all of these marketing, publicity, and social media pieces formed a cohesive and intentional launch for Your Confidence Compass, helping Lisa reach new audiences while staying grounded in her passion and vision.
What Lisa had to say…
“You made this project doable for me. Your developmental edits, line edits, strategy and especially the finished product. The book is gorgeous. The moodboard and design inside and out was exactly me. I continue to get feedback that the book feels exactly like having a coaching conversation with me. YOU GOT ME. I cannot say how grateful I am for the way you and your professional and gifted team have handled every phase of this project. So very grateful and happy to recommend to anyone. Thank you!”
Services Included in this Project
- Book mapping and restructuring + content development
- Developmental, copy/line, and proofread manuscript edits
- Book cover and interior design, formatting, and typesetting for IngramSpark and Kindle Direct Publishing (Print, eBook, and Audiobook), with additional graphics, illustrations, and branded PDF resources
- Metadata, category, and keyword research for IngramSpark and Kindle Direct Publishing
- Marketing copy for the product listing and author bio
- Product(s) and author profile setup and optimization for Amazon Author Central
- Use of Market Refined Publishing imprint
- Sales page design
- Marketing and launch strategy and implementation
- Influencer packages in lieu of publicity campaign
- Digit assets and content calendar
- Social media audit and optimization
- Email marketing campaigns
Team Members Involved
Randi Avant
Mara Eller
Christa Hutchins
Nelly Murariu
Raejan Noh
Carol Poortvliet
Mandy Roberson
Sara Ward
Find out more about these ladies and the rest of the team here at MRM: Meet the Team
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