What is a Brain’s Trust? Why is it important?

How I’ve learned to create my own Brain’s Trust for my creative work.

Well, you’ve finished your project, sculpture, painting, manuscript, music score or poem. What’s next?

You love it. Your mum loves it. You think to yourself; it is the best I can do. But is it good enough?

One of the fundamental characteristics of humans is the ever-nagging self-doubt. Should we just push our project to the back of the desk, tucked in a computer folder or hide it in the shed because we aren’t sure it’s good enough. Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t? But when we are sure that it is the best we can do, what’s next?

This is where I struggle. I know what I’m good at, I even know what I’m great at, but there is a hell of a lot that I just don’t know.

Let’s get down to basics

I am a self-published Children’s Picture Book author. I have a great story, or so I believe. But how do I make sure without spreading my work far and wide before I even get it off the ground?

What I learned quickly in my career was to find what I call a Brain’s Trust.

I have found in my ‘circle-of-influence’, family, friends, clients, and family/friends of these people, a fantastic group of trustworthy skilful people to help me get my book off the ground, or in my case out from the back of the desk.

And it was simple. All I really had to do was ask.

Do we really know what our acquaintances really do? What’s their passion? Do their passions complement mine?

I needed to get out of my head and stop trying to do everything myself. I made a what do I need list and you can too.

Create a List

Something like this. Personalise it for your circumstances.

I have 10 manuscripts but how do I weed them down to the best 4? I asked my clients with children/grandchildren or who work in the kid industry to be beta readers. I gave them the manuscripts and a quick survey with key points such as do the manuscript have age-appropriate wording, child appropriate themes, readability and likeability.

From this, I could identify the top 3. These beta readers were invaluable.

I then left these manuscripts for 2 months so I could look at them with fresh eyes. After 2 re-writes, I had to find development and copy editors.

This was when I thought, how am I going to go about this? So, I joined a local writer’s group. After a few months, I got to know some members and became a committee member and therefore expanding my potential contacts. It was at one of these meetings where I found another member who helps authors in editing, marketing, etc. I grabbed her card and got in touch. Now three of my manuscripts have been edited by her company.

Meanwhile, I started asking my clients what is their passion and this is where I found out that one of my clients designs book covers and book layouts on the side. I checked her work and it was great. She also knew a wonderful artist who I hired to do the illustrations for my first manuscript.
All the while, I have been doing some studying of my own to expand my writing skills into copywriting. This is where I learned about freelancers and Freelance Companies. With research, I joined one as a buyer and found my next two illustrators.
Through the writers’ group, one of the committee members put me in touch with a videographer who was looking for a scriptwriter. We connected and now he is going to produce a video for me for a Kickstarter campaign I am doing for my first manuscript.
Also, through the writers’ group, I met a member who had run her own Kickstarter campaign. I asked her questions about her campaign, then researched other successful campaigns.

Just through the philosophy of asking people close to me, what they do and what are their passions has allowed me to form what I call my Brain’s Trust. My beta readers, editors, Writers’ group members, clients, and clients contacts.

These people have the skills, knowledge and objectivity that I don’t have to critique and help my work become the best that it could be.

Brain’s Trusts are not just for creators.

Everyone needs helps sometimes

It is not just the artistic types who need help to achieve their goals and dreams. All people from all works of life gather a Brain’s Trust around them even if they don’t know it.

Have you found your Brain’s Trust yet?

If not, have a good look at the people that you know. Do you really know them? Do you know their skills, their goals and their passions? If not, ask. They may want to be a part of your project but don’t want to seem to interfere. What are you waiting for?

I know I would be lost. Stumbling through the unknown of how to make my books come alive. Wasting time and money learning skills that are already available to me through my Brain’s Trust. By creating my Brain Trust allowed me to spend my money more wisely and as a bonus financially helping my friends. Not waste time on learning skills I do not need, leaving me more time to write and create more manuscripts.

Don’t wait. Build up your Brain Trust like I have. You won’t be disappointed.