Last Updated: June 11, 2018

Things have changed during the last years for aspiring authors. Self-publishing is not a dream anymore. Long gone are the days when you had to rely solely on publishing firms in order to get your work in front of people. Now authors can write books and publish them online on their own, build their audience and fan base, interact with them on a daily basis and continue writing more books.

But not every author out there is taking advantage of this formula.

One of the programs that help authors do all of that is Story Engines by Nick Stephenson and Joe Nassise.

Nick Stephenson background

I am following Nick’s work for the last 2 years. A fiction and non-fiction author that not only writes books but helps other authors get their work published. He is the creator of premium training courses that help authors use Amazon and other Kindle stores to attract people to their own websites. His main training is called “Your First 10,000 Readers”.

His work is endorsed by highly recognized names in the marketing and authoring world.

Nick started as everyone out there. He tried and failed until he found a formula to overcome any obstacles, build a follower’s tribe, massive email lists, self-publishing techniques, and development strategies.

Joe Nassise background

It was in the first video of the training that I came across Joe. Now, he is a New York Times and USA Today International fiction author and writing coach with more than a million copies of his books in print around the world. He has published over 40 books with a publishing experience of over 10 years.

He promises that the Story Engines training will help authors understand the power that exists inside their stories and how they can use that power to grow and expand their writing careers.

Story Engines Review

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Introductory Video 

Nick is giving a quick overview of the training material. The Story Engines is a system designed to break down the blockbuster Storytelling. It divides a story into parts, phases in which certain things happen beyond the writing script.

In other words, it’s a roadmap to turn your premise into a detailed story structure and framework. You get a full breakdown of every scene you need to write and every character you need to flesh out. 

It is now Joe’s turn as he is discussing the subject with Nick. He explains how he started out and how he was able to create a blueprint for the book self-publishing process. Joe was no different than other authors. He had a passion for writing but not a system to transform a sequence of words into published books that people actually want and read.

The most important factor in the writing process

Now Joe dives deep into the writing process, analyzes how important is to have a plan in place before you even start writing a story. Another key thing is that there should be conflicts throughout the story.

Let’s make a parenthesis here and let me talk a little about myself

Since a little kid, I was reading books. In fact, I was reading everything in printed format. Magazines, newspapers, I was reading them all. When I grew up this habit never stopped. Then, as a teenager, I had dreams of writing my own book, somewhen, somewhere.

A few years ago I took action and I managed to write down more than 100 pages. But I had no plan, no idea of how I will put everything down, without making critical mistakes that could ruin the whole project. For me, it was just a hobby, to cover a few hours now and then. I never thought it could turn into a business.

I remember a time when I was having a conversation with my wife.

She asked me what the book is about and how I write the script.

I replied that it was a novel and that I am trying to write down a plan, with a few basic scenes from beginning to end.

She said…”So, you think you should know the story’s end before you start writing?”…

I replied…”I think so, yes, because I’ve read many books, where mistakes runied my reading experience and at the end of those stories I was left totally disappointed”…and I continued…”Imagine reaching the end of the book, you wrote down 500-1000 pages and suddenly you discover that the end is not fascinating, there is a major mistake through the plot, anything…”…”Yes, I believe that you should be prepared”

…after a few months when I had too many new businesses to take care of, I stopped working on that novel. But, I still have the written script saved.

And now, Joe comes to highlight how important is to know the story before you even start writing. I thought, wow, I was right. But of course, I had no idea how to put things together, back then. Besides, no one ever taught me. Until now…

Now back to the video part where Joe mentions the Plan

It does not matter if you write a novel, fiction, romance, horror, fantasy, western. This system works in every genre. It gives you the ability to do “Justice” to the story you tell. That, in turn, attracts the type of readers that will devour your work, time and times again.

It is not a complicated system, it does not take months to implement. All you need are 7 key elements arranged in the right order and the willingness to take action. It is a clear way to produce stories that you can be proud of in less time, without wasted rewrites, hours upon hours of editing.

Story Engines Training

The 7 Key Elements of BlockBuster Storytelling

Every good story, no matter the genre, is made up of 7 key elements, 4 distinct phases, and 3 game-changing moments.

Story Beginning

1. Phase #1 – Preparation phase
2. Game Changer #1
3. Phase #2 – Reactive phase
4. Game-changer #2
5. Phase #3 – Proactive phase
6. Game-changer #3
7. Phase #4 – Conclusion phase

Story ending

Advantages of the System

• Helps you come up with new ideas
• Turn those ideas into compelling narratives
• Structure, plan, plot and write your books in record time
• Better drafts
• Less work
• Connection with readers on a deep emotional level
• Faster writing, more effectively, less stress
• More exposure and sales from repeated mouth to mouth

The 3 Essential Building Blocks of Any Successful Story – The Art of Story Structure

Every story should have:

1. A powerful premise
2. A compelling conflict
3. A purposeful structure

The story needs all 3 elements to work together, in conjunction with each other, in a very specific way in order to live up to the potential and deliver the emotional experience your readers are looking for.

The premise is the single-core statement that defines the story. Is what happens to the characters as a result of their actions. It tells what the story is about, and defines what’s at stake.

A powerful premise:

• Highlights the main character
• Reveals the story’s core problem
• Hints at the goal or resolution

Why is the premise important?

It guides you through the rest of the process of structuring and writing a novel. A strongly established premise at the beginning, you’ll have an easier time writing the rest of the story. Every scene that you write can be held up against that premise, to ensure you follow along with the theme of the storyline. It helps you plot the book ahead. But also when you finish the book it’s crucial to look back at the premise and answer a very important question. Was that the story you intended to tell?

You can structure a premise with a 3-step process:

• Imagine a general idea
• Turn into a working concept
• Refine into a detailed premise

A compelling conflict is all about people, or at least things that represent people. It’s not enough to write a story about a hero and a villain. These 2 characters need to face each other at some point. A story is not just about something, whether it is a person, a place, a situation, a theme, a setting. A story is about something happening.

An effective story needs a hero with a problem to solve or a goal to achieve with something at stake, something standing in their way. The intersection of those 3 elements is the conflict.

In order to delve at the heart of that conflict and make sure it’s a compelling one, you need to understand the hero and the villain at an intimate level, what drives them, what motivates them, what they want from their current situation. All characters have a past, a present, and hopefully a future. Using these 3 elements you can develop the conflict in great detail.

Full Training – What’s Included

The presentation comes in detailed, step by step instructional videos. They get you from blank page to bestseller in 60 days or less.

Module #1 – Wired for Story

How to make your books resonate with readers on an emotional level and keep them coming back for more

Module #2 – Story Elements

Intro to the building blocks of your book: Premise, Conflict & Structure

Module #3 – The Art of Story Structure

How BlockBusters are put together, the 7 step process you need to use to write them

Module #4 – We’re not in Kansas anymore

A detailed breakdown of the Preparation Phase, the cornerstone of the entire story

Module #5 – Hell Broke Loose

A deep dive into Game-changing Moment #1, or the reason why your characters exist.

Module #6 – Like a chicken with its head cut off

The reactive phase. Why it’s so important for your characters

Module #7 – Peek behind the curtain

Game-changing moment #2, how to drive your narrative forward

Module #8 – Taking the battle to the enemy

The proactive phase, how to use it to keep readers hooked until the end

Module #9 – An eye-opening revelation

Game-changing moment #3, how to dramatically raise the stakes

Module #10 – Once more into the breach

How to use the conclusion phase to end strong & get readers begging for more

Module #11 – The planning process (Part I)

Writing a book can often seem overwhelming, here’s a simple way to break it down

Module #12 – The planning process (Part II)

How to pull everything together to plan, plot, structure, and write your book in record time

VIP Bonuses

From “draft” to “published and making sales”. It works both for the traditionally published route, or the self-published model.

Nick says there are only 2 things to become a successful author

1. Great books
2. An audience of fans to sell to

Bonus #1 – The path to publication

You finished the first draft, now what?…

You decide which way to go for the publishing part. You may even decide to do both of them.

This part of the training focuses on showing you the pros and cons of each option. A step by step roadmap to get your books onto the shelves.

Bonus #2 – The 3 Step formula to grow your readership and sales

Even the best books in the world won’t find success unless there is an audience ready and waiting to read it. For that, you need effective marketing. Find readers, getting readers to stick around, learn how to sell without being sleazy. This is to take the stress out of the book’s marketing.

Bonus #3 – Networking & support community

Lifetime access to the customers’ only Facebook group. You can get help from hundreds of other authors, that are willing to share ideas. No one should feel alone in this self-publishing marathon.

Become a Digital Entrepreneur and Transform Your Life

The Beginner’s Ultra Guide to Making Money Online

More Goodies

The resource vault

A selection of published books, how they break down into the 7 key elements

Tools of the trade

Any software that you might need, step by step instructions

Unlimited technical support

By trained agents, waiting to lend a helping hand.

Ultimate Cheat Sheet

A handy reference guide, to revisit the training material.

Memberships

There are 2 memberships to choose from

Option #1 – Pro Level – $49 per month for 12 months

• 12 core modules as analyzed, all main 3 bonuses as mentioned above, the additional goodies, the 30 days guarantee

Option #2 – Advanced Level – $97 per month for 12 months

What is included in the previous membership plus…

• 1 on 1 email coaching with Joe Nassise (1 year)
• Detailed written feedback and critique – Joe will provide written feedback, personalized to your own writing. This will help you spot developmental issues early on, and give your book the best chance at success the first time.
• 12 months access to the Dream Team Network Marketing Service – Author marketing experts and practitioners to grow your email list, and readership/sales

Enrollment Closing in 03 days

FAQ Section

• I write romance, thrillers, fantasy, sci-fi, Christian fiction…Will this work for me? Yes, Story Engines is not genre-specific.
• The course is for both self-published authors and traditionally published authors.
• I am not tech-savvy and afraid to deal with confusing software…Don’t worry, it is not a course about technology.
• How long will the course take to complete? They recommend around 1-2 hours per week to watch the material, and 2-4 hours per week to complete the implementation.
• What makes Story Engines different from other courses? It is not a handful of marketing hacks that may work for only 5 minutes. It’s a complete A-Z program, that has been developed for over 10 years, and is responsible for over a million books in print.

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Final Thoughts

As I have already mentioned, I read books all my life. It’s no secret that there are books you don’t enjoy reading. Those books lack conflicts, interesting moments that could change the story in a few lines.  You need to keep your readers hooked till the end, by using game-changing moments.

And there are books that you enjoy reading not just once, but many times throughout your life. Those successful books, all have something in common. The plan, the phases, the changing moments. This is the system behind every famous story.

This training is among the best in the market. Nick is a great author implementing clever marketing techniques to boost sales and Joe is a bestseller author and coach with numerous years of experience. They created together this course that literally takes a blank page aspiring author into a published and making sales entrepreneur in a short period of time.

You can’t go wrong with such a high-quality training. Plus, you have the 30 days guarantee to ensure that you get what you asked for. I absolutely recommend it, the price is great. There are exclusive bonuses, the support is guaranteed. Nick is continuing his legacy.

I am very satisfied with another “Masterpiece” in the Self-Publishing Industry. I think the time has come for me to sit down and write the plan of the novel I started out 5 years ago. Who knows!

Other Nick Stephenson’s Resources:

• 10K readers premium training – My review
• Reader Magnets – My review of Nick’s Free eBook that helps you get started with the 10K Readers training
• Free books & Video training – My review

That’s it, another review has finished, here on Web Market Support. I look forward to seeing your next author’s success story and I am waiting for your comments and thoughts. Till next time.