INDIE JOURNEY : Julie Murphy Casserly

My Trip into Self-Publishing

Julie Murphy Casserly, CLU, ChFC, CFP®, is a 14-year veteran of the financial services industry who has declared it her mission to "financially heal America" by helping people understand their emotions behind money, and how these attitudes affect how they earn, spend and save.

A Chicago, IL-based entrepreneur, Julie founded JMC Wealth Management in 2000 and now works with more than 2,500 clients worldwide on all aspects of their financial portfolio's including: investment asset allocation and risk management, insurance needs and retirement, business, college and estate planning.

She considers understanding each client's personal life strategy, goals, and dreams to be the key that enables her to create truly personalized financial plans.

Julie had always had it in the back of her mind that she would write a book someday. Even though writing was never her top priority, she knew she had something compelling to share that was unique from the financial self-help books currently on the shelves. When the economy took a turn for the worse and after she saw how the election of President Obama invoked a feeling of hope and healing, Julie knew the time was right. The world was ready for her message. Americans need to understand their emotional connection to money!

She knew right away that she wouldn't be able to wait for the publishing world. Her intuition told her that she needed to get her message out there right away. Ultimately, this is what led her to the self-publishing world. Once the decision was made, Julie did everything possible to learn from authors who had already achieved success. She sat in on their marketing conference calls, she read about their book launch strategies and she did a ton of online research. Her best resource? The book "Self Publishing" by Dan Poynter which was her "bible" during the production phase of her book.

Overall, Julie is very satisfied with her decision to self-publish. She's been able to manage the production and the timing of the book launch and has been able to build buzz through collaborative relationships and partnerships with CNBC, investment firms, insurance firms and women's organization such as the Women's Business Development Center. In addition, Julie gave a keynote speech at the internationall-known "Celebrate Your Life" Conference and has appeared on Oprah Radio as a financial expert. Julie’s book has also received an Axiom Business Book Award and a Pinnacle Book Award in 2009, both of which honor some of the finest independently-published books on the market today.