Book Writing Class

Why Do You Want to Write a Book?

January 2, 2023 by Lisa Tener

Lisa Tener book coach — Why do you want to write a book?

I recently gave a talk to a group of coaches who’d invited me to speak to their creativity discussion group on how to “Bring Your Book to Life(R): 5 Steps to Get Started.”

Early on in my presentation, I asked participants, “Why do you want to write a book?” One participant shared, “I have a great idea.” Which is a good start, but when I dug deeper with him he said, “I want to revolutionize how coaching is done.” Wow. That’s a big idea! And a powerful motivator. What an impact that book might make! And how clarifying to dig to the deeper reasons for writing.

Questions to Ask Yourself for Clarity on “Why Write a Book?”

Rhonda Spencer and book — Helps parents raise resilient kids .

Another participant shared that she wanted her readers to understand her particular perspective and teachings. Okay, but why? What will they get out of it? How might it change their habits, beliefs, trajectories? How might it create transformations in their lives?

She’d shared earlier that she was in a state of transition in her career. Might the book be a bridge to this new work? Might it help guide her way? Might it help her establish herself and create opportunities in this new arena? What did she envision as the impact of her new work on the people she wanted to work with?

Ask yourself, “Why do I want to write a book?” Answer. And then go deeper. What about that _____? Why does that matter? What does it mean to me? Keep asking yourself questions that dig deeper and you’ll get to a more potent “Why?” that will help motivate you.

What to Do When You Feel Stuck

feedback first miracle of writing a book — Helped launch a new consulting biz

Your deeper why will motivate you when the going gets tough. When the passion gets diluted, or you hate what you’ve written, or you question whether anyone will buy this book. Because, no matter how excited you are at the beginning of the writing process, there will be times where your enthusiasm flags.

You might get busy. Tired. Hungry. Distracted. Doubtful. Distraught. Overwhelmed. Confused. Stuck.

Go back to your question: Why do I want to write this book? And continue to dig. Maybe some of your answers have changed. Maybe you’ll discover new reasons or insights. Maybe those reasons why might even suggest changes to the book–a new direction, a different structure, or more subtle shifts.

If you need help getting your book written, consider a book concept consultation (for clarity, direction, structure and for out-of-the-box ideas for an outstanding book. You can also check out my self-study programs and, if you need accountability and inspiration, join me for Get Your Writing Done!

Please share your reasons for writing a book below as a comment, so you can clarify your deeper why and we can cheer you on!

Bring Your Book to Life® in 2022 * Jumpstart Session

March 1, 2022 by Lisa Tener

Did you miss the Bring Your Book to Life® training on Wednesday March 2?

Listen to the audio recording here.

Watch the video .

On this call we teach you how to:

author Victoria Dunckley MD with book — Bring Your Book to Life^® graduate Victoria Dunckley MD, finds her published book in a local bookstore. Since publishing Reset Your Child’s Brain, Dr. Dunckley has been on Good Morning America TWICE and in multiple summits, documentaries and national media.

Get started, stay motivated and finish your exceptional book in record time.
Break through any self doubt that’s getting in the way.
Unlock your unique voice as a writer.
Have fun and stay connected to your inspiration throughout your book-writing journey.

and I share secrets that have helped my clients secure 5- and 6-figure book deals!

If you are interested in exploring my Bring Your Book to Life 10 week program to get your first draft completed in just 10-12 weeks (and an exception book you can be proud of!), find out more here.

Book Title, Audience and How Niche is Nice

March 25, 2020 by Lisa Tener

Do you have questions about your book title, the audience for your book, and how niche or broad to go?

Last December, in the bonus call for my Fast Track Your Book Proposal course, participants got to ask their questions of Michael Larsen, co-author of How to Write a Book Proposal (now in its 5th edition).

The highlight of the call was when Mike gave specific advice to each person on the call. He had some great ideas for book titles and gave a good reminder that, when coming up with a title, “Don’t sell the problem. Sell the solution.”

Mike reminded us all that every talk, blog post and podcast is “an opportunity to test your book title with your market.”

One conversation centered on the question of how niche or broad to go with the book’s concept, audience and, therefore, title. If you go too broad, you risk the potential of losing your core audience. Yet, a bigger market can mean more sales—IF you are able to reach the larger market and not dilute the message or confuse readers about who and what the book is for.

It reminds me of a client who wrote a terrific book about a system that worked for depression, anxiety and addiction. When we approached his dream publisher, a mid-sized and somewhat niche house for psychology books, the acquisitions editor who bought the book said, “Pick one. In our experience we have trouble selling a book that has too many problems it solves. We do best with books that solve one problem.” He pointed out that a big five publishing house might be able to swing the more diverse audience but their audience would do best with the more niche book.

The author picked the problem the acquisitions editor was most excited about and the book was published successfully. Of course, it’s always important to listen to your intuition. At the same time, do be open to expert advice. I find, in general, that the authors who are flexible and listen to their book coach, literary agent and acquisitions editor, then check in with their gut, are the most successful and fulfilled in their book writing and publishing journeys.

Are you struggling with audience, title or both? Ask questions or share insights below!

8 More Reasons to Write a Book This Year

January 8, 2020 by Lisa Tener

If you’ve follow my blog, you may have read my post or free ebook, 40 Reasons to Write a Book.

8 More!

For the new year, and in preparation for next week’s “Bring Your Book to Life in 2020” free training call, I came up with a few new reasons to write a book. I hope they inspire you.

You can find the obvious reasons (and some nifty, out-of-the-box reasons as well) in my free downloadable ebook, 40 Reasons to Write a Book.

Here’s some new inspiration:

To get in touch with the essence of your mission and message. There’s nothing like writing a book to help you get clear about your mission and calling. Writing a book informs how to share your wisdom in your truest voice. I’m living that lesson right now as I work on my favorite book yet. Wish me luck. I discuss my latest draft with my book coach on Wednesday!
To help people navigate uncertain or scary times: As a career/success coach, Tama Kieves noted the theme of fear coming up more regularly as clients grappled with greater uncertainty in our culture, environment, politics, work and social milieu, and, of course, their personal lives. Her antidote? Thriving Through Uncertainty, an invitation for readers to “walk through this doorway” into “the life you didn’t plan.” Her goal was to give her readers “the right support” for stepping out into uncertainty, to help people realize that what’s in their way, is their way, and to help them discover their most extraordinary answers, even in times of stress.
To support an under-served group of people: Unlike sleep books for parents of babies and toddlers, Lynelle Schneeberg’s Become Your Child’s Sleep Coach offers a solution to parents of school-aged children. (I can attest to its effectiveness — it empowered my youngest to become a great sleeper!
To get people out in nature: Craig Seyfried wrote Dad’s Journal: a Naturalist’s Guide to a Wonderful Life to honor his father and help others discover the adventures awaiting in deep connection with nature. Craig reports how moving it’s been to hear from people who knew and loved his dad. They share how reading about his dad’s journey inspired them.
To “change the trajectory of someone’s life”: Kristin Meekof, Author of A Widow’s Guide to Healing spent three years traveling the world (Kenya, United Kingdom, USA) interviewing over 100 widows for her book. “My hope is that someone who reads it will be able to connect with another widow’s story and feel less alone. Also, I included practical advice from experts who work with widows because loss has some very real challenges. I wanted to be able to guide widows through them.”
To Empower Readers: Leena St. Michael saw how burned out many of her fellow activists were becoming. She wrote The Happy Activist to give them tools to nurture and recharge in order to be effective and sustain their work long term.
To bring in new income streams: I recently heard from someone who just signed a book contract. Among several reasons, she envisions her book as a way to boost a new program she’s developing.
To give parents a breather: Dr. Carla Naumburg’s How to Stop Losing Your Sh*t with Your Kids offers parents practical tools and humor to deal with the inevitable challenges of parenting in today’s world.

Inspired to Get Going?

Need motivation to get started and impassioned? Download the free, inspiring ebook, 40 Reasons to Write a Book.

The Power of Community in Writing, Publishing and Promoting a Book

October 3, 2018 by Lisa Tener

This week, I’ve seen the power of community in action as Leena St. Michael reached out to her community and over 200 Activists and people-who-love-Leena signed up to be part of her launch team. The result is that Leena’s book, The Happy Activist, has hit several bestseller lists on Amazon.

It reminded me how powerful it is to do things in community. While writing itself can be a solitary sport (and maybe even not that when we consider the divine guidance that often comes through to help us), so much of the act of creating and sharing a book comes from community.

I see time and again in my book writing programs how people who’ve struggled to write a book for years finally get it done when they commit to it and get the support of a community and a loving, firm guide (yes, that would be me in this instance).

3 Ways to Get Community Support in Writing, Publishing and Promoting a Book

Ask for support from a current community—your women’s or men’s group, a mastermind group or a group of friends.
Join a new group that’s specifically for whatever aspect of book-writing you are entering—writing, publishing or launching.
Create a new group—perhaps at your local library—to support your book writing and publishing journey.

7 Questions to Ask Yourself:

How often do I want to meet? Weekly, bi-weekly, monthly?
How far am I willing to travel (or do I prefer a virtual group—no travel necessary)?
Do I want an expert to guide the process or do I prefer to set up my own process and organize a group? (and do I have time for that?)
What kind of focus am I looking for in the group meetings? Do I want the group to focus on feedback on writing? Do I want to use group time to learn more? Do I want to use group time to brainstorm big picture questions?
Do I have time to read other people’s work between meetings and have them read my work, or would I prefer a class or group where we do not read each other’s work between meetings?
What type of writers do I want to connect with? Similar genres? A variety?
What am I looking to find and create in this community? (encouragement, networking, creative brainstorming, sharing of contacts and connections, a launch team?)

5 Things to Look for (or Set Up) in Your Group

book writing program — Participants in My Bring Your Book to Life Program in Narragansett

Whether you search for a writing group to join or set up your own. Here are important things to look for:

Look for alignment of commitment: Make sure you all agree on what you’re willing to put in (reading/not reading, etc.). Don’t agree to a group where you know you can’t meet the commitment.
Look for—or create—a group with clear rules and structure. Without that, you may find that one person can hijack a whole meeting, or you just won’t accomplish what you set out to do.
If you are joining a class or mastermind, make sure the group is structured to focus on the challenges you are facing and wish to address.
If you are starting your own group, consider a guest meeting where you can get a sense of the group members and make sure you are all a good fit for each other. I once was part of a writing group where one member spent a good 15 minutes discussing her health issues each time. A one-time guest visit can help you determine whether someone is a match before they join. Be kind and compassionate if they are not, and say it gently.
Consider a group that is writing in the same genre. As you all grow in your writing, you’ll have the most to offer each other. Plus, are more likely able to support each other through platform building, launching and other phases!

Looking for a group? Check out my Fall/Winter Book Writing Mastermind!

Do you have any tips or insights to share about creating community to support your writing? Share your comments below.

The Power of Sharing Writing, Even in Draft Form

May 31, 2018 by Lisa Tener

Author Helen Deines reading from her book — Helen Deines, sharing writing: reading a passage from her book A Dance with Hummingbirds at Willett Free Library

Are you reluctant when it comes to sharing your writing?

Sharing Writing to Get Feedback

We have a ritual in book writing class. At the end of the call, people are free to leave or to stay on the line to listen to one classmate read a page or so from their rough draft and offer feedback to the writer—sharing what drew them in, phrases that moved them, writing techniques, observations about what works well in the piece, etc.

I often use the opportunity to point out how the author employed certain techniques we learned about in class. Sometimes I share a tip or two for improvements, but, by and large, we focus on what’s already working. Participants love the opportunity to hear each other’s work and to reinforce the writing concepts we discuss in class.

The bigger transformation, though, is what sharing writing does for the emerging author reading his or her piece.

Sharing Writing Can Reinvigorate You

One week that really stuck out for me was when the writer/reader had been struggling with writing about a painful topic. “Why am I putting myself through all this pain again? Am I just increasing the pain in the world to revisit this?” She seriously considered quitting.

She got her answer after sharing her writing on the call. While all our readings were inspirational, after this one you could hear the emotion in each speaker’s voice as classmates shared the impact the piece had on them. Some shared how personal the writing was for them (having been through a related experience). Others shared how they could see how impactful this writing and information would be to readers who found themselves in need of the advice in the book.

Each share affirmed this writer’s calling to write her book. Classmates confirmed that this book was sorely needed. Although the writer expected the material to feel heavy, it became clear that people actually felt lighter. It was as if, in sharing her burden, she’d enabled others to share theirs and not carry their related burdens all alone. It reminds me of that trick where everyone puts a pinky under a heavy dinner table and—lo and behold—when we all raise our pinkies at the same time, our pinkies lift the table into the air.

sharing writing can feel painful — Photo by Yuvraj Singh on Unsplash

Yes, her book had to revisit the painful points in her journey, but it also offered wisdom, experience, support, nourishment, important information along the way. The stories, though covering difficult emotional territory, also spoke to readers’ situations and helped them know they are not alone. That is one of the most basic human needs—to know we are not alone in our suffering. Even more helpful, her book offered hope that, no matter the outcome, one can survive loss and find new meaning in life.

Yes, there can be challenging points along your book writing journey. Sharing writing, reading aloud to supportive others—in a class, on the phone, to a friend—can give you that boost you need to know how important it is for you to get over the challenges and write your book in spite of—no because of—these challenges. The world needs your voice, your wisdom, your words. Share them.

You don’t have to share a super-polished draft of your writing either. Just trust, in that moment, your words, rough as they may be, can move your listener.

Don’t wait. Someone is there who can be touched today, who can remind you why you’re writing this book. They can help you move from stuck or even discouraged to hopeful, heartened, healing and reinvigorated, once you realize the effect of your writing on that person.

Sharing Your Writing is a Shift and a Gift!

One classmate said that he saw how the author’s writing would free her readers. This opened up a whole new way of seeing things.

Where she had worried about burdening her readers, after sharing her writing, her classmate saw freedom for her readers. And she realized he was right.

Looking for more inspiration? You may enjoy this post about tapping into creativity and flow.