Lisa Tener

Book Writing Coach

Inspiration

Writing in the Zone…Again

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Are you writing in the zone?
Are you writing in the zone?

Last week in book writing class, management coach and HR consultant Carrie Beers shared how she found herself amidst intense turmoil at a time when she needed tranquility to foster her creative process. While having her home re-done, she’d temporarily “stored” boxes and piles everywhere, particularly in her office which seemed an uninviting place for inspired writing.

Carrie Beers finds inspiration through meeting her muse
Carrie Beers finds inspiration through meeting her muse

She remained determined to meet her commitments and work on a chapter of writing, but the environment seemed unlikely to support creative flow. And then…in the middle of all the chaos, she came upon her notes from my workshop “Writing in the Zone” which she had taken last year.

Carrie read through her notes and reconnected with her muse–that creative inner energy that seems all-knowing, wise and abundant. In the first workshop, her muse had seemed a bit more distant–vague–just a feeling and colors. But that subtle connection alone helped her to get in touch with the sense that it was finally time to begin writing her book.

cropped-road
Carrie took this photo on the way to class (though I can't seem to crop it right and do it justice)

In her office, surrounded by boxes, Carrie realized she needed to find a calmer space in her home to write. She retreated to her sun room and connected with her muse, a now familiar figure  in white, “always waiting for me, never walking away or towards me.”

Her muse encouraged her to quiet her mind. She handed Carrie a sea shell

a message in the sand from Carrie's muse?
a message in the sand from Carrie's muse?

and encouraged her to listen and let the book unfold.

I’m always impressed with the clarity and simplicity with which our muses convey information. Somehow, when the answers come, we don’t just get the understanding in our minds. Our hearts and very souls begin to own the answers. They become real, tangible and, therefore, easy to take root in our lives and our writing.

If you’re local enough (Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut), I hope you’ll join me for a half day of inspired writing, learning my 5-step system for inspired writing, connecting with your muse in new, powerful ways, and making headway on a project or embracing a new project–maybe one you don’t even know about yet.

I’ll be teaching writing in the zone at All That Matters in Wakefield, RI on Sunday, February 28 from 12;30-4. If you can’t make it, feel free to ask any questions about writing in the zone on this blog–or tell me your writing challenge and I’ll suggest a solution!

Book Writing: Insights on Voice, Humor and Flow

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On the path to writing your book? Here's the view out the window from book writing class
On the path to writing your book? Here’s the view out the window from book writing class

Truth is, half the reason I started this post is to share the beautiful photo Carrie Beers took from book writing class last week. Can you imagine a more inspiring setting for book writing?

The other, more important half, is to share some of the insights that come up in class–and the great ideas that people share.

During a discussion on finding your voice as a writer and striking the right tone, Rudy Wilson Galdonik shared her secret for writing with humor. She goes to bed reading a book by a humorous writer whose tone somewhat matches what she’s going for.  In the morning, Rudy gets up at [gulp] four or five in the morning and just writes.

Rudy Wilson Galdonik shares her secrets as a humorist
Rudy Wilson Galdonik shares her secrets as a humorist

“It’s always funnier when I write immediately upon waking, after having read something funny the night before.”

You might worry about taking on someone else’s tone, but–in my own experience–it more tends to spice up your writing–it will still sound like you, only funnier (or sassier, more playful, wiser…whatever tone it is you’re going for). Try it and let me know how it works for you…

Several people in class decided to try this trick and Marjorie Foer reported that she immediately went to the library to get some before bed books to inspire her tone. The librarian  recommended Studs Turkel, but, “His books are still sitting on the floor waiting to be opened.”

Marjorie Foer Turned to Her Intuition for Guidance on What to Read to Inspire her Writing for the Next Day
Marjorie Foer Turned to Her Intuition for Guidance on What to Read to Inspire her Writing for the Next Day

Instead, Marjorie, whose book is about speaking naturally and ending stuttering by using intuitive techniques, found herself returning home to trust her intuition. Bye bye Studs.

“I felt drawn to Judith  Orloff’s Positive Energy. The first chapter is on intuition  which is a huge part of my work. The interesting turn in this little story  is that I decided to listen to my intuition for inspirational
sleeping. I got quiet and centered, asked for clarity regarding how to write my next piece and then wrote in my journal just before closing my eyes to go to sleep.”

“BOOM! My reception  was clear and the next day the information came  through. Today I wrote the piece that came through first, and I have other
ideas to work on after being stuck for weeks.

“Even though I knew  which story I wanted to share, my writing flowed like molasses. I  stuck with it and finished that story but tonight I’m  adding a clear request for the writing to flow, for me to get out of  the way and just let the writing download through me.

“I could see  myself making the request tonight before bed and as I saw this, I got  feedback about my need to walk, do yoga and eat healthier to clear my
channel.  Pretty cool.

“Remember how I lost weight in the early part of  your last course because writing and health were intertwined? Now  I’ve entered that part of my learning spiral again, but with a  different level of consciousness.  Writing in my journal is the key, I can’t lie to  myself there and I feel it’s becoming a sacred place for me to meet  with my Higher Self.”

So, what do you do just before closing your eyes at night? What will you do? Please share your intentions and results with this community of writers by adding your comments below. This is an exciting experiment for us all!

Perseverance: An Author’s Best Friend

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It’s always a thrill when my clients’ books come out and I get that brown cardboard package from Amazon. When Deb Scott finally announced that her book was here, though, I found it especially fulfilling.

Deb had some huge setbacks in her process…making her a great example for the role or perseverance in the life of an author.

Both her parents passed away within a year. Deb took care of them until their deaths, as sole caregiver. After that, she set her sight on writing and publishing her self-help book, The Sky is Green and the Grass is Blue: Turning Your Upside Down World Right Side Up.

Her inheritance was supposed to provide the security for her to pursue her new dream and career as an author, speaker and trainer–and to provide the funds to launch her book. But in the middle of preparing the book for publication, she lost all her inheritance and savings to the $200 Millennium Bank Ponzi scheme.

Deb saw it as an opportunity to dig deeper into her own message of finding the good in all crazy situations and facing it all with a sense of humor. I’m sure it wasn’t easy! But she did it.

While you probably (I hope) won’t lose your life savings to a ponzi scheme, I can guarantee you that you will meet challenges when you decide to write and publish your book.

Our first book cover and nonstandard dimensions made it hard to get bookstores to stock it.
Our first book cover and nonstandard dimensions made it hard to get bookstores to stock it.

With my first book (which I co-authored), it took seven years from my initial idea to a published book in my hands. Challenges included many rejections from literary agents (and those were in the days where you contacted one agent at a time) and, later,  bookstores refusing to “replenish” the book because of its dimensions (i.e. they would respond to a special order of 1 but would not carry it).

At times I felt tempted to concede defeat. But I snapped out of it and always asked, “What information does this setback carry? What do I need to do to turn this around?” In each instance, perseverance paid off.

Our new title, cover and dimensions turned a challenge into opportunity.
Our new title, cover and dimensions turned a challenge into opportunity.

In fact, the problems with the cover and dimensions of our book led our publisher (with some encouragement from my co-author) to re-publish the book with a new cover, new title and new dimensions.

We were able to use the great press we’d gotten on the new book and ended up with even more powerful national publicity–from USA Weekend to Glamour Magazine to CNN Headline News and much more.
If you want to write a book and get published, the one thing I can guarantee you is that challenges will come up. Here are the three things you need to meet them:

1. Give yourself time to feel disappointed. But don’t wallow there.

2. Ask what you need to do differently and take the first step as soon as you can.

3. See if you can turn the disadvantage into an advantage. For Deb, that meant going back to the message of her book and living it more deeply. That resulted in an authenticity and a powerful story (that makes an impact in her press releases and consequent radio interviews.

Deb advises, “When you get discouraged, want to give up, or find those negative people creeping in to saying, ‘quit’ – visualize yourself holding your book in your hand, meeting someone who says, ‘Thank you for writing this book – it was fantastic and I loved it!'”

I agree. When students in my book writing classes get stuck and stop writing, I remind them to connect with why they’re writing the book and the impact they want to make on their readers and their world. Often it helps to have a vision statement you can read aloud to yourself whenever you work on the book.

Help, Someone Already Wrote My Book

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Your Book Writing Coach Lisa Tener
Your Book Writing Coach Lisa Tener

My Bring Your Book to Life students are preparing for the start of book writing class next month. They’re researching their markets, creating the vision for the their books, and starting to outline. Some are calling me for their book concept consultation.

I love the consultations as we brainstorm to take good ideas and make them even better. Today was no exception–fun and creative. The possibilities for this book seemed endless.

Eight hours after today’s session, I received a desperate e-mail with the above subject line, “Help, someone already wrote my book.” The book covered exactly the material my student planned to cover…and the author–someone with similar credentials–seemed to have a very similar take on the subject.

My advice, “Don’t panic. Your book will have its own voice and flavor.
Sounds like he does a good job, but maybe by adding a brief story to the start of each chapter, your book will have something his doesn’t. And the forms will be an excellent addition.”

In fact, when publishers and agents consider a book, they want to know there are other books like yours out there. They’re very concerned when there aren’t! If there are no books like yours, there may be no market.

Students finding their unique voice in the "in-person" version of my book writing class
Students finding their unique voice in the "in-person" version of my book writing class

At the same time, if your book is exactly like another book, why write it? You want to add something unique to what’s out there. How do you do that?

1.  Go back to your readers. What do they want and need? Are there ways to give that to them? Perhaps your book will have stories that address readers’ concerns, or you’ll add another two chapters that the other person missed, or you have a new point of view on certain topics. Perhaps your book is more experiential and offers exercises or journal prompts.

After all these centuries, books still sell.
After all these centuries, books still sell.

2. Trust in your unique writer’s voice. Your tone should capture your personality in a way that meets a need of your audience (humor, emotion, a degree of irreverence, or playfulness, for instance). It may take time to find your voice, but trust that you will.

We can go back to Ecclesiastes to find, “There is nothing new under the sun.” Yet, there are fresh ways of saying things or books would have stopped selling a more than a century ago.

Who’s on Your Team?

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Whos on Your Team?
Who's on Your Team?

I recently read Open, Andre Agassi’s autobiography. It’s a great read and I was also struck by how dependent he was on the people on his team. I think that’s true about most successful people–they don’t do it alone. They have great coaches, managers, trainers, strategists, advisers, mentors…

Who are the people on a writer’s team? Here are some:

Your students and clients are part of your team!
Your students and clients are part of your team!

Your Fans: If you blog, or have any kind of Internet presence, the people who are part of your social networking and blogging community are part of your team, as are those people who attend your talks or are your private clients. They’re your future readers and they know what they are looking for and wanting. Listen to them. See what blog posts get the most comments. What grabs them? What questions are they asking you?

Your Mentors: Certainly talk with your mentors about your goals and your book, especially if they are published authors. They can help you clarify your book concept and what makes your book unique. Maybe they’ll write a blurb, too.

Specialists: Book coaches, editors, writing coaches…there are lots of people out there who can help you hone your writing and your message, and also help you with accountability and other blocks or challenges that may come up. They know the industry and can help you write a book that sells. A slight change in your book hook or audience could make a big difference in the marketability of your book.

Literary Agents: If you’re fortunate enough to have a literary agent, certainly run your book ideas past them. They can help you fine tune your ideas, pick amongst different book ideas and even identify new books to write.

Publicists: Many people wait until they have a book to sell before hiring a publicist. After all, why waste money on publicity if you don’t have anything to sell? The problem with this strategy is that when your book comes out, you really don’t want to start at ground zero in marketing your book. You want to have a platform–fans who are already waiting for the book release so they can get your book and learn from you.

If you wait to develop your platform, your book will be much less attractive to agents and publishers. You may not want a full-on publicity campaign, but consider a modest Internet-based campaign to build your platform. You’ll need to have some way to develop a relationship with people who find out about you–so that they join your mailing list or fan page and you have a way to reach them when your book comes out. You can also monetize the publicity you get, so that it at least pays for itself. Perhaps offer a teleseminar series on the subject and use any feedback to perfect your book! Which brings us to another set of team members:

Clients and Students: Get feedback from clients and students to perfect any  systems or programs you provide in your book. And see if any are willing to review drafts of any chapters and give you feedback on the book itself. Because they are in your market, they are the very best readers you can get. They can get into the minds of your readers because they are your readers.

Business Coach: I’ve had a business coach for many years now. I’ve worked with several different people and each one taught me different things. You may want to consider working with someone who is also a published author or works with authors. They’ll help you integrate your business plan/model and your book promotion efforts effectively.

Virtual Assistants: How did I wait so long to put this person on the list? I hired my Virtual Assistant, Geri, in November and I don’t know how I ran my business without her. A virtual assistant can take care of lots of details while you’re writing your book (scheduling interviews of subjects, researching information for the book proposal) and take over other tasks to give you time to write. Also, they can help you with book publicity and platform building.

Make sure your team members are seasoned and mature!
Make sure your team members are seasoned and mature!

Friends: Your friends will want to support you any way they can, right? Reading and feedback (just remember, they may not be your market), cooking you a meal while you slave away at your book, taking the kids to the movies so you can write, sharing connections…let them help you! And they’ll probably want to throw a book party when the book comes out and tell all their friends on facebook about your book.

So, who’s on your team? (and whose teams are you on?)…What positions are missing from your team and need filling? You don’t have to assemble your team all at once but what one step can you take today?

Celebrate Your Accomplishments

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Celebrate Your Accomplishments
Celebrate Your Accomplishments

My very first coach, Wendy Keilin, taught me to end the year by celebrating the year’s accomplishments. It’s so easy to look ahead and make some crazy list of the 5 million things you plan to accomplish in 2010. You can do that.

Just, first, take a deep breath and enjoy all the gifts of the past year. Let’s start with work and purpose:

– What are you proud of doing or accomplishing in 2009?

– Did you make any improvements to your business or work life?

– Did you take any steps, however small, to make your dreams come true?

– Was it fun?

And how about your personal life?

– Did you grow in any ways?

– Experience new insights?

– Enjoy yourself?

Make a list of achievements and joys. Add everything that happened you’re grateful for. Read your list to a friend. Or sing your list as a prayer of thanks. Hang it on your fridge or keep the list by your bed and read it for the next three mornings. Revel in your list. Thoroughly enjoy it.

And on the 31st  you can create your inspiring to-do list. But here’s a tip from another coach of mine, Morgana Rae: Break up your goals by the quarter that you will do them and don’t have more than 3 projects/goals in each quarter.

I did that with Morgana this year and I can’t tell you how freeing it is.  I’m used to a very long goal list and I realized I’m just setting myself up to fail somewhere if there are too many things on the list. My new list is much more do-able.

Morgana also happened to introduce me to an interesting blog post by Ton Pascal that suggest that astrologically, this December 31 will be a particularly powerful time to set intentions for the next two and a half years. He even suggests a wonderful ritual for releasing the old and embracing your new intentions.

Is writing your book on your list? If so, you’ll want to join me for one or more of these upcoming free teleseminars:

Friday, January 22 at 12:15 Eastern join me for a 45 minute teleseminar to help you Bring Your Book to Life where Patty Saddallah of the Redwood Sisterhood will interview me on the secrets to start and complete your book. I’ll also share how to find and make the time to write your book and information on how to decide whether to self publish or look for a traditional publisher.  Sign up here.

Or mark your calendar for January 13, where Dan Janal, founder of PRLeads.com will interview me on Write Your Book: 5 Steps to Get Started or January 18 at noon eastern when Deb Bailey of Power Women Magazine interviews me on the subject.

I’ll be in Vermont for the next few days, celebrating my accomplishments and creating my new year’s ritual.  So, I’ll wish you a happy new year now. Enjoy celebrating all you’ve done, enjoyed and received  in 2009. And, dear reader, please share your most proud of favorite 2009 accomplishment as a comment on the blog. I want to celebrate with you.

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