Lisa Tener

Book Writing Coach

book writing teleseminar

7 Reasons To Write Your Book in 2012…and 3 Reasons Not To.

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7 Reasons to write your book in 2012

how to get started to write a bookLooking for some good reasons to finally get that book written? How about:

1. The person who runs up to you after your first post-publication presentation and says, “Your book changed my life.”

2. Impacting thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands or millions of people instead of _____________ (fill in your current reach).

3. Those ideal clients or customers your book can reach with a targeted message—and the impact that will have on your business and profitability.

4. Impressing your dates with, “I’m a published author” rather than, “I’ve been thinking of writing a book for the past 20 years.”

5. The free spa vacation you can weave into a book presentation at that Caribbean resort you’ve been dreaming of visiting.

6. Filling your teleseminars, webinars and live events with raving fans.

lisa tener book writing coach jumping
The Surprise Factor: I’m jumping on the very beach in front of where I teach my book writing courses

7. The Surprise Factor—my own book opened up a career I’d never dreamed of—one that is absolutely made for me and brings me joy every day, but it’s something I never imagined until my book propelled me on this new path of becoming a book writing coach and publishing coach. My clients often share similar surprises that happened to them when they became published authors—from the unexpected six figure dream job offer to the six month move to Hawaii—an opportunity that stemmed from the author’s award winning book.

3 Reasons Not to Write Your Book in 2012

1. You don’t have time: Duh. Do you really need to watch that rerun of The Biggest Loser? Okay. I will concede: If you won’t make the time, don’t bother starting. But if you can clear 5-12 hours a week for 8 weeks or more, you can write your book.

David Donahue's Photo
The downcast feeling that you’re not a great writer. [David Donahue’s Photo]
2. You’re not a great writer: That’s what keeps great editors in business. Seriously, most people just don’t know how to write well—learn the secrets of good writing and you can write a compelling book—and, yes, you can hire an editor to make it really shine.

3. You’re not sure where to start. Join me and Linda Joy on March 7, 2012 at 8:30pm Eastern, 5:30 pm Pacific for a free interactive and highly informative teleseminar called Birth Your Book: From Inspiration to Published Author and you will know exactly how to get started on your book—and create a plan to complete it.

Perhaps you have every reason to write your book in 2012 and no sound reason not to. Sign up for our free teleseminar Birth Your Book today or just click the link to find out the juicy questions we plan to answer and secrets we’ll share on this fabulous free call.

book writing course teleseminarWhat’s your biggest reason for writing a book in 2012? Please share it below as a comment.  And if you’re a published author, share your favorite result of your book to date.

How to Write a How-To Book: Tips on Continuity and How to Avoid Repetition

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Your Book Writing Coach

Last week, I picked up a couple book writing tips from my students. Nora Hall, who finished her first draft of  Survive Your Husband’s Retirement in the fall Bring Your Book to Life Program is now polishing her chapters. A reader pointed out that she needed to be certain that she follows up with solutions to problems mentioned in early chapters. Nora’s solution? A spread sheet.

View from our book writing class

“I don’t usually do spread sheets, but I realized that would help me organize the book and make sure I provide clear and satisfying solutions to some problems and challenges I present  in earlier chapters. What a tremendous tool!”

I love the idea of a spreadsheet. I can see it helping an author:

– Avoid repetition.

Nora Hall

– Ensure you answer any questions you bring up early in the book.

– Easily locate and offer readers the chapter where they’ll find more information on a particular story, problem or issue.

– Find sections more easily.

– Move sections around with greater ease.

Outlining software may help with some of these issues as well. Have any writing secrets or additional ideas for using a spreadsheet to organize your book? Please share as a comment below!

Book Writing Tips: How Does Where You Write Affect Your Writing?

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Your Book Writing Coach

In book writing class a couple weeks ago, Stacy Corrigan, of Manifest Your Man,  shared that the chapters she wrote in her summer cottage flowed easily. Now that she’s closed the cottage and is writing in her office, the writing became more clinical–with fewer details and less emotion.

She decided to return to the cottage for inspiration, despite the fact that the loo is off for winter. We all had suggestions for her for solving this problem, but, apparently, there are plenty of establishments in walking distance with working loos, making our suggestions superfluous.

Here's Stacy (second from left) at the Dream Party, along with several Bring Your Book to Life students and graduates

All bathroom talk aside, where you write can affect your creativity and productivity, as well as your tone, how well the writing flows and the quality of the writing itself.

Try writing in:

  • A cafe
  • Your office
  • By a warm fire with a cup of tea
  • Outdoors (if you’re not in New England in January)
  • Bed
  • Curled up with your cat or dog on the couch
  • On a plane, train or ferry

Compare the writing and see how the venue affects it. What works? Different things may work best at different times–maybe a cafe for idea generation,  by a fire for inspiration, near crashing waves for impact and at a river for flow. I’d love to hear your experiences!

One of my students painted her writing room an exotic Moroccan red to inspire her. What can you do to make your writing space conducive to inspired writing that flows? Or what have you done? Please share with us all as a comment below.

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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