stacy corrigan

I have two invitations for you. First, let me share that this Friday, after the final week of my award-winning Bring Your Book to Life Program, we have a party celebrating three recent graduates who published their books in the last month or so: Stacy Corrigan, author of Manifest Your Man, Susan Rizzo Vincent, author of Dreas Dream: An Unfinished Dance – Lessons of love, loss, hope and healing and Martha Rhodes, author of 3,000 Pulses. I’ve written about how they each overcame obstacles to finish and publish their books on my blog here.

Stacy Corrigan's Book Stacy would drive down to Narragansett for class and stay the weekend to write her book, since her busy weeks in property management did not leave much time for writing during the week. The big blocks of time on the weekend, unencumbered by distractions or work required discipline–and now she has her book–endorsed by several bestselling authors and she’s teaching workshops in the US and internationally–helping women the world over to “Manifest Your Man.”

Susan set herself up in the library, a café, and finally a church to write her book, spending Susan Rizzo Vincent book entire days in her special spot in these venues. She’d head right to her power spot after class and some days wrote a whole chapter, others just a few lines. No matter. She stuck to it and wrote. Now her book, with a foreword by actress Jane Seymour, is inspiring parents, dancers, those facing loss and life-altering challenges, as well as anyone who is looking for a story of hope, on the radio, and in print. Susan has been invited to present her book at the RI Chapter of the American Association of University Women, “DanceLife” Conventions and will be the keynote speaker at the More Than Just Great Dancing Convention in Hawaii in February 2014.

Martha drove the 6 hours round trip from Danbury, CT to three separate 8-week programs Martha Rhode's book to complete 3,000 Pulses: Surviving Depression with TMS Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation. A memoir can often take longer than a how-to book, and this one required her to dig deeper and deeper to add power and realness to her wise and witty voice as a writer. The result is a book that moves me deeply every time I read it–and as her editor, I’ve read it several times! 3,000 Pulses is currently in over 400 TMS centers nationwide, and with an almost immediate order for 10,000 books in Japan, Martha’s book is poised to have an impact globally on people suffering from depression by introducing them to a new, proven and side-effect free method of recovery along with a moving story that is sure to bring hope.

I am so proud of these three women and their beautifully written and compelling books.

My invitations? If you’re in the area on December 7, please join us for the after-class party at 12:30 ET in Narragansett , RI overlooking the ocean, hearing our authors share about their experiences and sharing some great food and perhaps buying a few books for yourself and others on your holiday list. Other Bring Your Book to Life authors will also be present with their books for sale.

Just e-mail me and I’ll send you directions.

Second invitation is to imagine yourself as one of the authors at a party like this–in a beautiful room with 270 degree views of the ocean–signing books and having your classmates return to congratulate you and celebrate your success. Yes, it’s possible–through either my Narragansett class next spring or my highly interactive teleseminar–that’s right, you can live anywhere in the world and take part in this award-winning book program that is a true “cut above the rest.”

I am offering a special 5 month payment plan through December 15. E-mail me to set up a time for us to explore whether this is the right fit for you. You can begin your pre-work right away and start working with me in early 2013 to prepare to make the most of the spring course.

How’s your book coming? What are you doing in 2013 to make your book publishing dreams come true? Share your comments on this post!

In my book writing classes (and with private clients), I have authors start with several clarifying exercises followed by developing an an outline.

It can be tempting to just start writing, but you are likely to end up with lots of interesting stuff that doesn’t quite work as a book. I’ve seen many people do this (and then they come to me to see if I can salvage it) and I’ve done it myself. More than once.

But, okay, let’s say you get clear on your goals and vision, your audience and their needs and desires, your tone and features. Let’s say you have a rough outline. But you don’t feel like writing chapter 1.

Now, let’ say this is a how-to book. I have a very clear system for writing chapter 1 and I think it’s valuable to start here, because in chapter 1, you put yourself in your readers’ shoes and answer the questions they’re asking themselves so they can decide whether to buy (or read) your book.

If you can’t put yourself in your readers’ shoes, you shouldn’t be writing the book.

But let’s say you feel stuck in the beginning and you feel super excited about chapter 7—the chapter that reveals the most amazing secret for inner peace that no one has ever discovered—except you. Yes, permission granted to start in the middle.

Go where your passion is. Just remember, write an outline first, even if it’s rough. That way, you can know how the chapter relates to the rest of the book—and know that the chapter will likely have a home in the book, and know that, in fact, there is a book here.

In fact, sometimes, you can’t write chapter 1 because you just don’t have that opening story. Stacy Corrigan shared in book writing class that she just didn’t know how to start, so she started in the middle. Even well into class, she didn’t have a beginning. Then, the story happened. And she said, “This is how I start the book.”

Maybe you’re just waiting for your opening story to happen—and it hasn’t, yet. Trust that instinct to wait. But maybe you can put a placeholder for “Opening anecdote that illustrates x, y, z” and write the rest of that first chapter, intending to be open to the story’s unfolding.

Can You Start Your Book in the Middle?

The answer: It depends on whether you have a well outlined plan for the book. If you have a solid idea of how to organize the book and just want to start with a different chapter, I’d say, “Go for it.” But don’t start writing without a plan or you could end up with a series of disjointed essays that don’t serve your reader—or make a book.

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