Lisa Tener
Book Writing Coach
This is an updated version of my earlier post on how to choose your book proposal sample chapters. I’ve updated it to share some excellent new questions that came in from a book proposal client today. How Many Sample Chapters? If you’re interested in being published by a traditional publisher, you probably know you need…
Does a part of you yearn to share your writing? When you hear someone else share their writing by reading aloud, or a writer shares by posting an excerpt, does it both inspire you and make you break out in hives? Do you wonder what you’re missing by not sharing your writing? The Power of…
I shared a post a few months ago about embodying your book, after my inner Muse had told me to, “Be your book,” and “Write from your magic.” Here are some more musings about embodying the book, a rough excerpt from the book I am writing for you! Your Book Breathes See your book as…
It seems that every day I get questions about the future of publishing. Is there a future in nonfiction publishing, at least in the traditional model? Is it bleak or promising? What can one do to increase one’s probability of success? More specifically: “Are acquisitions boards meeting virtually and are publishers still buying books…
How to Write an Award-Winning Nonfiction Book There’s the question of how to write a nonfiction book and then there’s how to write the kind of book that wins prestigious awards, gets recommended by avid fans and changes people’s lives. I’m fortunate to work with many, many authors who accomplish the latter. At “Write Your…
It’s always exciting to hear from writers I’ve worked with in the past. This week, Hisla Bates, MD wrote to let me know about her creativity summit: Healer Heal Yourself! Reduce Burnout, Discover Your Creativity While You Heal Others. As Dr. Bates wrote me, “It is a summit that will inspire you to infuse creativity…
Teaching Book Writing Under Novel Conditions I’ve been resting my shoulder and arm due to what I finally discovered is a rotator cuff injury. I’ve been afraid to see any doctors given the risk of being in a medical-related facility. So I put off calling my doctor for three weeks. I know, a bit crazy,…
No matter how old I get, I always look forward to my birthday. I love celebrating, being celebrated, connecting with friends and family, and I love presents. It helps that my birthday is in the spring when the first daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, and tulips break ground and bloom. This year, my eager anticipation felt muted…
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…
We often need to clear our minds of negativity in order to create. As writers and creatives, the negative thoughts that hurt our creativity tend to focus around perfectionism, self-doubt, not feeling “good enough,” worry about what others will think. “No one will want to read this.” “It’s not original enough.” “It’s boring.” “I can’t…
Ready for a free creativity workshop? As you may know, I’m working on a book that helps you consistently access a state of creative flow. And I’ve refined by 5 Steps for “writing in the zone” to incorporate my new insights. At a focus group meeting, two long-term clients suggested I call this new iteration…
Do you know how to consistently connect with the creative muse? Probably my favorite activity in working with clients is guiding them in my signature “Meet Your Muse” guided visualization. We journey from meadow to woods to a clearing and a little building inside which the muse, a symbol of their creative source, awaits. Questions…
Looking for Ways to Get Unstuck in Your Writing, Creativity or Life? This time of year, in the Northeast, it’s especially easy to get creatively stuck. It’s cold outside. We hunker down, watch more TV, skip yoga class, eat chocolate… I’ll write tomorrow. I’ll exercise later. And it’s downhill from there. But it doesn’t have…
In my Bring Your Book to Life® Program, I teach how to write a book quickly. A quality book, of course. And quickly is a relative term. We’re not doing it in a weekend! Start at the Beginning to Write a Book Quickly I just love beginnings—getting in touch with the vision of a book,…
In the past couple of weeks, I held two book writing and publishing seminars (Bring Your Book to Life® in 2020) to help participants get started on their books (or get reinvigorated on a book project that’s stalled). Thanks to Sam Bennett for hosting one of them! I received over 35 varied and excellent questions…
Many of the most successful authors I work with have attended Harvard Medical School’s writing and publishing course. And you may have read my recent interview with the course director Julie Silver, MD, who shared many of the areas that the course is branching out into, such as writing and publishing op/eds, podcasting and how…
Karin’s creative muse showed up as a bee How to Connect with the Creative Muse In many of my private consultations and classes, including “Writing in the Zone” and “Bring Your Book to Life(R),” I lead participants through a guided visualization to “Meet Your Creative Muse.” What’s a Muse and Why Connect? Think of your…
. 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….
If you’ve worked with me or followed my blog for some time, you’ve probably heard me talk about the muse—an archetype for our creative source. You may have also experienced the guided visualization I sometimes take writers through to receive clarity about their writing and creativity, experience a creative breakthrough or determine their next step….
Browsing recent posts on LinkedIn, I came upon Cara Bradley’s podcast. It’s always exciting for me to see what happens after a client’s book gets published. It’s especially so when the author dives into book promotion and related activities with the kind of gusto Cara Bradley brings to it. I asked Cara to share her…
