book writing class

Abundance: Your Empowered Writing Plan for 2026

January 29, 2026 by Lisa Tener 2 Comments

Would you love to know how to plan for a creatively abundant year to:

Photo credit: Emily Homonoff
Easily start and complete your projects.
Avoid overwhelm.
Enjoy a rich, stress free writing life.
Continue to nourish mind, body, spirit throughout your day, week and year.

Fun vs. The Old Mantra (Not Enough)

I think I’ve hit upon a remarkably simple method that is both empowering and actually–get this!–FUN!

It started last fall when Robin Kall and I began to plan our 2026 writing retreat. As we brainstormed ideas for a theme, we realized that so many writers (and people who don’t even feel ready to call themselves writers) feel scarcity when it comes to the writing life:

Not enough time.
Not enough talent.
Not enough energy.
Not enough skill.
Not enough money.

Enough, already!

We live in an abundant universe and we get to co-create it. So, how do we do that?

We spent a few months just letting the idea germinate and then dove into putting it into practice.

The Plan for Creative Abundance

The goal was:

Make a plan that’s simple.
Make a plan that works.
Make it truly fun and empowering.

Nature Challenged Us

And then nature challenged us: a crazy snowstorm, changing forecasts, what to do? It looked like we could get away with making our Saturday/Sunday retreat one day in person, one 2 hour zoom session on the big snow day (Sunday) and a follow-up 2-day retreat in March. We figured our people would LOVE getting an extra day of retreat at no charge!

And, whether they attended in person, the zoom or both, we could give them enough to create their plan so that, come March, they could:

Making our writing/creative intentions for 2026
Gather in Narragansett and share what was working in their writing practice, weekly, and month-by-month plans.
Get support to problem-solve any challenges.
Refine their plans to work even better.
And of course, do lots more writing and fun.

Creating Your Intention

We started the day off by creating our brief intentions or themes for the year:

Note: You can do this too! Listen to my meet your muse guided visualization and ask your inner muse to help you set a theme or intention for 2026.

Replicate our intention process!

If you want to replicate our process, once you get your intention from your muse, paint the word(s) and any associated images on a tiny canvas. We used Posca paints , which I bought at Jerry’s Artarama, and these 3 x 3 mini canvases with easels!

Do it with a friend – it’s fun! At the end we shared our intentions around the circle.

Okay, you’re set on intention. What’s next? You need a plan to make it happen!

Your Plan for Creative Abundance

qigong for creativity — Photo credit: Emily Homonoff

I shared several prompts to help the writers explore anything that’s getting in the way of creative abundance: mindset, beliefs, past experiences, fears, as well as prompts to get clearer about what you want.

Then we prioritized. Not every activity or project goes on the plan. I suggested identifying one or two top creative projects for the year. Each will have multiple phases and it’s the phases we’re going to identify and estimate time for each.

We also explored self-care practices that create a strong foundation for our creativity – rest, sleep, journaling, quality nutrition, qigong, yoga, meditation, bubble baths, a cup of tea, time in nature…you get. Those go into the plan! I shared a few powerful qigong practices to empower!

Daily plans for a typical week

We started out by imagining what a creatively empowered week might look like:

When would we do the self-care practices (what days, what times)?
When would we write (days, times)?
When would we do other tasks related to our highest priority creative projects (querying, marketing, publishing, admin, etc.)?

Create a sample weekly plan: Carve out time for journaling, writing, foundational self-care, and writing-related activities (querying, marketing, etc.). This gave us a sense of how many hours a week we’d spend on writing and on other related or foundational activities.

The big annual plan, month-by-month

We listed each project (including self-care) and broke them down into the required phases, estimating hours per phase and how many weeks or months it would take.

Ready for a draft of the big picture for the year, we broke down which phases we planned to work on each month.

Now it was time for a more engaging and playful calendar:

On 12 x 12 card stock, where we laid out the 12 months of the year.
Using starburst and circular die-cuts, we placed our color-coded projects and wrote a breakdown of whatever phases we planned to work on that month.
And then we put our plans into action.

What made our plans so powerful is the simplicity. We didn’t try to put all our goals and projects into the plan–just one or two or three main projects and their phases, plus the self-care activities that support our creativity!

The next-day responses blew me away!

Here are some of the things people said on the call, after having started their plans the previous day:

“I thought it might feel constricting but it feels liberating! Just three days after setting the plan in motion, I found myself completing an essay I’d been blocked on, writing a social post, and outlining my next creative project.” – Tejal Tarro, author of illusions of this world

“This is amazing. [My Empowered Writing Plan] changes the energy to something that is exciting.” – Kiki Black, poet, journaler

Make Your Creative Abundance Plan for 2026

Once I heard how empowered people had become in just a day, I knew I needed to share this system more broadly. And I didn’t want to wait a long time to set up a sales page, yada, yada! We’re nearing the end of January, and you need your plan now, amiright?

So, here it is: A one or two session workshop on Zoom and we’ll send you the handouts and suggested links to buy materials (or just use what you have at home!)

Join me on February 16 and/or February 23 at 3 pm ET, noon PT for a 2-hour Zoom workshop.

Don’t worry, you won’t be staring at a screen for two hours; you’ll be making your empowering plan most of the time!

The Prep

supplies for an inspired writing plan for 2026 — Here are my supplies to make and decorate an empowered writing plan for 2026. You would need to purhcase these separately or just use what you already have in your home. Markers and paper work fine!

In advance, you’ll receive:

A template/worksheet for your daily week-at-a-glance plan.
A worksheet for your year-at-a-glance, month-by-month plan.
Writing prompts to explore and work through any resistance or blocks to creative abundance.
Writing prompts for preparing for our session.
Instructions for creating a bulletproof, empowering plan!
Links in case you want to purchase some of the supplies we used. Tip: You probably have good stuff at home you can use as well!

Do you have to prep ahead? Nope. It may help you to be more efficient, but you can just do the workshop on our Zoom call. You don’t even have to print out the handouts ahead of time if you don’t want to. We’re making this easy-peasy!

The Workshop

Make it easy on yourself and join me and creative others for this empowering workshop.

Most important: come prepared to have fun.

I’ll lead you in a guided visualization to help you get your intention word(s) for 2026.
You can explore any of the prompts to empower you.
I’ll lead you through the exercise.

You’ll see that you can come on February 16, 23, or both. It’s up to you.

It’s a powerful exercise that can empower you all year!

As I mentioned in my last post, I’d been constantly trading between journaling and writing poetry in the early morning or an hour-plus qigong practice. Creating the plan made me realize I just needed to get to bed earlier to enjoy both foundational practices.

I’m not much of a planner in general, but this worked like magic for me. And it can do so for you, too!

Retreat with Robin, me and an intimate group of kindred spirits

Want to join us in person by the ocean for two days in March? We have a handful of spots left. Get the details of the Creative Abundance Retreat and sign up here.

18 Benefits of a Writing Retreat

July 22, 2024 by Lisa Tener Leave a Comment

I love writing retreats for the many benefits they offer. Taking a day or more away from work and other responsibilities to focus solely on creative renewal can do wonders for your writing. Here’s a quick list of what a writing retreat can do for you:

A Writing Retreat RENEWS

Replenish Your Creative Energy: Everyday life takes energy. So does creativity. By setting aside a day or more for writing and renewal, you restore the essential energy needed to create new work.
Nourish the Muse: Spending time in a beautiful retreat location, such as by the ocean, can also help feed your relationship to the creative muse and give energy to your writing and other creative projects.
New Energy: If you’re feeling stuck or stagnant, a retreat can infuse new energy into your writing by incorporating new practices, trying new ways of engaging with your creativity or allowing the environment (nature, group energy, etc.) to nourish your creativity and your writing in novel ways.
Confidence and Commitment: Investing time and resources in your writing reinforces your belief in yourself and your commitment to your creative work.

A Writing Retreat INSPIRES

Openness: A retreat can open you up to new ways of seeing your writing project and your writing practice, or it can even give birth to an entirely new project.
New Possibilities: Group energy, the environment, the leadership and the exercises incorporated into a retreat can all inspire new directions for your writing.
Focus: The singular focus of a retreat allows you to go deep and focus thoroughly on your writing, which can lead to breakthroughs, insights and a deeper connection to the work
Voice: That deeper connection and focus can, in turn, strengthen your voice as a writer.
Flow: In my retreats and writing workshops, I share powerful practices that quickly induce a flow state, making it easy to write.
Community: A group retreat also supports you through connecting with others on the path.

A Writing Retreat Helps You PRODUCE

Write More: Luxurious time for retreat results in greater output.
Write Better: Taking the time to focus on writing away from other projects provides the space, time and focus to produce quality work.
Complete Something: Retreats can help you complete something. I’ve used retreats to finish a first draft, for example.
Learn Stuff! You can learn new practices, exercises and tips to improve your creative process and flow.

A Writing Retreat Sets You Up for SUCCESS

Leave with Tools: Anything you learn on retreat can be incorporated into your regular writing routines and practices.
Evaluate: A retreat gives you time away to assess what’s working and what isn’t, what you need to succeed and find fulfillment.
Plan: Before you leave the retreat, figure out what you need to bring back with you for the future: what gets in the way of your writing and what plans can you put into place for consistency, accountability, making time, generating a flow state, making continued progress, etc.?
Commit: Commit to one new element or a whole new plan upon your return.

Join Me and Robin Kall on August 23 for the Writing Retreat of Your Dreams!

Lisa Tener Robin Kall — Join Robin Kall and me on an unforgettable day!

You may have heard: Robin Kall and I happen to be cooking up a fabulous one-day seaside writing retreat in a sacred spot that is especially conducive to creative flow. We’ll be on a promontory that juts out into the sea in two rock formations, creating private beach coves on two sides and a riverside beach along the third.

Experience the support of exquisite nature, powerful creative practices and an inspiring group of women.

In addition to writing, there will be time to walk along the shore, in the woods or climb the rocks; share your favorite summer read during a delicious lunch; tour the art studio on the premises (optional); meet and enjoy great people; laugh; get your writing and creativity questions answered; renew your commitment to self-care and writing, and revel in your imagination.

Join us and nourish your mind, body, soul and creative muse! Here are all the details and registration.

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

October 3, 2018 by Lisa Tener 5 Comments

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 Leave a Comment

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.

Buddha Everywhere

October 6, 2016 by Lisa Tener Leave a Comment

I’m struck by the sheer number of Buddha sculptures—especially the golden Buddhas—in every Buddhist temple I visit here in Bangkok.

Each Buddha inspires with its serene expression, sublime curves and often bejeweled base.

But why so many?

Buddhas at Ayutthaya in the ancient capital

Buddhas everywhere you look.

Surrounding the halls and courtyards of a temple housing a major, often colossal, Buddha, I find dozens, even hundreds of other Buddhas, far too many to contemplate. This is true in the 200+ year old temples I visited in Bangkok and the many thousand year old ruins in the ancient capital of Ayutthaya.

I guessed that maybe creating the Buddha statues is, in itself, a powerful way to connect and experience the many qualities of Buddha. Still, there had to be more of a reason.

Perhaps these Buddhas remind us we can see Buddha everywhere we turn—in the experiences we encounter, the people we meet, the thoughts we have.

Ah, behind that missed bus—Buddha.
Buddhas surrounding the courtyard in Ayutthaya
Behind the jet lag—Buddha.
Behind the irritation—Buddha.
Within the person who cut you off in traffic—Buddha.

What can we learn from this as writers? I’m still processing the possible lessons, but one thought I have is that as we surround ourselves with images of the sublime, images that uplift, as we create more beauty in our lives, we create more and more space for the sublime in every aspect:

In our relationships
In our work
In our writing

What images uplift you? How can you use them to nourish your writing time and—by extension—the writing itself?

And what’s your “Buddha”? What are some ways you already feed your writing practice through beauty and inspiration? Are there new ideas you feel inspired to experiment with?

Please share your thoughts. And if you have any other guesses as to “Why so many Buddhas?” please comment on that, as well.

Writing Blocks: Do You Ever Get Overwhelmed?

October 1, 2012 by Lisa Tener 8 Comments

Book Writing Coach Lisa Tener — Your Book Writing Coach

This theme of overwhelm has come up in multiple book concept consultations in the past week as I’ve met with new participants in my Bring Your Book to Life Program.

As I take them through a visualization I call, “Meet Your Muse,” the messages from their muses have been consistent as well–versions of, “One page at a time.” The muses seem to concur that you don’t need to focus on the big picture the whole time.

Most of these book-writers have begun their outlines–using a process I suggest with color-coded index cards. Once the outline is done, just pick a section and begin. You don’t have to start with the chapter that “scares you” as one writer put it. Choose a fun chapter, or one you feel excited to write. That’s the beauty of the outline. It provides a structure so you can be more free.

Take a walk in nature as a writing break to refresh and clear your mind.

I once had a book writing course participant who took one day off a week and planned to write eight hours that day. She said she couldn’t manage writing any other day. She struggled until she could let go of the pressure of an eight hour writing day. Ideally, start with small blocks of time. Try a half hour. If you find yourself just getting into the rhythm of writing, increase your writing blocks to an hour or two. After that, you’ll probably need a break. Take a walk outside. Then begin again.

What are your tricks for getting past overwhelm? Share them as a comment below. Or share your writing challenges and I’ll provide what experience and suggestions I can to help you.

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

February 2, 2012 by Lisa Tener 4 Comments

7 Reasons to write your book in 2012

Looking 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.

What’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.

Inspired to Write: How to Keep the Juices Flowing

September 28, 2011 by Lisa Tener 1 Comment

Writing Strategies for Staying Inspired

While preparing to teach Inspired to Write tomorrow, I’ve been thinking about the importance of support in keeping our writing juices flowing. It seems to me a challenge all writers struggle with.

I thought I’d share some of the writing strategies I use myself and those I use with my private clients and in my book writing classes.

1. Find a Buddy: About 98% of the population needs some accountability to get their book (or other writing project) done. Buddies can support each other to overcome any challenges, make suggestions and offers solutions that you may not be able to see yourself and inspire you to do the writing you committed to each week. You can even meet at a cafe and write simultaneously. And a buddy is free!

Writing with a collaborator offers many rewards.

2. Engage a Collaborator. Granted, this strategy is not for the faint of heart. Collaborating takes good judgement in choosing a collaborator, a commitment to clear communication and working out the often-inevitable human challenges that can come up when working closely with someone. However, it can also be incredibly rewarding. My first book was written with two collaborators. My course materials were originally written with a collaborator and the book I am currently working on is being written with a collaborator.

Why? Three reasons:

Often, you can write a stronger book when you have people with varying expertise and perspectives.
Having that level of being accountable to someone moves me to action.
It’s more fun and co-creative!

3. Join a Writing Program or Take a Writing Class: Here’s another strategy with multiple benefits:

A supportive community uplifts and inspires.
The feedback of a writing course provides multiple perspectives, increased creativity and new ideas, resulting in a better book (or article or blog post, etc.).
When you fall down, there are people to make sure you get back up. If you have a week where you don’t write, you have built in support to get back in the game.
Your classmates and teachers offer a refreshing challenge to any voices in your head that say, “I can’t” or “I’m not good enough.” Your colleagues can help you see your strengths.
A gifted and knowledgeable teacher will help you hone your writing skills and ability.

4. Find a Mentor, Coach or Editor: This person can provide support, accountability and technical skills. They can also help you problem solve to overcome any challenges.

5. Connect with Your Muse: We all have that creative part of us and inner knowing that can support us through any creative challenges. If you find yourself losing touch with that part of you, sit quietly, close your eyes and take an inner journey to connect. If this exercise sounds fun, try this free guided visualization for writers.

If the idea of a writing class or book writing program inspires you, consider my Bring Your Book to Life Program.

Do You Have What it Takes to Write a Book and Get Published?

February 1, 2011 by Lisa Tener Leave a Comment

view teaching — View from our book writing class

I’m holding a book writing open house and introductory program in Narragansett Friday and I got a very interesting e-mail from someone who had inquired early and wanted me to know that she couldn’t attend because she’d be 20 minutes late.

I pointed out we’d probably all be filling our plates at that time and she was welcome to join us late. She replied that the weather would have the final word on whether she could come.

I double checked the predictions. Yup. Sunny. Big icon of a pointy-rayed sun on the weather chart. Wassup?

So I asked her point blank, “Are you committed to this book? Your e-mails make me think something is holding you back.”

She told me she didn’t want “the bother that’s involved in getting it published.”

Pat didn't even think she could write well. — Pat didn’t even believe in her writing ability at first, but she found the courage, support and guidance to try.

Okay, I get it. Most people are intimidated by something outside their comfort zone. That’s human nature.

Let me tell you about Pat Hastings. She felt an inner calling to write her book, Simply a Woman of Faith, even though she didn’t think she could write. She asked for guidance and support and found it. And then she wrote a beautiful book that has literally saved people’s lives, as they tell it!

But after she wrote it, she realized she had to publish it and she knew nothing about that. So she educated herself, chose self publishing and figured it out step by step, also with support and guidance from others who’d walked the path before.

And then she realized she had to market this book. She was a substance abuse counselor (for at least two decades) at the time. Marketing?

But she took that step, too, and the strangest thing happened. She fell in love with marketing her book. She loved meeting new people. She relished the connections she made in every encounter with readers, fellow-authors, speakers and radio and TV hosts she met along the way. She marveled at the synchronicities and the stories people told her of the difference her book made in their lives.

She didn’t do this all at once. Just step by step.

Some of my other clients and students choose the traditional publishing path. It’s intimidating. It’s completely out of their comfort zone. They do it anyway. They get the guidance and support they need and they get agents and publishing contracts because they’re willing to learn something new.

I really don’t think we come to the earth school to do it all alone. We’re here to learn from each other, to share our experiences and to help each other along the path.

So, stop resisting. If you truly feel called to write a book, embrace the new experiences you’ll need, step-by-step, and with loving, experienced guides and kindred-spirits by your side. You CAN do it.

In the spirit of community, I hope you’ll join me and Linda Joy tomorrow, Wednesday, February 2 for Birth Your Book: From Inspiration to Published Author. It’s a free teleseminar and you’ll not only receive guidance about writing your book and developing your following so you can publish and reach readers, but you’ll get a sense of that community when you join the 600 or so aspiring authors who’ve signed up for the call!

PS If you’re interested in the open house on Friday at noon in Narragansett, RI, please e-mail me at bookcoach at lisatener dot com for directions. We’re holding it right after my book writing class and you’ll have a chance to meet some of my current students and hear their stories–including Anne Burnett who recently signed a publishing contract!

Social Media for Authors

July 1, 2010 by Lisa Tener 7 Comments

One could easily write a book (or a series of books) on the subject of social media for authors. Let’ see how much meat I can put in one blog post. Here are some takeaways from my interview last night with Leili McKinley, who has helped many award winning authors hit a home run with their social media.

Below are my insights and a link to the audio recording of the call (over an hour chock full of examples of bestselling authors’ secrets, specific steps you can take and answers to listeners burning questions). We didn’t get to everyone’s questions, so please list your questions as comments and Leili has offered to answer them below!

Three reasons you need social media more than ever as an author or aspiring author:

1. Publishers expect it: For a book deal, you need to show you’re adept.

2. Social media creates viral word of mouth fans: The kind who buy more than one book and give them as gifts and who tell everyone about your book (often, through social media!)

3. You want the momentum of people who want your book before it ever comes out. If your book is in bookstores, you’ll need those pre-sales and immediate sales to stay on the shelves.

How to brand your business and book online:

1. Know your target market: NY Times Bestselling author Tim Ferris, author of the Four Hour Work Week, knew that his target market were self employed, small business owners who wanted to grow empires and have their freedom, too.

2. Make your key messages align with what your target market believes: Tim’s message was, “You can build an empire by outsourcing most of the work.”

3. Deliver those messages everywhere your readers hang out online: The experts use more than one kind of social media, because people usually need to hear the message more than once to buy. Tim blogged to build a loyal following and also connected with his audience on YouTube, Facebook, Linked In, Twitter, Plaxo, Flikr and Friendfeed. You may want to be a bit more targeted if you can’t do all of these–find out where you folks hang out.

On the call, Leili also shared details about how to position your brand to get results, including a client of hers who was relatively unknown in the US. Her publisher is recording record pre-sales of her book due to niche branding.

Leili also gave details about how one of her most successful clients used social media to connect with journalists, radio hosts, TV producers and other PR contacts before his book game out. He was on the Today Show, Good Morning America and Tyra Banks. I encourage you to LISTEN TO THE AUDIO HERE.

In addition, if you’re serious about creating a following for your book before it comes out (or if it’s out already), you’ll want to look at Leili’s social media for authors course. I won’t list all the benefits and features here, but you can go to this page for all the information you need to make a decision.

I don’t participate in many affiliate programs. However, I knew my clients, students and readers desperately need how to make social media work for them. I’ve searched around for a program that I know has the power to help you. I’ve taken three different courses, two from some of the leaders in the industry and found them difficult to use (too much information, too many assignments, no assignments, etc.).

Leili’s course addressed all my concerns and is targeted for authors. For this reason, I am proud to be a paid affiliate of her program. Leili’s program offers:

1. Assignments that are truly relevant for authors and aspiring authors.

2. Ability to do the classwork (watch the 20 minute videos and do assignments) when it’s convenient for you.

3. Weekly coaching calls to get your questions answered personally.

I know many of you still have questions for Leili…ask away. And good luck with developing your brand and setting yourself up to make your book a big success.

URI Summer Writing Conference: 3 Big Lessons on Day 1

June 24, 2010 by Lisa Tener 3 Comments

I’d love to share some photos from day 1 of the Ocean State Summer Writing Conference with you: There’s the one of Cate Tucker (from my book writing class), Peter Covino (director of the conference), me and bestselling author Robert Leuci‘s thumb. Not his fault. My phone has a highly non-intuitive camera. Not that a phone can possess intuition, but even those with ESP would have a hard time figuring it out, not that Robert Leuci has ESP.

Anyway, can’t share the photos because I don’t know how to e-mail them from my phone.

The first lesson of the day, then: if you blog, bring an extra battery for your real camera. Or, if I were to generalize: be prepared.

Second lesson: Enjoy writing; be playful. I’d been putting so much pressure on myself to write the next blockbuster middle grade novel/screenplay/Broadway musical that I felt completely overwhelmed.

Meeting with novelist Crystal Wilkinson for a one on one, I realized that all the things I see as possibly insurmountable problems in my novel clearly are just that: possibly insurmountable. And, still, I’m attracted to the story.

Crystal gave me some exciting ways to play with the book: write pages of “What if’s” about the characters, their actions, the world I’m creating. Some images came to mind that made me laugh out loud as we toyed with what if’s and my muse came out to play.

I’ve given myself permission to make this fun–it’s a children’s novel, after all–and I finally realized that, in my previous state of seriosity (yes, new word), there was no way I could ever write the book. In my new found state of openness and chill, there’s potential, possibility, spark.

Lesson Three: Do your homework; put the writing first. Peter invited conference presenters to Jamestown for a light dinner after the reception and readings. And then he invited the whole gang. But we had homework!

I almost went. It’s a wonderful thing to meet writers, connect, find company in the sometimes-lonely world of writing.

But I knew that if I went to dinner, I would never get my homework done. Or I’d do a slipshod job and go to bed too late and wake up tired. I tell my book writing students all the time to get enough sleep and write when you”re fresh. I tell them to cut down on the socializing for the short time they’re writing their books. They can use socializing as a reward after completing some writing commitment. But don’t give up writing time to go out.

For the record, I took my own advice. And it felt great. I rewrote my “scene.” I read the three well-crafted stories we received in class. I’m going to bed by 10 and I may even have time to take a bath before bed. And I can socialize at dinner tomorrow as my reward. ‘Night.

More this weekend from the conference.

Writing a Book? Don’t be Shy…

March 4, 2010 by Lisa Tener 1 Comment

In book writing class last night, Sarah mentioned that she wasn’t able to write during the hours she planned this weekend because her husband, her main supporter, was out of town. Instead of writing, she drove her daughter to 5 soccer scrimmages.

During the call, Sarah realized that she could have reclaimed her time by asking another mom to help transport her daughter. It’s so easy to get caught up in trying to be the perfect mom and trying to do it all, but your book may not get written that way, certainly not in 8 weeks.

A classmate on the call suggested that Sarah’s friends might be especially eager to help once they knew why she needed help–that she was finally writing a book that she’d wanted to write for years. Sarah shared that this would be a big step for her. She’d kept her book writing activities low key.

Sarah Hoskin Clymer is Owning her Book Writing Dream...and making it come true...shes on target to have a first draft before week 6 of class! — Sarah Hoskin Clymer is Owning her Book Writing Dream...and making it come true...she's on target to have a first draft before week 6 of class!

I always suggest being selective about who you share your precious dreams with. Early on in the process, keep it to those people whom you know will be supportive. In this case, though, the thought of sharing about the book writing opened something up for Sarah. She could see how claiming her dream would support the dream and help her own it.

Over an e-mail last night, we had a “virtual laugh” over the fact that Sarah is a founder of Own It Sister, which helps women tap into their wisdom and wealth and offers a weekly inspiring radio show on the subject. Sarah is owning it. Are you?

Is it time to share your book writing dreams with the world? Tell a supportive friend, or claim your power right here as a comment. What book are you writing?

Writing in the Zone…Again

February 24, 2010 by Lisa Tener 3 Comments

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

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?

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

February 22, 2010 by Lisa Tener 4 Comments

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

“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

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

January 17, 2010 by Lisa Tener 3 Comments

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.

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.

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

January 9, 2010 by Lisa Tener Leave a Comment

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

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.

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.

How Much Time Does it Take to Write a Book?

December 17, 2009 by Lisa Tener 1 Comment

An aspiring author recently called me to explore writing coaching to help him write his book. He wondered about hiring a ghostwriter. Generally, I’m all about writing your book yourself. I’ve met too many people who’ve hired ghostwriters and been disappointed.

And most relatively smart people can develop an engaging (or even compelling) style and find their authentic voice as a writer by learning a few important skills with the help of a writing coach or editor. The only reasons to hire a ghostwriter is if you’ve gotten solid expert help and you still can’t write or you just don’t have the time.

This person didn’t have much time. His question was critical. Could he find the time to write his book?

It can take years to write a book and I know people who’ve written books in a manner of weeks. In my book writing classes, some students have a first draft within eight or ten weeks. Some never finish at all; others can take months to write their book.

Writing a book as quickly as eight weeks assumes that either you don’t need to do much research for the book, or you write your first draft without doing much research and then you do the research afterward (or have someone else do some of the research for you).

You’ll write faster (and you’ll write a better book) if you spend time before the writing to clarify your goals in writing a book, the audience or market for the book, the book concept, including features, tone, how the book fits in with what’s currently out there, and the outline of your book.

How fast you write a book also depends on how much time you commit per week. However, just because you devote yourself full time to writing doesn’t mean you’ll have your book any sooner than someone who has a full time job. Sometimes the people with demanding jobs are the best at making the most of the 30 or 90 minutes a day they devote to writing a book.

While I can’t tell you how long it will take you to write your book, I do know that those who consistently make writing appointments in their calendars and hold themselves to it (often with the support of a writing buddy, book coach or a book writing class) can often predict, after a few weeks, how soon they’ll have a first draft.

This proud author wrote his book in record time. And he swears he didn't hire a ghostwriter.

If you’re wondering how long it will take to write a book, I suggest you spend time to clarify the market and book concept, outline the book and then write for two to three weeks. Be consistent about your weekly commitment and see how much you accomplish in that time. At that point you should be able to project how long it will take you to complete writing your book.

If, in that time, you get little accomplished, you’ll also realize it’s a good idea to reach out for more help in whatever form works best for you–writing buddy, writing group at a local library, a book writing class, an editor or a writing coach.

Just get started and your answer will become clearer. And, at some point, you’ll know exactly how long it takes to write your book–you’ll be holding that book in your hands.