January 2015 Newsletter
The Incredible Rewards of Writing
“When you speak, your words echo across the room. But when you write, your words echo across the ages.” — Bud Gardner, co-author of Chicken Soup for the Writers Soul
For the past twenty years, I’ve had the privilege of helping people crystallize a quality message and get it out of their head and into print.
I tell them, “Ideas in your head help no one.”
Have you ever thought of it that way?
If you have insights, experience and expertise that would benefit others; it’s almost “selfish” to keep them to yourself.
When you think about it that way; writing is a way of adding value, of contributing to the world.
Sometimes, however, the words won’t come. Or, you might be running low on time, energy, and discipline.
If that’s the case, you might want to print and post these quotes where you can see them throughout the day.
Keeping these quotes in-sight, in-mind can keep your intentions top-of-mind so you get your insights and stories out in the world where they can serve more people.
Hope these quotes help you put pen to paper or fingers to keys:
1. “If you wait for inspiration to write; you’re not a writer, you’re a waiter.” – Dan Poynter
2. When asked the secret to finishing his 500 page masterpiece The Power of One, author Bryce Courtenay growled, “Bum glue!”
3. “If my doctor told me I had only 6 months to live, I’d type a little faster.” – Isaac Asimov
4. “Inspiration usually comes during work, not before it.” – Madeleine L’Engle
5. “I write when I’m inspired, and I see to it that I’m inspired at 9 am every morning.” – Peter DeVries
6. “I think I did pretty well, considering I started out with nothing but a bunch of blank paper.” – Steve Martin
7. “I made a startling discovery. Time spent writing = output of work. Amazing.” – Ann Pachett
8. “Ever tried and failed? No matter. Try again and fail better.” – Samuel Beckett
9. “It’s never too late – in fiction or in life – to revise.” – Nancy Thayer
10. “If you want to write, you can. Fear stops most people from writing, not lack of talent. Who am I? What right have I to speak? Who will listen to me? You are a human being with a unique story to tell. You have every right.” – Richard Rhodes
11. “The way to resume is to resume. It is the only way. To resume.” – Gertrude Stein
12. “Best advice on writing I’ve ever received. Finish.” – Peter Mayle
13. “When I am writing, I am doing the thing I was meant to do.” – Anne Sexton
14. “You can sit there, tense and worried, freezing the creative energies, or you can start writing something. It doesnt matter what. In five or ten minutes, the imagination will heat, the tightness will fade, and a certain spirit and rhythm will take over.” – Leonard Bernstein
15. “I went for years not finishing anything. Because, of course, when you finish something you can be judged. I had pieces that were re-written so many times I suspect it was just a way of avioding sending them out.” – Erica Jong
16. “Once you’ve done the mental work, there comes a point you have to throw yourself into action and put your heart on the line.” – Lakers basketball coach Phil Jackson
17. “The faster I write, the better my output. If I’m going slow, I’m in trouble. It means I’m pushing the words instead of being pulled by them.” – Raymond Chandler
18. “When you speak, your words echo across the room. When you write, your words echo across the ages.” – Chicken Soup for the Writers Soul author Bud Gardner
19. “Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.” – Carl Sandburg
20. “I don’t wait for moods. You accomplish nothing if you do that. Your mind must know it has got to get down to work.” – Pearl S. Buck
MONEY TALKS: Get Paid to Speak About Your Book
Are you an aspiring or already published author? Have you ever gone to a conference, found out how much the speakers were getting paid, and thought, “I’m as good, if not better, than them …I’d like to do that?”
If so, it’s important to understand that earning a good living is not likely to happen from advances or book royalties alone.
It’s more likely to result from paid speaking engagements, online and back-of-the-room sales, coaching/consulting and media attention that drives national buzz/demand for you and your book/topic.
The good news is, there is a process for developing the positioning, presentation skills, marketing outreach and platform to do all the above – and my “Money Talks” workshop teaches it.
I’m offering a three hour pre-conference “Money Talks” workshop (open to the public) on Feb. 12 in conjunction with the San Francisco Writers Conference.
Prefer to do a deep dive into how to design/deliver presentations people will pay for? Check out my weekend “Money Talks” on the East Coast March 21-22.
Register Here for the San Francisco Session // Thursday, February 12th
Register here for the Washington DC Intensive Boot Camp // March 21- 22nd
Write Well, Write Fast, Write, Now
I’m excited about teaming up with Pete Bissonette, the President of Learning Strategies, (which has featured programs by Jack Canfield, Paul Scheele and Chunyi Lin ) to offer a series of tele-seminars on how to become a better writer.
What type of writing do you do – or would you like to do? Would you like to write about:
- people, places, science, business, sports, the arts, entertainment or politics …
- yourself, your ideas, experiences, expertise or stories … fiction or nonfiction …
- thank you letter, a special eulogy, congratulatory note or heartfelt apology …
- a project report, a resume or cover letter that lands your ideal job, a speech that brings audiences to their feet, a convincing sales letter, or a quality book that adds value for everyone who reads it …
Interested? Check it out by clicking here.
“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”
Maya Angelou
I hope these quotes and programs inspire you to get the untold lessons-learned and stories that are in you – out of you – and onto the page and into print.
Hope your 2015 is off to a happy, healthy start.
Sam