In my first book on writing, I talk about that negative voice—The Bitch–inside your head that says, “Who’s going to want to read what you have to say?” “Who told you that you could write?” and “Really, you think you’re the expert?” My clients and I often discuss ways to talk back to that voice and take part in writing …

Dear Allie and Cathy: I’ve blocked writing time on my calendar, and now it’s time to sit down and just DO IT. Only one problem. I now realize that I really can’t write because I should answer that important email. Then I realize that my desk is a mess, and I know I could write so much more effectively if …

The following is excerpted from Allie Pleiter’s and Cathy Fyock’s forthcoming book, Writer Crisis Hotline, due in October 2023. Dear Allie and Cathy: Every time I get ready to write my book, I feel overwhelmed. There are so many words to write, so many ideas to organize, and so many aspects to book writing, publishing, and promotion to learn. How …

As a book coach, one of the most important strategies for me in becoming a better coach is to continue to write and publish, since I can learn through the experience and share my insights with my authors. Allie Pleiter (book coach and full-time author) and I are currently working on a new book, to be released in Fall 2023, …

Many conferences and programs use a process where speaker proposals are solicited from Speaker Authors. Generally, a Call for Proposals is posted on the organization’s website or sent to their list of speakers and members anywhere from one month to more than a year in advance of the conference. We bet you’re wondering: are these a waste of time? We …

At the National Speakers Association Winter Workshop in Orlando last year, Mark Levy presented a session on how to write the best book of your life. While there were many valuable nuggets from his program, the idea that really grabbed me was his idea of using the album and the singles concept. Mark suggested that best-selling albums have best-selling singles …

What do you do when you’re writing away, and you realize you need a statistic or fact that you saw last week? And what do you do when you know there is THE perfect word that should be included in your writing, but it eludes you? Inexperienced writers may be tempted to stop everything to find the missing data point …

What can I possibly accomplish in two minutes? If you’re a part of my group coaching program, or if you’ve attended one of my writing workshops or retreats, you know the power of two minutes! We regularly use two-minute writing prompts, which help us stop over-thinking our writing and just get the words on the page. And, if you think …

As writers, we hear it all the time: “Show, don’t tell!” And intuitively, we know it’s better when we can take the reader on the journey with us. But the question is, HOW do you show the reader and not tell the reader. I was thinking about just this after a coaching session with a client (you know who you …

Talk Back! (To Your Negative Voice) You know that negative voice that won’t leave you alone—especially when you’re embarking on a new challenge or goal. Who do you think you are? What makes you think you can write? It’s a familiar voice for authors and aspiring authors, so much so that one of the exercises we explored at the three-day …