Posts by Amy Isaman
Overcome “Too Many Ideas” Syndrome and Finally Write Your Nonfiction Book
You’ve probably heard of “shiny object syndrome” which is what happens when creative people, like writers and entrepreneurs, get distracted from their current project by a super fun, exciting new project. “Too many ideas” syndrome or “shiny idea” syndrome is what happens when we have so many ideas that we never even get started. We…
Read MoreFrom Messy Ideas to Meaningful Books: The Role of Genre Conventions in Prescriptive Nonfiction
When I was a kid, I loved playing with Legos. But I was a girl…with a sister…in the seventies…so we didn’t own any Legos. The only time I got to play with them was when I got older and babysat little boys who had them. I loved it. We’d dump out the bin of Legos on the floor…
Read MoreIs your book worth writing?
“Is this book even worth writing?” A frustrated client asked me this question during a session recently. Like most who want to write a nonfiction book, she’s got a lifetime of knowledge, experience, and wisdom, and like many newer writers, she’s wants to include all the things. While including too much will dilute her point…
Read MoreReleasing Rules & Finding Your Writing Process
This summer, I checked off a bucket list item and attended the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show in Sisters, Oregon. It’s a week of quilting classes and show where the entire town of Sisters is covered in stunning quilts. One class I took was on hand piecing and improvisational design. To start, the teacher had all the students…
Read MoreStories Stick: Using Personal Stories in Your Content
When our neighbors moved away, they “gifted” us with their three goats to help us with our invasive weed problem. While I knew nothing about goats when we got them, I do know how babies are made. We have two bucks and a doe, so I’m not sure why I was stunned to find two adorable baby goats in the pasture…
Read MoreAccountability Partners Work
Last spring, my daughter earned her license as a Marriage and Family Therapist, so now she’s marketing herself and her services to grow her client list. She chose Instagram as her platform of choice, and in January, she called me for support. I stifled a laugh before admitting that when it comes to social media,…
Read MoreUsing Meaning to Help you Drill Down your Book Idea
Choosing the right idea to write and focus on for your book is truly the first step when you decide to write a book. It’s also the step where so many brilliant, would-be authors get stuck. Do you identify as a highly creative souls with many potential ideas you could write? If you’re like most…
Read MoreToo Many Ideas? Use your WHY to Choose THE book to write
Like many of you, I’m an entrepreneur, and much of the fun in being an entrepreneur is coming up with new ideas for content, offerings or programs. I love playing with new ideas…until I did my year end reflection and spent a month sorting through Scrivener, Google docs, random folders on my computer, actual manila…
Read MoreFinding Clarity: The Value of Writing a Discovery Draft
My student, a high school senior stared at the paper in front of him, then up at me, then back down at his paper before dropping his head in his hands with all the drama of an annoyed seventeen year old, and mumbled, “What do I even do with this? I don’t know how to…
Read MoreFirst Impressions Matter: How to Write the Introduction for Your Nonfiction Book
When a reader picks up your nonfiction book, they will have questions like: This is a heavy load for the first few pages of any book, but answering all of these questions can be done. If you’re writing a self help or prescriptive nonfiction book, a book that is geared to help someone solve a…
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