Lisa Tener's Blog: Lisa Tener's Writing/Publishing Blog, page 46

Won 5 National Book Awards

Not only did Lisa Tener help make my dream come true, The Sky is Green and The Grass is Blue, was the proud recipient of 5 National Book Awards for Best in Motivation, Inspiration and New Non-Fiction! The recognition and credibility of writing an award winning book has helped me launch teleseminars, telesummits, speaking and hosting my own radio show, The Best People We Know, which is in Blog Talk Radio’s top 1% and 2% in popularity in self-help. business, women, family and writing. Thank you Lisa Tener for being a jewel in the crown of life.

Gratitude–A Powerful Way to “Write in the Zone”

In the  5-Step  system I formulated for Writing in the Zone, I suggest you end your writing time with giving thanks and feeling grateful for your writing session—the inspiration, the flow, the pages you wrote–whether you wrote 2 pages or 20–and even if you spent the time ruminating without writing. The positive experience you evoke by feeling gratitude will set you up for success and flow the next time you write. In Bring Your Book to Life class last Friday, Life Coach Bonnie Leonard shared that every evening she writes about 5 things she’s grateful for in her gratitude journal[...]

She Trusted Her Gut and Got Book Deal With Hay House

When radio host  and founder of the Best Ever You Network,  Elizabeth Hamilton Guarino,  asked for help with her book I suggested we do a “meet your muse” visualization to get clarity. I had some ideas about her book, but her muse had other ideas. She closed her eyes and I led her on an inner journey to her muse, where we asked her muse about the tone, structure and features of her book. Her muse–who appeared as Nadia Comaneci–was clear–”Do your own thing.Trust yourself. You march to the beat of your own drummer.” Her muse reminded her of her[...]

Second Annual NoWriMoMo

In helping hundreds of nonfiction authors with their books, I’ve come to the conclusion that 97% of aspiring authors need consistent motivation and support to get their book completed—two things that do not come automatically to the often solitary process of writing. The good news? Our second annual, NoWriMoMo offers you the opportunity to get both motivation and support—and even answers to your specific nonfiction writing challenges. If you did not participate last year, you may wonder, What is NoWriMoMo? Sounds a little like NaNoWriMo, but not quite… In the spirit of National Novel Writing Month, we are offering support[...]

No excuses in NJ: Lessons in Commitment from Hurricane Sandy

The subject of this afternoon’s e-mail from Maria Palmer: “No excuses in NJ.” The content: “Hi Lisa, Even with the power out, I’m still writing. Maria” Yes, she’s wearing a miner’s hat! Maria did not let Hurricane Sandy put a crimp in her writing progress. A mentor of mine, Mitch Feigenberg–who happened to take my book writing course and did finish a first draft in 8 weeks–once shared, “You can have your reasons [for not completing your book] or you can have your book, but you can’t have both.” I’ve been quoting Mitch ever since. It’s a “tough love” message.[...]

When You’re Sad You Make a Rainbow–and Other Writing Secrets

My five-year-old told me yesterday, “When You’re Sad, You Make a Rainbow.” I didn’t quite get it until he pointed to his frown. My son knows one of the secrets of good writing–let your mind wander. When I asked him how he came up with the idea, I’d already assumed he’d heard it somewhere. Not so. “I made a frown and then I just thought, ‘It looks like a rainbow.’” In his free state of feeling his emotion, his mind wasn’t trying to talk him out of it or do anything with it. And so he happened upon a metaphor.[...]

How to Get Blurbs from Bestselling Authors and Celebrities

When Bring Your Book to Life Graduate Stacy Corrigan, author of Manifest Your Man, sent me her blurbs, I was impressed—they included bestselling authors Marci Shimoff, Joe Vitale and Bob Doyle, as well as Jeanna Gabellini, who co-authored Life Lessons for Mastering the Law of Attraction: 7 Essential Ingredients for Living a Prosperous Life with Jack Canfield, Eva Gregory and Mark Victor Hansen. I told Stacy I’d love to know how she got these great endorsements so I could share the strategies with my blog readers. Here’s what she said: “I acquired Marci Shimoff’s endorsement after doing research for my[...]

How to Pitch Agents at a Writers Conference: Reflections from a Writing Conference Virgin

Guest Post by Maria C. Palmer About a month ago, I quit my day job to devote 100% of my energy to finishing my book and book proposal.  For someone accustomed to working away from home a minimum of 60 hours a week with little free time, this meant quite a change of lifestyle.   I still remember the first day I woke up and didn’t have to go to work.  I realized my life was transforming–I’d stopped doing what I knew how to do and starting doing what I’ve always wanted to do: WRITE–a BIG leap of faith. However,[...]

How to Meet Literary Agents and Pitch a Book

I often recommend my clients attend the International Women’s Writing Guild’s Big Apple Conference, specifically for the “Meet the Agents” portion of the program. It offers a terrific opportunity to hear a variety of literary agents share the types of books they are interested in and then pitch your book in 3 minutes or less. A client recently sent some great questions and I thought they’d be valuable to anyone who wants to learn how to get published by a traditional publisher and get a book deal. Here, then, are her questions and my answers: 1.  What should I bring[...]

Super-Social and Sophisticated, MacHeist 4 Marketing Creates Experience, Fun and Value: Exclusive Interview

This writer's biggest surprise this summer occurred when visiting Khalil Habib in New York and discovering he is part of the genius known as MacHeist -- the uber successful Mac software promotion company which just launched its fourth promotion. Macheist brings together a community of over 1.4 million Mac Software enthusiasts to learn about great mac apps, solve puzzles and complete missions.



This intriguing marketing model seems a win-win-win-win for the Mac user community, app developers, MacHeist and even select charities. From the customer's perspective, they can receive free apps once they solve the puzzles and "complete missions." And these challenges seem to be the greater thrill of MacHeist. The event culminates in offering a software bundle worth thousands of dollars for a few dollars.



Top software companies and newer apps developers get their software into the hands of enthusiasts who are likely to buy additional products from them. Of course, MacHeist benefits when they sell the bundle and charities benefit as well, since MacHeist gives 25% of all bundle sales to charities. In the past they have given away over $2 million to charities -- including a record setting $850,000 set by MacHeist 3, which they hope to surpass with MacHeist 4.



While Khalil has been quiet about his role in MacHeist, he's agreed to this exclusive interview as MacHeist 4 launches and offered to answer questions from readers in the comments section of this post.



Lisa: Khalil, what is MacHeist?



Khalil: MacHeist is the premiere Mac software promotion company. Our promotions are major online events followed by millions of Mac fans worldwide. We bring together a community of over 1.4 million Mac Software enthusiasts to learn about great Mac apps, solve puzzles and complete missions while working their way toward an amazing software bundle.



Lisa: What do you mean by "missions"?



Khalil: A series of puzzles and games that release over several weeks during our promotions that, through word of mouth, and now, through our subscriber list as well, get the word out and build the excitement. Users who solve a puzzle win a free app! The puzzle promotion builds toward a great bundle sale like the grand finale at a fireworks display.



Lisa: Why does MacHeist go to so much trouble creating all the games and puzzles, why not just give the software away in the first place?



Khalil: Unlocking great apps as a reward for solving puzzles creates excitement. Millions of users discuss the apps in our forums, learn about great software and share ideas about them with users all over the world in a fun and engaging way. The puzzles and games are a huge part of the culture and fun of MacHeist - people love to play and learn about Mac software. That's what makes us unique, and why MacHeist has become this giant online event that millions of people look forward to.



Lisa: Sounds very "social."



Khalil: It is. MacHeist is a culture, a social network of mac enthusiasts from all over the world. Many of our users have followed us for years and many friendships have been made as a result.



Lisa: How do you get these companies to give away their software?



Khalil: Even the biggest companies want more customers. Developers know that if they can just get you to try their software, there's a good chance you'll become a customer and buy something else from them in the future, or remain a loyal customer for life. Plus, the more people use an app, the more it sells through word-of-mouth. We have the ability - and proven track record - to get great apps into as many eager hands as possible, and quickly.



Lisa: Name a few products you gave away in MacHeist 3.



Khalil: Let's see, 1Password, DaisyDisk, World of Goo, MacJournal, and so many others. Pixelmator participated in MacHeist 2. We've had so many great titles.



Lisa: So, tell me about your new promotion, MacHeist 4.



Khalil: We've revealed a few participants -- Corel, TellTale Games, and great apps like NetShade and Appshelf. We just launched this Saturday -- and the experience is about mystery and surprise -- so I can't comment on additional apps, as we reveal the content of MacHeist 4 over time -- but if you are interested in getting some of the most amazing Mac software on the planet for free, keep your eyes on www.macheist.com over the next couple weeks. I've spent the last year making deals with developers across the globe, from small indie developers to huge companies and I can tell you one thing, the industry has never seen anything like what's going to be unleashed in this promotion!



Lisa: How important is MacHeist to the Mac community?



Khalil: Very! MacHeist attracts more users to Apple and its products, as people get to see what the Mac culture is all about through our promotions. MacHeist helps users discover the hidden richness of great Mac apps out there.



Lisa: I love the idea of creating an experience for your customers, that it's social--which creates even more opportunity for viral, word of mouth visibility. Do you think we'll see more of this kind of thing in other industries?



Khalil: Absolutely! Virtual communities are real and powerful. Social networking has become a large part of our lives and shopping habits. Consumers trust recommendations that come from their friends. The difficulty is in creating an organic "social" culture that people genuinely want to be a part of. Our games help to create a MacHeist culture.



Lisa: And the companies are a big part of that culture...



Khalil: Yes, developers have an opportunity to interact with users in our forums. What better way for young indie developers to receive immensely valuable feedback from users, and for users to get to know developers? That organic exchange of ideas may direct much of an apps' future development.



Lisa: One could call it "Super-Social." Have you seen a similar model in other industries?



Khalil: Yes, I'm big fan of Fractal Audio's Axe FX guitar processor. Fractal has successfully created a "social" experience around their gear, resulting in a loyal following and sharing of ideas online. Guitar enthusiasts all over the world are aware of this great little company from New Hampshire. And users get to share what they produce from this great tool online and in forums. "Virtual" communities are very powerful and are a great way for any company to thrive in a competitive environment.



Readers, let's hear from you: What do you think of the model? Any questions for Khalil?