Author Archives: Nomi Isak, Writing Coach

My Gentle Barn: Writing about Animals

Some of you know that I was writing a book with Ellie Laks (her memoir about starting The Gentle Barn in Santa Clarita).  It was an amazing, deeply fulfilling project for both of us. Her stories never stopped touching my heart and soul, and I also never stopped laughing (pretty great way to spend a year).

Well, the fruits of that labor are just about ripe. The book, My Gentle Barn: Creating a Sanctuary Where Animals Heal and Children Learn to Hope, is due out March 25, 2014.

If you like, you can even preorder it now through The Gentle Barn website. Or you can go straight to Amazon. Hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed creating it!

How to Write Your First Book

Check out this great interview with twenty-one successful authors about the experience of writing their first book—from how they made a living before they sold their first book to the nuts and bolts of getting the words onto the page.

How to Write Your First Book

Calling All Writers (read this article before you say yes to writing for free)

Reblogging this, just because it’s so important . . .

Nomi Isak, Writing Coach's avatarNomi Isak, Writing Coach

If you’re being asked to write—anything—for free, I just hope the person asking is your mother or your kid (or the person who shares your bed). Because if the asker doesn’t fit into one of these categories, he or she is no different from someone in a dental chair saying to the dentist: “Oh, and I just want to confirm that you’re not going to charge for this crown, right? I’ll show it to everyone; it’ll give you great exposure.”

Tim Kreider has published an exceptional essay in the New York Times that tells why it’s wrong to write for nothing: Slaves of the Internet, Unite!

You owe it to yourself (and to every writer who ever hopes to make a living writing) to read this article.

 

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Calling All Writers (read this article before you say yes to writing for free)

If you’re being asked to write—anything—for free, I just hope the person asking is your mother or your kid (or the person who shares your bed). Because if the asker doesn’t fit into one of these categories, he or she is no different from someone in a dental chair saying to the dentist: “Oh, and I just want to confirm that you’re not going to charge for this crown, right? I’ll show it to everyone; it’ll give you great exposure.”

Tim Kreider has published an exceptional essay in the New York Times that tells why it’s wrong to write for nothing: Slaves of the Internet, Unite!

You owe it to yourself (and to every writer who ever hopes to make a living writing) to read this article.

 

Unfinished Book?

“Books, if you don’t put them first, tend to sulk. They retreat into a corner and refuse to work.“ —Salman Rushdie

Nomi Isak is available for coaching sessions, critiques, and editing, whatever will help you get your book out of the corner and back on the front burner. Call (310) 842-8358 or email her at Nomi.theWriteCoach(at)gmail.com to set up a free consultation.

Kindle or Real Book—What’s Your Preference?

I, for one, haven’t given in to buying an electronic reader. It’s not that I’m against the idea of them. I just can’t picture myself taking pleasure from curling up around an electronic device. But then, I wasn’t the first in my crowd to get a cell phone, and I also dragged my feet about getting a smart phone (and let me tell you, I love my smart phone now).

But there is something about a real book—the feel, the smell, the thickness—that I find as comforting as hot chocolate.

How about you? Do you prefer a Kindle over paper pages? We’d love to hear your thoughts!

You can also check out the thoughts of some of my colleagues on the subject:  “Real” Books and Why We Love Them, by Suzanne Mantell, and Kindle: Friend or Foe, three articles by three other colleagues, Deborah A. Lott,  Kristin Loberg, and  Laura Golden Bellotti.

What Your Favorite Book Looks Like in Colors | Arts & Culture | Smithsonian Magazine

British artist Jaz Parkinson has created an image for each book based on the tally of times the author has mentioned various colors. Check out what some famous books look like in colors:

What Your Favorite Book Looks Like in Colors | Arts & Culture | Smithsonian Magazine.

Writing and Failure

Last month, I wrote a blog post on the writer and rejection (If You Get Rejected, Should You Quit Writing?).

Here are some further thoughts on rejection by several oft-published writers, including the likes of Margaret Atwood: Falling Short: Seven Writers Reflect on Failure.