Tea for Creatives: Lisa Tener

Written by Possibiliteas. Posted in Blog

Meet Lisa Tener, a book writing coach who blends creativity with a keen understanding of the marketplace and business to help authors write compelling and inspiring books, as well as successful book proposals. She teaches an 8 week book writing program by teleseminar, as well as a version in person, by the ocean.

Her clients have signed 5- and 6-figure publishing deals with Random House, Simon and Schuster, Scribners and other top publishers and appeared on Oprah, CBS Early Show and more. She teaches on the faculty of Harvard Medical School’s CME publishing course and has been on ABC World News, PBS TV and been quoted in Glamour, USA Weekend and more.

Define creativity. What does it mean to you? And how has it inspired your career?

For me, Creativity is tapping into the source for answers to questions and problems—or just for what comes next—whether it’s the next word in a book, the next medium to paint with or the next way to get my son to bed with a smile on his face.

I started my third career—if you don’t count my short and disastrous stint in sales—as a book writing coach based on the whole idea of creativity—and making it more accessible and easier for writers and artists.

I’d published a book on transforming anger with a major publisher, but realized a few months into it that working with people’s anger wasn’t always that much fun. I’d been asking for clarity about my next step and—in yoga class one day—it came like a download—to share the 5 steps I used to get into that Creative Flow and inspired state consistently and quickly.

Based on that seed of an idea, I started teaching workshops with those 5 steps for creativity—I called it Writing in the Zone at the time. And the creativity work evolved into guiding people in writing their books or writing a successful book proposal. Helping people tap into their creativity is always an important part of the work—coupled with an understanding of the marketplace.

How do you navigate the creative process?

I come from a business background, so with nonfiction books, I like to start with the big vision and goals, think about the audience or market, and then start getting creative about how to serve their needs and what will resonate for them. In my view, structure is important because if you have structure for a book, it frees you to get creative, but without structure, it often doesn’t go anywhere. The structure can change, but it’s usually important to have a structure up front and allow it to evolve.

Having said that, my creative process in making art, for instance, or dancing, is different and more spontaneous. I don’t do these things for a living so these are more like prayers for me.

Describe the biggest creative obstacle you’ve faced in the past. How did you hurdle it?

Our book—my first book—had come out—originally called Good and Mad: Transform Anger Using Mind, Body, Soul and Humor. But despite fabulous national reviews, the bookstores weren’t carrying the books. It turned out the dimensions were wrong for a self-help book and the cover was also confusing (people thought the book was for teens or kids because of the cartoon). I had two co-authors and we put our heads together and made a case for the publisher to reprint the book (which required a new title and ISBN in addition to new cover and dimensions). They did and our book has done well.

I think sometimes people see what seems like an obstacle and think they’re screwed, but that’s the time to get creative and see it as an opportunity. As it turned out, the new release allowed us to quote the Chicago Tribune review on the cover of the book and lots of other positive reviews in the first few pages. A negative became a positive. Also, a lesson for me is about community and working with others. I didn’t overcome the hurdle on my own, but with my co-authors.

Who is your favorite creative figure? How have they inspired your creativity?

I love SARK because she’s really just so SARK. She has her own style and it was really different from everything else out there—very home grown—and it just works. She’s super creative and not afraid to do something different—and it’s paid off for her.

If you could choose one quote as your life mantra, what would it be?

That’s a tall order. I’m not sure, but today I’d say, “To find the shortest path to any dream, work with ideas, not facts. Dwell upon the end result, not the hows. And rely upon the Universe, not yourself.”   – Mike Dooley.

What’s your favorite Possibilitea? Where do you love to drink it? And what’s your favorite mug to put it in?

CreativiTea of course. I like to drink it at my desk while writing and I plan to bring it to my next Bring Your Book to Life program, which I teach in a room surrounded by ocean and river in Narragansett, RI. I know it will be a hit with my book writing students.

I bought a mug on our honeymoon (15 and a half years ago) on one of the more obscure Greek Islands—Skyros. It’s blue and white and reminds me of those carefree days. Okay, I was never carefree, but still…it brings me back. Of course, it’s an inspiring tea in any mug.

Anything you’d like to offer our readers?

Yes, if you’re interested in writing a book and aren’t sure where to start, I invite you to sign up for your free author toolkit on my website. I’m also happy to answer book writing and publishing questions on this blog as a comment or visit my writing blog.

The Tea for Creatives series celebrates the creative minds that Possibiliteas seeks to serve with its brews. We aim to bring the creative community insightful and eye-opening profiles of the best and brightest creative professionals across various industries. Join us on Facebook and Twitter for more conversations on creativity.

Tags: agent, book writing, coach, Lisa Tener, publishing