Say it Simply by Jennifer Manlowe

“The point of philosophy is to start with something so simple as not to seem worth stating, and to end with something so paradoxical that no one will believe it.” ~ Bertrand Russell

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Halloween is my very favorite holiday. The days that follow, All Souls/All Saints Day, are equally celebratory. Still, I wonder why dressing up in various costumes, pretending to be scary monsters, has held such fascination for so many of us? Is it because we get to include what is called our “shadow” or a “disowned self”? Might it have to do with testing out a taboo version of ourselves, one that we’re not quite ready to include in our ordinary lives? Perhaps it’s just fun to play someone other than us for a night (or day). But, most important, what, if anything, does playing have to do with writing?

Playing has everything to do with good-enough writing. If we can’t start, we’ll never finish. Thus, I make writing anything into a game because I have a fairly simple kid within me who likes games and will take on any dare. I’ll say, “Hey, I dare you to write a really crappy version of that assignment you’ve been given (or have given yourself)!” Seriously, without fail, this invitation provokes me to give it a try. Why? Because I can’t fail at producing a really crappy version of anything and I hate to fail. What’s more, if there’s no version to work with, there’s nothing to share with the world (via publishing).

Such tricks (and their inevitable treats that follow) may get even the stuffiest intellectuals down on the ground with paint on their hands. When writing has no more at stake than finger painting, we’re all a bit more willing to throw ourselves into the game of creating. I know; I’ve been using this trick on myself since 1985 (graduate school at Princeton Seminary).

“I can’t write a book commensurate with Shakespeare, but I can write a book by me.” ~ Walter Raleigh, Sr.

Keeping your writing simple isn’t done just for you to get something out and down on paper, it can save your reader a lot of hassles. Consider this: if you cannot say what you mean in one page, you may need more time to keep writing in your journal (or on those pesky scraps of paper). Ask your inner writer, “What am I trying to share with my ‘just right’ reader?”

“Elevator speeches” can help, i.e., can you talk about your book project in the time it takes to go from the 1st floor to the 9th floor of a building? Using such a facile technique doesn’t mean the book will be thin soup for the reader, rather, they’ll have a sense that you’ve been working with a clear head and have a strong sense of where you will be taking them on their reading expedition.

Another trick I’ll use to stay connected to my reader is to keep in mind (as my imaginary audience) an intelligent and curious 8th grader. If I cannot connect with her, hold her attention, interest her, or help her flourish in a way that she’ll understand, then I’ll be missing most readers all together.

As a university professor and an academic writer from 1993-2005, I have developed lots of methods to impress my competition (the few readers of academic journals who love to find logical holes in other people’s arguments). While my skin got thicker every year, I lost my capacity to relate to my ideal readers.

Now, I write to connect, not to impress. My recommendation to you is this: “Have a non-academic friend read your book, preferably a teenager who loves to read. She or he may be your best test-reader and will offer you the most helpful feedback!” Of course, if you want further guidance and even more simple tricks-of-the-trade, give me a call.

Jennifer Manlowe, PhD is an author, educator, writing and publishing coach with over 20 years of experience helping people express themselves in ways that bring joy, self-sufficiency, good pay and a sense of contribution. She loves hearing from readers and writers and is eager to support them as they launch their creative work in the world!

Be sure to schedule a 30-minute complimentary phone consultation to see how this kind of coaching works. Make an appointment via telephone: (206) 617-8832 or email: jlmanlowe@gmail.com

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Can Fear Be Useful to An Author?

“You block your dream when you allow your fear to grow bigger than your faith.” ~ Mary Manin Morrissey

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Fear can be a huge boulder in any writer’s path, preventing her from being able to see that there might be a way to work with, even capitalize on, its universality.

Fear has a way of throwing us off balance, making us feel uncertain and insecure, but it is not meant to discourage us. Its purpose is to notify us that we are at the edge of our comfort zone, poised in between the old life and a new one. Whenever we face our fear, we overcome an inner obstacle and move into new territory, both inside and out.

Many would-be authors let their fears keep them from embracing their writerly possibilities. Which type of fear keeps you from fulfilling your writing goals? Here is just a small sampling (based on my clients’ and my own experiences):

• Fear of change(s)

• Fear of the unknown

• Fear of failing

• Fear of succeeding

• Fear of getting outside the “comfort zone” (those comfortable but stinky slippers)

• Fear of being too old to be relevant or too young to write a memoir

• Fear of being seen as frivolous or vain

• Fear of losing money – no guarantees

• Fear of being broke

• Fear of having to BE AN AUTHOR (“Will I have to pump out books like Stephen King for the rest of my life?”)

• Fear of not having what it takes (discipline, talent, passion)

• Fear of being wrong (too many typos and grammatical errors)

• Fear of not being able to begin (or finish!)

• Fear of humiliation, worries of what friends, family or colleagues will think

• Fear of self-delusion; that your experiment as an author will appear to be grandiose, full of fallacious arguments and factoids

• Fear that it’s all been said before anyway

• Fear of being audacious, “How dare I think I have something unique to say!”

• Fear of no longer having this goal (dream?)

• Fear of lawsuit or of physical retaliation (from those that think you’re REALLY writing about them!); and finally, the biggest fear of them all:

• Fear of being ordinary (just another schmo on the bus).

The point of this list is for us to see that we all have fears! It’s called being conscious. If we don’t feel fear, we may be suffering from PTSD (a kind of numbness born of trauma), or we might be a sociopath — one who has no capacity for empathizing with other living beings. But, my guess, most of us suffer from neither of these troubling conditions.

The majority of us feel fear and wish we didn’t get stopped by this fact of human existence. Well, I’m here to tell you, there’s no way around it, just through it.

I promise you, everybody can find ways to confront and move through their fears. I say to myself and my clients, “Just keep walking!” All dark tunnels have openings.

“I had been my whole life a bell, and never knew it until at that moment I was lifted and struck.” ~ Annie Dillard

While comfort with fear is a contradiction in terms, we can learn to honor our fear, recognizing its arrival, listening to its intelligence, and respecting it as a harbinger of transformation. Indeed, it informs us that what we are doing (or about to do) is significant.

When we work with, or befriend our fears, we can take the focus off resisting them, (the main reason we’re all so exhausted, let’s face it), and commit to our readers. After we have made the mental commitment to completing our book or other writing, we will have evidence — in our hands — that fears can be walked through, perhaps even worked through, at least for today.

Should I Write A Memoir?

The decision to write a memoir is a big choice. Sometimes a memoir is written to help others through similar problems that you’ve dealt with successfully, but more often, they’re written just to say, “I have some good stories to tell, they may or may not enlighten or entertain you.”


Any kind of writing journey can be a challenge to navigate alone, and a memoir can have particular challenges. Having another author guide you can make all the difference!

Should you decide to get started on your own, here are some basic tools to support you:

• Some writing ability (or a professional ghost writer – something that I can be for you)
• Patience

• Word processing software

• A copyright

• Good publishing software (if you are publishing it yourself)

• Someone to proofread it and give her honest & constructive opinion

• Photos, letters or drawings to add to your book for extra interest

• A bevy of memories to recall


What’s helped many writers to jog their memory is to keep a small recorder or a pad of paper and pen with them at all times to record a flash from the past. Even a few words will work – no need to write the whole story at this time. Save it for your morning exercises (10” a day of writing, what I call the daily data dump).

As a memoir author, you can get ideas by listening to some of favorite music from your past. Look at old photographs, magazines, movies, newspapers, or other periodicals of those decades-in-time. Your local library may have access to these vehicles.

Don’t forget to ask family members, friends and other people involved in your life (at different times) what they remember about you.

If you’re a little worried about having your stories stolen, speak with a copyright attorney (I know several). Too, they can help you determine if there are any facts that may be considered libelous.

Be prepared to be honest about your actions, thoughts, feelings and anything that happened to you or within your family. Make sure your emotions come through in your memories. People identify with your vulnerability not your triumphal or teacherly/preacherly orientation (my early lessons in this regard can save you oodles of time).

My strongest recommendation for would-be memoirists, don’t hesitate to get started today. Give me a call and we can see what’s possible as a team. Too many people wait until it’s too late.

Know that I got into this kind of coaching when a 40-year-old friend of mine on her death-bed told me that her only regret was not writing a collection of life-lessons for her daughters. Don’t put this off. I can help you get it done this year!

Boost Branding by Writing Simple Essays

“Ideas spread like populations, from one person to another.” ~ Malcolm Gladwell, The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference

“The traditional approaches to marketing and branding are now obsolete… we can no longer market directly to the masses. One hundred years of marketing thought are gone. Alternative approaches aren’t a novelty–they’re all we’ve got.” ~ Seth Godin, Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable

What if you could make marketing easy by publishing simple essays? Just by sharing what you’re learning from your customers in writing can be a way to begin the spreading of your good news. Because you’ve connected and recorded the needs of your clients, you will most definitely add value not only to them but to others who need and want your services.

HOW DO YOU DO IT IF YOU’VE NEVER PUBLISHED A THING?

1. Make a list of questions your clients or customers are asking you? Find out by asking them: “Right now, what are your urgent concerns, what do you think you need and, especially, what do you need from me and my offerings?”

2. Write a short paragraph or two in response to each question they’ve asked. Don’t forget to bring empathy regarding why it is so important to them.

3. Next, come up with a few simple tips or steps that you can offer them only after asking them, “What’s worked in the past?” Good news: You will be delving into your own expertise here and giving valuable, and most importantly, solicited advice. Your answers will reflect your thoughtful listening skills and will be easy to share because they’re something you really know about.

4. Write a couple sentences about each of your simple points/tips, (creating a skeleton), then use bullet points or numbers to make it easy for the reader. Now, add some flesh on this skeleton by offering a “case example” or brief story of how this tip has helped your past clients.

5. Next, write a short paragraph simply summarizing the benefits — one more time — and what will happen if your would-be client were to follow these points.

6. Finally, add a simple bio that offers up-to-date contact information and, possibly, a free sample session with you should they want to see what you two might create together. And, something I’ve learned the hard way, be sure not to give away the store! Remember, work to connect NOT to impress.

Here’s my example: Jennifer Manlowe, PhD, CPC, is the founder of Life Design Publishing and a certified publishing coach helping people step out to authorize their lives through writing. Her books can be found at: http://Authorizeu.com. Be sure to take advantage of Manlowe’s 30″ sample session to see how you might work together. Call 206.617-8832 to arrange this complimentary appointment.

Another bit of good news — you’re not spending a dime to share this kind of research. The next time someone says you need to spend money on advertising or a new logo or promotional items to “build your brand” remember this article. Then think about all the ways you can give your customers a good experience every time they have contact with you/your business. You’ll be building your brand not by telling but by showing your customers that you are listening to their concerns and really care about offering them true value in relation to who they are.

Overcoming Creative Challenges by Jennifer Manlowe

“There is probably no hell for authors in the next world—they suffer so much from critics [especially the ones they’ve internalized] in this one.” ~ Christian Nestell Bovee

If you are stuck, are you saying things like this about your manuscript?

• This has become so disorganized that the outline makes no sense.
• I can’t seem to finish. There’s something critical missing.
• I’ve been stuck for so long that I can’t seem to get going again.
• Every time I think about working on it, I put it off.
• I think my manuscript is great stuff in it, but I don’t know who would want to buy it.
• I make strides on it once in a while, but I have trouble putting consistent time into it.

These problems are neither unique nor insurmountable. The fact is: books continue to be published every day—190,000 a year. So take heart, it’s really not just you! Many people don’t know how to begin writing a book, let alone completing, publishing and marketing it.

This 190,000 figure should be taken as a rough guide because this doesn’t take into account the huge amount of books of local history, course textbooks, or other books that don’t require ISBN numbers.

Thanks to the invention of digital printing, we’re free to get just one or one-thousand copies of our own books printed, so whereas once the publishing industry was akin to an exclusive club where publishers thought they were gods, new authors, like us, can authorize ourselves.[1]

WHAT IF THERE WERE NO EXCUSES?

“Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.” ~ Dale Carnegie

First, you need to think about what has been stopping you from making forward progress. If you have stopped making progress on your book project, do any of these excuses sound familiar?

• I’ve lost track of the big picture. Every time I sit down to write, I get bogged down in the details and I’m not sure if what I’m writing is relevant.
• My life is full of distractions. I need someone to keep me focused and push me forward.
• I know what I know, and others have assured me that my knowledge is valuable, but I’m not sure how to pull it all together into a book.
• I need to focus on earning and don’t have time to write.
• My mate thinks writing isn’t the best use of my time when our mortgage needs to be paid, and the kids need dental work, etc.

These problems need not stop you. Published authors aren’t really any different from anyone else; they’re just audacious.

People who write (or make any kind of art, for that matter) often have family and financial obligations. Think about Nabokov, the author of Lolita, he had seven children and an ill wife. He did most of his writing in the bathtub (the only room in the house where he could be alone).

J. K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter books, as everyone knows, lived in her car and flopped on couches of various friends due to financial woes. Margaret Atwood and Toni Morrison both had financial distress and children to tend to and yet, both made time to write. Morrison swears her first two books were written on her kitchen table between meals or before going off to work.

I try to remember this phrase said by my friend and mentor, Valerie Young, “A dream without action will make you crazy and action without a dream is a nightmare.”

ASK THE PROS

“I had been my whole life a bell, and never knew it until at that moment I was lifted and struck.” ~ Annie Dillard

Take the focus off yourself and commit to your readers. After you make the mental commitment to completing your manuscript, you will turn your dream into a reality.

Get online and start receiving my Free Newsletters or my free podcasts full of tips to jumpstart your creativity. Learn new tricks of the self-publishing trade every month with my help or with your librarian’s support. Such guidance will keep your book project at the top of your mind and inspire you to get your book done sooner rather than later. Stay inspired by reading biographies of other writers.

Still feeling overwhelmed? Why don’t you take up my offer to have a complimentary sample session to see what we might create together. Call today to set up a 30-minute appointment: 206.617-8832.

[1] For more on becoming authorized in your life, order my book here on this very website under Manlowe’s publications.