Lisa Tener's Writing and Publishing Blog - Lisa Tener

If You’ve Never Read a Literary Magazine or Journal, Start Here

Lisa Tener — Sun, 31 May 2026 00:16:38 +0000

Today, I’m celebrating the release of The Northeast Coast Journal, Issue III, Summer. There are a lot of amazing things about this issue. For me, it starts with that fact it includes my very first poetry publication! Editor Katherine E. Schneider chose my poem, Poetry Nite at the Rite Aid Parking Lot to appear in “Chapter... Read more

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Put a Little Playful Magic in Your Marketing Plan

Lisa Tener — Wed, 20 May 2026 20:54:03 +0000

I’ve never enjoyed trying to “sell” my services to anyone. Back when I was still figuring out what my business was (creativity coach? writing coach? book coach?), I attended my share of networking events. I liked meeting people, but I did not enjoy pitching. At all. And many of those meetings felt like a pitchfest.... Read more

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Are You Writing People Off?

Lisa Tener — Mon, 04 May 2026 23:54:03 +0000

This week, I’m inspired by my mini-coaching/consulting sessions as part of the Nonfiction Writers Conference. These writers are impressive. One writer sold 30,000 copies of her first book, another around 20,000! And the aspiring authors drew me in with their captivating book ideas, timely wisdom and catchy titles. I want to read these books! One... Read more

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Writing Exercise: What We Truly Want Our Readers to Experience

Lisa Tener — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 23:46:24 +0000

A profound writing exercise I just began year two of my poetry mentorship with Nadia Colburn. And something interesting happened when I practiced the writing exercise in our homework. I think it can be an equally powerful exercise for my readers who are writing memoirs, self-help books, business books, fiction, essays, articles…anything! I invite you... Read more

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Writing Peeves and Favorite Editing Tips

Lisa Tener — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 12:12:35 +0000

While editing several manuscripts in the past few weeks (still in draft form), I’ve come across many common mistakes we writers make, especially in early drafts. I’ve also seen gorgeous writing in those same drafts. So don’t feel bad if you find these errors in your own writing (you’ll be in good company). Good news:... Read more

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Tips for Submitting to Journals, Lit Mags and Contests

Lisa Tener — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 23:43:53 +0000

For a long time, I wrote poetry, day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year and even decade after decade and… stored it away in my journals. My Mentorship One year ago, I joined a year-long poetry mentorship with Nadia Colburn and refined dozens of those poems, wrote many more and... Read more

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Author Website Advice: Do I Need It? How Many? What to Include? How to Grow It?

Lisa Tener — Wed, 11 Mar 2026 19:08:05 +0000

Yes, if you are an author or plan to be one, the sooner you develop your author website, the better. What to include, how to grow it, how many sites? These questions and more will be answered in this post! Questions about an author website? The topic of author websites came up during a recent... Read more

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Creative Resistance? Maybe It’s Not Writer’s Block But an Invitation to Heal

Lisa Tener — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 19:10:11 +0000

Here’s how I finally broke through a recent months-long creative resistance. In the process, I realized that what some might call “writer’s block” was, in fact, an invitation to heal. Knowing many writers, I had a hunch this story might help some of my readers—you, perhaps—out of a creative slump and into enhanced flow and... Read more

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Writing Your Book Makes an Impact Way Before You Publish

Lisa Tener — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 18:50:44 +0000

On a plane trip returning from sunny Sarasota, I opened the folder with the final third of Laurie Hunt’s manuscript. I’d read the first two-thirds of the book through a number of iterations, but this was my first full read of the final third—a section she’d recently completed. On the Impact of Writing a Book,... Read more

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Meet New York Times Bestselling Author Jacquelyn Mitchard in Person at Our Writing Retreat!

Lisa Tener — Thu, 05 Feb 2026 01:46:37 +0000

If you found yourself in an intimate gathering with a New York Times bestselling novelist, such as Oprah’s very first book club pick, Jacquelyn Mitchard, what would you ask that author? You may just have the opportunity to find out! As Robin Kall and I planned the rebirth of our Creative Abundance Writing Retreat for... Read more

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