Story Rebel
Learn how your story can help you grow your business, spread your message, and make an impact in the world.
Live on air
I let the call go to voicemail, like I almost always do. Because I’m a millennial, sure. But also, because c’mon. It’s almost always a scam: a fake marketing agency offering to represent my book at Famous International Book Festival, or a trademark lawyer telling me to call them immediately about my Story Rebel filing, or—my fave—the IRS warning me that they’ve put a warrant out for my arrest. Anyway, I was rolling my bike out the door on my way to dinner when my phone began to buzz. I was in...
Using AI without losing your voice
Professionally, I run in a handful of very separate circles. And let's just say that conversations about AI are extremely different depending on which circle I'm in. Circle 1: Artistes & Trad Authors I'm a life-long writer and lover of words, with a lot of friends who are traditionally published authors. Here, AI is approached with reactions ranging from fear and frustration to outright pitchforks and torches. And I get that. It's the plagiarism machine that was trained on our work without...
Writing in scenes
I start a lot of books—but I don't finish them all. I'll give any book a few chapters to see if it grabs me, but there are far too many books in the world (and life is far too short) to waste my precious reading time on something that isn't captivating. So, what makes a book captivating? It's not the subject matter. It's the way it's written. Is the author explaining events and ideas like a bored lecturer? Or are they sucking me into their world, scene by scene? Writing in scenes is more...
Tomorrow! Join us live for weaving narratives with Leah Sottile
Hey there! We're going live at 11am Pacific/2pm Eastern tomorrow for Weaving Narrative and Research in Nonfiction with Leah Sottile. Here's the link to join us: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89520732545?pwd=efguKrv3hFpaEXYkI52QupiPPMKWDu.1 Leah Sottile is the author of two books: Blazing Eye Sees All, which won the 2026 Oregon Book Award for General Nonfiction, and When the Moon Turns to Blood, a finalist for the Oregon Book Award. Both books are fabulous examples of a “weaving” nonfiction...
This weekend! Escape the Plot Forest
Hey there! I'm excited to tell you about this one. Starting tomorrow (Oct 17th), Daniel David Wallace's annual plot summit is coming back—for year seven! Escape the Plot Forest is a great learning experience for writers, with five days of in-depth, serious presentations and interviews to solve your plot problems. Even better, you can register for free or with a reduced price ticket. When Daniel reached out to ask if he could interview me as one of the featured speakers, I was thrilled. Partly...
The third thing
I recently made an ask I'd never done before. I'd just recorded a podcast interview with my friend Karrie Lemansky and, at the end, I asked her to send me the transcript as soon as she had it. We’d talked about a lot of the same things I’d shared on many interviews before—how I got into writing, my ghostwriting business, my shift into book coaching, and how I got back on track after my eye injury derailed everything. But I'd finished this interview bursting with ideas. Karrie is extremely...
Tomorrow! Join us live for how to tell true stories
Hey there! We're going live at 9am Pacific/12pm Eastern tomorrow for People as Story: Presenting Real Lives in Media with Amanda Pisetzner. Here's the link to join us: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88201933076?pwd=CYlvH3nA3Xba4ZYsHufubM6L90d7fF.1 Amanda is a storyteller and documentary filmmaker who's worked at NBC, HBO, Showtime, Vice News, and more. Her skill is in creating the conditions where people can actually be themselves and tell their stories. As she writes on her website: "A lot of...
Join us live for the next round of Story Rebel Masterclasses
Hey there! The longer I'm in business, the more incredible people I meet—and get to learn from. I can only speak to a small slice of nonfiction book writing and business, which is why I love bringing people in to my community who are experts in their own slices. I've lined up a handful of fantastic speakers over the next few months. Some I've known for years. Some I've met recently. All are absolutely incredible—so please mark your calendars! As a reminder, all of these calls are free to join...
I hit a nerve?
Hey there. Apparently I hit a nerve with a recent email when I talked about people using AI to write books. (Don't worry! This email is not about AI.) My argument was that it's not the product—"book"—that really matters in the end. It's what you learn about yourself and your subject matter as you go through the process and struggle of actually writing the book. A few of you asked me to talk a bit more about what that means, so here we go. I have written over 20 books since I started...
Let's take the pressure down a notch
Hey there. I talk a lot about how you have to make your own rules as a writer, because the way somebody else does things is never going to work for you. You can't just copy someone's process wholesale. Of course, that's the case in business as well. And fitness. And relationships. And—well, everything. It's never one size fits all. (Though it'd be a whole lot easier if it was.) This lesson has hit home hard for me over the past year as I have transitioned from being a work-for-hire freelancer...
Event Roundup Email
Hey there! Here's a short one—with so many great things happening in the next couple weeks I thought I'd update you with a quick reminder so you don't lose out on any of these fantastic opportunities. I've organized them by date so you can add them to your calendar! September 28 (Virtual) Memoir writers! Don't forget the Dirty Messy Alive: Embodied Memoir-Writing Workshop Series kicks off on Monday. It's free! And there will be more than 30 sessions on topics of: Craft Of Writing: writing...
Learn how your story can help you grow your business, spread your message, and make an impact in the world.