Book Details
Creative Visualization for Writers: An Interactive Guide for Bringing Your Book Ideas — and Your Writing Career — to Life
Author: Nina Amir
Publisher: Writer’s Digest Books (October 18, 2016)
Paperback: 224 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1440347184

Synopsis:
To become a more creative, confident, and productive writer, you need to focus your attention, visualize your desires, set clearly defined goals, and take action toward your dreams. Let Creative Visualization for Writers be your guide on this journey of self-discovery. You’ll learn how to:

• Evaluate your beliefs and shed self-defeating behaviors.
• Determine your destination by visualizing your ideas and goals.
• Develop an Author Attitude that will help you write, achieve, earn, and produce more.
• Discover new ways to foster your creativity and productivity.
• Affirm that you have what it takes to succeed.

Featuring more than 100 exercises and prompts to spark new writing ideas and give you a creative boost, as well as coloring pages to encourage relaxation, Creative Visualization for Writers helps you transform your dreams into reality and find joy in the creative process.

Nina Amir started as a journalist. She has a BA in magazine journalism with a concentration in psychology. After working as an editor and writer for a variety of regional magazines, a national corporation in New York City, and a small consulting firm, she started my own freelance writing and design business.

Working on other writers’ manuscripts sparked her desire to write a book of on topics she felt passionate about: personal development and practical spirituality. More than publishing a book, she wanted to build a business around those books.

Setting out to learn all she could about the publishing industry she got involved with the San Francisco Writer’s Conference and started the Write Nonfiction in November Challenge (now known as National Nonfiction Writing Month). In April 2012, her first book How to Blog a Book was published, became an Amazon bestseller almost immediately, and has remained one ever since. The Author Training Manual was published by Writer’s Digest Books just two years later and was a bestseller before any books passed through the register on Amazon. In addition she’s self-published several more ebooks, all of which have made it onto the Amazon Top 100 right away. In fact, she’s had as many as four books on one Amazon Top 100 list at the same time!

Amir's new book is hard to categorize. It's an activity book, it's inspiring to read, yet highly informational. She's going deep, bringing in research about left/right brain, and even chromotherapy to support her material. It's a book that asks you to dig deep and know yourself in ways you might not expect. It's a call to action.

I, myself am not an author, and writer is far from a noun I'd use to describe myself. However, I found this book to be a fantastic exercise even for "non-writers." Interestingly enough, my background is in business and marketing and I found direct correlations to crucial elements of business and strategic planning in "Creative Visualization." Even the sections are organized in a way that flows like a strategic planning process (except it's so fun you barely notice). You can practically write your own author Mission and marketing plan once you're done with the book!

Amir makes it clear at the beginning, that you don't have to read the book from start to finish to get what you want out of it "You may want to focus on the Goals section if you need to set intentions, or spend time with the Creativity section if you want to develop ideas or stimulate your muse. Use the coloring pages when you want to relax or focus. Use the affirmations when you are ready to commit to changing a particular negative thought." I found this to be true. This book is a companion that you can read again and again and build your own adventure each time.

There are six clearly outlined sections in the book. She begins with Self Exploration, she's asking you to dig deep and ask questions about what you know about yourself. Where are you now as a writer and person? As Amir explored the concept of "knowing yourself" as essential to being a good writer, I couldn't help but think of Hemingway, who wrote his weight down and kept a log of what he ate on the wall of his bathroom. Talk about really striving to know oneself. In the next section, Vision, you're looking at the future. What's next for you? Can you visualize your book, your success, even your ideal reader? In the Goals section, she addresses intention and goal setting, and she's literally asking you to draw a map to success. In the Creativity section, there are exercises to help develop ideas and stimulate your own creativity. In Focus, there's even a section with coloring pages, but it's not all "fun and games," even in the creativity section you're prompted to brainstorm and plan ideas for things like your author website, a potential talk about your book, and even blogging topics. All things that authors need to know and think about "outside" of their writing. I think the section about focus is extremely important because writers/authors tend to be creative, interested individuals at the core, so it's easy to jump from one thing to the next. Amir is asking you to check yourself and stay accountable to the plans you make and outline a clear path. And finally, there are the Affirmation Pages that lead with a Muhammad Ali quote: “It’s the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. And once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen.” This is literally a section of affirming prompts where writers (or anyone!) have a chance to build confidence and weed out negativity by writing about themselves, in their craft, in an positive way.

There's so much to be learned and practiced in "Creative Visualization." It's not just about the ideas and the craft itself, it's also about accountability and goal setting. Amir is not only asking the reader to make a plan but also to believe enough in oneself to know that you can do it.

This book will make an excellent gift for so many writers I know.

We created this "book of memories" photo book to document the launch and promotion of one of our client's books. Yep, writing a book and having it published is a big deal! See Rebecca Pott Fitton for more information about her journey.

Click to view some screen shots of the photo book

We were staying at Sylvia's Irish Inn in Urbana, IL when we hit it off with the owners and were hired to develop their new website.

The Inn is beautiful and historic just a couple of miles from the University of Illinois, offering comfortable accommodations and an even better breakfast to its guests daily.

We couldn't resist the opportunity and look forward to sharing the beauty and comfort of the Victorian inn online. We are working to reveal the new site in July 2017. Stay tuned!

We recently created this one minute promo video for our clients at the Santa Fe Youth Symphony Association. They have an incredible event lined up for Tuesday evening (April 25). If you're in Santa Fe we highly recommend this exciting and fun way to support top notch and diverse youth music in the community!

What we did: Artotems helped develop the spoken message, designed the graphics, recorded video footage, animation and concept design.

We just completed author Rebecca Pott Fitton's book trailer for her book "Wave Rider: Poetic Journey from Abuse to Wholeness." Her video had a "world premier" yesterday at a private reading with friends. Rebecca was abused by her uncle (and father figure) as a child. Her journey is one of inspiration and rising from a childhood filled with abuse.
We are so proud to work with Rebecca and of all the work she's done, both internally and in writing her book. She is a voice against childhood sexual abuse. We hope her book touches many...

Today one our non-profit clients Santa Fe Youth Symphony Association shooting a segment on KOB Good Day New Mexico for their upcoming Showcase Benefit concert!

SFYSA's Executive director Andrea Cassutt and director of orchestras, William Waag, shot an interview for KOB 4 this morning. Here they are at Kit Carson park in Albuquerque with host Casey Messer of Good Day New Mexico. The interview will air on the show April 19th.
www.sfysa.org

As part of our author marketing services we offer professional head shots to our clients.

Today we took Fiona Simon's head shots. Fiona is in the process of publishing her business memoir about Fiona's Granola and her journey to introduce quality granola to the US market. You can find the granola at Whole Foods Market. For now, stay tuned for more as we work with Fiona to publicize her upcoming book.

#author #authormarketing #memoir #businessmemoir #bookmarketing #santafenm

We have a long history and connection with the state of Sonora, Mexico. While she grew up in the Southwest states, Mari was born there and also lived in Hermosillo while she attended a local international business school. Artotems Co. projects in Hermosillo include a "Vagina Monologues" V-Day performance in 2010. We've been traveling back since then and have supported our friends and artists in gallery openings and other art-related events. Most recently we were there to support and promote the opening of a modern art gallery. We brought along a few Santa Fe friends, among them Alicia Inez Guzman, PhD in Visual and Cultural Studies, and a freelance writer whose work focuses on mestizo and indigenous art.. This was the perfect opportunity to canvas the area for art. We found that young artists in Hermosillo have been revitalizing the historic downtown area with colorful murals. A variety of murals decorate the walls of a once down-trodden neighborhood,. They depict everything from whimsical reality to heavy social and historical commentary.

We all have certain objects we own that have more meaning than other objects in our lives. A favorite sweater, a household item given to us by a family member, our cell phone, a beloved book, can all be touchstones that anchor us to a sense of connectedness in our life.

​It’s always been this way for us. Museums are great places to see objects that are revered and held in high esteem for a multitude of reasons. They are anchors to the past and learning as well as examples of what we have valued throughout time. ​

Even our pets often have objects that are beloved. Certain objects are just important.

And then there is art…

Many of the objects created by artists are one of a kind. They are unique and have an expressive quality that you either appreciate or not. They differ from the favorite sweater you chose off the rack or ordered online. Unless the sweater was made for you it’s simply one of a multitude of sweaters being worn by many. Sure you can individualize some of these objects like your phone to some extent but still it’s a phone like thousands of others around you.

Creating a piece of art brings something into the world that literally didn’t exist before it was created. It’s almost a magical act of creation. It’s exciting! 

Here’s a caveat… Art has a very long history. What we do now is influenced by that history. We almost can’t escape that fact. For a few fantastic examples check out the previous post by Mari, “Visiting the Moderna Museet in Stockholm - and Other Museums We Can't Stop Talking About” However, that doesn’t change the fact that when we create something new and different we truly have brought something new into the world. 

​Art for me is a part-time endeavor. It satisfies the creative urge that often calls to me.
 
Here are a few examples of recent work with obvious artistic shout outs to those who came before.