p.s. In Their Own Words...
“I thought I was going to leave the retreat with my book written because I was a good writer and I totally had my story down. Ummm...wrong! Ha ha! This experience was the safe space I needed to admit that I didn’t have my story or message totally 'baked' and to rework my approach to it. Amanda helped me retell my story, so that I could see common themes and emphasize the nuances that I may have missed (and did!).
I now know how to write to engage a reader and share a message. I know how to write in an authentic voice. I know how to tell a story. The best part about working with Amanda at the retreat was the immediate feedback: Write. Send. Revise. Write. Send. Revise. Repeat.
Plus, there were so many personal a-has and breakthroughs that would NOT have occurred without this experience! A month later, I have finished my first draft of the manuscript and am so incredibly excited for the future. And I'm having fun!
I 100% recommend this experience for ANYONE who is struggling to write a book or create a message AND to anyone who thinks they have their shit together...because without Amanda, you don't.”
Abby Walker Founder, VivianLou.com
“When I met Amanda, I had just experienced a major trigger to my story, and the book was just a ‘What if?’ Talking to Amanda made me realize I really could write a book and that she had all the knowledge and tools to help me. BUT what I really needed was her heart, and the safe space she creates at these events.
I came to the retreat with some content done, but it didn't read like the GOOD book that I wanted it to be. I was lost in the details. I couldn't see the overall brand that came from/with the book or hear my voice in the writing. Plus, I was feeling pressure to rebrand my business with something that would tie everything I’m doing together. It felt like I couldn’t move forward without that big picture and over arching theme, and Amanda nailed it. I am so clear now, and motivated and inspired.
I can SEE the GOOD book now, and I know with her help, I WILL write it and it will be powerful and well-written, and kick all kinds of ass. At the retreat, I wrote 5 chapters and the Introduction, and I know HOW to write the rest of it powerfully.
Amanda hears your story, processes the most important parts (not to her, but to YOU and your reader), and then spits it back out at you in the form YOU need to see it to move forward. She sees the journey and the message on a level that you might not be able to because you are so IN IT.”
Torey Ivanic Founder, Open Space
“I had started to write a book because that is what I was told to do: Just write. So I had started and stopped because the message was not clear. I probably have 5000 pages of ramblings and many files called ‘The Book’ on my computer and notepads. Even though I felt like there was this thing in me – words and thoughts that need to reach others – ‘just writing’ did not work. This dream was just that: a dream. With bevies of not knowing the why, what, and how, the fire was extinguished. Yet in the middle of the night, wakeup calls came often: “Why are you not writing?” Excuses flooded my brain and told me it was okay to do it later, or maybe never.
I came to the retreat because after a conversation, I knew that Amanda cares about me and my message, that she holds a bigger vision of me, and that she could guide me to whatever it was that I was missing. And I was right. She has helped me to solidify my platform by bringing the speaking and the book into alignment with my purpose on the planet and the vision I have for creating change.
People will tell you the ‘how to’ of writing a book BUT unless there if form, structure, meaning, and the belief that God sent you here to be a messenger (the spiritual part), the rest is meaningless. Although I didn't believe in the divine intervention and the woo-woo title of the retreat, it’s true that she has the magic to make the intangible tangible.
Since the retreat, I write regularly and love it, and the written word translates directly to the spoken word. I now have the plan, the book outline, and a good start with the Introduction and first chapter, so all I need to do is write.”
Mary Schmid Speaker, Currency of Trust
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