This week I talked with Amanda Le Rougetel, a writer, editor & community educator who recently co-hosted her first writing retreat.

I'm really excited for you to hear this episode because Amanda made so many great points from a writing perspective as well as a writing retreat perspective. 

I think you’ll relate to her thoughts on 'identity as writer' and how she started thinking of herself as a writer.

We also chatted about how she and her retreat co-host, Deborah Schnitzer planned their retreat and how they were able to adjust and be flexible when the activities evolved in a way they hadn’t expected.

Amanda also explains the Hermit Crab essay form - which I found very fascinating as a writer, so stick around to hear more about that towards the end of our interview.

Here are a few links that relate to things that came up in our conversation:

• Amanda Le Rougetel's blog
• Amanda and Deborah's teaching website
• Tell it Even More Slant, Brenda Miller's article on the  'hermit crab' essay form
• Jane Friedman - publishing industry expert
• Allison K Williams - writer, and writing & publishing coach

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Resources:

Get the latest information about promoting, planning, or finding a writing retreat.

• Plan A Writing Retreat
• Promote Your Writing Retreat
• Find a Writing Retreat
• Writing Retreat Hosts Community Facebook Group (for current and aspiring writing retreat hosts)

Connect with Lisa & the Writing Retreat Directory:

• On Instagram @writingretreatdirectory
• On Facebook @writingretreatdirectory
• On LinkedIn @writingretreatdirectory

Make sure to hit subscribe or follow so you never miss an episode!

If you've been looking for a writers residency, you'll love this episode!

I chatted with Tammy Letherer, an award-winning author, writing coach, and developmental editor for Atmosphere Press, about the Beach Glass Writers Residency she offers.

I thought it was cool how Tammy offers a bespoke experience for her writing residency guests with trips to the writers museum, local writing events, book launches, or conversations with other local authors

We also talked about how she’s learned to give herself permission to make her writing a priority and the unexpected event in her life that sparked the idea for her memoir, “The Buddha at My Table: How I Found Peace in Betrayal and Divorce”

As you’ll hear, Tammy’s driving motivation for what she does comes back to how can she hang out with writers,  have fun, and have conversations with them.

Show Links:

• Beach Glass Writers Residency
• Tammy Letherer's website

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Resources:

Get the latest information about promoting, planning, or finding a writing retreat.

• Plan A Writing Retreat
• Promote Your Writing Retreat
• Find a Writing Retreat
• Writing Retreat Hosts Community Facebook Group (for current and aspiring writing retreat hosts)

Connect with Lisa & the Writing Retreat Directory:

• On Instagram @writingretreatdirectory
• On Facebook @writingretreatdirectory
• On LinkedIn @writingretreatdirectory

Make sure to hit subscribe or follow so you never miss an episode!

I had the absolute pleasure to talk with Kathryn Kay, a book coach and author who offers workshops, one on one coaching, and writing retreats.

We talked about why she decided to add a writing residency in Santa Barbara, California to the programs she offers writers as well as her upcoming Tuscany Writing Retreats.

We also had a great conversation about various ways to market and promote a writing retreat. If you follow me on social media or listen to my podcast regularly, you know I’m a big proponent of using email marketing to help fill your retreat spots, so it was great to talk to Kathryn, a seasoned retreat leader, more in depth on that topic.

Show Links:

• A Writer Within Website
• A Writer Within on Instagram

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Resources:

Get the latest information about promoting, planning, or finding a writing retreat.

• Plan A Writing Retreat
• Promote Your Writing Retreat
• Find a Writing Retreat
• Writing Retreat Hosts Community Facebook Group (for current and aspiring writing retreat hosts)

Connect with Lisa & the Writing Retreat Directory:

• On Instagram @writingretreatdirectory
• On Facebook @writingretreatdirectory
• On LinkedIn @writingretreatdirectory

Make sure to hit subscribe or follow so you never miss an episode!

I really enjoyed my conversation with Nafisah Cabrera-Estévez, who is a writer, community builder, writing retreat host and book coach. And, at one time, even owned a bookstore.

We chatted about the community she's building as co-founder of the Muslim Writers Salon as well as the supportive and nurturing writing retreats she's been holding this year.

Nafisah also gave us all the details about her upcoming writing retreat in Spain in October.

Show Links:

• Autumn Writing Retreat
• Muslim Writers Salon
• Nafisah on Instagram
• Muslim Writers Salon on Instagram
• Nafisah on Substack
• Muslim Writers Salon on Substack

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Resources:

Get the latest information about promoting, planning, or finding a writing retreat.

• Plan A Writing Retreat
• Promote Your Writing Retreat
• Find a Writing Retreat
• Writing Retreat Hosts Community Facebook Group (for current and aspiring writing retreat hosts)

Connect with Lisa & the Writing Retreat Directory:

• On Instagram @writingretreatdirectory
• On Facebook @writingretreatdirectory
• On LinkedIn @writingretreatdirectory

Make sure to hit subscribe or follow so you never miss an episode!

If you're sending emails to your subscribers about your writing retreat and still aren't getting many registrations or applications, you don't have to sit and wonder why any longer.

In this solo episode, I walk you through how to check your email marketing data to to pinpoint why your email messages aren't working to fill your retreat spots. Once you know where the issues are, you can fix them.

If you don't already send regular emails to your subscribers, you're missing out on a huge opportunity to get your writing retreat in front of the exact people who want what you offer. For more info on that, check out the links below for Episode 13 and the Email List Building Mini Course.

Show Links:

• Episode 55, How Tracking Your Data Can Help Fill Your Retreat Spots (Part 1, Website Data) 
• Episode 13, Planning a Writing Retreat - Building Your Audience 
• Schedule a 45 minute strategy call for only $45 (offer only good through September 30, 2024)
• Plan a Writing Retreat on Instagram
• Email List Building 101 for Writing Retreat Hosts Mini Course

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Resources:

Get the latest information about promoting, planning, or finding a writing retreat.

• Plan A Writing Retreat
• Promote Your Writing Retreat
• Find a Writing Retreat
• Writing Retreat Hosts Community Facebook Group (for current and aspiring writing retreat hosts)

Connect with Lisa & the Writing Retreat Directory:

• On Instagram @writingretreatdirectory
• On Facebook @writingretreatdirectory
• On LinkedIn @writingretreatdirectory

Make sure to hit subscribe or follow so you never miss an episode!

This was a fun interview with Sue Anderson, founder of Entrepreneur’s Gone Wild, and owner of a retreat center she and her husband are building in the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee.

We chatted about how she's helping entrepreneurs and creatives use nature to improve their overall mental and physical health.

Her retreat center,  Idyllwild Woods sounds like an amazing place to hold a writing retreat for a group or for a solo writing retreat. It’s in the early stages, so make sure to sign up for her newsletter and join her Facebook group.

Show Links:

• Entrepreneurs Gone Wild Facebook Group
• Entrepreneurs Gone Wild Website
• Triumph Communications

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Resources:

Get the latest information about promoting, planning, or finding a writing retreat.

• Plan A Writing Retreat
• Promote Your Writing Retreat
• Find a Writing Retreat
• Writing Retreat Hosts Community Facebook Group (for current and aspiring writing retreat hosts)

Connect with Lisa & the Writing Retreat Directory:

• On Instagram @writingretreatdirectory
• On Facebook @writingretreatdirectory
• On LinkedIn @writingretreatdirectory

Make sure to hit subscribe or follow so you never miss an episode!

Have you ever planned a writing retreat and not gotten as many registrations as you'd hoped?  It can be frustrating, especially if you can't figure out why people aren't signing up.

In this solo episode, I talk about how to pinpoint problems with your writing retreat information and registration pages using your website's data analytics. Once you know where the issues are, you can fix them.

Don't worry, I break it down into a few simple steps that even someone with no background in analytics can follow. I was once like that, too, so if I can do it, you can too!

Show Links:

• Google Analytics
• GetClicky Analytics (this is an affiliate link, but the free version can give you good basic information)
• Schedule a 45 minute strategy call for only $45 (offer only good through September 30, 2024)
• Episode 13, Building Your Audience 
• Plan a Writing Retreat on Instagram

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Resources:

Get the latest information about promoting, planning, or finding a writing retreat.

• Plan A Writing Retreat
• Promote Your Writing Retreat
• Find a Writing Retreat
• Writing Retreat Hosts Community Facebook Group (for current and aspiring writing retreat hosts)

Connect with Lisa & the Writing Retreat Directory:

• On Instagram @writingretreatdirectory
• On Facebook @writingretreatdirectory
• On LinkedIn @writingretreatdirectory

Make sure to hit subscribe or follow so you never miss an episode!

My guest this week is Michael Neece, author of "In Kind: Consciously Craft a Meaningful Life and Career." When he was on the show last year, we talked about how a writing retreat helped him solidify his ideas for the book, so I was thrilled to talk to him now that the book has been published.

Michael shared a lot of great information on the writing process that I think you’ll find very helpful, including that he didn’t have it all figured out from day one. He started with a kernel of an idea and moved forward from there. 

We also chatted about how he used his book to start a movement and company centered around kindness in the workplace.

Show Links:

• In Kind: Consciously Create a Meaningful Life and Career
• Our Future is Kind Movement and Company
• Michael Neece on LinkedIn
• Your Writing Retreat Connection, Episode 4, Crystalizing the Process With Michael Neece

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Resources:

Get the latest information about promoting, planning, or finding a writing retreat.

• Plan A Writing Retreat
• Promote Your Writing Retreat
• Find a Writing Retreat
• Writing Retreat Hosts Community Facebook Group (for current and aspiring writing retreat hosts)

Connect with Lisa & the Writing Retreat Directory:

• On Instagram @writingretreatdirectory
• On Facebook @writingretreatdirectory
• On LinkedIn @writingretreatdirectory

Make sure to hit subscribe or follow so you never miss an episode!

In this solo episode I talked about a survey I did with Amy Goldmacher to see what challenges people have when thinking about planning and hosting a writing retreat.

I went over the questions we asked and summarized the answers. We've also put this information on a webpage that you can find here: Writing Retreat Survey Results.

There's a place for comments under the content on the page so feel free to add any thoughts or questions.

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Resources:

Get the latest information about promoting, planning, or finding a writing retreat.

• Plan A Writing Retreat
• Promote Your Writing Retreat
• Find a Writing Retreat
• Writing Retreat Hosts Community Facebook Group (for current and aspiring writing retreat hosts)

Connect with Lisa & the Writing Retreat Directory:

• On Instagram @writingretreatdirectory
• On Facebook @writingretreatdirectory
• On LinkedIn @writingretreatdirectory

Make sure to hit subscribe or follow so you never miss an episode!

In this episode, Amy Goldmacher and I talked about the challenges and rewards with planning and hosting a writing retreat.

Amy, who is also an award-winning author and Author Accelerator Certified Book Coach, helps nonfiction authors transform book ideas into killer book proposals. 

Show Links:

• Your 5-Step DIY Writing Retreat Planner (affiliate link) Use coupon code 20OFFSEASON2 until Sept 30 to get 20% off.
• Episode 26: A Writing Retreat Cruise with Amy Goldmacher
• Instagram: @solidgoldmacher
• X: @Solidgoldmacher
• Facebook: Amy Goldmacher
• LinkedIn: Amy Goldmacher

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Resources:

Get the latest information about promoting, planning, or finding a writing retreat.

• Plan A Writing Retreat
• Promote Your Writing Retreat
• Find a Writing Retreat
• Writing Retreat Hosts Community Facebook Group (for current and aspiring writing retreat hosts)

Connect with Lisa & the Writing Retreat Directory:

• On Instagram @writingretreatdirectory
• On Facebook @writingretreatdirectory
• On LinkedIn @writingretreatdirectory

Make sure to hit subscribe or follow so you never miss an episode!