Who: Amy Morin

Claim To Fame: Amy Morin has been dubbed “The self-help guru of the moment” by the Guardian. Forbes called her a “thought leadership star.” And Inc. Magazine named her one of the top 100 leadership speakers of 2018.  Her first book, 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do, hit the shelves in 2014 then the USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestseller lists and has been translated into 33 languages. In addition to her books, Amy is regular columnist for Forbes, Inc., and Psychology Today, as well as a parenting expert for Verywell. Her articles reach more than 2 million readers every month.

Where To Find Amy: Her Website, Amazon, Twitter

Praise For Amy: “Writing with intelligence and clarity, Morin presents concrete strategies to help readers shift from negativity to positivity. Her advice is crisp, precise and actionable. 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do is one self-improvement book that satisfies and delivers surprises.” — Success

When and where do you like to write? Are you the same-thing-every-day kind of writer or can you write anytime, anywhere?

I like to write wherever and whenever I can. I travel a fair amount for work, so sometimes I write on planes, in airports, or in hotel rooms.

I live on a sailboat in the Florida Keys most of the year. I’ve written two of my books from my boat.

Do you have any pre-writing rituals or habits before you sit down to write?

I don’t. I just sit down and start typing.

Do you struggle at all with that dreaded enemy of writing: writer’s block? Do you think such a thing exists?

Fortunately, I don’t ever get writer’s block. I feel like I have more ideas than I can type.

I give a lot of talks and fielding questions from the audience always gives me new ideas. I write a lot of articles, which generate conversations on social media. And many of the chapters of my books come from those articles.

I know a lot of people get writer’s block and I actually think I would if I wrote fiction books. But non-fiction seems limitless to me. There are always so many things to write about that I am never short on ideas.

How do you judge a productive writing day or an unproductive day? What’s the sign of a good day for you?

I usually have a goal for myself and the goal varies. I might want to write a 2,000 word article. Or, I might aim to write 3,000 words in a book. It all depends.

But word count isn’t necessarily the hallmark of productivity. Writing 2,000 sloppy words means I’ll waste a lot of time editing. But, 500 well-researched words might really jumpstart a chapter. So I always think about what I want to accomplish the following day and I set a goal for myself the evening before.

Writers have to be master prioritizers — juggling all sorts of projects and deadlines at the same time. That’s certainly the case for you. Do you have any methods for managing tasks and time so to not let overwhelm sneak in?

I still keep a written calendar to help me track my projects. I write for several different publications and they all have certain deadlines that I want to make.

So I set weekly tasks for myself to ensure I’ll get everything done by the end of each month. I set aside some time for social media and interviews and other things to promote my work, but I want the bulk of my time spent creating new content.

That requires me to set clear limits and I try to say no to more things than I say yes to these days. That helps me stay on task and manage my time better.

Deciding on an idea to pursue writing about can be the most challenging aspect for a writer. How do you come to the point of ‘this is something I want to write about’? Are there habits or daily tricks you use to think about article and book ideas?

I like to share my latest thoughts or ideas on social media as a way to begin to test them. If people respond well to my social media posts, I might write an article about it. If people respond well to the article, I know I’ve got something that could turn into a chapter of a book, or even a book on its own.

In addition to your three books, you are also a regular columnist for Forbes, Inc., and Psychology Today. Do you find that your routine and process differs between your short-form work versus your longer form books?

My writing career began as a columnist where I wrote articles in the 600 word range. So when I got a book deal, I looked at each chapter almost like a series of short articles. That helped me manage my time and it made a big task seem manageable (a strategy I often teach therapy clients).

When I’m writing a book, I break my time down into three segments—researching, writing, and editing. I’ll start with one day of research. The next day, I’ll write a chapter. The third day, I’ll edit it. Then, I move on. Setting those time limits prevents me from spending weeks researching one topic or from second-guessing my writing too much. Those self-imposed deadlines give me enough time to do a good job without allowing me to be a perfectionist.

All of your work is impressively and meticulously researched. What is your process for collecting and organizing material you might want to use in your writing?

When I wrote my first book, I wasn’t as organized as I wanted to be. I learned quickly that it’s important to take good notes and keep careful track of sources.

I am a college professor so I have access to many online databases. I research topics I want to write about and take my time examining the studies.

I keep a document with links to all the articles I might refer to with a quick note about what the study concluded. Then, when I write the chapter, I have the information I need to back up my main points.

What books or writers have most influenced the way you think and the way you write?

I’m a recent fan of Greg McKeown’s book, Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less. It was a great reminder that doing less can be the key to staying productive.

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