Coaching philosophy

A MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR, Tamara Kaye Sellman

EARLY AWARENESS
I started reading and writing in preschool and knew, right away, that my life’s purpose would involve using words as tools for social change and human understanding. I became a prolific writer from an early age and went on to develop a career in publishing that now spans nearly 20 years. I love everything about publishing, from the way a poem’s line breaks to the solid feel of a book hefted in the palm of one’s hand. Heck, I even collect bookmarks and read cookbooks for pleasure!

 

CAREER HISTORY
My college and working lives reflect this. I’ve studied psychology, journalism, fiction writing, design, editing and publishing. I’ve worked in nearly every facet of publishing, from writing and copyediting to desktop publishing, anthology editing, manuscript acquisition, publication production (print and electronic), marketing and workshop instruction for creative writers.

 

MY WRITER’S LIFE
In addition to my professional life, I have also written and published my own creative work widely. I continue to pursue short fiction, poetry and nonfiction forms while developing book-length projects. I also attend classes and workshops through local writing communities and conferences; I find these to be stimulating, generative and downright fun. Writers are a wonderful subset of creative people who constantly inspire me!

 

THE SHARED PRACTICE
As anyone who knows me will confirm, I have a special love for helping other writers. It pains me to see writers defeated by amateur advice, inadequate or imbalanced instruction, the very solitude the writing life requires, inexperience and the negative influences which surround creative people. It seems we live in a world where a dream is more likely to be smashed than to be nurtured.

 

A WELL-FED PROCESS AND PRODUCT
The truth is, the writing life doesn’t have to be this way. I operate on the basic strategy that there are many right ways to do any one thing, and that the goal of the writer is to find the way/ways that works the best for them. Creative people benefit from the insights of their peers, and those who’ve succeeded in their creative lives should share what they have learned. I join many writing instructors, coaches and mentors in offering assistance for writers of all levels who want not only to succeed as a writer but to practice both a process and experience of writing that truly feeds their whole lives.

 

ATTN: SQUARE-PEG WRITERS IN A ROUND-HOLE INDUSTRY
In particular, I understand the interests of those writers whose work doesn’t fall easily into category. As the founder and publisher of Margin: Exploring Modern Magical Realism, a successful global anthology of literary magical realism, I have encountered many writers who have run up against brick walls when it comes to generating, revising and publishing their work simply because their work is different.

 

ALL HAIL THE UNIQUE VISION
I also write various kinds of oddball forms, such as magical realism and speculative fiction, and I often blend the best of what I understand of one genre with another to create hybrids. I even play around with forms, structures, lengths, and so forth. This gives me, as a writer, a great deal of satisfaction on one level, and yet I’ve had to face the challenge of finding homes for my work. However, ten years of luck with publishing allows me the opportunity to help writers also navigating these same, strange shoals.

 

MY SPECTRUM OF SERVICES
I hope you’ll choose to share your creative writing practice with me. Please take a look at Writer’s Rainbow for services for individual and groups. I offer various arrangements to meet most needs and budgets. I am also happy to customize upon request.

 

WORKING TOGETHER
Please contact me with your questions, requests and suggestions; it is this sort of direct feedback from both previous and potential clients which inspires Writer’s Rainbow to the level of services that a broad spectrum of creative writers both needs and deserves.

I wish you the best of luck in your journey as a writer!

Tamara Kaye Sellman