About Lisa Montanaro

I am a lawyer turned entrepreneur who now helps others live successful and passionate lives and enjoy profitable and productive careers and businesses. I have a life-long love affair with storytelling and the written word. I'm the author of the book The Ultimate Life Organizer: An Interactive Guide to a Simpler, Less Stressful & More Organized Life, published by Peter Pauper Press. When I'm not writing, I'm reading books... it's my favorite hobby!!

Low Down for Writers from a Literary Agent:

A Conversation with Literary Agent Nikki Terpilowski of Holloway Literary for Women’s Fiction Day On June 8, 2020, I had the pleasure of interviewing literary agent Nikki Terpilowski of Holloway Literary for the Women’s Fiction Day events hosted by the Women’s Fiction Writers Association (WFWA). What a treat! It’s not everyday that you get to spend quality time with a literary agent and get a glimpse into their unique corner of the publishing industry. During [...]

La Dolce Far Niente ~ The Sweetness of Doing Nothing

The Italians have a phrase that I’ve always loved: La Dolce Far Niente — the sweetness of doing nothing. It refers to the pastime of languishing happily, letting the world pass by while you relax, savor, and soak it in. It sounds so decadent. And most of us crave it, but don’t always let ourselves enjoy it. I’m just as guilty as the next person. As a productivity consultant by training, I pride myself on getting a lot done. I track my project [...]

By |2022-03-25T13:35:47-07:00March 23rd, 2022|Gratitude|0 Comments

A Life-Saving Gesture of Friendship & Bravery: An Uplifting Tale of Two Writer Pals

Want an uplifting story that gives you faith in humanity? I am so proud to know these two amazing women, and humbled to witness a beautiful expression of humanity, friendship, and bravery. One needs a kidney and the other is donating it! Kelly Hartog is a Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) sufferer and was placed on the UNOS (United Network for Organ Sharing) transplant list. It’s been a long and difficult road, but amazingly, after [...]

By |2022-03-11T13:53:45-08:00March 10th, 2022|Gratitude, Writing Community|0 Comments

Book Recommendation of True Biz by Sara Novic – Video in American Sign Language

I believe in boosting books by diverse authors. Along those lines, I want to share something special with you. I was sent an advanced reader copy (ARC) of a fantastic book that is publishing in the next month called True Biz by author Sara Novic, who is deaf. The book brought back so many memories of my time years ago teaching at the NY School for the Deaf. Sara does something really unique [...]

By |2022-03-09T14:34:07-08:00March 9th, 2022|Book Reviews|0 Comments

Surround Yourself with Believing Eyes on Your Creative Journey

The life coach, writer, and Harvard negotiator Martha Beck talks about the concept of believing eyes in her book Finding Your Northstar — a book that I devoured when I was making a major career transition from being a lawyer to launching my own business in 2002 on the heels of the 9/11 tragedy. This concept of believing eyes is that you should surround yourself with people that believe in your vision for the future. It’s not only something I try [...]

By |2021-08-11T13:46:18-07:00July 18th, 2021|Creativity, Gratitude, Writer Coaching|0 Comments

Writing a Book is Like Getting a Tattoo on Your Face

I was doing a coaching session with one of my writer coaching clients recently, and she shared how although she decided to coach with me to work on her branding and productivity, it was actually the mindset shifts that helped her the most. Yes, we worked on her social media profiles, created content for her website, drafted her bios, and worked on her writing schedule. But the deep work we did on shifting her mindset as a writer is what freed [...]

By |2021-08-11T23:01:15-07:00June 11th, 2021|Writer Coaching, Writing|0 Comments

Express Gratitude… and When That Doesn’t Cut it, Try a Five Minute Pity Party!

It’s no secret that expressing gratitude is good for us. According to Harvard Health, gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships. The way we verbally frame our experiences strongly shapes our mindset. Navy Seal, Jocko Willink, author of Extreme Ownership, suggests using this strategy to combat unfavorable news: when something less than ideal happens, practice saying “good” and looking for the silver [...]

By |2021-08-10T09:57:22-07:00May 10th, 2021|Gratitude|0 Comments

The New Clubhouse Social Media App: Podcasting with Participation

I had the pleasure recently of co-presenting on the topic of "Productivity for Writers During the Pandemic" on Clubhouse, hosted by the literary agent Carly Watters. If you missed that talk, no worries. I plan to highlight some productivity tips for writers and other creatives in future blog posts issues, so stay tuned! Meanwhile, if you're thinking, “I don’t need another social media app,” that’s exactly what I thought about Clubhouse. But after several clients encouraged me [...]

By |2021-08-11T22:53:14-07:00April 14th, 2021|Writer Marketing & Social Media|0 Comments

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