AUTHOR,
BITE BY BITE
How do you eat a BUS? Besides the obvious, “Just don’t eat a bus!” the actual answer is: “Bite by Bite.” Consider it as a metaphor for the question, “How do you take on a writing project?”
The same way: Bite by Bite. No more, no less. Bite, after bite, after bite.
My effective “How-To’s” of writing is built on simple ideas or “bites” that I will hold your hand through, step by step and bite by bite. And before you know it, you’ll accomplish what you set out to do. Over the years I’ve noticed that when people willingly spend their time and money to make their dreams a reality — voilá! That’s exactly what happens.
“I discovered Ellen’s workshop almost by accident. I’d won three months of tuition via a Silent Auction at my son’s elementary school. I fully expected to just commit to the 90 days (sort of as an experiment) and then move on. That was about 5 years ago and I’m still here.” — Jefferson Black
Author Bite Bite Bite is an online coaching center for writers of all backgrounds and experiences. I am the head coach, and my name is Ellen Snortland… a name that sounds much better in Norway!
I have been coaching writers for 15 years. I’m the author of two published books and a third one on its way. My writing has been featured on Dateline NBC and NPR. I have co-authored a play, written an award-winning solo show, a feature-length documentary that was in contention for a 2016 Oscar, and I’ve also written a weekly column for decades. I have written and performed stand-up comedy at the IMPROV in Los Angeles. My columns have been published in the LA Times, Pasadena Weekly, Huffington Post, and Philadelphia Enquirer to name a few. I won the Best Columnist award from the Los Angeles Press Club in 2018.
YOU: I’ve been meaning to write [fill in the blank] for years now, and can’t seem to get it done.
ME: OK, so try me on as a coach! Together, we’ll get it done … that’s what coaches are for.
Below are the types of coaching and courses I offer. Here is a link to get even more information and register!
https://ellensnortland.blog/courses/
FREE Sample Bite!
1. Right Brain Bites — 3 word prompts Monday–Friday (mailing list sign-up)
Three distinct and random words are emailed to the writer each day, and the writer uses those words in a specialized way to create writing ranging from stream of consciousness to specifics tied into a current project. 5 minutes.
2. One video coaching session for the 3-word exercise included.
Six Course Full Meal
$300
You get access to 6 weeks of a Monday–Friday, daily coaching video that entertains,
inspires and challenges you. You can do all 30 lessons in a week or do it as designed, over
the course of 6 weeks, 5 days a week. Perfect for beginning writers and/or advanced
writers!
Right Brain Bites included.
Dessert
Included is a weekly one-hour live Zoom meeting for 6 weeks,
or access to the recorded Zoom meeting if the timing doesn’t work for
you.
Topics over the course of 6 weeks (with a weekly one-hour live Zoom
meeting) are as varied as:
- What structures do you have in place to make sure you write?
- To self-publish or to not self-publish? That is the question.
- What’s your genre?
- What are your questions? You can email them to me or bring them
up during the Zoom meeting. - FAQs re: writing
How do I handle living relatives or friends I may be writing about?
“Ellen is the best way to start as a writer or, if you’re already a writer, to begin your next project. Of all the investments you can make in your own writing, getting a coach to get you off your doubts and the couch is time and money well-spent.” -Lisa Gaeta, CEO IMPACT Personal Safety and co-author of The Safety Godmothers
Five Course Meal
$200
You get access to 6 weeks of a Monday–Friday, daily coaching video that entertains,
inspires and challenges you. You can do all 30 lessons in a week or do it as designed, over
the course of 6 weeks, 5 days a week. Perfect for beginning writers and/or advanced
writers!
Right Brain Bites included. No dessert, No Zoom meeting
You hate meetings — real or virtual — and simply want to hang out with yourself and your screen.
Grasp your inner voice from the shadows, then let your voice be valorous and fierce!
“I met Ellen through a mutual friend and we immediately hit it off. I took her writing course and she brought out an inner voice I didn’t know I had. Using her guidance and writing exercises she was able to give my writing voice impact and power, strength and fearlessness. I highly recommend anyone who is interested in writing to use her as a writing coach. She has a way of taking anyone’s writing skill, no matter how rudimentary, to higher levels.” — Laura Loftsgaarden
Weekly Low-Fat meals:
If you’re not ready to take on the “Five or Six Course Meal,” but want to sample the
Author, Bite By Bite menu, you can taste it for a week at a time;
$75 per week
A perfect starting place. A perfect place to nurture your craft. A perfect place to grow.
“Ellen is much, much more than a coach. She’s your most enthusiastic cheerleader, the über-supportive aunt, the huge dose of reality (wrapped in a spoonful of sugar) that you’ll never get anywhere else. I know for an absolute fact that I would not be where I am with my writing without her. I started with an itch to write, an idea borne out of great personal tragedy, and a lot of emotion, that I didn’t know what to do with. Now, I’m preparing my first historical fiction novel for submittal to agencies and publishing houses. If you want to write, and want a place that will nurture, support, instruct, and also tell you the real deal…get Ellen.”— Maeve McGrath Harkness
A U T H O R
Amuse Bouche
Week 1 – $75
Accountability and Art
Menu
Physical space
Privacy
Rewards
Practice
Metrics
Appetizer
Week 2 – $75
Understanding and Unstoppability
(Don’t confuse understanding with being “ready”)
Menu
Research
Title & Subtitle
Anatomy of a Book
Genre
Physics
Soup
Week 3 – $75
Time/Timeliness
Menu
Timers
Occasions
Ticking clock
Buddy
Sprint time
Salad
Week 4 – $75
Honesty
Menu
6
Current Day-to-Day
Dream
Self-lies
Time sucks
Honest content
Entrée
Week 5 – $75
Openness
Menu
What is being open?
Being too open is not productive
Setting boundaries
What is your correct “container?”
Are you hanging around the right tribe?
Dessert
Week 6 – $75
Results & Review
7
Menu
How do you know when you’ve arrived?
More about buddy systems
Reasons or results?
Do you need a job or paycheck to produce results?
How many people do you tell about what you’re up to?
Review all the lessons or the ones that seemed oddest to you
Specials
1. Smorgasbord — Ms. Snortland will lead a two-hour writing
workshop 3 weeks per month, live with remote access, for a
minimum of 4 students and a maximum of 8 students. $750
per month. Participants can decide how they will pay for it
amongst themselves. I will provide a free half-hour call to
help you organize a class.
2. Chef’s Special — $200. How do you create your own
writing group? (2-hour tutorial) Open to one to four
participants who want to co-create a course.
3. Full Private Dinner — $175 per hour with one free 30-
minute assessment of each other, this is a one-on-one
coaching relationship.