Buy new:
-35% $11.59
FREE delivery Monday, May 20 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Ships from: Amazon.com
Sold by: Amazon.com
$11.59 with 35 percent savings
List Price: $17.95

The List Price is the suggested retail price of a new product as provided by a manufacturer, supplier, or seller. Except for books, Amazon will display a List Price if the product was purchased by customers on Amazon or offered by other retailers at or above the List Price in at least the past 90 days. List prices may not necessarily reflect the product's prevailing market price.
Learn more
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
FREE delivery Monday, May 20 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Or fastest delivery Thursday, May 16. Order within 11 hrs 47 mins
In Stock
$$11.59 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$11.59
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Ships from
Amazon.com
Ships from
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Returns
30-day easy returns
30-day easy returns
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Returns
30-day easy returns
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Payment
Secure transaction
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
$9.98
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
Pages and cover are intact. Used book in good and clean conditions. Limited notes marks and highlighting may be present. May show signs of normal shelf wear and bends on edges. Item may be missing CDs or access codes. Ships directly from Amazon. Pages and cover are intact. Used book in good and clean conditions. Limited notes marks and highlighting may be present. May show signs of normal shelf wear and bends on edges. Item may be missing CDs or access codes. Ships directly from Amazon. See less
FREE delivery Tuesday, May 21 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35. Order within 16 hrs 32 mins
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
$$11.59 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$11.59
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Eric Maisel
+ Follow
More books from this author
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Coaching the Artist Within: Advice for Writers, Actors, Visual Artists, and Musicians from America's Foremost Creativity Coach Paperback – January 18, 2005

by Ph.D. Eric Maisel (Author)
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 97 ratings
See all formats and editions
{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$11.59","priceAmount":11.59,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"11","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"59","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"W7MuVB2Fu5gR0HhRSEJs%2F%2F1%2BSEGIsmlgVuxG0eyFlLQW9qZ8llJS1fZPpGTJ9YtqB9RmCN99jGKN%2FeQgNYZDlKCEPNpP8NToTXxXfr0I8gG4mLJAibTnQ30M313yGCeo8g5SVUSBfqY%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$9.98","priceAmount":9.98,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"9","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"98","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"W7MuVB2Fu5gR0HhRSEJs%2F%2F1%2BSEGIsmlg679S0WahMY91sdLL4Zqr2DaMyaS6AeI4h75DsY5M82Eg4IpLIHhtbgCUdXyoEKfU5cSK0OX31gwr%2BCS5bMGDtiJMiP%2FiNgIBq26yNW%2FD11BgTAUr3ZhuPydaD%2B7JwPUzS%2BbCxWM62essM8N9dfh3ULhXfxMmbDlg","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

Creativity Coaching Essentials shows people how to become more effective creators by guiding them through 12 self-coaching lessons. Eric Maisel, a leading creativity coach, writes each lesson with a novelist's flair, as a narrative complete with examples, exercises, and questions to help readers explore and reflect on underlying issues that may be keeping them from pursuing their urge to create. Topics include committing, planning and doing, generating mental energy, achieving a centered presence, becoming an anxiety expert, upholding your dream, and maintaining a creative life. Maisel has worked extensively with creative people — poets, filmmakers, novelists, dancers — and he revisits some of them in coaching sessions in San Francisco, Paris, London, and New York. Typical are the rock musician who wants to pursue a solo career and the screenwriter anxious to become a poet. Their examples both entertain and instruct, outlining how to discover one's personal muse — and the motivation to keep creating.
Read more Read less
Previous page
  1. Print length
    256 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    New World Library
  4. Publication date
    January 18, 2005
  5. Dimensions
    5.5 x 0.64 x 8.56 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1577314646
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1577314646
  8. See all details
Next page
The Amazon Book Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.

Frequently bought together

Coaching the Artist Within: Advice for Writers, Actors, Visual Artists, and Musicians from America's Foremost Creativity Coac
$11.59
Get it as soon as Monday, May 20
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
+
Fearless Creating: A Step-by-Step Guide To Starting and Completing Your Work of Art
$10.25
Get it May 22 - 28
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
Ships from and sold by Quikric Express.
+
Mastering Creative Anxiety: 24 Lessons for Writers, Painters, Musicians, and Actors from America's Foremost Creativity Coach
$9.99
Get it as soon as Monday, May 20
Only 17 left in stock (more on the way).
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Total price:
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Details
Added to Cart
Some of these items ship sooner than the others.
Show details Hide details
Choose items to buy together.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Maisel, well known in self-help and creativity aids circles, brings to this resource for writers, actors, visual artists, and musicians--as well as your average Joe or Jane--a lifetime of experience. The author of Fearless Creating (1995) and Affirmations for Artists (1996), this advisor to rockers and screenwriters organizes his latest title into 12 skill areas. Early chapters deal with "Becoming a Self-Coach" and "Making Meaning." Later ones focus on generating energy (even in the midst of day-to-day demands), centering, managing anxiety, perfecting creativity planning, and maintaining a creative life. These "skill lessons" help would-be artists stifle negative thoughts and develop and use scheduling skills for starting and completing creative projects. Each lesson features as examples artists of diverse disciplines, such as a dancer, singer, poet, and painter, and provides exercises designed by the author to help readers incorporate his methods into everyday reality. To succeed in the arts, commitment must lead to effective, concrete action. Maisel shows the way to both. Whitney Scott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ New World Library (January 18, 2005)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1577314646
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1577314646
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.64 x 8.56 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 97 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Eric Maisel

Eric Maisel

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Eric Maisel, a retired family therapist and active creativity coach, is the author of 50+ books and developer of the philosophy of life known as kirism.

In 2020 Unleashing the Artist Within, The Creativity Workbook for Coaches and Creatives, Lighting the Way, and The Power of Daily Practice appeared.

In 2021, Transformational Journaling for Coaches, Therapists and Clients, The Great Book of Journaling, and Redesign Your Mind appeared.

Dr. Maisel, widely regarded as America’s foremost creativity coach, has writing extensively on the challenges of the creative life. His books in this area include Fearless Creating, Coaching the Artist Within, Creative Recovery, The Van Gogh Blues, and Mastering Creative Anxiety.

His books specifically for writers include Deep Writing, Write Mind, Living the Writer’s Life, A Writer’s Space, A Writer’s Paris, and A Writer’s San Francisco.

Dr. Maisel also writes extensively in the areas known as critical psychology and critical psychiatry, where he is a thought-leader and advocate for significant shifts in mental health paradigms and practices.

His books in this area include Rethinking Depression (New World Library), The Future of Mental Health (Routledge), and Humane Helping (Routledge).

Among his other books for mental health professionals are Helping Parents of Diagnosed, Distressed and Different Children, 60 Innovative Cognitive Strategies for the Bright, the Sensitive and the Creative, and Helping Survivors of Authoritarian Parents, Siblings and Partners, all from Routledge.

Dr. Maisel leads workshops for writers online and around the world in locations like London, Paris, New York, San Francisco, Dublin, Rome and Prague. He writes the “Rethinking Mental Health” blog for Psychology Today (with 3 million views) and three weekly blogs for The Good Men Project, including “Redesign Your Mind” and “Kirism Today.”

Dr. Maisel trains creativity coaches, runs support groups for creativity coaches, and provides keynotes for organizations like the American Mental Health Counselors Association and the International Society for Ethical Psychology and Psychiatry. He divides his time between Walnut Creek, California, where he and his wife live, and Belmont, California, where his grandkid babysitting skills are required.

You can visit Dr. Maisel at www.ericmaisel.com, contact him at ericmaisel@hotmail.com, subscribe to his weekly newsletter at https://ericmaisel.com/newsletter/, and be automatically notified about his new blog posts at https://authory.com/ericmaisel

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
97 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Island Reader
5.0 out of 5 stars The right book at the right moment, for some writers and artists
Reviewed in the United States on January 26, 2012
Verified Purchase
I stumbled upon this book in a store, started reading for two hours, and ended up replanning my entire morning. I decided to skip my afternoon plans, head to the gym, and keep reading until I was finished. I am not inclined to self-help books and am wary of pop psychology, but I also know what it's like to be a fulltime writer for whom success only occasionally equals calm happiness. I've always struggled to understand why I am most anxious just at the moments I should be celebrating. Maisel's thoughtful blend of psychology and philosophy are not just aimed at the person first imagining an artistic career, or the person who is "blocked" (though anyone with those problems may find this book very helpful, since Maisel is a kind but tough coach who insists his clients stop dancing around their problems).

At every stage, writers and artists hit new levels of the same old problems, including self-criticism, negative self-chatter, difficulty articulating discontent and finding the vocabulary and tools for creating a meaningful life. As with all self-help books, the tone and content of this book will either hit you wrong -- and feel fairly obvious and encouraging, but otherwise nonessential -- or it will hit you the right way at precisely the right moment, helping you find the discipline and mental strength that might take you to the next step in your own artistic evolution.

Finally, one of my favorite things about the personal asides and client anecdotes is that Maisel does not end on a saccharine upnote every time. He admits that some clients, some projects, some dreams will still fail-- at least in the conventional sense. Those stories are some of the best in the book.
19 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Merry's Dad3
5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous Book and Exercises!
Reviewed in the United States on May 24, 2012
Verified Purchase
I had never heard of the author of "Coaching the Artist Within", Eric Maisel before, but I was reading another terrific book called: "The First Five Pages" by Noah Lukeman, which has a quote by him. I was reading at my local library, so I looked up Eric Maisel and took out a couple of his books.

I liked "Coaching the Artist Within" so much that I decided to buy a copy for myself so that I could highlight and underline and make notes in it.

When I took the book home from the library, my wife expressed interest in reading it after me. So when my book came from Amazon, I gave my library copy to my wife to read and I started reading my copy from Amazon. The next day, my wife told me that she wants her own copy of "Coaching the Artist Within" by Eric Maisel - so she too can mark it up and make her own notes in her own copy as well!

So my wife and I have found it to be a book that we can really get into, a book that we can really study and appreciate.

The text part of each chapter is very relevant and the exercises are very appropriate. I found this to be very helpful in my specific area of creativity, but it applies to a wide spectrum of creativity.
22 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Paul S. Lim
4.0 out of 5 stars Creativity & Innovation Book Review
Reviewed in the United States on November 9, 2005
In Coaching the Artist Within, Maisel gives numerous insights into the creative process and the necessary mental hurdles that must be overcome in order to thrive as a creative artist. As the title describes, this book provides mental insights that are universally applicable across all fields of creative production.

The book itself is divided into twelve lessons, each tackling a different problem faced while approaching the creative problem. Within each lesson are 2 exercises that help to reinforce the contents of the lesson. While some of these lessons are a little ridiculous in their presentation, many lessons provided some very useful methods of thinking that would allow an artist to unleash their full potential.

These lessons are meant to be an attempt to teach the reader how to be their own creativity coach, an occupation that Maisel himself has engaged in for the last twenty years. To bring his lessons to life Maisel often includes anecdotes about his numerous clients in order to allow the reader to see how a typical creativity session is conducted in real life.

This book would be useful to any aspiring creative artist within any medium or field of expertise. By not focusing on the exact logistical details of songwriting, painting, or acting he is able to convey a larger development into the creative mind that is universally applicable to all fields of creative study. Maisel chooses instead to focus on eliminating the anxieties of the creative process in order to foster greater results through self-awareness rather than choosing to provide an endless list of gimmicks one could use to temporarily differentiate themselves from the competition. Best of all, the text teaches you how to be your own coach so that hopefully you will never need to consult the author for his services after having read all about them yourself.
7 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
KarenSandstrom
5.0 out of 5 stars Such a smart, helpful book
Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2010
Verified Purchase
Having just received this book about a week ago, and reading it voraciously ever since, I had to jump in to say this: Anyone who experiences blocks and insecurities in his or her creative life will benefit from the uncommon insights Maisel brings. I've read his columns in magazines about writing and art, which is why I came looking for this book. Time and again, Maisel not only gets to the root of what ails us, but explicates with lively, engaging prose. But I particularly wanted to write this review because I had read one suggesting that the book is in the mold of a facile, "ten-things-to-do" self-help tome. That is so far from the truth that it made me wonder whether that review writer had some sort of personal bone to pick or professional jealousy thing going on.

In any case, you'll find insights here, not easy answers, and perhaps enough information so that you really can be a better creativity coach to yourself.
10 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Ajmb1511
1.0 out of 5 stars Text to speech does not work
Reviewed in the United States on April 12, 2024
Verified Purchase
I wish I could write a review of the content of this book but I've been grappling with the text to speech which is supposed to be enabled for this book. Each time I try, it says "copy limit exceeded" or something like that. Please get the text-to-speech capability to work for people like me.
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
tirtha
5.0 out of 5 stars Potrebberlo chiamarlo artist for dummies 😄
Reviewed in Italy on July 23, 2022
Verified Purchase
I suoi libri sono sempre una garanzia, ha il dono della chiarezza, ti fa guardare ai vari aspetti dell'essere creativi con esempi calzanti e chiarificatori. Nei suoi libri racconta anche aneddoti e propone esercizi che si rivelano "sbloccanti"
Consigliatissimo.
Report
Vasilisa
5.0 out of 5 stars Motivationsbuch für Künstler, vertreibt auch Minderwetigkeitskomplex und Ängste
Reviewed in Germany on January 7, 2019
Verified Purchase
Das Buch hat mir geholfen meine eigene Intuition zu entfalten und meine Fokus zu ändern. Mit meinen Arbeiten liebevoll umzugehen und die Kritik besser annehmen und mit mir als Künstlerin zufriedener sein.
Report
yvon laplante
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in Canada on May 27, 2017
Verified Purchase
Great book
Report
Karine
5.0 out of 5 stars Parfait jusqu'ici
Reviewed in France on February 1, 2018
Verified Purchase
J'apprécie énormément ce livre, et pourtant je ne 'en ai lu que quelques pages. Les exercices ne sont pas ennuyeux, ils sont très justes et efficaces, concis (en tout cas pour ceux que j'ai lus jusqu'ici) et pour une artiste bloquée depuis 14 ans, je sais de quoi je parle.
J'ai tout essayé psychologiquement et autre pour me défaire de mes résistances à la création, je me suis retrouvée face à ce que l'auteur décrit parfaitement, et son approche est vraiment éclairée. On sent bien la maturité et la connaissance réelle de ce qui peut se mettre en travers de la création. Il me semblait un peu trop intellectuel en photo, je n'étais pas sûre qu'il soit très inspiré, il ne m'évoquait pas beaucoup de joie.. mais j'ai suivi mon intuition en achetant tout de même le bouquin. Généralement, j'attends d'avoir tout vu ou lu avant de commenter, et j'écris très très peu de commentaires sur ce que j'achète. Mais là, je dois avouer que je me devais de remercier ce livre publiquement, alors que je suis en plein exercice d'application. Une pacification avec le fait d'assumer qui je suis et ce qui me correspond. Riche.

NB: A sa décharge, je pense que la vie m'a amenée à ce livre au bon moment aussi. Il me semble que c'était l'étape naturelle suivante d'un chemin emprunté pour débloquer et vivifier ma vie. Autre remarque : je me demandais si le livre ne reprendrait pas simplement ce que Julia Cameron partage dans ses écrits je n'ai pas réussi à suivre la guidance de Julia même si elle est éclairée aussi, ce qu'elle raconte m'intéresse mais je n'ai pas accroché au point de me coller à remettre en question mon blocage-même. Mais non, rien à voir. Le style d'Eric est très franc, net, tranchant, presque, et c'est ce qu'il me fallait. Accompagné d'assez de compréhension et de maturité, de contenu pour ne pas nous laisser sur le carreau, il accompagne, ou en tout cas semble accompagner jusque là où j'en suis dans son livre (très peu de pages parcourues pourtant). En gros, c'est comme s'il débroussaillait le chemin à la serpe, mais restait là avec nous pour qu'on se sente en capacité de marcher. Bref, en espérant que je ne serai pas déçue avec le reste du livre, mais j'ai déjà assez gagné en qualité d'introspection et de positionnement grâce à ce que j'en ai appris. Par l'expérience, pas de manière livresque (important).
One person found this helpful
 Report
Maria Lopez
5.0 out of 5 stars Great for artists and creativity coaches
Reviewed in Spain on September 23, 2016
Verified Purchase
Whether you're an artist or a creativity coach, this handbook is very useful. It nails all the usual challenges we meet when creating, and offers sensible tips to overcome them easily. Mr Maisel knows his stuff and knows how to speak to the creative minds. Keep this book close on your desk if you're writing a novel, or drawing your illustrated album. You'll use it often!
Report