Meet Tina Neyer | Writing and Writing Coach

We had the good fortune of connecting with Tina Neyer and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tina, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
When I was nine years old I picked up trash in the local Dairy Queen lot for a chili footlong and a lime green Misty. I can identify that particular venture as the start of my entrepreneurial pursuits. Since then, I’ve started a successful childcare service, served as vice president of a mid range construction company and now have successfully worked with authors to publish their books.

The work that goes into starting a business must be based in your own sense of certainty that you can perform the work necessary to succeed. It was a no brainer when I picked up the DQ lot, I wanted a footlong. When I began the childcare business little did I know that it would serve me for ten years, gave me a solid income, and provided an opportunity to be with my own children in the formative years. My time as VP of the construction company taught me the intricacies of the business world. It’s one thing to have a dream and quite another to implement that tasks associated with a successful company. Now, working on my own, I have the discipline to carry through when someone hires me to help them with their writing.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I had a cocktail with another creative recently. She is a blacksmith, graphic designer, and farmer. We talked about how we produce what the world defines as art. For me, it is the words on the page, its the magazine cover story in Kentucky Monthly where I write about a beloved bookstore. A place where a cadre of quietly accomplished writers gather every week to exercise our creative arms.

It’s not always been easy to call myself a writer. For many years, I had nothing published to show for it, but in chipping away at the freelance industry, I’m finding my voice, my home the work for others, while honoring the creative work I am doing for myself that will hopefully go out into the world someday.

The most effective way to publish is to keep a discipline about sending things out. Having a tough skin when the rejections pour in helps as well. The rejections don’t mean that the work is no good or that the publishing/agent doesn’t like you, but rather that your work may not fit for the publication. Know what they want. Study the past works of the magazine, how things are written, what their public really wants. And then fashion your work in that respect.

I’m good at what I do. I delve into the human condition with an eye toward uplifting stories, be it about a bookstore, a farm, a nonprofit’s project. My goal is to highlight the good, while not dismissing the bad but rather allowing for new thoughts about what is good in any given scenario.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Mark Twain is quoted as saying, “When the world ends, I want to be in Cincinnati. Everything that happens comes 10 years later than everywhere else.” The Greater Cincinnati area once was nothing more than a sleepy city of New York wannabees. Not anymore. On both sides of the Ohio River, music, cultural arts, and sports take center stage.

On my list of things to show people is long but here are just a few. The Cincinnati Museum Center is several museums in one. You could spend an entire day there. Hiking is big in our family and the Cincinnati Nature Center is a must see. From May through October, on any given night, big name musical acts perform all around the region. No trip would be complete without a trip to the American Sign Museum.

Dining in Cincinnati would not be complete without a visit to the south side of the river. Along the waterfront the restaurant and night life scene is booming with places like Mama’s on Main with a wonderful flair for Italian food. Tuba Baking Co. opens to the public on weekends for Britzen, Spaetzle and a host of other German foods in the small town of Dayton, Ky. Dancing and city lights go hand in hand in the Over the Rhine district of Cincinnati, known for places like Ghost Baby, some 40 feet below the street and jazz music on a regular basis.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
She calls me her writing wife, my partner in this isolating venture called writing is Annette Januzzi Wick, author, speaker, and teacher. We meet faithfully each week, emailing work to one another that we want feedback on and holding one another accountable.

Women Writing for (a) Change is an organization that taught me that my words, my voice matters.

My husband, John Neyer, patiently champions my work even when he doesn’t quite understand the journey.

Website: tinaneyer.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tinaneyer/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tinaneyer/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/tinalneyer

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christina.neyer

Image Credits
Lucia Harmon is a professional photographer in Greater Cincinnati. Scott Beseler is a professional photographer in Northern Kentucky. Tina Neyer, hobbyist.