Book Mama — midwifing best-sellers since 1998.

About + Contact

Hi! I’m Linda Sivertsen: writer, teacher, idea-fairy and author-whisperer. Environmentalist. Magazine editor. Seasoned midwife of bestselling books and 6- & 7-figure book deals.

Yea, that’s right. Birthing book babies IS easier than the human kind. Don’t get me wrong—I love my kid! But Tosh is 6’3”, in film school, and twenty-two years old already (I had him when I was six; imagine that!)—even buys and eats veggies all on his own. Now that he’s grown, this mama has more time to write. Yay!

 
Who’s Tosh’s Mama? I’m an award-winning author, ghostwriter, magazine editor, agent-connector, and writing retreat host addict (yep, best job anywhere!). Over the past 16 years, I’ve authored & co-authored nine books (two New York Times bestsellers) and have helped hundreds of talented clients polish their ideas, write proposals (with some fast & furious bidding wars), and get their name + books out into the world where they belong. That’s why I named my biz BookMama—because I love birthing books.

I’m super grateful for the recent “best of the web” nod from the Daily Muse and an article featuring me + my retreats on Forbes.com. I’ve also been featured on CNN, E!, Extra, & in the NY Post, New York Times, Family Circle, Teen Vogue, and the Huffington Post. I’ve written for the media and top blogs, too, some of which you can see here. Along the way, I’ve made it my mission to befriend, work with, and be mentored by some of the most brilliant minds in the publishing world. I’ve been blessed to facilitate some stellar hook ups. Nothing juices me more than putting people and projects together, and getting the call… “Are you sitting down.” Oh, yeah!!!

I began with no platform. No publishing connections. No cash flow. Just a fierce obsession to tell people’s stories (and be a voice for the voiceless in the green movement). You could say that I had no choice but to follow my childhood dream to write. But there was rejection. So much in the beginning that it dropped me to my knees (literally, in the dirt). But that’s what fueled me to work so hard, to study every angle, to put in the thousands of hours it took to sell my first book. And then my second. And third…. My clients tell me their paths are EASIER for all those many bleary-eyed, all-nighters. Thank God!

Heard about my Carmel retreats? About every six weeks, I take a small tribe of inspired writers to beautiful Carmel-by-the-Sea, California to craft their masterpieces—girlfriends-getaway style. We brainstorm. We laugh. We share stories, tears, fears and pearls of wisdom. We edit, polish, and re-edit. We explore. We eat (oh, do we eat!). Retreat participants arrive as strangers and depart as close-knit writing BFFs, ready to support each other through writing’s loneliest moments and most glorious successes. Let’s become Facebook friends, where you can view the comments below our Carmel photos to see how much the ladies stay in contact and forever adore + support one another. (Most form their own Facebook groups before they leave and check in often, share resources + ideas + feedback, and even organize group calls and trips on their own!)

I started these retreats as a way to expand my business and sense of community after my long-term marriage suddenly ended. (Losing my husband and sense of family and extended family left me broke and feeling isolated.) Following my instincts, and crawling back to my Carmel roots with the memories of my belated, beloved parents and our many treasured times together in this seaside haven, I had only the vaguest idea this could be something. Turns out, women from around the world heard the soul call and flew in to join me. In what seemed like effortless connections, our shared sisterhood and successes saved my business, my home, my heart, my sanity. Each retreat, each group of magic makers healed and continues to heal untold bits + allows me to better mine my creative depths and help others do the same. Each group of powerful women, with their unique yet universal stories and histories makes me better, stronger, wiser, and infinitely more fulfilled. Our time together are some of my most meaningful days, and certainly one of the great GIFTS of getting dumped. Ha! Life’s funny like that, in a restore-the-years-the-locusts-have-eaten kind of way. I never saw it coming, but I feel so incredibly lucky for all that brought me here. Learn more about our Carmel retreats…

So, back to you + how I can help you. I’ve helped business leaders, celebrities, Emmy and Academy Award winners and everyday, nervous new writers compose their stories. I’d love to help you. Interested in working with me? Beautiful. Here are the services I offer.

What’s my latest project? I recently co-authored a digital program with white-hot author and blogger Danielle LaPorte called Your Big Beautiful Book Plan. This program is all about getting your words and genius out into the universe in the most streamlined, elegant, and effective way possible. Pronto! Ready to kick up your writing dreams from idle to hell-yeah-high-gear? Thought so. Take a look at the video and learn more about the program here.

Fall of 2011 was busy! While Danielle and I were launching our digital baby, another collaboration of mine, The Compound Effect, by Darren Hardy, was hitting the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestseller lists. Phew. Love when that happens!

Spring of 2012 saw a new book release—Closer Than You Think. This baby was conceived at my first retreat—in Breckenridge, Co. Its mama, Deb Heneghan, hired me to birth the proposal and co-author her baby. So proud. (And sans stretch marks!)

Fall of 2012 brings FOUR more book deals with stellar publishers for my clients (+ several beautifully done self-published books, by choice), a best of the web nod + wonderful press. Oh, and I’ve got another new book in the works for 2013. Life is very, very good.

Current obsessions: raw food, golf + hiking with my man and our pups + traveling with our beautiful horses + and getting my clients (perhaps you!) ready for the next buying season (and, God willing, a few simultaneous book/movie deals)!

Contact

Email: Lcharmed@mac.com

Office Phone: 323-769-5153

Representation:  Levine/Greenberg Literary Agency, NY, NY

Please keep all email correspondence prior to working together concise (no more than a paragraph, with a link to your site, if you have one). It can get really busy around here (especially when we’re on a deadline), so if you don’t hear back, please know that it’s never intentional, and please do try again!

Thank You!

xo