SOMATIC AUTHOR LAB:
Mystics, Ancestors and Magic

Program Start: October 27, 2026

Program Term: October 27, 2026–October 1, 2027

Program Overview

Somatic Author Lab: Mystics, Ancestors and Magic is designed to help participants move from the deeper spirit and purpose of their book into its architecture and development of a first-draft manuscript. The Program is designed to guide client through a grounded, embodied and ancestral approach to gathering, shaping, organizing, and writing the material for their book.

How the Program Works

• Two approximately 90-minute live curriculum and community calls per month, generally every other week.
• Regular calls are scheduled for Tuesdays at 9:00 –10:30 AM Pacific / 12:00 –1:30 PM Eastern, with flexibility for integration, holidays, guest teachers, and other program considerations.
• Community connection takes place inside the privately hosted Somatic Author group.
• The Learning Lab houses program resources, curriculum, call recordings, writing resources, and additional materials.
• Participants receive invitations to pop-up writing circles and open office hours as offered.
• Participants receive access to selected Somatic Author classes, retreats, and community teachings during the Program Term.

The 9 Steps to Writing Your First Draft

1. Standing in your Magic: Igniting the Spirit of your Book – creating a sacred writing practice and connecting with the spirit, purpose, and deeper calling of your book.
2. Uncovering your Ancestral Why – exploring the ancestral roots, deeper purpose, and somatic truth that are calling you to tell this story.
3. Identifying the One Reader  – discovering the specific person your book is written for and the transformation, question, or longing you are speaking directly to.
4. Central Metaphor (The Golden Thread) – identifying the central metaphor or Golden Thread that gives the book coherence and connects its deeper meaning.
5. Writing Your Prologue – creating the opening doorway into your story and establishing the invitation, energy, and narrative beginning of the book.
6. Gathering Fire and Bones (The Body of the Book) – gathering the memories, scenes, stories, teachings, and experiences that will form the living body of the manuscript.
7. The Facia Story (Spine/Arc/Chronological) – identifying the central narrative spine and arc that gives the book its structure and helps hold the stories together.
8. Creating a Living Outline – bringing the book into physical and flexible form by organizing its storylines, scenes, and material into an evolving outline.
9. Table of Contents – translating the emerging structure of the book into a clear chapter-by-chapter Table of Contents to guide the first draft.

The curriculum may be expanded, reordered, or refined by Somatic Author as the Program develops. The nine stages are intended to describe the developmental arc of the Program rather than constitute nine rigid modules.

Tier 1: Cohort Writing & Community

Level 1 provides the full group writing and community experience, including the curriculum, live calls, private community, writing resources, additional writing opportunities, and access to the Somatic Writer’s Vault.

• Privately hosted Somatic Author group and community connection
• Access to our Learning Lab, including our nine-step Somatic Author curriculum and other supportive material 
• Four Author Up videos to watch before the cohort begins.
• Prep Work and Story Architecture document
• 13 Somatic Writing Agreements
• Two 75-90-minute live curriculum and community calls per month
• Call recordings, writing prompts, and companion materials
• Community hub and shared writing circle 
• Pop-up writing circles and open office hours as offered
• Selected Somatic Author classes, retreats, and other community teachings during the duration of the program

Tier 2: Cohort + Private Story Coaching

Level 2 includes everything in Level 1, plus: 

• 12 private story coaching sessions where you will get individualized story development, writing guidance, accountability, and support with our team
• Personalized written feedback from our lead story coach over the duration of the program.

BONUS ONE

The Magical MFA
Twenty-four, hour-long videos on the art and craft of story, taught by a member of my team. An MFA-caliber education in literary craft woven directly into your writing practice.

BONUS TWO

Story Archaeology: Writing with the Ancestors and Writing from the Body and Land
50+ videos from seven years of my own teaching, never before released, offered as a package. Meant for exactly the moments when you are creatively stuck and need another way in.

BONUS THREE

The Author Identity Series
A collection of conversations on publishing and on stepping fully into your identity as an author, with guests including Tim McGee, publisher of North Atlantic Books, and Mary Gauthier, singer/songwriter and author of Saved by a Song. This series also includes two live sessions per year with our Somatic Author publishing and marketing team, walking through editing, publishing, launch, and marketing, so you leave not just with a manuscript but with a real path to readers.

Pay in Full Bonus Level 1

A 1:1 Map Your Book Strategy Session with one of our story coaches 

Pay in Full Bonus Level 2: Before the Cohort Begins

A 1:1 Map Your Book Strategy Session with Tanya 

Getting started

• Review and sign the applicable Somatic Author Lab agreement.
• Join the privately hosted Somatic Author group using the separate membership access email.
• Find Tanya’s pinned welcome post and introduce yourself.
• Open the Learning Lab and watch all four Author Up videos before October 27th, 2026.
• Complete the Prep Work and Story Architecture materials.
• Begin exploring the 13 Somatic Writing Agreements and other available resources.

Intended Outcome

The program is designed to support participants in developing a first-draft manuscript that is ready for the next stage of editing and publication development. The program does not promise a publishable, market-ready, or publication-ready book, and publication, representation, commercial success, or sales are not guaranteed.

What the Program Is Not

• It is not designed to create a flattened, market-ready, or AI-generated version of the writer.
• It is not a substitute for developmental editing, line editing, copyediting, proofreading, book design, publishing, or launch services unless separately purchased.
• Individual writing progress depends on the participant’s engagement, writing practice, and follow-through.