Lauren Barker's Success Story
How Lauren Escaped Self-Doubt About Her Writing and Published 3 Times (and Counting)
Lauren’s Success: At a Glance
- Overcame self-doubt
- Fell in love with writing again
- Revolutionized her writing process
Publications in the Writing Gym
- Short story published in anthology
- Won competetition to have published on Alexa Devices
How Lauren Went from Self Doubting Writer to Published Author
Before the Writing Gym
I met Lauren at a writing conference. She had been working on a novel for years, but kept getting caught up in destructive circles of doubt that prevented her from ever finishing. At times, these negative feelings were so overwhelming, just sitting down at the keyboard felt impossible.
Weeks would go by where Lauren didn’t touch her writing at all. “I was afraid of my own writing at times,” she told me. “I felt like I was walking down a dark hallway without a flashlight. I had this story that I wanted to tell really, really badly, but I didn’t know how to do it. And I was scared of doing it wrong.”
Like many serious writers, Lauren was determined to overcome this fear so she could pursue her writing career. She tried various DIY solutions; she read what felt like a zillion articles and books on writing, and even tried a different writing program, but nothing seemed to be getting to the core of the problem. All she was getting was conflicting feedback which only left her more confused.
As you can imagine, this only led to more negative emotions, which only inhibited her writing even further.
“I was worrying myself to death, I was really getting in my own way and getting really frustrated.”
Lauren and I touched base a few times in the years after that conference. Every time we did, she would tell me about her latest effort–a writing class, a book on writing, another writing conference. Each time, she hoped she had finally found a solution to her writing problems. Yet months later, on our next call, Lauren was still stuck.
Joining the Writing Gym
All that changed when Lauren decided to enroll in the Writing Gym. She began working her way through our instructive modules, which armed her with a new arsenal of writing techniques. She met weekly with our personal trainer, Gretchen, who helped Lauren to restructure her mental approach towards writing. I met with her weekly, took a close look at her writing and gave her personalized feedback.
But that wasn’t the only support she got. The weekly salons in the Writing Gym “transformed my writing,” Lauren says. Salon is a weekly writing workshop we hold among our Gym Rats, in which we spend an hour writing together in a supportive, fun, productive environment. Using neuroscientific principles, this activity rewires the brain to overcome the inner critic, and fall into creative flow.
Lauren summarized the value of her experience in the Writing Gym:
“The Writing Gym provides authors with knowledgeable, insider industry information, knowledgeable feedback and a true understanding of how the writing process works so that you can be your best writer.”
Lauren’s Transformation
This robust combination of encouragement and the means to discover HER best writer was the secret to Lauren’s final breakthrough. She quickly transformed from a reluctant, self-doubting writer to a prolific and confident author.
She told me after just a few months:
“I didn’t realize the Writing Gym was going to so thoroughly revolutionize the way that I write. I don’t want to say that I didn’t love writing already, but the Writing Gym has made it so much more enjoyable to write. I didn’t expect that. I thought that writing is always scary and it’s always going to be scary. I had no idea that the Writing Gym would help me to get really, truly excited about writing again.”

Lauren’s Success
Lauren’s new attitude and approach to writing brought quick success. With her true creativity unlocked, she began to produce original, inspired work, and publishers took notice. Here are the results she began to see:
- Lauren had a short story published in an anthology just months after joining the Writing Gym.
- Lauren won a writing contest and her story is now featured on Alexa device.
Like many writers, Lauren had always had talent and originality, it was just buried under her own limiting beliefs. Tragically, however, most of these writers don’t take the steps Lauren did to shed these beliefs and unlock their greatest writer. Neither themselves, nor the world ever gets to witness their full creative potential.
Lauren says her only regret is not joining the Writing Gym sooner.
“If there was a way for me to tiptoe back in time, to when I met you two years ago, I would show myself the reel of all the needless trouble I put myself through. That’s what it was–two years of pointless turmoil when what I really needed was already right there. I just didn’t realize it. I wish I could condense the two years between then and now.”
How Can You Get This Kind of Success?
If you resonate with Lauren’s story, if you know that you possess deep creative potential, we can help you bring it to the surface. But a word of caution: this is only for serious writers, writers who are tired of solutions that don’t get them where they want to be, and are ready NOW for change. To go through the Writing Gym process, you need to be ready and determined to publish your work.
If you’re interested in getting REAL results as Lauren Barker did, you can drop yourself right into my calendar. I’d love to chat with you about where you are, where you’d like to go, and how you can get there.
Lauren’s Advice: How to Overcome Self-Doubt in Your Writing

“Do the Writing Gym: jump now.”
Do the Writing Gym; jump now. If I could, I would go back and tell myself this when I first met you. I’d probably be so much further along than I am now, and would have saved myself so much frustration, so much wasted time and honestly wasted money too.
The Writing Gym has been by the most productive, most helpful writing program I’ve used. I wish that I’d started it years ago
Lauren Barker’s Videos and Podcasts
Listen to Lauren’s Episodes of The Writing Gym Podcast
Want this kind of success?
We help authors like Lauren go from struggling writers to published authors every day. If you’re serious about publishing, book a call with a member of our team to talk about how we can get you there.