Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Renna Nightingale. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Renna, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?
Confidence can be a tough thing to acquire! I don’t believe you wake up with confidence, especially as an entrepreneur trying to create something new. Confidence is built one bold step at a time. It is accumulated every time you choose to believe in yourself and represent yourself as capable to clients and colleagues.
This was the moment I chose to learn into confidence for my business: I had just started book coaching my friend in an unofficial capacity when I took a weekend trip. The woman I sat next to on the plane was a life coach. She shared with me that she’d always wanted to write a book. I told her, “That’s what I do—I’m a book coach!” It was the first time I’d said the phrase out loud! She asked for my flyer and I told her I’d send it that night. After we landed, I created a flyer and named by biz “Plot Twist Studios!” I researched her practice and borrowed her price system, and sent her back the flyer! It’s a moment that still makes me smile when I think of my scrappiness!
Then, I started collecting clients from the wild! I met a client at the Met Museuem in New York, (and she recently published her first book entitled, “Scent of Dust,”—Congratulations, Janet!) Clients referred me to their friends, which is the highest honor there is! Now, I’m delighted to have authors in a myriad of genres: historical fiction, romcom, poetry, memoir, narrative nonfiction, and more!
Watching clients leave our meetings feeling encouraged and clear about how to move forward is exhilerating. But getting to be in the metaphorical passenger seat as they finish drafts and fulfill a life-long dream of becoming a published author? That is some of the greatest work I’ll do in this life! Confidence is built on every “yes” we give ourselves, believing we have something valuable to offer.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
My genetic makeup is entirely comprised of stories. I have dedicated my whole life to stories; whether telling them, writing them, reading them, acting in them, or coaching others to tell them. Stories are the way humanity understands the world, connects with others, and processes the events in our plot lines by turning them into cathartic victory.
I have been a professional actor since the tender age of 8. While other kids were playing soccer and swinging on monkey bars, I was acting out Judy Garland films and heading to my next audition! My incredibly supportive mother drove me all across Southern California to find me the best opportunities, and I am so grateful. I’ve lived the most magical adventures all over the world. I’ve worked with Oscar and Tony Award winners. I’ve “flipped my fins” and practiced “Brave” archery as a lead vocalist at Hong Kong Disneyland for over a year. I’ve performed my own cabaret show for Royal Caribbean on the high seas. I’ve brought classics to life and breathed life into new works. You’ve likely seen my face on the big screen as well as the one in your living room.
And the entire time, I was learning the craft of storytelling. From studying character arcs to the raising of stakes and subtext, I was working to become a master of the art of story. In college, I garnered a BFA in Acting for the Stage and Screen, but also a minor in screenwriting. My eyes were opened to the other side of storytelling: not just the interpreting, but also the creation of it. I became obsessed.
I wrote ceaselessly, in many different modes. I crafted spoken word poetry to be performed for corporate events and church services. I created video scripts for online content. I penned curriculum and marketing copy and screenplays and stage plays until finally one day, I decided to write a book.
This book, entitled, “Hack Your Acting Audition” would focus on the mental health side of auditioning before, during, and after the audition. I’ve read a million books on acting technique, but I’ve yet to find resources that helped me to healthily process what can be a terrifying business of vulnerably laying your art out for a production team over and over and over, only to be told “You’re too tall, you’re too short; you’re too old, you’re too young, you’re too [insert adjective here].” So often, actors are framed as hungry beggars, approaching each opportunity with desperation. We are told, “There are a million more of you.”
I wanted to be a voice that said, “Hey, there’s a healthy way to handle this. You are not a victim of your passion; you are the victor.”
I am so proud of that book! I published it on Amazon in May of 2023 and watched it skyrocket to #1 in its category! I immediately got to work on my next project, a book that was just released on August 5th of this year! It is called “Public Speaking as Storytelling.” I studied the impact storytelling has on the brain and discovered that storytelling fights stage fright and also helps audience members retain and implement information. The book breaks down how to create a killer speech that overrides the fear of public speaking and also captivates an audience.
As I was regaling my friends with my writing and publishing journey, I had a friend share that she had always had a dream to publish a book, but she didn’t know where to start. Fireworks went off inside my brain! I knew exactly how she should start—and I also knew just how to help her see this dream through.
Coaching her ignited a fresh passion: empowering and equipping others to tell their stories! And behold, Plot Twist Studios was born. I take my clients from page 1 to published. They bring me an idea, and I help them untangle their thought knots until we solidify their book idea with themes, metaphors, and structure. I meet with them weekly as they birth a first draft, all the way through edits, matching them with a graphic designer and editor, and finally illuminating the self-publishing process!
My job as a book coach is to be the hybrid of a Jedi master and a cheerleader. Nothing brings me more joy than calling out the potential in each client. Together, we process the moments in their life that have sparked the idea for their book. We examine events and find the threads of truth that tie them together. Watching clients extract empowerment from their stories is beyond fulfilling. When one person decides to own her story, she inspires her entire community. It is literally life-changing work!
Plot Twist Studios isn’t like a regular coaching biz—we’re a cool coaching biz (shoutout to Mean Girls fans!). Plot Twist Studios is unique in that it’s a one stop shop. Elsewhere, you can find a life coach who will direct you to a writing coach, and then you can find an editor, and then you can find a graphic designer, before enrolling in a publishing class to figure out how to finally share your book with the world.
Or, you can allow me to illuminate every next step.
Most writers have beautiful fragments of ideas and drafts sitting on their desktops and scrawled on napkins and hidden away in notebooks. Figuring out the first step to the gargantuan process of writing a book, let alone publishing it, is daunting! I have been in your shoes. I know the stress, turmoil, fear, and frustration. I felt stuck for so long staring at a word document, wondering if anyone would ever read my words.
Further, this journey is a long one. When no one is demanding deadlines to be reached, what’s to keep you pursuing your dream? A big part of my business is providing the accountability necessary to reach the finish line. Knowing they’re going to discuss their work with me each week is what keeps my clients writing despite their busy schedules and demands!
Providing every step, from page 1 to published, is my secret sauce for taking this dream from possibility to published, from outline to online, and turning “someday” into “launch day.”
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I spent the first 30 years of my life (I’m 31 now!) as a professional actor. I studied stories in every possible facet. This, most of all, has prepared me to help others transform their stories into published books. Looking back, it’s beautiful to see that nothing in my story has been “wasted.” I believe that we are all constantly being equipped to fulfill our greatest purposes!
My career as an actor also taught me about tenacity. Being an actor requires waiting for the phone to ring: will my agent call me with an audition? Did I book the job? But I was never satisfied to sit and wait, so I hustled my own ideas and project into existence. This was the perfect training ground to become an entrepreneur!
Finally, my acting journey taught me resilience. I was told “no” dozens of times more often than I was given a “yes!” With my business, I rely on the thick skin I’ve developed to “shoot my shot.” As my best friend often heralds, “You get half of what you ask for and none of what you don’t!” I’m out here creating new paths and opportunities, and I’m thankful for the “no’s” that gave me the courage to fight for a “yes!”
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
YES! I am looking for those with stories on their hearts, with unfinished manuscripts on desktops, and those who are looking to establish more credibility in their field.
I believe everyone has a story to tell, and that the telling of that story is necessary. When we tell our stories, we effect change in ourselves, our families, and our communities.
The way I help others do that is through writing and publishing their stories in the form of a book.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.plottwiststudios.net
- Instagram: @plottwiststudios
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/renna-nightingale-9aa294296/
- Other: My book, Public Speaking as Storytelling:
https://www.amazon.com/Public-Speaking-Storytelling-Annihilate-Captivate-ebook/dp/B0DBJFP343/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3RBRFE7SCE52U&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.0XBYipDFbpYaK9NFzwBn7aLoJWFqHGu9SNVYEiNsWfljZhz8q3XwqMga4TbBTVXcriU83_x2X8UKPPOZQeTq7Q.CDuzdQH_DfXOVg9fyT1WUJDVd280PUd_e_LzSAOf2U0&dib_tag=se&keywords=renna+nightingale&qid=1726082352&sprefix=renna+nightingale%2Caps%2C169&sr=8-1My book, Hack Your Acting Audition:
https://www.amazon.com/Hack-Your-Acting-Audition-Casting-ebook/dp/B0C5WDG98Q/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?crid=103NJ0100U5Z0&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.mBXO-uuVC2aL8DXkTr79paS7R6WVNIdqRgtwJAJlILZB_kArMM43RR8yA5bw7eh3.bm5U28ovfXo8YtNAhx9HoE2_8b_T172OzM_LhBPpLtM&dib_tag=se&keywords=renna+nightingale+hack+your&qid=1726082392&sprefix=renna+nightingale+hack+your%2Caps%2C131&sr=8-1-fkmr0
Image Credits
Huebner Headshots
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