Linda McHenry

Category: Announcement

  • Insurance Career Mentoring & Coaching

    Insurance Career Mentoring & Coaching

    Insurance Mentoring & Coaching

    Why Work with Me?

    Do you think you might benefit from insurance mentoring & coaching? Would you like more clarity and support as you navigate the insurance industry? If so, you don’t have to face the journey alone.

    I provide practical mentoring and coaching to insurance professionals that helps them communicate clearly, serve clients better, and build sustainable success.

    You might be interested in my insurance mentoring & coaching services if:

    • You’re new to the industry and want to master its complexity
    • You simply want to elevate your expertise
    • You’d like a sounding board to help you face the challenges of agency ownership, someone who isn’t a competitor
    • You want to start your own agency and need guidance about the realities of independence

    I tailor each relationship based on the individual’s unique role, needs, and goals. We’ll focus on you and the situations you face; I’ll provide real-world experience based on my firsthand knowledge of the industry.

    Exclusive Content and Access to Mentoring Moments

    I also provide free content and services to those enrolled in my membership community. In addition to the public posts on my blog and my YouTube channel, I regularly upload exclusive content for my members. You’ll have access to articles, videos, how-tos, and information shared by other insurance professionals. Recent content includes What Do Clients Want?, Why Use a Client Intake Form?, and downloadable forms such as Client Confirmation of Coverage.

    For more information, check out the following video or visit the Membership page on my website. Once you join my membership community (there’s no cost for doing so), you’ll be taken to your Membership Dashboard. From there, you can access the exclusive content and request free mentoring services.

  • Craft Chat: The Place for Writer Collaboration

    Craft Chat: The Place for Writer Collaboration

    My Collaborative Framework

    I find more inspiration and motivation in writer collaboration than from any other pursuit. Are you one of those writers who agrees?

    Do you feel more in sync with other writers than with, oh, the people at work? Or your accountant? Do you find it easier to brainstorm with folks who don’t scoff at the ideas you come up with? Especially when those ideas might occasionally focus on topics such as the different ways one character can poison another?

    If so, consider joining my membership community and attending Craft Chat meetings. We:

    • Enjoy exchanging ideas and viewpoints
    • Strive to improve our skills and are open to different techniques
    • Work to become better storytellers and/or refine our writing styles and voices
    • Love the synergy of a small, intimate group

    Exclusive Content and Access to Craft Chat

    In addition to the regular posts on my blog, I post exclusive content for my members. For me, it really is all about writer collaboration. At the Craft of Writing level, you’ll find craft tips, videos, how-tos, and information shared by other writers. Recent posts include Birth Order Characteristics and Creating Character Profiles.

    You’ll also find downloadable forms, such as character profile templates. I upload new content on a regular basis, so keep checking back.

    Craft Chat: The Place for Writer Collaboration

    I offer access to monthly Craft Chat meetings to members of my community. They offer a casual but structured environment where  we chat about our craft, the challenges we face, and our continued progress. My hope is for each writer to connect with one or more other attendees, without pressure, to find what he or she needs.

    For more information, watch the quick video that appears above or check out the Membership page on my website. Once you join my membership community (there’s no cost to join), you’ll be taken to your Membership Dashboard. From there, you can access the exclusive content and register for Craft Chat.

  • Book Babble and Insurance Payoff

    Book Babble and Insurance Payoff

    Learn all about Lindaland and my two new monthly get-togethers: Book Babble and Insurance Payoff. If you’re a writer or insurance professional, why don’t you join me?

    Looking Backward

    The past couple of years have been a time of discovery for me, as I stepped away from working full-time in the insurance industry. Now, I’m spending my time:

    • Writing. I finished one novel and am working on another. I’ve also written several short stories and a few insurance textbooks.
    • Teaching live insurance continuing education webinars 3 days a week for BetterCE.
    • Offering training/consulting services.

    I gained some podcasting experience during this time, and you can find short videos on YouTube at Taking the Mystery out of Insurance and The Writer’s Voice playlist. I also created and hosted Craft Chat, a live monthly video meeting where unpublished members of our writer’s organization met with me and another published writer to ask their questions about the craft of writing.

    This coming October I’ll celebrate my 50th year working in the insurance industry, and 2024 marks my 18th year as a published writer. These two industries I love have provided me with the ability to support myself and my family while also allowing me a creative outlet and the ability to realize a personal dream.

    The Here and Now

    Now that I have some time on my hands, I fully intend to have fun and I invite you to join me!

    What I liked most about my podcasts and Craft Chat were the interactions with people who share my interests. Sharing our unique perspectives and experiences was uplifting and, in many cases, inspirational.

    What I liked least was the technical work bringing the podcast conversations to a finished product and limiting my Craft Chat participants to members of my writer’s organization.

    To use an old Romper Room saying, I put my thinking hat on. Then, I grabbed the magic wand my friend Lois McElravy gave me, waved it over my head, and promptly came up with two brilliant ideas. (Okay, I admit, there was more to the process than that!)

    Moving Forward

    I’m now hosting two monthly Zoom meetings at Lindaland: Book Babble and Insurance Payoff. Regardless of which meeting you attend, the setting is one for us to gather, chat freely about topics of interest/concern to us, and support each other.

    • Book Babble – for writers of all genres, published and unpublished
    • Insurance Payoff – for insurance professionals

    I also envision these meetings as offering potential matchmaking opportunities. No, not for romance, silly! But for:

    • Writers who want to connect with possible beta readers, critique partners, and other writers who can help with those craft challenges.
    • Insurance professionals who are seeking access to new markets, refreshing sales ideas, and other industry representatives who can broaden their horizons.

    For more information visit Lindaland on my website.

  • Mystery Making Event on March 6

    Mystery Making Event on March 6

    You might be wondering what a mystery making event is. Well, let me explain…

    Mystery Making is the brainchild of Sisters in Crime New England, a writers organization of which I’m a member. Back when we writers made live presentations, mystery making events were primarily conducted in libraries. A panel of four writers would work with an audience to create a brand-new mystery.

    In a mystery making event, members of the audience suggest:

    • Character names
    • The plot and the setting (including time period)
    • Who the unsuspecting victim of foul play is
    • Who the villain is
    • What the motivation for the dastardly deed is

    Nowadays, we’re conducting these events virtually and on March 6, Sisters in Crime New England (SinCNE) will be joining our sisters from the Florida Gulf Coast Chapter at the SW Florida Reading Festival. The Florida Gulf Coast Chapter’s booth at the festival includes recorded and live events.

    Four of our chapter’s board members will present a live Mystery Making event from 1 to 2 p.m. Eastern time on Saturday, March 6. Join Lisa Lieberman, Lorraine Sharma Nelson, Tonya Price, and me. Registration information will be available soon.

    Main Stage Event

    Here is a video of a Main Stage event, Noir at the Bar, hosted by the Lee County Library System. Click the link or image to launch the video.

    Save the date for Noir at the Bar, a main stage event at the Southwest Florida Reading Festival.

    More Information

    The SW Florida Reading Festival runs from March 1 to 13, is free, and involves the following types of activities:

    • Author panels
    • Author presentations
    • Book selling
    • Live author meet-and-greet sessions

    Children’s programs air at 6 p.m. and adult programs air at 7 p.m. Featured authors appear in virtual online booths on Saturdays. More information and registration for the event can be found online here.

    When the registration URL is available for Linda’s mystery making event on March 6, it will appear here.

  • SILA Foundation Webinar

    SILA Foundation Webinar

    I’m honored to have been asked by the SILA Foundation to develop and present a webinar for their monthly series.

    The webinar will be presented live on Thursday, May 21 at 3 p.m. Eastern time. The topic is: Insuring Cannabis Risks.

    Click here to register: https://www.silafoundation.org/2020/05/webinar-insuring-cannabis-risks/