Tristine Rainer has been a pioneer in the fields of journal writing, memoir, and women-focused television movies. In 1978 she published The New Diary: How to use a journal for Self-Guidance and Expanded Creativity, that envisioned journal writing evolving into the dynamic field of study it has become. Almost five decades later it remains the definitive and seminal work, used by psychologists, occupational therapists and diarists around the world.

In 1997, after years of university teaching (UCLA, Indiana University, USC), after writing and producing TV movies, Rainer published Your Life as Story: Discovering the New Autobiography and Writing Memoir as Literature. The book shares the secrets of story structure and narrative craft for memoir writers. Also in 1997 she became director of the non-profit Center for Autobiographic Studies, www.centerautobio.org. In 2017 she published her own autobiographic novel about her relationship with the famed diarist Anais Nin, Apprenticed to Venus (Arcade), circling back to where her passion for diary writing began.

Rainer, as editor and coach, has guided scores of authors to successful commercial publication, including to The New York Times Bestsellers list.