The straight answer
Ask every coach 7 things. Can I read a book you’ve written or produced? How many of your clients finish? What happens week by week? Who is a bad fit for you? Who owns the rights and royalties? Will I work with you or someone on your team? What happens after the manuscript? A good coach answers each one with specifics. Vague talk about “your writing journey” is the red flag.
Why this hire matters more than it looks
You’re about to hand someone the keys to the most permanent thing you’ll ever put your name on. Worth asking a few questions first.
A book coach shapes how your book is structured, how your voice lands on the page, how your expertise translates for a reader, and whether the manuscript gets finished at all. That’s a lot of influence for someone you found on Instagram.
Many of the Storykeepers who come to me have already tried once. They paid a coach who gave feedback and no structure. They joined a group programme that sprinted while they were working full-time. They got a generic framework that had nothing to do with their story.
Coaching with me starts at $10,000 USD, and ghostwriting is $75,000 USD. Whoever you hire, that’s real money and a real chunk of your year. These 7 questions are your due diligence.
Quick check before you start: know what you’re buying. A book coach helps you write your own manuscript, in your words, with their structure and expertise. A ghostwriter writes it for you, with your name on the cover. I do both, and I wrote the full comparison here: Book Coach vs. Ghostwriter: What’s the Difference?
The 7 questions (and what the answers tell you)
1. Have you written or produced a published book, and can I read it?
Publishing is unregulated. Anyone can call themselves a book coach by this afternoon. Proven, published work is the only credential that counts, so ask to see it.
Listen for specifics. “I’ve helped dozens of authors” is a vibe. “Here’s a book I wrote, here’s one my client published, here’s where you can buy it” is an answer. For the record, I’m a 4x NYT bestselling ghostwriter & book coach, and the first of those bestsellers was finished before I was old enough to drive.
2. Do your clients finish, and what happens when I get stuck?
Plenty of coaching clients never finish. It’s one of the least-discussed truths in this industry. A coach who can’t tell you their completion rate probably hasn’t checked.
Listen for a straight number. Mine: 95% of Word Magic clients finish a complete draft manuscript in 90 days. That comes from the Storytelling Framework and a weekly session structure where you always know what to write next. When you get stuck, the next session is the unsticking.
3. What does your process look like, week by week?
“Support” and “guidance” are lovely words. They’re also a red flag when that’s all you get. A coach with a real method can tell you what happens in session 1, session 4 and session 12, what you’ll produce each week and how the manuscript piles up.
Listen for architecture over enthusiasm. The Word Magic Method™ has 5 phases: Book Validation, the Storytelling Framework, Goldmines and Story Time, Write On! and The Reveal. Each one has clear outputs, so by the time you’re writing, every session builds a specific chapter. Here’s the full breakdown: The 90-Day Book: How 95% of Word Magic Clients Finish a Complete Draft Manuscript.
4. Who do you work best with, and who isn’t a fit?
A coach who claims to be perfect for every author, every stage and every kind of book is either new or not paying attention. A business book coach isn’t automatically equipped to help someone write a memoir about surviving something huge. A memoir specialist may not know how to position a leadership book for a consulting market.
Listen for honesty. I work with Storykeepers: founders, executives, coaches, consultants, healthcare leaders, thought leaders, and people who’ve lived through something extraordinary and are ready to put it on the page. I’m the wrong coach for someone who hasn’t found their story yet. I’m exactly the right one for someone who knows their story and needs the structure to get it out.
5. Who owns the rights, the royalties and the credit?
Contracts vary wildly. Some coaches take a cut of future royalties. Some ghostwriting agreements stop you from acknowledging the writer, even privately. Some quietly assign part of the rights to the coach or agency. Know exactly what you’re signing.
Listen for total clarity. With Word Magic it’s simple: your book is your book. You own the words, the copyright, the royalties and the credit. I’m either your confidential co-creator (ghostwriting) or your acknowledged creative partner (coaching), agreed in writing before anything starts. No royalty sharing. No hidden clauses. More on protecting your book here: How to Protect Your Book: IP & Copyright Across 5 Countries.
6. Will I work with you, or with someone on your team?
Some big-name coaches sell the name and deliver through junior staff, templates or group calls with dozens of people. You pay for the coach and get the programme coordinator. Ask who you’ll actually work with each week, how long sessions run, whether they’re 1:1 and how fast your questions get answered in between.
Listen for direct access. Every Word Magic author works with me. No assistant, no portal, no cohort. Sessions are 1:1, the feedback is real and the accountability is personal. It doesn’t scale, which is exactly why it works.
7. What happens after the manuscript?
A coach who waves goodbye at the final draft has done half the job. Getting a nonfiction book out (traditional, hybrid or self-published) means editing, design, positioning, distribution and a launch. If your coach has nothing to say about life after the last chapter, you’re on your own at the hardest part.
Listen for a pathway. Phase 5 of my method, The Reveal, covers it: editors, publishers, agents, cover design, launch planning and marketing. After 30 years across every tier of publishing, my clients leave with a manuscript and a publishing plan. The full picture is here: What Happens After You Write Your Book? The Launch Strategy Most Authors Miss.
The question under all 7
Every question on this list is really asking the same thing: does this coach have a proven, personal method, and the receipts to show it works?
Enthusiasm isn’t a method. Community isn’t a method. A framework built for everyone fits nobody in particular. The right coach has written books, produced books and taken specific people with specific stories to a finished manuscript on a deadline, and can show you the results.
Your book deserves someone who treats it like the serious, career-changing thing it is.
That’s what my free validation call is for. It’s a real conversation about whether this is the right book, the right moment and the right fit. If it isn’t, I’ll tell you.
Your Next Fave Read
- What Does a Book Coach Actually Do?
- How Much Does a Book Coach Cost?
- Book Coach vs. Ghostwriter
- The 90-Day Book
- How to Protect Your Book: IP & Copyright
- What Happens After You Write Your Book?
- What Is The Word Magic Method™?
| 7 questions. One conversation.The Validation Call is free. It’s the clearest way to answer every question on this list — in the room, in real time, with the coach who will be working with you. Book yours at the link below. BOOK A CALL |
