Writing a book is a rewarding journey, but the path to the summit can be filled with roadblocks that stall even the most determined writers.
FriesenPress's one-on-one book coaching experience pairs your passion with our structured, expert-driven approach to the creative process. With your choice of video or phone sessions, your coach will empower you to leap over writing obstacles while directly supporting your progress – one step at a time.
It’s time to turn your creative vision into the finished manuscript you've always dreamed of.
Personalized One-on-One Coaching
We pair you with a specialized coach who takes the time to understand you, your book, and your publishing goals in one-on-one video sessions. Our book coaching experience is a fully-personalized partnership designed to build your creative momentum and develop skills you’ll use for a lifetime of writing.
Build Your Blueprint
Following your first session, we develop a customized, made for you writing plan based on your project and working style. Your Manuscript Blueprint includes clear milestones and a writing schedule – a concrete roadmap to move your book forward without the overwhelm.
Ongoing Support on Your Schedule
With your map in hand, the writing begins! Through regular, hour-long video/phone sessions (typically every two weeks), your coach helps you sharpen your craft, conquer hurdles like writer’s block, and stay accountable to our plan. You get empowering, professional feedback every step of the way.
Each bundle includes a custom Manuscript Blueprint (see a sample here) and one-on-one follow-up sessions with your coach.
All coaching purchases automatically unlock 50% off a professional Editor’s Manuscript Evaluation* when your coaching-assisted manuscript is ready to move forward!
*50% discount applies to Editor’s Manuscript Evaluations sold at regular price and cannot be combined with other offers.
Kevin
An award-winning novelist, filmmaker, and editor, Kevin has more than 30 years of experience across books, film, and publishing. With nearly 25 years of coaching and teaching experience, he has helped authors develop their craft through one-on-one coaching and workshops across the world.
Claire
With a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and years of experience as a writer, editor, and book coach, Claire helps authors navigate every stage of the writing process. Her editing work includes memoir, creative nonfiction, and works by authors published through both traditional and independent presses.
Shari
An award-winning independent author and certified editor, Shari’s experience in fiction, nonfiction, and book reviewing drives her coaching practice. With training in mystery, fantasy, memoir, and children’s literature, she helps authors develop their craft and find a writing process that fits their unique goals.
Laura
A journalist, editor, writer, and book coach, Laura brings three decades of experience across magazines and publishing to her role as a book coach. With an MFA in Creative Nonfiction, she specializes in memoir and helps authors refine their structure, voice, themes, and storytelling to bring their ideas to life.
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Book coaching is a proactive service, while editing is reactive. Think of it this way: a coach works to help you build a strong foundation and develop your skills as you write. An editor most often steps in after the manuscript is complete to refine the text. Our coaching service is designed to help you generate manuscript-creating writing momentum, so the final editing process will be smoother and more effective come publication.
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Book coaching is like personal training for your book. Sure, you could exercise on your own and see some results over time. But a personal book coach helps you determine exactly what change you want to affect on your manuscript and keeps you accountable on the path getting there.
Investing in book coaching saves time and money in the long run. Many authors spend months or even years struggling to finish a manuscript that may ultimately need a significant rewrite. Our coaching provides a clear, efficient path to completion, helping you avoid common pitfalls with the intention of producing a higher-quality manuscript, faster.
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Yes! Our experienced book coaches have experience in all manner of genres and writing conventions. No matter your experience level, we will meet you where you are and put the structure in place to move your project forward – together.
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Yes, absolutely – your coaching experience will begin with the next steps of your Manuscript Blueprint and seamlessly continue for the length of sessions included in your bundle.
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To get the most out of coaching, you should be prepared to independently work on your writing each week, with an expectation of attending one coaching session every other week. This will often require you to write new content and implement recommendations from your coach in order to meet the milestones agreed upon in each session.
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Our goal is to give you the tools and confidence to continue your writing journey following the conclusion of your coaching engagement.
The Manuscript Blueprint generated in the first session is a living document—a roadmap that can be referred to anytime you feel lost. And if they need more hands-on support, additional hours with your coach can be purchased as needed.
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Writer's block and lack of motivation: The writing journey can be daunting, leading to procrastination and abandoned projects.
Lack of time: Many subject matter experts or professionals understand the value of their time and don’t want to waste it struggling through the process of developing a writing skillset alone.
Lack of personalized guidance: Many authors seek individual feedback and support throughout their writing process.
Isolation: Writing can be a lonely process for some. Book coaching puts you in contact with someone to bounce ideas around with and share some of the burden of creation.
Navigating the publishing process: Understanding the different stages of publishing and how to prepare a manuscript for submission can be overwhelming.
Story structure and development: Authors may struggle with plot, character development, pacing, and overall narrative coherence.
Crafting compelling prose: Developing a strong writing style and mastering techniques like dialogue, description, and point of view can be challenging.
Research support and preparation: Authors may not know how to navigate citations, vet sources, or obtain permissions for use (such as reproducing archive materials, song lyrics, etc.). A coach can weed out faulty research early to save the author headaches later and lessen the risk of plagiarism, copyright infringement, and content concerns that may pose a barrier to publication later.
Why Book Coaching?
In an age of ever-increasing AI automation, the world needs more uniquely human-authored stories.
A trained, human book coach provides you with direct, one-on-one, momentum-generating support. They assess where your project is at, discuss what your personal struggles are, and build a customized (and flexible) plan to help you overcome those blockages so that you can achieve your goals on schedule.
And that’s just the initial consultation. Let’s dig a little deeper and look at 4 key ways working with a book coach can help you finish (or even start) your manuscript:
