Nonfiction Book Coach

My book coaching options (for non-fiction and memoir)

You want to write a book that makes a difference in the world. That makes a difference in your business. That scales up the positive impact you can make on people’s lives. 

Talk about ambitious!

I love it. 

You could sign up for a Fill-in-the-Blanks 30-Day Bangin’ Business Book(TM) program and have yourself a perfectly serviceable lead magnet. (Along with their Incredible Amazon Best Seller Strategy(TM) designed to get you that orange ribbon in an obscure category long enough to get a screenshot.)

But your message is so much more than that. Your story, your mission, your methodology—they are powerful. This book deserves your best effort. 

You’re also a realist enough to know that despite your expertise in your own subject matter, you’re not an expert in everything.

• You’ve hired coaches to help you grow your business
• You’ve taken trainings to help you become a better speaker or leader
• You’ve worked with strength trainers and sports coaches to help you gain fitness

When you weren’t sure how to do something and you wanted to excel at it, you sought out someone who was an expert in their field.

Why should writing a book be any different? 

If you’ve been circling a book idea for months (or years), you don’t need more inspiration or discipline or time. You need a plan, a structure, and a coach-slash-thought partner you can trust at every step of the way.

That’s where I come in.

I’m Jessie Kwak—author, nonfiction ghostwriter, and book coach. 

I’ve written more than 20 books under my own name, and I’ve ghostwritten a half-dozen business books and memoirs for clients (including projects that have hit bestseller lists and made six figures on Kickstarter).

I’ve been obsessed with storytelling since I was a kid, and I wrote my first novel in sixth grade—it was hand-written and spanned two spiral-bound notebooks. 

I’ve studied story structure since high school, reading every craft book I could get my hands on. As a professional, I cut my teeth on a decade of B2B marketing copywriting, learning how to tell stories that made business impact. 

I’ve studied why certain stories make us perk our ears up while others make us check our phones. I’ve tracked how the most effective communicators—authors, speakers, coaches, founders—use narrative structure not just to inspire, but to sell, to lead, and to build movements. 

I’ve written book after book, and I’ve helped experts like you do the same: take a complicated life’s worth of knowledge and distill it into a book that finally does justice to your work.

I’m obsessed with the craft of making big ideas and powerful lived experiences “book-shaped.”

Here’s how I do it

Options for Working With Me

—> Is your manuscript complete? Check out my Developmental Editing services.

Not sure which option you need? Start with the guide below, or reach out and book a discovery call with me.

Which Nonfiction Book Coaching Option Is Right for You?

Choose the Story Map Intensive if…

• You have a strong idea, but it’s still a little foggy or too big
• You need help shaping the concept, clarifying the reader promise, and creating a chapter plan
• You can write on your own once you have a clear blueprint
• You want expert strategy without a long-term coaching commitment

Choose the Draft + Edit Package if…

• You want the blueprint and the accountability to finish
• You struggle with follow-through, overwhelm, or “I know what I want to say but I can’t organize it”
• You want ongoing developmental feedback on each chapter so you don’t write 40,000 words in the wrong direction
• You’ve started before and stalled out
• You want support navigating roadblocks as they pop up 

1. Story Map Intensive

Get clarity, structure, and a book blueprint you can write from.

Over three focused sessions, we’ll extract the heart of your idea, architect a chapter-by-chapter structure, and build a realistic plan to finish the draft.

What’s included

• Three 90-minute strategy calls: Find the Heart, Architect the Book, Get-to-Done Plan
• Light asynchronous support between calls (48-hour response, Mon–Fri)
• A Book Blueprint (delivered as a working doc) including:
  1. Working title, hook, and reader promise
  2. Target reader and business objective
  3. Big idea, thesis, and core arguments
  4. Table of contents with brief chapter summaries
  5. Draft plan with milestones and “next steps”

What we’ll do on the calls 

• Identify who this book is really for—and what they need from you
• Clarify what makes your approach different (your “big idea”)
• Choose a structure that fits your content (framework, narrative, hybrid, etc.)
• Map the reader journey from page one to the final chapter
• Translate your expertise into a book that feels cohesive and readable
• Build a plan you can execute without burning out

Best fit if you…

• Have an idea and need help making it “book-shaped”
• Want to write the book yourself, but don’t want to guess your way through structure
• Want a clear plan before you invest months drafting
• Don’t need ongoing coaching once the roadmap is in place

Not the best fit if you…

• Want someone to write the book for you (ghostwriting)
• Already have a completed manuscript and want feedback (developmental editing)
• Are looking for a publishing/marketing agency (I’ll help you choose a path and write an amazing book, not run the launch)

Next step: Schedule a discovery call to confirm fit and timeline.

2. Draft + Edit Package

Blueprint + coaching + developmental feedback = an “idea-to-finished draft” plan that gets the book done.

This is for the writer who doesn’t just want a plan—they want to get to the finish line with steady support.

Phase 1: Story Map Intensive

We’ll start with the Story Map Intensive (above) to build your blueprint

Phase 2: Interviews + Drafting + Feedback cycle

Next, we move into three months of ongoing coaching calls (2x month), drafting, and developmental feedback.

Here’s what that cycle looks like:

• The calls follow the same process that I use with my ghostwriting clients: I interview you and talk through each chapter of the outline, asking questions to help you go deeper, clarify your ideas, and tease out stories and details. (Essentially, I act as the stand-in for your audience, a sounding board to make sure that everything you are going to write lands. )
• Next, you take the transcript and write the chapters. I’m available via email, text, or even a short call to answer any questions you have as you’re working.
• When you’re finished with each chapter, you submit it to me for developmental feedback and we talk about it on the next call.

(Optional) Phase 3: Light continuing support

Three months is an ambitious timeline to write a book if you’re also running a business and living a life. 

So don’t worry, I don’t expect that you will be done by the end of our three-month coaching commitment!

But three months is plenty of time for us to talk through all of the chapters and get you the raw materials and stories that you need to write the rest of the book. 

If you feel like you can take it from here, awesome!

But if you want to continue with check-ins and developmental editing of your ongoing work after the three-month commitment is up, we can come up with a custom support package to get you across the finish line. 

I’ve got your back. 

Best fit if you…

• Want to write the book, but you don’t want to do it alone
• Could use accountability to keep from getting stuck the messy middle (or never getting past the intro)
• Want feedback while you draft so you don’t waste time going in circles
• Want someone to help you keep the thread of the book intact as you write

Not the best fit if you…

• Want someone to do the writing for you (ghostwriting)
• Want a one-time critique of a finished manuscript (developmental editing)
• Aren’t going to put in the effort and take advantage of the time we have to get this project done.

Next step: Schedule a discovery call so we can confirm scope, timeline, and fit.

Nonfiction Book Coaching FAQ

“Do I need to prepare before we start?”

Nope. You don’t need to show up with anything more than your idea.

Because the book is coming out of your expertise and experience, you already have everything we need. My job is to draw it out, shape it, and help you make clear decisions.

If you do have notes, voice memos, old blog posts, talk outlines, or a messy draft? Great. Start collecting it. If you don’t? No worries.

“What if I’m not a good writer?”

I guarantee you’re a good storyteller—and that’s half the battle. In our coaching calls (if you choose the Draft + Edit package), I’ll help you extract all the stories, frameworks, and arguments that you want to include, and discuss how to structure each chapter.

Then, you’ll be able to take the transcript of our call and use that as the base material of each chapter. Once you’ve gotten it where you want it, I’ll do a round of developmental editing to help you shape your prose.

Many of my clients also like to use dictation to make the writing process go faster. If you’re curious about that, check out this article I wrote on the subject.

“Will I really be done in three months?”

That depends. Three months is an ambitious deadline for writing a complete draft of a book, unless you are working full-time on that project. 

The three-month coaching commitment isn’t designed to have you finish the book by then. Rather, that’s how long it typically takes to get the raw materials (stories and experience) through all of the interviews/coaching calls. 

I find most people have a great momentum at that point to continue on their own, but if you want ongoing help, I can come up with a custom ongoing support package depending on how intensive you want support to be.

Learn more about the process I use to help my clients write books here: A Nonfiction Book Writing System.

“Do I have to live in Portland, OR to work with you as a book coach?”

Nope! Our sessions are entirely virtual—although if you do live in Portland, Seattle, or anywhere in the Pacific Northwest, then I would love to try meet in person at least once.

“What if I’ve already written the book?”

Awesome! If you’ve already written a book and you are looking for developmental editing feedback, I can do that. Check out this page for more details on how that works. 

“Will you work with me on my novel?”

Sorry, no. I only work with authors who are writing nonfiction and memoir. I would be happy to refer you to a fiction book coach if that’s what you’re looking for. 

“Will you help me publish my nonfiction or memoir book?”

My expertise is on helping you write the best book you possibly can. I can certainly advise you and point you to different resources—I know a number of amazing people whose expertise is on helping you publish.