Ready to write your book?
Writing a book is hard. But it’s much easier if you have a pro at your side to guide you from idea in your head to words on the page to completed manuscript. Don’t write alone. Professionals don’t. Why should you? Whether you’re starting from scratch or you are an experienced professional, I can help.
One-on-One Book Coaching
Are you ready to tackle the work of writing a book? If you’re looking for a roadmap and for more clarity, I am offering an intensive introductory coaching session for first-time clients.
“To my book coach, Debbie Weil, I don’t think I would have finished this book without your guidance, so thank you for helping me shape each chapter into something bigger and better.” – from the Acknowledgments
– Shana Lebowitz Gaynor, author of DON’T CALL IT QUITS: Turn the Job You Have Into the Job You Love (McGraw Hill, August 25, 2022)
Invest in one intensive 50-minute Zoom session with me to experience how I can help you clarify your topic as well as offer editorial input for how to organize your book and how to start or continue writing.
This one session can save you weeks or months of wheel spinning as you embark on the project of writing a nonfiction book. You’ll leave knowing what your book is really about and how you can write it.
Typically I work with clients via six-month engagements. Since the beginning of the pandemic, however, I have offered the option of a one-time intensive session to jumpstart your book project. If you’re serious about writing a book, working with a book coach over a period of months is a great way to get traction and make significant progress with your draft. But sometimes one session is enough to help you clarify your book idea and get started. Click here to sign up for one intensive session.
Client Testimonials
Debbie helped me pull together my scattered essays into an organized manuscript. She is encouraging, gives constructive feedback, but most importantly for me, holds me accountable to deadlines. I would recommend her to anyone who is looking for a collaborative (and whip-smart!) coach.
Erin Brinig is legal counsel for a major U.S. financial company.
Debbie helped me "think out loud" about the roadmap my book needed to follow. From there I was able to organize my thoughts and get to the finish line. I credit Debbie with helping me move from ideas to a real book structure.
Cary Pfeffer is a media trainer and the author of There’s Not an App for That.
Working with Debbie not only helped me improve as a writer, but it helped me uncover powerful insights that have informed my ongoing evolution as an entrepreneur. Debbie brought a potent combination of straight-forward feedback to enhance my writing, as well as a compassion for how vulnerable it can feel to experiment with and discover your writing voice.
If you know you have a book in you, but haven’t made it happen yet, Debbie is a godsend. She provides the perfect blend of support and challenge to get you started and keep you on track. Her insights and feedback make you stop and think - not just about your book - but sometimes more broadly about your approach to life and work.
Joe Casey is an executive coach with a special interest in coaching leaders looking for Second Acts.
Working with Debbie is incredibly motivating. I always spend the rest of the day after our sessions on a bit of a high. There’s no way I’d be this far along in the book writing process without her, and I certainly wouldn’t have refined my ideas to this point.
Sarah Dillon is an international business consultant based in Australia.
What I love about Debbie is that she is much more than a book coach. As an experienced entrepreneur and a leading business speaker, she is in the business world. She understands not just how to write a short book, but how to write a good business book.
Tom Hood is CEO of the Maryland Association of CPAs.
We spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on marketing and there isn’t anything that has had as profound an effect on our credibility as the little book I wrote and published with Debbie Weil.
David Marinac (“The Packaging Guy”) is president and CEO of The Oversea Network.
He’s the author of Stand Up and Stand Out and Watch Your Product Fly Off the Store Shelves.
I found the individual coaching incredibly helpful: Debbie is a perceptive listener and editor who is able to hone in on where you are (or are not) in your writing process and expertly guide you to the next level.
Cheryl Dolan, speaking coach and communications consultant
I was already a writer. Couldn’t I finish my half-done book on my own? Maybe not. For me, the most beneficial aspect of working with Debbie has been her feedback, original ideas and encouragement.
Sue Johnston, Author of Talk to Me: Workplace Conversations That Work
Sign up for one intensive session of book coaching
What is Debbie like in person?
How book coaching with me works
More about Debbie…
Think of me as a personal trainer for your book. I provide professional direction and encouragement so you can write your book with clarity and energy.
Writing a book is hard. There is no sugarcoating that. If you are a busy professional with multiple commitments, as most of my clients are, it’s even more challenging. As your writing coach I show you how to break your book down into doable chunks so you always have a next step, whether you’re a plane or train, at your desk or at your neighborhood coffee shop.
I help you organize your book
I help you organize your ideas and structure your book in a way that will grab your reader AND make your book easier to write. This is a crucial part of the process of book writing. It’s called developmental editing.
I provide accountability
If you have a busy schedule and other commitments, as many of my clients do, you need accountability to get your book done. We schedule non-negotiable writing blocks into your calendar. I use a system of check-ins and gentle but firm nudges.
I help you overcome obstacles
I have an arsenal of writing tactics to help you defeat procrastination, lack of clarity and other common roadblocks. My grab bag is deep and I never run out of ways to spur you on.
I give you professional feedback and direction
I am a developmental editor as well as a coach and collaborator. My feedback on your writing means pointing out what works, what doesn’t, what is missing and how to create the most value for your readers. With my background of 40 years as a journalist and editor, as a Harvard graduate, and as a published author with Penguin Portfolio, I apply professional standards to your work.
How I’m different from other book coaches
What sets me apart from other book coaches is that I’ve played in the big leagues and I apply the highest editorial standards to your book. I can show you the path to traditional publishing. But another option is stylish self-publishing or publishing with Voxie Media, my nonfiction imprint, or another hybrid publisher. I love what I do, I love my clients and I’m utterly committed to the success of each and every one.
How we work together
With my ongoing support your book gets traction and the writing gets done. You can be located anywhere in the world as we typically work together via Zoom video, meeting twice a month. In between sessions you send me chunks of writing and I review, offering high-level feedback and an assignment for next steps. You can communicate with me via email anytime.
In person book coaching
In addition to ongoing coaching and developmental editing, I offer in-person Author Intensives. I can meet you face-to-face in New York or New Haven or Maine for one or more days. Also included when we work together is access to the course materials in my online program, including my essays on the writing process, action step handouts, edited transcripts with guest experts and more.
Publishing
