A Better Way to Help Writers

Jennie Nash is the founder and CEO of Author Accelerator, the author of 12 books across three genres, and co-host of the popular #AmWriting podcast. Through her writing, teaching, and coaching, she champions a more intentional approach to writing—one grounded in clarity, courage, and creative authority.

Hi I’m Jennie Nash.

For ten years, I taught memoir at the UCLA Extension Writer’s Program, where I watched thoughtful, committed writers struggle to make meaningful progress. They showed up, wrote, and revised, but the traditional workshop model wasn't designed to support a book from start to finish.

It was frustrating to watch.

As an author publishing with Big Five publishers, I'd experienced the power of sustained editorial engagement—someone paying attention to the whole book as it evolved.

What if writers could have that kind of support from the very beginning?

I got the chance to find out when I began working with a UCLA colleague, Lisa Cron, on what would become Wired for Story and Story Genius.

We worked together for more than a year, from early ideas through a full manuscript, a proposal, and agent outreach. It was a completely different kind of collaboration. I was more engaged, more responsive to the needs of the work as it evolved.

I loved it — and it worked!

Lisa secured a two-book deal with Ten Speed/Random House, and I knew I'd found a powerful new way to help writers.

The process we began became the Blueprint for a Book method.

A Better Way to Start, Rescue, and Revise Books

Blueprint for a Book is a method of inquiry that helps writers discover what they want to say, make intentional creative decisions, and build books that deliver on their vision..

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The Author Accelerator Story

Establishing the Gold Standard

As I refined my approach, the results spoke for themselves. My clients signed with top literary agents, secured six-figure book deals, and landed on major bestseller lists. KJ Dell'Antonia's The Chicken Sisters became a Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick and a Hallmark TV series. Jen Lim's Beyond Happiness became a Wall Street Journal bestseller.

What excited me most was seeing how consistently this approach helped writers produce stronger books and find their way forward.

In 2013, I founded Author Accelerator to teach this method to others.

I didn't just want to train book coaches. I wanted to establish the gold standard for book coaching—one that demanded real skill and earned the trust of writers and publishing professionals.

We developed a rigorous certification process to ensure our coaches were prepared to deliver that level of support.

Today, Author Accelerator is a leading training program for book coaches, with a thriving community of more than 430 certified coaches working across genres. They're helping writers clarify their vision, strengthen their craft, and finish books that connect with readers.

We’ve now certified almost 450 book coaches.

And we’ve changed the way writers are supported.

We've created a new professional pathway for people who want to do that work—and build thriving businesses doing something they love.

Seven Beliefs That Guide Our Work

Over the years, I've developed some strong convictions about writing, writers, and the work of helping people bring books into the world. These seven beliefs have shaped everything I've built at Author Accelerator, and they continue to guide how we train and support book coaches.

1. I believe that writing books is about more than landing big publishing deals.

Those deals are wonderful when they come, but they're not what makes writers write. We write to raise our voices, make art, engage readers, have an impact, and do something we've dreamed about our entire lives. We write because it makes us feel alive.

2. I believe that helping writers do the work of their hearts and souls is good, noble work.

Helping people clarify their thoughts, share their stories, and invite others to see the world as they do is one of the ways we rise above the noise and reveal our humanity.

3. I believe that good writing can be taught.

Most writers aren't born knowing how to write an engaging book. They learn the craft. I've watched people from every kind of background develop the skills to write powerful books. It takes time, persistence, and good guidance, but it can be learned.

4. I believe that writing is not a zero-sum game.

Not every writer will land a book deal, reach a bestseller list, or find a wide readership. That doesn't mean the effort was wasted. We don't expect every child who takes piano lessons to play Carnegie Hall. There is enormous value in challenging yourself, making art, and doing something that matters to you. Big success is worth pursuing, but it isn't the only acceptable outcome.

5. I believe that making a living from writing alone is difficult.

Most writers will never earn enough from their books to quit their day jobs. That's why we don't guarantee publication or a financial return, and why I teach our coaches not to make those promises either. Publishing depends on too many factors beyond anyone's control, including luck and timing.

6. I believe that book coaching can be taught.

You don't have to be a bestselling author to be a great book coach. Writing well and helping someone else write well are two different skills. The best coaches know how to ask the right questions, identify what's holding a writer back, and help them find their own way forward. Just as in sports, music, and business, coaching is a discipline in its own right—and one that can be learned.

7. I believe that book coaching is a viable and meaningful way to build a professional life.

Our coaches come from backgrounds in writing, teaching, editing, librarianship, ghostwriting, and many other fields. They're building businesses that offer intellectually engaging, flexible, meaningful work—whether as a side practice or a full-time career.

Meet the Book Coach Development Team Upholding Author Accelerator’s Standards

  • Stuart Wakefield | Team Lead

    Stuart supports certification students as they prepare for practicum work, helping them build confidence, strengthen their thinking, and submit high-quality work. He’s known for a coaching style that is both thorough and compassionate, and for bringing warmth, insight, and calm to the certification experience. Alongside his student-facing work, Stuart also provides leadership within the team, helping to support consistency, quality, and thoughtful guidance across the programme. He is certified in both fiction and memoir and holds an MA with Distinction in Professional Writing. As well as writing fiction, he has also written for TV and the stage.


    A little about STUART:

    Stuart is often the person helping certification students feel safe enough to stretch, grow, and rise to the challenge of practicum work. He combines a strong editorial eye with encouragement and care, and loves helping people find clarity in both their work and themselves.

    - His favorite way to reset is taking a long bath.

    - People are often surprised to learn that Stuart once played Elizabeth I’s lady-in-waiting in a play (and shaved his head for the role).

    - Outside of work, he collects ThunderCats action figures.

    - Stuart is happiest when developing characters for his writing.

    - His ideal kind of day includes spending time with his dog.

    - One thing that always makes Stuart laugh is the TV show Gimme, Gimme, Gimme.

    - Stuart has a soft spot for books by Jilly Cooper.

    - Nothing says “Stuart” more than eavesdropping on other people’s conversations.

    - If Stuart is not working, you’ll probably find him watching a film. He used to work at Warner Bros., so his movie tastes are pleasingly wide-ranging.

  • Sara Gentry

    Sara Gentry is a Math Ph.D. turned Author Accelerator triple-certified book coach. She helps the team nurture coaches-in-training, hosts community calls, and offers behind-the-scenes support.

    A little about SARA:

    - She is a homeschooling mom and worship director.

    - In her own book coaching practice, Sara specializes in structure, cohesiveness, and commercial viability.

    - Sara loves sports! She was a three-sport athlete in high school, played volleyball in college, coached high school varsity volleyball, and currently coaches youth soccer.

    - She loves a good personality framework and enjoys learning what makes people tick.

    - Sara loves merging with creative with the analytical. In college, she majored in both math and music. She continues to study piano with her college teacher.

  • Margaret McNellis

    Margaret earned certification as a fiction book coach in April 2021, and began working for Author Accelerator six months later, initially helping to review certification applications. Since then, and along with the whole team, she’s helped shape the certification process. Margaret enjoys coaching students through the program and through their business objectives during and following certification; she lives for those “aha” moments coaches and writers alike experience through being coached. In addition to helping shepherd students through certification and launching/re-launching their book coaching businesses, Margaret assists Jennie in other work as well, including but not limited to Jennie's work as host of the #AmWriting podcast.

    A little about MARGARET:

    - She is lovingly obsessed with her corgi Beatrice.

    - In what feels ike previous lives, Margaret was a scientist and a martial artist.

    - When not helping guide coaches, Margaret enjoys working on her own fiction, poetry, and endeavors to unearth forgotten narratives from the past.

    - Margaret believes that any bakery’s worth can be ascertained by the quality of their chocolate chip cookies (she once earned a ribbon of her own in a local fair for her own cookies).

    - Margaret coaches writers on occasion, focusing on helping them get from spark to story in their literary, upmarket, and historical fiction stories.

    - When not in the world of story or indulging in a chocolate chip cookie (or two), Margaret can often be found walking by the shore, staring out at the water Poldark-style, or painting a watercolor.

    - Perhaps unsurprisingly, Margaret loves to geek out over historical dramas.

    - Margaret’s favorite books of all time are Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell and The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller.

  • Sabrina Estudillo Butler

    As a member of the Coach Development team, Sabrina loves helping coaches in training and recently certified coaches bridge the gap between knowledge and application. With an uncanny knack for seeing the unseen, Sabrina gives the kind of support that's both encouraging and challenging—just the right balance to help you grow. Sabrina is Author Accelerator certified in fiction and nonfiction. She has been a full-time book coach for over 4 years and freelance editor for 6 years inside her business, Unpolished Words.

    A little about SABRINA: 

    - Before totally scaring her parents when she told them she was going to start an online business where she gets to read books all day and get paid for it, Sabrina was a licensed Architect for 7 years.

    - Sabrina is a professional nap taker. She takes 90-minute naps (gotta get that full REM cycle!) multiple times a week, and she doesn’t even need an alarm to wake up.

    - Her (professional) mission is to add more color to the bookshelves by supporting ambitious BIPOC authors write and publish amazing books.

    - Sabrina’s (personal) mission is to accumulate 1,000 books so she can have a proper library.

    - Sabrina is a Human Design projector, which means I really see and understand people on a deep level.

Interested in becoming a certified book coach?

The first step is Blueprint Method Training, where you'll learn our signature framework for helping writers start, analyze, and revise their books—and how to turn that expertise into a coaching offer you can sell.

If full certification is your goal, begin with Blueprint Method Training and let us know you're interested in continuing your professional development.

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Interested in working with a certified book coach?

Writing a book is deeply personal. Finding the right coach should be, too.

Our matching process helps you find potential coaches from our network of more than 450 certified professionals.

We believe the best coaching relationships are built on creative judgment, editorial expertise, psychological insight, and trust.

Find a coach who understands what you're trying to create — and knows how to help you get there.

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