Learn The Art and Business of Book Coaching
Anyone can call themselves a book coach, but very few know how to do the work at a professional level—and even fewer build a business that reflects that level of skill.
Effective book coaching goes beyond feedback or encouragement. It requires the ability to think clearly about story and structure, guide writers through complex creative decisions, and help them step into their voice and create books that deliver on their promise.
At Author Accelerator, we teach you how to guide meaningful transformation for writers and how to build a sustainable business around doing that work well.
Our one-year Book Coach Certification Program is for people who want to take this work seriously—who want to develop deep skill, work within a proven methodology, and build a business around that expertise.
The certification program is designed to fit alongside your existing work and responsibilities while you build a book coaching practice. As you move through the training, you apply what you learn in real time working with real clients—developing the skills, structure, and positioning needed to launch a business grounded in real expertise.
You learn how to guide committed writers through the full arc of a book project—from idea to finished manuscript to pitch strategy—while developing your own standards, point of view, and authority as a coach.
This is not a casual or exploratory course. It is meant for people who are ready to take responsibility for the quality of their thinking, the quality of their clients’ work, and the quality of the business they are building.
When you operate at this level:
You work with writers who are engaged, committed, and willing to be challenged—not just supported.
You guide an intellectual, creative, and emotional process that requires clarity, structure, and real decision-making at every stage.
You help writers complete work that holds together—projects that are not just finished, but effective.
You develop a clear standard for what good work looks like—and the ability to help others reach it.
You build a business where your pricing, positioning, and decisions are grounded in real value, not guesswork.
You step into your power as a decision-maker, a strategic thinker, and an entrepreneur.
What Kind of Impact Can You Have?
We have certified more than 400 book coaches and there are five primary ways you can have an impact with your business:
You can help brilliant storytellers and deep thinkers bring their books to life.
These are some of the wins Author Accelerator Certified Book Coaches helped their writers achieve— including first novels, fourth novels, nonfiction books that launched speaking careers, and memoirs that received national acclaim:
2. You can teach in amazing learning spaces.
Author Accelerator Certified Coaches are invited to present at events and conferences all over the world and all over the internet. Here are some examples from recent events — including retreats in Italy. conferences in San Francisco, online events hosted by the Society of Children’s Writers and Illustrators, and a sailing of the QE2:
3. You can make money.
You can earn enough to replace your teaching salary, leave your corporate job, and make the kind of money book lovers aren’t “supposed” to make. Here are some earnings examples from some of our coaches:
4. You can do meaningful work that feeds your soul.
These are the kinds of the things Author Accelerator Certified Coaches say about book coaching:
5. You might touch millions of writers.
Author Accelerator Certified Book Coach Savannah Gilbo has created one of the writing world’s most popular podcasts. She developed the agency and power to become an industry thought leader and we love that!
It All Starts With World-Class Training
Our certificaiton program is thorough. It takes 12 months to complete the certification requirements in fiction, nonfiction, or memoir — and we don’t just hand out certification to anyone who signs up.
You have to prove you have the core skills of an excellent book coach, which you do by working with three practice clients at three critical stages of the book development process:
Starting a book from scratch
Evaluating a complete manuscript (fiction and memoir) or a complete book proposal (nonfiction.)
Preparing the materials and strategy needed to pitch to agents (which is a critical skill even for self-publishing writers, since it’s all about positioning the book in the marketplace.)
We hold a high standard so that your certification means something — both to you and to leaders in the industry.
Industry Praise For Our Program
What to Expect When You Enroll in Author Accelerator’s Book Coach Certification Program
You’ll identify the kinds of writers you would most enjoy serving and make a plan for how to get in front of them. Our goal is for you to build a sustainable business that is aligned with your life, your talents, and your passion.
With our direct support, you’ll learn the skills to coach writers from a glimmer of an idea to a manuscript (fiction and memoir) or a book proposal (nonfiction) that’s ready for the marketplace. You’ll know exactly how to communicate with your writers, earn their trust, and deliver the outcomes they need.
You’ll get personalized feedback on your written coaching work and your coaching calls so you always know where you stand and what you need to do.
You’ll have a community to help you brainstorm ideas, work through concerns, and celebrate your milestones, which is the key to marking your progress and keeping up the momentum.
You’ll have a dedicated team of seasoned coaches to answer all your questions and provide feedback on your work as you go.
You’ll learn how to be an effective book coach on an editorial, emotional, and entrepreneurial level. Coaching writers is a different skill than writing and we’ll teach you how it’s done.
You’ll learn how to set up the pillars of your business so ready to start taking clients right away.
You’ll celebrate your certification!* It takes a lot of work and dedication to complete our program and we encourage you to celebrate the moment!
You’ll be invited into our community of certified coaches**, where we offer guidance and support as you work towards your first-year business goals and beyond.
Want more details? Download a program roadmap.
🎯DOWNLOAD THE FICTION ROADMAP
🎯 DOWNLOAD THE NONFICTION ROADMAP
🎯 DOWNLOAD THE MEMOIR ROADMAP
* You must meet the requirements of certification. Details in the roadmap.
** There are additional fees to participate in the certified coach community. Details in the roadmap.
Hi I’m Jennie Nash
I’m the founder and CEO of Author Accelerator. We’ve certified more than 400 book coaches, who are working all over the globe to help writers do their best work.
My own book coaching clients have landed top New York agents and six-figure book deals with Big 5 houses such as Penguin, Scribner, Simon & Schuster, and Hachette. They’ve won dozens of national indie book awards, landed on the Wall Street Journal and New York Times bestseller lists, and become a Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick.
I’m also the author of twelve books in three genres, but book coaching is my true love.
Teaching and inspiring writers to raise their voice, do their best work, and make their dreams a reality just lights me up, and now I’m on a mission to set the standard of excellence in this brand-new industry.
I can’t wait to see you in our program.
Who Is a Good Fit For Certification?
📚️ Burned-out English teachers and creative writing professors who love what they do but crave more control.
📚️ Overwhelmed freelance editors, copyeditors, and ghostwriters stuck in a per-word, per-page, or per-hour universe.
📚️ Lawyers, nonprofit executives, and librarians who want to continue to do meaningful work in a less stressful environment.
📚️ PR and communications professionals who love telling stories and want to help others .
📚️ Agents and editors who want to stay in publishing but crave more agency and control in their work life.
📚️ Writers looking for a way to add an extra income stream.
Who This Program is Not For:
🚫 If you want a program that will hand you clients (who are probably not right for you and probably won’t pay enough), this program is not for you. We are teaching people how to be their own boss, attract their own clients, and run their own businesses. It’s a challenge and you need to be ready to take it on.
🚫 If you just want to pay a fee and get a stamp of certification— that is not what we are doing here. Our program is rigorous, comprehensive, and takes time, effort, and energy. We give every student the support they need to learn the work of being a book coach, but certification is not guaranteed.
🚫 If you are mean. We are a community of people dedicated to lifting up writer’s voices. We make room for all stories and treat each other with kindness and respect.
The investment in Author Accelerator’s Book Coach Certification Program is $9,000
Join the Waitlist For The Next Cohort of Author Accelerator’s Book Coach Certification Program
FAQs
Author Accelerator CEO Jennie Nash answers the 14 Most Frequently Asked Questions About Author Accelerator’s Book Coach Certification Program
No. 1: What are the expectations of book coaches in training?
Short answer: The course is designed for people who want to be entrepreneurs and take full ownership of their progress. While the program offers substantial content, support, and feedback, participants must make their own plan, show up for what they value, and ask for help when they need it. Having a self-directed, problem-solving mindset is essential both to succeeding in the program and to building a sustainable book coaching business. This mindset ripples out, since writers are also entrepreneurs who must learn to identify needs and solve challenges in their books and careers.
Longer answer on video: 3:29 minutes
No. 2: What are the requirements of certification and what happens if I don’t pass?
Short answer: We offer an in-depth certification program designed to set and uphold the gold standard in book coaching. Students work through three practicums at three different stages of the book development process. They learn how to effectively do the work, then find a real client they can coach through the process.
We have clear rubrics for the skills each practicum is measuring. Practicums are assessed by three reviewers, with a revise-and-resubmit option (if needed) and a 1:1 debrief after each practicum. Students are expected to finish all three practicums within 12 months. There is an option for up to three paid monthly extensions (if needed).
Most participants earn certification well within that timeframe; failures are rare, but they do happen. Certification is not guaranteed.
Longer answer on video: 13:15 minutes
No. 3: How much time does your program take? I’ve got a job/family responsibilities/a big trip planned and want to make sure I can do the work.
Short answer: A student who takes the full 12 months to complete the program would generally spend about 2 to 4 hours a week. If you are moing faster, you will spend more time. No matter your pace, the weeks when you are working with practicum clients may be closer to 8 to 12 hours, but you get to determine when those weeks fall. There is plenty of flexibility in the program for you to determine your own path through it.
Longer answer on video: 1:47 minutes
No. 4: How will I find practicum clients for the program?
Short answer: You will start with people you know, including friends and family, and members of any writers’ groups or professional organizations you are part of. (All those journalists, copywriters and grant writers you are connected to? All those nonprofit directors, lawyers, doctors, and therapists? So many of them want to write books!) We’ll also show you how to use social media to invite people to work with you. We’ll help you identify and connect with practicum clients — and these are the same skills you’ll build on when you launch your business.
Longer answer on video: 3:22 minutes
No. 5: How much money can I expect to make as a book coach?
Short answer:
We are fierce about teaching you how to make money. We believe that people who coach writers are offering a valuable service that is worth more than pennies per word or dollars per page. How much money you can make depends in large part on your goals.
Some people want to supplement their existing income or other responsibilities by becoming a book coach. On average, our coaches who work part-time earn about $30,000 a year.
Other people go all in on book coaching as their full-time career, building businesses that reach six figures and beyond
Longer answer on video: 4:33 minutes
No. 6: I would love to be a book coach, but can I really help writers? Can I really run my own business?
Short answer: We have coaches in our community who come from a wide variety of backgrounds. They were lawyers and literary agents, librarians and communications professionals, copywriters and ghostwriters, career counselors and psychologists, journalists and nonprofit directors, architects, and doctors. They’re now betting on themselves instead of someone else.
We have quite a few book coaches who are published writers, because it’s a fantastic compliment to a writing career, but success as a book coach does not depend on success as a writer.
Longer answer on video: 4:22 minutes
No. 7: I’m neurodivergent. Can I succeed in your training and become a book coach?
Short answer: We hope so! A lot of neurodivergent people are attracted to entrepreneurship in general and book coaching in particular because it allows such flexibility in when, where, and how you work. Our program is designed with different learning styles in mind. All our program videos have the option to turn captions on or off, and a complete, searchable transcript is also avaialable.
Longer answer on video: 1:07 minutes
No. 8: I have an MFA or a PhD in English. Will your program be redundant to my previous studies?
Short answer: No it would not be redundant.
More than 35% of our certified coaches have advanced degrees and they report that our program was incredibly value-added to their education. For one thing, our focus is on the writer as well as the writing. For another, we’re teaching people about the marketplace — what it is, how it works, and how to succeed in it. The most common reaction we get is, “This was way more robust than my MFA program.”
Longer answer on video: 1:45 minutes
No. 9: I am already running an editorial freelance/developmental editing/ghostwriting/ copyediting business. How can you help me run a more effective and efficient business?
Short answer: To be honest, most freelancers are winging it. They have not thought strategically about their business. They have not thought deeply about their pricing models and how to run a sustainable business. They have not looked at the systems and processes that could make them more efficient and effective. We’ll help you do all that and more.
Longer answer on video: 1:35 minutes
No. 10: Will the Book Coach Certification Program help me become a better writer?
Short answer: Yes! There is no better way to improve your own work than to focus on teaching others.
Longer answer on video: 1:21 minutes
No. 11: What if I can’t attend the live coaching sessions because of my time zone or work schedule?
Short answer: We will miss you but we also know that you will get the same benefit by listening to the call recordings (or reading the call transcripts.) So much learning happens from hearing other people get coached, whether you attend live or listen later. You can submit questions and we will answer.
We also offer excellent asynchronous support and easy ways to connect with your cohort.
Longer answer on video: 2:17 minutes
No. 12: I love fiction, memoir, and nonfiction. Which course should I choose?
Short answer: There is no short answer to this question, since it’s highly personal and depends on key factors such as your background and how fast you need to make money. If you are on the fence as to which genre you would like to study, go ahead and book an enrollment call. We will discuss your situation on our 1:1 call.
You can also download a roadmap for each genre, below, to see how the programs differ. Please note that the memoir program has 3 additional modules, because coaching memoir demands an understanding of both fiction and nonfiction concepts.
Longer answer on video: 6:57 minutes
No. 13: How will you support me in running my book coaching business after I’m certified?
Short answer: In the certification program itself, students receive a year of ongoing support from their start date. In addition to the coaching on practicums, they receive business coaching on our monthly Zone of Genius calls. They also get a 50-minute 1:1 strategy call to pin down their business fundamentals, including their ideal clients, package design, and pricing. The goal is for students to feel ready to launch their businesses and start taking paying clients as soon as they are certified, and in practice it often happens before that date.
Once certified, coaches opt into a membership tier that licenses them to use the program’s tools and systems. Tiers start at $15/month for a basic membership.
There is a $50/month Tier 2 where most coaches land to take advantage of the community of coaches and educational opportuntities. The community is supportive and collaborative but requires active engagement, fostering partnerships, shared projects, and collective problem-solving.
Tier 3 offers 3-month long intensive masterclasses for $500/month.
Details and pricing on the membership tiers and support options can be found in the program roadmap and HERE.
Longer answer on video: 12:08 minutes
No. 14: Can you explain what your learning spaces look like?
Short answer: Our learning is centered on three spaces: a living, searchable Google workbook (about 200 pages) that acts as the course spine with lesson-by-lesson tools, links, and resources; a Teachable course that houses the videos and imperfect auto-transcripts linked from the workbook; and a Mighty Networks community that functions as the “town square” for events, calendars, call recordings, asynchronous questions, and live coaching requests.
Coaching happens on recorded Zoom calls listed in Mighty Networks, with four calls a month: two practicum coaching calls, a monthly coaches exchange with certified coaches, and a monthly Zone of Genius call focused on business fundamentals and ideal clients. There’s abundant bonus content and reading, but students should prioritize the practicum path rather than trying to consume everything at once.
Longer answer on video: 8:34 minutes
Other Questions People Ask
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The 12-month supported program is $9,000.
Upon certification, a membership/licensing fee is due in order to retain certification. The fee is $15/month. This fee covers the benefits of certification (including access to Author Accelerator’s Knowledge Base of tools and resources, access to our Mighty Networks community platform, and more).
You may elect to opt into Tier 2 of the membership community for $50/month if you would like more support. (This fee replaces the $15/month fee; it is not in addition to it.)
Masterclasses are available to both Tier 1 and Tier 2 members for an additional fee.
For more information, review our course terms.
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Please see our Program Terms of Use HERE for information on our Program Fee (and especially the Refund Policy), Participant Conduct, and Earnings Disclaimer. Students are required to accept these Terms of Use upon entrance into the course.
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Certification is determined based on a student's practicum work. Our certification team uses a standardized rubric to evaluate each practicum.
Certification is determined on a pass/fail basis. We expect to see in a student's practicums evidence of their skill as a coach, including editorial skills, emotional skills, and project-management skilsl.
You must complete the course requirements and apply for certification within 12 months. Extension months (up to 3) are available for purchase should you need them.
As part of your program fee, you will receive one certification application review and, if necessary, one Revise & Resubmit review. If a second Revise & Resubmit is necessary to meet the requirements of certification, there is an additional $500 fee.
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The certification program is not accredited by an external institution, association, or organizing body. We do not have plans to seek accreditation from such a body, including a college, university, or other academic institution.
Book coaching is a brand new industry and Author Accelerator is pioneering how to train people in it. We do not believe the traditions of academia — teaching writing in a workshop setting, teaching the tenants of journalism, or teaching the craft of copyediting — are aligned with what book coaches need to learn to serve writers.
We believe that book coaching is best learned in an apprentice model (similar to how agents and book editors are trained: you have to do it to learn it). Our training program helps students understand how to do the work of book coaching and then gives them the chance to practice coaching writers in a set of practicums.
Our certification requires the submission of written work and recorded sessions of the student coaching the practicums, and we judge the results by a carefully constructed set of objective criteria.
As one of the first companies to train and certify book coaches, we are committed to setting the standard for excellence in the industry.
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No. We don't offer a path to certification other than the process outlined in the previous answer. This is because we need to determine each coach's certification in the same way in order to be fair and adhere to a standard. Every coach applying for certification must enroll in either the fiction or nonfiction course and complete the practicums, which are based on the specific methods and tools we teach in the courses.
A coach with extensive editorial and/or coaching experience may "accelerate" their certification only by how quickly they move through the program. The program is entirely self-paced, so someone with experience may be able to move through the course material and practicums more quickly.
You must apply for certification within twelve months of starting the program.
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Yes. If you would like to earn certification in a second or third genre, you will need to complete all the practicums in that genre and apply for each certification separately.
There is a discount for your second and third certification.
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You will be considered an Author Accelerator Certified Book Coach upon successfully completing the requirements of certification. You may enjoy additional resource, community access, and benefits as long as you keep your membership active by being in one of our membership Tiers and uphold the code of conduct of our Community.
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You can reach out to us at contact@authoraccelerator.com . We’d be happy to try to answer any questions we did not answer here.