Intuitive Writing FAQs

BOOK WRITING & PUBLISHING FAQs

Let’s start with the big ones. BOOKS.

I want to write a book. Where do I start?

My book-writing experience includes memoir, nonfiction, and self-development. I’m finalizing my fourth book now. All have been self-published.

There’s no wrong way to start writing your book. You really can dive right in — I did! And I encourage you to do just that.

As your book-writing coach & mentor, I can support you throughout the entire process, staying on track and guiding you on what to write, when, and how.

You can also join us in the Intuitive Writing Studio, where you’ll get resources, templates, workshops, and accountability (we write together for 3+ hours each week).

You might also like these blogs that focus on getting started with writing your first book:

• Thinking About Writing a Book This Year? 6 Questions You Might Have

• How to Write Your Nonfiction Book in 2026 (even if you’re busy)

• Never Write Angry; 10 Practices for Feel-Good Book Writing

• The NaNoWriMo Alternative: How To Create a Writing Habit Without Burning Out

• “I’m Writing a Book” – What To Do Before Declaring Your Intention

• 11 Surprising Lessons I’ve Learned From Writing a Memoir

• An Unfussy Book Launch for an Unfussy Book

• Keep Going on Your Big Project

• Behind the Scenes: How My Self-Development Book Turned Into Memoir

• Bad Book Review? How to Alchemize That Online Critic into Gold

Will you write my book for me?

This is called “ghostwriting.” A ghostwriter writes your book for you through a series of recorded interviews. I do this on a very limited basis for select people. If your project isn’t a fit for my writing skills, I can introduce you to a handful of ghostwriters I trust.
Expect an investment of $30,000 to $100,000+, depending on genre, profile, and word count/book length, for a mid-range to expert-level ghostwriter.

I've written a book. What do I do now?

WOOHOO! Congratulations! This is seriously a big deal. I’m totally not just saying that to be nice. More than 99% of people will talk about their book but never write it.

Alright, the big work is mostly done. So, what do you do now?

The next step is hiring an editor. Publishing a book without an editor isn’t even an option for me. While you can certainly publish many blogs and websites without a professional’s help, make the investment in yourself with an editor. They’re gold! I’m a professional writer and I hire three editors for every book:

1. Developmental Editing. This covers the big picture, flow, voice, tone, and answers the question, “Does this book even make sense?” This is my specialty and is included with book coaching services. This includes some copy edits and many sentence-level rewrites, tweaks, and rearrangements.

2. Copyediting. Copyediting your book covers all the grammar and punctuation. You’ll do this after developmental edits. If you don’t need a developmental editor, you can jump right to this phase.

3. Proofreading. The very last step is after you’ve covered the big picture and sentence-level structure and punctuation. This is a final round to make sure everything is fabulous and there are no errors. Ideally, your proofreader is someone different than your copyeditor and developmental editor.

Depending on your genre, I can direct you to other editing professionals I trust. A professional editor ensures your book reads like it’s professionally published. Many times, even better.

AND… this is a big one. Even professionally edited books by the world's biggest publishing houses sometimes contain errors. It happens. We’re human. Even if you use AI to support editing and proofreading, nothing is 100% fool-proof.

Once your book has been edited, you'll be ready to think about design.

Book Cover & Interior Design

People judge books by their covers. EBooks included. Professional cover design and interior layout make sure your book not only reads like a professional book but also feels like one. I don’t offer these services at this time, but I work with a very small number of professionals I trust. The same experts I trust with my own books. I’m happy to make introductions.

Should I self-publish my book or find a publisher?

This is a big question. It’s time to publish your book! Let’s go! Now, you get to sift through an often overwhelming amount of options and opinions. 

There are three primary ways to publish your book:

1. Traditional

2. Independent

3. Self

There are pros and cons to every approach. I recommend learning about each and choosing what feels right to you.

For my books, Unfussy Life and Intuitive Writing, I went straight to self-publishing.

Reasons why I chose to self-publish my books:

1. Speed to publishing. Self-publishing is 100% in my control. I’ve worked with authors who publish with publishers, and their books can take up to TWO YEARS to see the light of day. I don’t know about you, but that’s a long time to wait. Also, I’d probably want to change 100 things after waiting that long. I also preferred to get my book out there without even worrying about finding a publisher. I know authors who self-publish initially, then a publisher later picks them up and they republish with that publisher. That’s not my goal with my books — and with my clients. My clients have stories and work that MUST live outside their minds, so they choose to self-publish.

2. Creative control. I get the final say in every aspect of my book, from the cover to the marketing to where the page numbers appear on the page. I own all the materials, can easily publish a new edition, make tiny changes if I later discover an error, turn my book into a course, and more. Really, creativity is limitless, so I prefer to do it all.

3. Marketing. Even if you work with a traditional publisher, they’ll likely want you to have a massive following (think: 100,000 followers between an email list and social media). Self-publishing means the marketing is my responsibility. And it means that marketing is my responsibility. If you have no desire to market your book yourself, there are many gentle strategies, AND you can hire someone else to do this for you. I chose to do it myself and provide my clients with strategies and plans for marketing their books on their terms.

4. (Sometimes) Money. I say "sometimes" because, as an author-preneur, actual book sales account for a tiny portion of my business’s revenue (today, anyway). With self-publishing, you keep every dollar you make. With a traditional publisher, even if you get an advance, it may take YEARS to pay that back in book sales. Author-preneurs write books to position themselves as authorities in their industry, charge premium pricing, and even to launch new parts of their business, like speaking. Writing a book delivers massive credibility.

5. It’s easier than ever to self-publish. Amazon wants to sell your book. They make it extremely easy. I figured it out on my own. Today, I have another professional handle this for me. I use a combination of Amazon and Ingram Spark to publish my books. Ingram Spark is the industry standard publisher. When you publish your book there, it will be available for online and brick-and-mortar bookstores, as well as libraries, to carry.

🦉 I created a publishing company before publishing my last book — Sovereign Owl Publishing.

I also offer this option to my clients. When they work with me on their books, they can use my publishing label and keep 100% of book profits, while owning all rights to their work (this setup is closest to hybrid publishing).

You might choose to publish with Sovereign Owl Publishing (my company) or create your own publishing company name (don’t worry, this doesn’t automatically mean you need to create a new business).

Articles from other experts on book publishing:

• 8 Pros and Cons of Traditional Publishing

• Hybrid Publishing: Everything You’ve Always Wanted to Know

• Read Jane Freidman’s archive on self-publishing

How much does it cost to self-publish a book?

It depends. If you choose to do all the work on your own, nothing. Just your time and the cost to order physical book samples before publishing. Here are some rough estimates for working with a true professional (not some rando from Fivrr 🫣).

• Professional developmental edits: $2,000-5,000, depending on length and the level of work

• Copyediting: $300-1000

• Proofreading: $200-500

• Cover & Interior design: $700-2000+

• Uploading to Amazon: Free