Jacqueline Fisch wearing a black dress smiling next to a window.

Intuitive Writing FAQs

You’ve got questions about intuitive writing. I’ve got some thoughtful answers for you.

I was once in your (vegan) Birkenstocks. Thirteen years in corporate and crisis communications. Ten-plus years building this school. Four books, self-published. Hundreds of students and clients later, I've heard most of the questions you're about to ask me.

So let's get into it.

Don't see your question here? Get in touch.

The Intuitive Writing School is where you’ll find group and solo learning experiences, for private one-on-one support and mentoring, visit jacquelinefisch.com →

BOOK WRITING & COACHING

Let's start here. This is where most people land first.

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

Right where you are. I’m not being cheeky when I say that either.

There's no one way to write a book — no perfect outline, no ideal amount of "ready." You start messy, and you keep going. I've written four books this way. With a light, always intuitive, and flexible structure, your book writing goals are 100% achievable.

What actually helps isn't more planning. It's structure and a mentor — someone who reads what you write, tells you the truth about it, and keeps you moving when fear or perfectionism shows up.

If you're early — still circling the idea — start in The Studio, where you'll get monthly prompts, live sessions, and a community of authors and entrepreneurs doing this alongside you.

If you're ready to build the whole thing with support, then The Living Book is for you.

Will you write my book for me?

No. I'm not a ghostwriter, and I don't offer that service.

What I do is help you write your book — in your voice, from your lived experience and thinking. If you need a ghostwriter, I can point you to a few people I trust. But most of my clients don't actually want someone else's version of their book. They want help finishing their own. Expect to invest $30,000 to $100,000+, depending on genre, profile, and word count/book length, for a mid-range to expert-level ghostwriter.

I've got a draft. What do I do with it now?

First — congratulations. Actually finishing a draft puts you ahead of almost everyone who says they're writing a book.

Now: get eyes on it. Not your sister's, not your partner — a professional read that tells you the truth.

That's exactly what Manuscript Read & Evaluation is for. You'll know within a week what's working, what's not, and what to do next — instead of guessing or rewriting the wrong things for another six months.

Should I self-publish 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:

Traditional
Independent
Self

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

For my books, I went straight to self-publishing.

Reasons why I chose to self-publish my books:

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.
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.
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.
(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.
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.

What does it actually cost to self-publish a book?

Depends how much you outsource. If you do the legwork yourself, you're mostly paying in time. These numbers reflect a self-published book that LOOKS, FEELS, and READS like a professionally published book.

Rough numbers for hiring professionals — not the cheapest bid you find:

Developmental editing: $2,000–5,000
Copyediting: $300–1,000
Proofreading: $200–500
Cover & interior design: $700–2,000+
Uploading to Amazon/IngramSpark: free (if you DIY)

Book coaching through The Living Book includes developmental guidance as part of the container — so that piece is already covered.

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

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 bulk of the work is 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:

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.
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.
Proofreading. The very last step is after you’ve covered the big picture, sentence-level structure, and punctuation. This is a final round to make sure everything is fabulous and error-free. 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 as if it were 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% foolproof.

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

THE INTUITIVE WRITING STUDIO

The community for writers who want rhythm, not another deadline or mean critique group.

What is The Studio, and who's it for?

It's the space I built for founders, coaches, and consultants who write to grow their business — and for those working on a memoir or business book — or a combo of both. Members are writing blog posts, Substack posts, LinkedIn posts, newsletters, books — whatever you're writing, you write it here, with people who get it.

We move through a 12-month curriculum built around the astrological seasons — Virgo through Leo — so the writing prompts and focus flow with the year instead of staying static. If that sounds woo, stick with me for a second in the section below.

What's the difference between Studio and PRO?

Studio ($129/month or $1,290/year) gets you the full monthly curriculum, live writing sessions, monthly coaching calls, daily prompts, and the community.

PRO ($229/month) adds a deeper layer of support — more direct access to me, more feedback on your actual writing, not just the container. If you're actively building toward a launch, a book, or consistent visibility, PRO is built for that pace.

Most people start in The Studio and move to private support when they're ready for more hands-on eyes.

Do I need writing experience to join?

No. You need something you want to say and a willingness to say it badly first.

Some of the Studio members haven't written since college. Some write daily and just want rhythm and accountability. Both belong here. Most wouldn’t call themselves a “writer” – they’re coaches, consultants, creatives, and some are now author-entrepreneurs.

What actually happens each month?

Every month follows the current astrological season — new prompts, a live session, and a theme that shapes what we're writing toward. Some months are about voice. Some are about visibility. Some are about the harder stuff — the writing you keep avoiding.

It's structure without rigidity. You show up, you write, we work with the energy and your own rhythm, not against it, and definitely not with anyone’s rigid rules.

1:1 COACHING & MENTORSHIP‍ ‍

Do you still write copy for clients?

‍No — and this is worth saying plainly, since some of my older content still implies otherwise.

‍I spent almost a decade writing copy and content for clients, and I'm grateful for that chapter. But I've moved fully out of done-for-you copywriting. What I do now is coach and mentor — I help you write. ‍

If you're a founder or executive who needs high-level communications support — messaging strategy, crisis comms, executive mentoring for LinkedIn and speeches — that's a different offer, my Fractional CCO work, and you'll find it at jacquelinefisch.com. ‍

What's the difference between working with you here vs. at jacquelinefisch.com? ‍

Here, at The Intuitive Writing School, the focus is you becoming the writer — your book, your voice, your rhythm. This is coaching and mentorship. ‍

At jacquelinefisch.com, I work as a Fractional Chief Communications Officer for founders and leadership teams — messaging strategy, executive visibility, crisis communications. That's more embedded, more strategic, less about teaching you to write and more about handling communications with you. ‍

Some people work with me in both places. Most people need one or the other. If you're not sure which, just ask — I'll tell you honestly.

HOW I WORK

Why astrology and Human Design in a writing school?

Because forcing your writing when you're depleted doesn't work — I tried it for years and it sent me straight into burnout. Working with your natural rhythm is what works.

I use astrology, lunar cycles, and Human Design as tools, not dogma or gospel, but a way of understanding when you're built to create, when you're built to rest, and why "just write every day" fails so many smart, capable, sensitive people. It's practical. It's also unapologetically part of how I see the world.

The best approach to building a beautiful body of work and achieving business success is 20% practical stuff and 80% energy. We need BOTH.

What if I'm not into astrology?

You don't have to be. The tools are there if they help you — nothing here requires you to believe in them to benefit from the actual writing support.

But I'll be honest with you upfront: this isn't a strip-the-spirituality-out writing school. My faith in Jesus, my intuition, and my belief that your writing carries something worth protecting — that's baked into how I coach. If that's not a fit, I'd rather you know now than feel misled later.

Do you use AI in your coaching?

I use it as a tool, never as a replacement for voice. I can usually tell within a paragraph when writing has been AI-smoothed into sounding like everyone else — and that's exactly what I help clients avoid.

Your writing should sound like you thought it, not like it was generated. That's non-negotiable here. If you use it, there’s no judgment. I will show you exactly how to use it in a way that supports your creativity without selling your soul.