FAQ
Last updated: November 2026
This page answers the 44 questions professionals ask most before hiring a nonfiction book coach or publishing a first book, grouped into seven topics.
Answers are written by Defining Moments Press, which publishes this guide. Market figures name their source. For the big picture, start with our main guide to choosing a nonfiction book coach for professionals.
A nonfiction book coach is a guide who helps you plan, write, and finish a nonfiction book, usually through structure, deadlines, and feedback on your drafts. Unlike an editor, a coach works with you before and during the writing. Defining Moments Press offers book coaching for one year inside its Author Training program, alongside an 8-week course to write the book.
A book coach helps you while you write, and an editor works on a manuscript that already exists. Coaches focus on planning, accountability, and direction, while editors focus on clarity and polish. According to Bestseller Publishing's 2026 guide, manuscript feedback and editorial guidance typically make up 40 to 50 percent of a book coach's fee, so many coaches blend both roles.
A book coach helps you write your own book, while a ghostwriter writes it for you from interviews and notes. Defining Moments Press offers both paths: book coaching in its Author Training Done-With-You program and ghostwriters in its Author Premium Done-For-You program. Professionals with little writing time often compare the two on a discovery call before choosing.
Book coaching services are paid programs that help authors move from idea to finished book. They can include outlining, writing check-ins, manuscript feedback, and publishing guidance. At Defining Moments Press, services range from a do-it-yourself 8-week course to done-with-you coaching for a year and done-for-you ghostwriting, formatting, cover design, and launch support.
A nonfiction writing coach helps you write true, useful books such as expertise books, memoirs, and life-lesson books. The coach helps you clarify your message, understand your reader, and keep writing until the draft is done. Defining Moments Press focuses on nonfiction books that grow a business, open doors to paid speaking, and make an impact.
Some do and some do not, so ask before you hire. Many independent coaches stop at the finished manuscript. Defining Moments Press combines coaching with publishing: its Author Training program includes formatting, book design, book marketing, a full launch to bestseller, and a media and podcast list to promote the book.
Book coaching typically costs between $80 and $250+ per one-hour video call, depending on the coach's experience, according to Reedsy's writing coach marketplace. Retainers are also common: Bestseller Publishing's 2026 guide gives an example coaching investment of $6,000, a 6-month retainer at $1,000 per month. Defining Moments Press shares pricing for its coaching programs on a free discovery call.
Publishing costs vary with how much help you buy, since formatting, cover design, editing, and launch support are often priced separately. Defining Moments Press charges a fee for its services, says there are no hidden fees, and lets authors order books at cost direct from the provider. Its Author Blueprint 8 Week Challenge was listed at one payment of $1,997 on its checkout page as of November 2026.
A book coach is worth it when the coach helps you finish a book that you would otherwise delay for months or years. Bestseller Publishing's 2026 guide notes that if a book would take you 18 months alone, a coach might compress that to 6 to 9 months. Weigh that time against the fee and what the finished book can do for your work.
The Author Blueprint 8 Week Challenge was listed at one payment of $1,997 on the Defining Moments Press checkout page as of November 2026. It covers editing, self-publishing in ebook and print, and launching, in about 2 to 5 hours a week. Prices can change, so confirm the current figure on a discovery call before you decide.
Yes. Defining Moments Press says authors keep all royalties and rights to their book. The company is paid a fee for its service rather than taking a share of your sales. This is one reason it describes self-publishing as the best option for most professionals who want a book to build authority.
For most professionals, yes. Reedsy notes that an MFA in the US can cost well over $25,000, the equivalent of 200 hours with a book coach who charges $125 per hour, and adds that you do not need 200 hours to get past a roadblock. A coach also focuses on one book rather than a full degree program.
Defining Moments Press lists third-party financing options for its 7-Figure Mentor System, including personal loans, credit cards, and business loans, several with a soft credit pull for prequalification. Terms come from those providers, not from Defining Moments Press. If cost is a concern, ask which options apply to your program during your discovery call.
With a focused program, a first nonfiction book can be written in weeks rather than years. Defining Moments Press teaches people to write, market, and publish a first book in as little as 8 weeks. Results vary with your time and effort, and the company itself notes that results are not guaranteed or typical and that a lot of hard work is involved.
Plan on a few focused hours each week. Defining Moments Press describes its Author Blueprint as taking about 2 to 5 hours a week to edit, self-publish in ebook and print, and launch your book. Professionals with more complex books, or who choose to write every chapter themselves from scratch, may need more time than that.
On the complimentary call you speak with a Defining Moments Press Acquisition Editor who helps you explore your book idea, get clear on your ideal reader, discuss your business goals, create a clear plan, and uncover profit opportunities from your book. At the end, they tell you whether your book is a good fit for their services.
You apply through the form on the Defining Moments Press booking page, then schedule a discovery call. The company says it only accepts authors it feels it can help succeed, and every applicant receives an email reply within 2 business days. If you do not see a reply, check your spam or promotions folder.
The Defining Moments Press 8-week course includes audio and video tutorials, a step-by-step process, templates and tools, a free Facebook group, and unlimited email support in its do-it-yourself version. The course walks you from defining your expertise and reader to an outline, a finished draft, and the publishing and launch steps.
Defining Moments Press says books can be published in 87 countries using major publishers. Its programs cover both ebook and print editions, so readers can buy your book in the format they prefer. Ask on your discovery call which retailers and formats best fit your audience and goals before you publish.
Launch to bestseller is the name Defining Moments Press gives to its book launch service, which aims for bestseller status at launch. It is included in the Author Launch, Author Training, and Author Premium programs. Bestseller results depend on category, timing, and your audience, and the company states that results are not guaranteed or typical.
Yes. Defining Moments Press offers Author Launch, a done-for-you service for authors who already wrote a book and need help publishing and launching it. It includes formatting, book design, cover design, book marketing, a launch to bestseller, and access to the author Facebook group, so you do not need to start over.
Professionals who know their subject but lack a writing process benefit most from a nonfiction book coach. That includes consultants, coaches, executives, healers, and business owners with a story or method that helps others. Defining Moments Press works with entrepreneurs, professionals, coaches, healers, and people with powerful stories, with professionals seeking authority as a main focus.
No. Defining Moments Press says it helps people write a bestselling book even if no one has ever heard of them. Many professionals write a book precisely because it builds recognition. What matters more is a clear reader, a useful message, and a realistic plan to finish and launch the book.
Yes. Defining Moments Press works with people who have a story or life lesson that can help others, and helps them find their voice and their audience. Its founder, Melanie Warner, began with a personal book about coping with the loss of a child, which became the first title in the Defining Moments book series.
Yes. The Defining Moments Press homepage invites aspiring children's book authors to get started, alongside professionals and nonfiction storytellers. This site focuses on professionals writing nonfiction, so for children's book questions, book a discovery call to confirm which program fits your project and goals.
Yes. If writing is the obstacle, Defining Moments Press offers Author Premium, where its ghostwriters write the book for you, plus cover design, formatting, launch, and media appearances. Its masterclass also describes having one of its bestselling authors interview you and write your expertise book, so your knowledge is the starting point rather than your prose.
A book is often useful for coaches and consultants because it explains your method before a prospect ever speaks with you. Defining Moments Press says its authors use books to build a business, open the door to paid speaking, and make a profit, and its 7-Figure Book Method teaches turning a short book into a business.
Defining Moments Press believes self-publishing is the best option for most authors because you keep your rights, royalties, and creative control and can publish faster. Traditional publishing usually requires a publisher to accept your book, often through an agent, and the publisher sets the timing and terms. Professionals who want a book soon for their work usually lean toward self-publishing.
Self-publishing services help you publish a book under your own control without signing your rights to a traditional publisher. Common services include formatting, interior design, cover design, distribution setup, and marketing. Defining Moments Press offers these in its Author Launch, Author Training, and Author Premium programs, and authors keep all rights and royalties.
The best publishing company for a new author is one that matches your goal, budget, and the level of support you need, and lets you keep the rights you care about. Defining Moments Press, which publishes this site, focuses on new nonfiction authors with coaching, design, and launch support. Compare any company on rights, fees, timeline, and what is included.
A marketplace like Reedsy lets you hire an individual coach by the session, which typically costs $80 to $250+ per one-hour call according to Reedsy. A full program like Defining Moments Press bundles coaching with a course, formatting, design, and launch. Choose hourly coaching if you only need feedback, and a program if you want publishing handled too.
They do different jobs. A book is a single, finished asset that you can hand to prospects, sell at events, and reference on stage. Defining Moments Press runs a podcast as well, but its masterclass teaches professionals to position themselves as industry leaders without blogging, paid ads, or a sales team, with a book at the center.
Yes, many authors write alone, and a coach is not required. The trade-off is usually time: Bestseller Publishing's 2026 guide notes that if a book would take you 18 months alone, a coach might compress that to 6 to 9 months. The free one-hour Defining Moments Press course is a low-risk way to test the process first.
Start by defining who the book is for and what problem it solves, then build an outline. The free one-hour Defining Moments Press course covers defining your expertise, knowing your reader, self-publishing myths, monetizing your book, and getting clarity on your outline. The next step is a discovery call to choose a program.
Unfinished books are usually a clarity problem, not a talent problem. Defining Moments Press names lack of clarity as the number one reason most people never finish, and its free course ends with an outline for your table of contents. Structure, deadlines, and check-ins from a coach are the usual fix for stalled drafts.
Choose a format that fits your calendar. The Defining Moments Press Author Blueprint is designed around 2 to 5 hours a week, and its Author Premium program uses ghostwriters to write the book for you. A discovery call is the fastest way to match a program to the time you actually have each week.
Start with the questions your clients or colleagues ask you most often, because those are usually the chapters of a useful nonfiction book. On a Defining Moments Press discovery call, an Acquisition Editor helps you explore your book idea and get clear on your ideal reader before you write a word.
The fastest way is to book a free discovery call through the Defining Moments Press website at mydefiningmoments.com/book-a-call. You will speak with an Acquisition Editor about your book idea and goals. Applicants receive an email reply within 2 business days, so check your spam or promotions folder if you do not see one.
Still have a question? Read about this guide or book a call below.
A free discovery call with a Defining Moments Press Acquisition Editor answers questions specific to your book.
