Stuck on one thing? Book an hour and fix it.
You bring the problem, and we fix it. No discovery call, no intake, no ongoing commitment.
Direct feedback from someone who has published 113+ books and ghostwritten 54+, across fiction and nonfiction.
How does writing coaching work?
You book one, two, or four hours and pay in advance. We use that time on whatever writing problem you bring: structure that isn’t working, a chapter that stalls, dialogue that reads flat, a story that lost momentum, an opening that buries the hook. You tell me the problem. We fix it. No discovery call, no intake process. If you need more time, we book it before you hang up.
How is writing coaching priced?
$200 an hour, prepaid when you book. No blocks to commit to, no minimum beyond a single hour.
Paid in advance when you book. Select your hours on the booking page and schedule your session.
What does an hour of writing coaching look like?
Three sessions of the kind writers book most. They’re composites, not individual clients, because what happens in a session stays in the session.
The sentence that tells instead of shows
A novelist sends a scene with one line circled: “Dave could see that Jim was hurt.” Her critique group told her to show, not tell, and she’s rewritten it six times without knowing what they meant. We don’t talk theory. I ask what Dave saw. Jim stopped mid-sentence. He put his coffee down too carefully. He laughed a second late at a joke that wasn’t funny. Twenty minutes later the line is gone and the scene is three sentences of Jim doing things, and she can do the same to the rest of the chapter without me.
The opening that won’t start
A first-time author’s chapter one opens with his main character waking up, making coffee and thinking about his divorce. The story starts on page nine, when the phone rings. We cut the first eight pages, start on the call, and move the divorce into two lines of dialogue in chapter three. He loses four thousand words and gains a reader who turns the page.
The third restart
A consultant has started her business book three times and abandoned it at chapter four every time. She thinks it’s discipline. It isn’t. Her outline lists topics, not arguments, so by chapter four she’s run out of things to say. We spend the hour turning each topic into a claim a reader could disagree with. She leaves with twelve chapters that each have a point, and chapter four finally has somewhere to go.
What do writers bring to coaching sessions?
Whatever is stuck. Here are the problems that come up most.
Structure problems
The manuscript has chapters but no momentum. Scenes exist in the wrong order. The middle sags. The ending doesn’t land. We restructure what you have into something that works.
Character issues
Characters feel flat or inconsistent. Motivations are unclear. The protagonist is reactive instead of driven. We work through the wound, the adaptation, the pattern, until your characters want something and act on it.
Dialogue
Characters all sound the same. Conversations deliver information but lack tension. Tags are clunky. We fix the speech patterns, subtext, and rhythm that make dialogue sound like real people talking.
Point of view
Head-hopping. A narrator who drifts in and out. The wrong POV character for the scene. We sort out which perspective serves the story and how to stay in it cleanly.
Pacing and tension
The story drags in places. Action scenes feel rushed. Quiet moments feel empty. We find where the rhythm breaks and how to control the reader’s experience of time.
Getting unstuck
You’ve hit a wall and you don’t know what happens next. We work out whether it’s a plot problem, a character problem, or a motivation problem, and get you moving again.
Writing coaching or book coaching?
Writing coaching (this page)
Targeted sessions on specific craft problems. Book hours, show up with a problem, solve it. $200 an hour, no ongoing commitment. It’s right for you when you have a draft with specific problems.
Book coaching
Guided support through an entire book, concept to completed manuscript. Sold in ten-hour blocks. It’s right for you when you’re starting a book, or stuck in the middle of one, and want someone beside you for the whole project.
What clients say
Your coach
Richard Lowe has published 113+ books under his own name and ghostwritten 54+ for executives, entrepreneurs and public figures. His own shelf includes dozens of novels and a series of craft handbooks on character, dialogue, world building, point of view, pacing and revision. He wrote those handbooks because he had to solve every one of these problems on his own pages first.
He spent 20 years as Director of Computer Operations and Technical Services at Trader Joe’s. Twenty years of fixing systems at two in the morning shaped how he coaches. He finds the fault, fixes it, and doesn’t waste your hour talking around it.
More: Full Professional Background · Testimonials · Code of Ethics
About Richard Lowe
Richard Lowe is a professional ghostwriter and bestselling author. He has authored 113+ books and ghostwritten 54+ more for executives, founders, coaches, and public figures. His clients have used their books to raise over $30 million in venture capital, land a TEDx invitation, and secure deals with traditional publishers. His own book How to Manage a Consulting Project was used as required reading in a course at Purdue University's Krannert School of Management.
His current lead book, The Ghostwriting Advantage, is the comprehensive guide to hiring a ghostwriter. He also authored the bestselling Focus on LinkedIn and the publishing-journey trilogy: Make a Living as a Self-Published Author, Publish Your Book, and Sell Your Books. He served as Technical Editor and Contributing Author on Cyberheist, the cybersecurity book by KnowBe4 founder Stu Sjouwerman. His ongoing series include Enemies of You (nonfiction cultural commentary) and the Victorian fiction series, contemporary reimaginings of classic Victorian science fiction by Jules Verne and H.G. Wells.
Before becoming a full-time ghostwriter, Richard spent 33 years in enterprise technology, including 20 years as Director of Computer Operations at Trader Joe's, where he managed infrastructure across 400+ stores. He hosts three interview podcasts: Leaders and Their Stories, Author Talks, and Conversations With Influencers, and has appeared as a guest on 100+ podcasts including The Chris Voss Show.
Want to explore all my ghostwriting insights? Visit the Ultimate Ghostwriting hub.
Based in Clearwater, Florida, serving Tampa, St. Petersburg, Palm Harbor, Largo, Safety Harbor, Pinellas and Polk counties, all of Florida, and authors everywhere remotely.
Is writing coaching worth it?
The doubts people have before they book.
The practical questions
Cost, format, and what it covers.
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Pick your hours, prepay, and bring your problem. We’ll spend the whole session fixing exactly what’s stuck. No discovery call, no intake.