Book coaches offer a wide range of services that are catered to your personal needs as a writer. Maybe you need help brainstorming plot problems, or you need help with your query letter. Maybe you simply need someone to hold you accountable to get the words onto the page. Whatever the need is, book coaches are there to help you get the writing done and build you writing community.

In this episode of "Writer's Digest Presents," senior editor Michael Woodson is in conversation with author and editor Adrienne Westenfeld who shares all the behind-the-scenes information on what goes on in book coaching, how a writer knows if they should hire a book coach, and more.

Isabel Klee is best known for her work in fostering and rehabilitating dogs in New York City. As "Simon Sits" on social media, Klee chronicles the experience of caring for heartbroken animals and giving them a second chance at life. Now, with her #1 New York Times bestselling memoir, "Dogs, Boys, And Other Things I've Cried About," Klee is inviting readers into her personal orbit with stories of heartbreak and betrayal, of personal loss and times of growth, and the dogs that were there through it all.

In February, "Writer's Digest Presents" managing editor Moriah Richard and senior editor Michael Woodson discussed performing reading audits and what they can do for your reading life. In this episode of "Writer's Digest Presents", editor-in-chief Amy Jones is talking about the importance of reading like a writer to benefit your writing life. But what does that mean—to read like a writer? For Amy and Michael, it means doing a deep dive into reading the kinds of books they'd like to be writing, what they can learn from them, how to incorporate a writing process that encourages failure, why writers should completely reject AI, and more.

Amazon's rise in dominion over the publishing industry is largely connected to the idea that convenience outweighs community—and independent bookstores across the country were shuttering in their wake. With the prevalence and rise of online shopping, there seemed to be no way to fight Amazon's power.

But publisher and writer Andy Hunter had a different take. What if you could fight the rise of Amazon while also helping support indie bookstores? That thought led to Bookshop.org, an online retailer that directly supports indie bookstores across the country.

In this episode of "Writer's Digest Presents," editor Michael Woodson sits down with Bookshop.org's CEO to discuss the importance of indie bookstores in culture, how COVID-19 changed the game for Bookshop, and more.

If you were to do a reading audit of the last year or two of reading, what would it look like? Do you spread your reading across various genres, or do you stick to just one or two? Conducting a reading audit can help notify which genres are missing from your TBR and which genres are surprise favorites for you—all of which helps with your writing.

In this episode of the Writer's Digest Presents podcast, managing editor Moriah Richard is in conversation with editor Michael Woodson about what conducting a reading audit did for her—how it revealed to her a new favorite sub-genre, how it has helped her writing, and more.

We spend so much of our writing time perfecting the beginnings of our stories that we might be neglecting the endings—and literary agents can tell. While it's vital to have a strong start to your manuscript to get an agent's attention, if you aren't able to carry that momentum through to the end, it can be the difference between getting representation and being told, "Thank you, but no."

In this episode of Writer's Digest Presents, editor Michael Woodson chats with literary agent Allegra Martschenko about how we can perfect our endings to help us land that book deal.

SEASON FINALE. With the new year right around the corner, it might be time to start thinking about your creativity in 2026. For writers, writing retreats offer uninterrupted time to focus on your craft, build your writerly community, and receive feedback from publishing experts. In the season finale of "Writer's Digest Presents," editor-in-chief Amy Jones and literary agent Jessica Berg talk about why writers should consider writing retreats, what you can expect from the Writer's Digest Writing Retreat in Tuscany this spring, and more. The Writer's Digest Writing Retreat in Tuscany is from April 7 – April 14, 2026. Escape to the peaceful Tuscan countryside to spend a week dedicated to making time for writing, improving your craft, and learning from publishing professionals, all while enjoying a taste of Italy! Learn more and register here: https://writersdigestshop.com/pages/tour/writingretreat-2026apr-italy

Say you want to learn more about woodworking, but you're not quite ready to follow a how-to video on YouTube and just want to learn as much as you can about the craft. So, you turn to your local bookstore for the best how-to book on woodworking. Publishing has long been the answer to the "how" question of our hobbies, but writing about what you do for a living is a very different task than doing what you do for a living.

In this episode of "Writer's Digest Presents," Michael Woodson chats with interior designer and author Alexandra Gater about the process of writing her how-to book, Own Your Space, where she offers advice for other professionals looking to write their own books, the importance of the outline in nonfiction writing, her literary agent experience, and more.

If blood and violence aren't your thing, but you love a palpable atmosphere and aren't afraid of a few ghosts, gothic fiction is right for you. The gothic and southern gothic horror sub-genres exemplify the notion that no matter what kind of reader you are, you can always find a great book in any genre. In this episode of "Writer's Digest Presents," we're chatting with author Carson Faust about writing southern gothic fiction, his debut novel If The Dead Belong Here, how to perfect styles of writing you admire as a reader, and more. Buy the book here: https://bookshop.org/a/14625/9780593830895

Fall is upon us and a new school year has begun. Kids are lining hallways and rushing to class, clutching their school work, and new books to read. Between independent reading and required reading, keeping young readers engaged with reading helps build lifelong readers from the start.

In this episode of "Writer's Digest Presents," middle-grade author Alyssa Colman sits down to discuss how to keep young readers engaged, how writing what she wanted to know more about kept her engaged, and her new historical fiction, Where Only Storms Grow, now available.

The conversation around publishing journeys is often binary: You either try traditionally publishing or choose self-publishing. But the reality for many authors is a combination of both. Author Chips Pons self-published his debut novel, You & I, Rewritten, in 2022. Now, he returns to bookshelves with her second novel, and first traditionally published, Winging It with You.

In this episode of "Writer's Digest Presents," we chat with Chip about all things romance, from writing the will-they-won't-they scenes to infusing genuine miscommunication that everyone can relate to.