Ugh. The cursor blinks again. Mocking me. I’ve been sitting here for 45 minutes and written exactly seven words. Then deleted them. Twice.
Sound familiar? I’ve been there too. And so have countless would-be authors who come to my office, frustrated and ready to throw in the towel.
“Maybe I should just hire a professional writer and be done with it,” they tell me, shoulders slumped.
Sometimes that’s exactly what they need. Other times, not so much.
Need professional writing help? Contact us.
What’s Blocking Your Book?
Last Tuesday, a surgeon called me. Brilliant guy. Revolutionary approach to patient care. Absolutely terrible writer.
“Every time I try to write, it sounds like a medical journal,” he confessed. “Nobody but other doctors would read it.”
That’s different from my client Stephanie, who writes beautiful emails but freezes up completely when trying to organise chapters. Or Robert, who has the ideas but claims his grammar is “stuck in 5th grade.”
Your roadblock determines whether you should hire a professional writer or just need some targeted help.
How Much Writing Help Do You Actually Need?
Picture this. You’ve written blog posts or articles before. People compliment your writing style. But stretching those skills to fill 200+ pages? That’s a whole different beast.
I worked with a marketing executive last year who’d written tons of copy. Short, punchy stuff that sold products. But her book kept stalling around chapter three.
She didn’t need to hire a writer for the whole project. She needed a developmental editor to help structure her ideas and provide accountability.
Sometimes it’s not about writing skill at all. It’s about understanding how books work.
What Makes Readers Pick Up Your Book?
My bookshelf is groaning. Yours probably is, too. Why would someone choose YOUR book over the seventeen others on the same topic?
That’s your hook. And finding it is trickier than most people realise.
Take Mike, a leadership consultant with 30 years of experience. When we first met, his book concept was “how to be a better leader.” Yawn. After three coffee-fueled brainstorming sessions, we discovered his real expertise was helping introverts lead effectively in extrovert-dominated industries.
THAT got publishers interested.
When you hire a professional writer who understands book marketing, you’re not just paying for pretty sentences. You’re paying for someone who can position your knowledge in a crowded marketplace.
Should You Write a Memoir or an Autobiography?
People get these confused all the time.
I had lunch with a retired teacher last month. She wanted to hire a professional writer to document her life story, from childhood through retirement.
“Who’s your audience?” I asked.
She blinked. “My family, I guess?”
That’s an autobiography. Limited audience, limited appeal.
A memoir, on the other hand, extracts universal themes from your personal experience. It’s not about documenting everything that happened. It’s about exploring what specific experiences MEANT and what readers can learn from them.
The teacher’s story about overcoming classroom burnout through innovative teaching methods? THAT could help thousands of educators. That’s a memoir worth publishing.
How in the world do you structure a book?
Books aren’t just longer articles. They take readers on a journey, building ideas upon ideas.
Sarah came to me with 47 scattered documents full of business wisdom. Great content, chaos. She needed someone to find the throughline to turn fragments into chapters and chapters into coherent messages.
When you hire someone who is a professional writer, you’re getting someone who can see the forest AND the trees. We know where to put the personal anecdote that hooks emotions, when to introduce the research that builds credibility, and how to create transitions that keep pages turning.
A client once told me, “I didn’t realise books had architecture.” They absolutely do. And that structure makes the difference between a book people finish and one they abandon.
Can’t I just dictate my book?
Sure! Many busy folks think they’ll just talk their book out loud and presto! Instant manuscript.
I’ve watched this approach crash and burn more times than I can count.
David, a financial advisor, recorded 12 hours of brilliant advice. The transcription was unusable, full of tangents, repetition, and verbal tics that work fine in conversation but look terrible on the page.
That’s when you definitely need to hire a professional writer. We can mine those transcripts for gold, restructure the content, and preserve your voice while making it readable.
Written language and spoken language have different rhythms. Different structures. Different everything, really.
What if I’m a decent writer but keep getting stuck?
Some people need to hire a professional writer for the whole book. Others just need help with specific parts.
Take the intros and conclusions. They’re HARD. They need to accomplish specific things while still flowing naturally. I’ve had clients write their entire middle chapters, but ask me to craft those crucial bookends.
Or maybe you write clearly but not engagingly. A ghostwriter can add storytelling elements and varied sentence structures that keep readers interested.
My client Theo wrote brilliant technical content, but couldn’t explain why anyone should care. I added the “so what” factor while preserving his expertise when we collaborated.
Are all those writing services the same?
Nope. And the confusion costs people thousands.
Before you hire a professional writer, understand what you’re buying:
A ghostwriter creates the manuscript based on your knowledge, often through interviews and research. Your ideas, their words.
A developmental editor helps shape YOUR writing, focusing on structure, flow, and concept development.
A book coach teaches you to write better while guiding your process.
A book publishing consultant helps with the business side of getting published.
I’ve seen people waste money hiring a ghostwriter when they really needed a coach, or vice versa.
My recommendation? Start with a conversation. Any experienced professional can help diagnose what you actually need after asking good questions.
OK, but how do I find someone trustworthy?
When you decide to hire a professional writer, you’re trusting someone with your ideas, your reputation, and often a significant investment.
Check portfolios. Read books they’ve worked on. Ask about their process.
I always recommend talking directly with previous clients. Not just reading testimonials, but actual conversations about what worked and what didn’t.
Be wary of anyone promising bestseller status or overnight success. Creating a quality book takes time, whether you write it yourself or hire a professional writer to help.
The best collaborations happen when personalities click. This person will be in your head for months. Make sure you can stand each other.
Writing a book isn’t easy, whether you do it yourself or get help. But holding that finished product in your hands? Absolutely worth every struggle along the way.
Got questions about your specific situation? Drop them in the comments. Or, if you’re ready to explore whether you should hire a professional writer for your project, shoot me an email. After 15 years in this business, I’m pretty good at matching people with the right level of support.
Your book matters. Don’t let it stay stuck inside your head.