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Nonfiction book coach specializing in business, biography, history, and self-help.

Author, writer, marketing expert, Paris enthusiast. Human here to cheer you on.
Hi, I’m Evelyn.
I’m a lifelong reader, writer, and marketer who helps nonfiction authors get their books written and published.
The authors I guide inspire me. I only work with authors I know I can help, and I meet or beat the deadlines I promise.
I believe:
Giving feedback that is both kind and candid benefits writers most.
If you have fun writing, your reader will have fun reading your book.
You don’t have to do marketing activities you hate for your book to be successful.
If we work together, I will:
Communicate clearly and with transparency about what I am doing, what you can expect, and what you need to do.
Tailor my help for wherever you are in your writing journey.

My circuitous route to book coaching

On the way to my book coaching career, I took a 34-year detour through consumer insights, marketing strategy, and brand work. My corporate career lasted 9 years before I defected to freelance consulting. My corporate run included stints at Cambridge Reports/Research International, Veryfine Products, Dunkin’ [then with the Donuts], and The First Years.
My first job out of college came from a one-inch square ad I answered at the back of The Boston Globe, headlined “Research Analyst, PhD Preferred.” The hiring manager required a writing sample. My ability to write concisely and in a voice for Fortune 500 executives won me the job over the three PhD holders in the final consideration round.
During my corporate consumer insights and marketing career, I conducted hundreds of research projects and wrote hundreds of research reports, executive summaries, and insights memoranda. As a freelance marketing and insights consultant, I wrote hundreds more. For 13 of my 25 consulting years, I published my monthly Varsity Marketing newsletter.
Observations and insights from my work culminated in my book Teenage Wastebrand: How Your Brand Can Stop Struggling and Start Scaling, which I published in 2021.
My insights, strategy, and brand work provided the perfect foundation for book coaching. I learned how to:
develop and execute a research plan
understand your audience so you can engage them
use stories to support insights
write a business plan – book proposals are business plans for books
write and edit well.
Request free 30-minute consult

Put me in, coach

While I love writing and marketing, my favorite part of my role is the coaching.
I’ve coached business owners for 16 years, helping them find their niche and position their brands. Book coaching seems like a natural evolution of my career now, but I didn’t see it coming.
In 2020, a marketing colleague and prominent author asked me to give him candid feedback on his manuscript. Our collaboration went so well, he hired me for his next two books and referred other authors to me.
The more I worked with authors, the more I wanted to help them earlier in the process, before they started writing. I saw how strategic upfront thinking could save them time and money, and better direct their initial drafts.
I spent several months studying the nonfiction track of Jennie Nash’s Author Accelerator book coach training program.
Now I help nonfiction authors craft books that propel their ideas into the world and transform their readers’ lives.
When I’m not coaching, I enjoy travel, reading, writing, yoga, tea, dark chocolate, and walking or hiking with friends and loved ones.

  • Happy Clients

    “Evelyn met me where I was and led me to a practical way of reimagining my initial FF manuscript. We’ve covered an extreme amount of helpful ground in the relatively short time we’ve connected. I am looking forward to sharing the road ahead.”
    — Bill Mecaughey
    Manuscript-in-progress

  • Happy Clients

    “Evelyn became my writing coach and mentor…Evelyn helped re-frame my view of my work. I was not ‘just writing a book’ I was on a journey as a first-time author to introduce ideas I hoped would transform modern business. I am so grateful Evelyn facilitated this perspective shift. I highly recommend Evelyn and her magic hat of expert skills!”
    — Chaela Volpe
    Author of Brain-Fueled Workplace

  • Happy Clients

    — Mark Schaefer
    Best-selling author of KNOWN and Marketing Rebellion

Every author’s path is unique

I know the courage it takes to write and put your work into the world. It took me years to realize that I was a writer – as opposed to someone who happened to write – and to call myself one.
I know how the sheer magnitude of writing a book can overwhelm and daunt you.
How figuring out the next step at each writing and publishing juncture can delay your progress.
How easy it is to let weeks and months fly by between times you touch your manuscript.
How hard it can be to begin writing again.
No two authors’ paths are the same. Let’s chart yours together.
Request free 30-minute consult
©2026 E Starr Associates