Publishing a book can expand your influence and help more people benefit from your ideas. Book coach Elizabeth Dougherty talks through every stage of writing a non-fiction manuscript for professional experts who want to become authors.
About the Book
Learn how to turn your expertise into a clear, compelling non-fiction book that reaches the people who need it most.
Whether you're a consultant, coach, educator, healthcare provider, or entrepreneur, writing a book can expand your influence and help more people benefit from your ideas. The Complete Expert-to-Author Guide provides a practical, step-by-step roadmap for moving from concept to finished manuscript without getting stuck along the way.
Written by veteran editors and book coaches Marisa Solis and Elizabeth Dougherty, who have guided hundreds of nonfiction books from idea to publication, this hands-on guide walks you through every stage of the writing process with clarity and confidence.
Here’s what makes The Complete Expert-to-Author Guide an essential resource:
• A Clear Road Map for Writing Your Book: Follow a proven framework that takes you from initial idea to completed manuscript with manageable, actionable steps.
• Designed for Experts and Professionals: If your profession involves helping people improve their lives, turn your knowledge into an advice-based non-fiction book.
• 25 Practical Exercises and Writing Tools: Writing prompts, preformatted templates, and market analysis exercises help you clarify your message and stay focused.
• Structure Your Book with Confidence: Develop your advice-based book’s premise, fine-tune your framework, and strengthen your table of contents upfront—making writing faster and less stressful.
• Navigate the Publishing Process: Write a book proposal, explore publishing paths, and build the platform needed to reach your audience.
If you’ve been thinking about writing a book but aren’t sure where to start or how to finish, The Complete Expert-to-Author Guide gives you the structure, strategy, and support to bring your book to life.
About the Speakers
Elizabeth Dougherty is a book coach, developmental editor, and cofounder of Book Structure Pros. She has worked in publishing since 1988 and was an executive editor at Weldon Owen. Her focus is on parenting, health and wellness, and women’s leadership. Elizabeth holds a master’s from Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism and lives in Palo Alto.
Terri Givens is a political scientist, author, speaker, and consultant whose work focuses on race, immigration, leadership, and social change. She is currently a Professor of Political Science at the University of British Columbia and previously served as Provost’s Advisor on the Strategy to Address Anti-Black Racism at McGill University. Over a career spanning more than 30 years, she has held leadership roles at institutions including the University of Texas at Austin and Menlo College, where she became the first Black woman to serve as provost.
When not based in Vancouver, Givens lives in Menlo Park, where she has been actively involved in local community initiatives, including the city’s Reimagining Public Safety Initiative and work with the Menlo Park City School District—both explored in her book Reckoning. She is also the author of Radical Empathy: Finding a Path to Bridging Racial Divides and The Roots of Racism: The Politics of White Supremacy in the US and Europe. Through her writing, research, and public speaking, she encourages individuals and organizations to lead with empathy, courage, and accountability
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