You want to write a book that your readers will cherish for years to come.

One that will change their perspective—maybe even their life. Your friends, your followers are already asking for it. If only you could figure out how to finish it!

Your book may revolve around trauma, or spirituality, or travel, or health and wellness. Maybe you’re writing about motherhood, matriarchy, menstruality or menopause. My superpower is helping you find the heart of your story—and tug on your readers’ hearts while you’re telling it.

But maybe you lost your mojo. Maybe you got lost in the weeds. Maybe you tried to put everything you know (or everything that happened to you) into one book. Writing a book that people love is no small feat! It’s even harder when you don’t have a roadmap. I can help. I’ll light your way with proven frameworks that help you write your best book.

I’m a magazine editor who morphed into a book coach.

I know how to tell a story that editors want to publish—and that readers will hold close to their hearts.

My first pitch strategy client got agent representation after one month of pitching! (In literary memoir—one of the hardest genres to sell.) My first Blueprint client self-published her nonfiction book in 2024. The rest of my clients are writing, revising and pitching their best books.

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Here’s my experience…

I’ve been coaching & editing writers for 20+ years. I’m an Author Accelerator certified book coach in nonfiction & memoir—and I’m a featured coach in CEO Jennie Nash’s new Book Coach Certification in Memoir course. I’m also writing a fierce literary memoir about postpartum trauma & resilience. My “Blueprint” for the book is featured as a case study in Blueprint for a Memoir: Writing a Memoir for the Marketplace by Jennie Nash (2023).

As a reporter and magazine editor, I’ve worked some amazing people! Including Elizabeth Gilbert, Caroline Myss, Norah Jones, Zainab Salbi, Elizabeth Lesser, Ann Patchett, Roshi Joan Halifax, Jason Mraz, Gabrielle Bernstein, Robert Peng, Krishna Das, Seane Corn, Sally Kempton, Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, Kelly McGonigal, Ana Forrest, and Vasant Lad.

My poems, creative nonfiction, articles and essays have won numerous awards, ranging from a Public Education Award from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society to a creative nonfiction award from Ohio Writer. I’ve published hundreds of articles in media outlets on 5 continents. And my writing has been featured in 6 books, ranging from award-winning literary anthologies to essay collections such as The Great Lakes: A Literary Field Guide (Milkweed Editions) and The Cancer Poetry Project (Tasora).

I’ve edited thousands of articles for national magazines (and screened a bazillion pitches—a skill that comes in handy in the publishing industry). As a PR rep, I’ve helped clients get published in media outlets in 200 countries and territories around the world. I’ve also been a two-time judge for the National Magazine Awards. (One of the highlights of my career!)

I can help you:

  • Find your hook (& your deep-level why)

  • Visualize your ideal reader (& capture her heart)

  • Build a brilliant structure (& a compelling arc of change)

  • Craft your first draft (better, faster)

  • Write a rock-star book proposal (and get pitch-ready)

  • Revise your manuscript (with a clear, strategic roadmap)

  • Share your story—and your wisdom with the world

If you are ready to start, pitch or finish your book, let’s work together.

Learn how here

What Memoirists Say

  • The literary world is better for having a book coach like Shannon Sexton in it! She is a thoughtful and empathetic coach with an incredible gift for listening—and for pulling out thematic threads of gold for book proposals. She also has a deep passion for helping authors build their careers.

    Shaheen Sheik-Sadhal, author of the forthcoming Alchemy: A Mother. A Curse. A Memoir

  • Working with Shannon to develop my memoir outline has been an absolute game-changer. The amount of progress we've made in such a short time is remarkable. It's like witnessing a massive construction project, where every word and idea has the power to move mountains. Shannon has this delightful ability to bring clarity and focus to our conversations—and she understands the core essence of the story I'm trying to tell. Through our collaboration, I've had profound realizations and new possibilities for my book have opened up. If you're looking for someone who can elevate your writing journey, Shannon is the one to trust.

    Dan Stenabaugh, author of a coming-of-age memoir-in-progress
    (Rochester, NY, USA)

  • I was deep in the labyrinth of my book when a friend referred me to Shannon. We quickly developed a positive rapport, and I went from feeling lost to regaining my sense of direction and energy. Shannon's manuscript assessment gave me the objective clarity, guidance, and nurturing support I needed to keep going. I highly recommend her.

    Kirsten Bergstrom, author of a travel novel-in-progress
    (Helsinki, Finland)

  • I am thankful I found Shannon. I chose her to edit the first draft of my first book—a memoir of the six years I spent walking along some of the world’s most iconic trails. After reading my first 50 pages, she knew the manuscript needed significant work to bring my story to life. So she switched roles, becoming a writing coach extraordinaire. With her skilled and compassionate assistance, I transitioned from someone uncertain of how to tell a story to a writer who has a much fuller understanding of the craft. I’m in the depths of my rewrite now. I look forward to Shannon shepherding me through her edits, and to helping me write a book I’ll be proud to have on any bookshelf.

    Steve Matthews, author of a travel memoir-in-progress (Seattle, WA)

My Writing Appears In

Professional Affiliations

  • Shannon Sexton is on a mission to help experienced and first-time authors write pitch-perfect books that help us heal.

    An Author Accelerator certified book coach and developmental editor specializing in transformational nonfiction and memoir, she currently works for KN Literary Arts and for private clients around the world.

  • Sexton has midwifed books ranging from a feminist sociology professor’s hybrid memoir about quilting as a form of art therapy for women for chronic pain to an Indian guru’s treatise on how to find lasting happiness.

    She has 20+ years of editorial experience working with thought leaders, spiritual teachers, creatives, changemakers, conscious mamas, health & wellness experts, lifestyle gurus and personal growth connoisseurs.

    Some of the books she’s working on include: A Japanese American writer’s memoir about generational trauma and resilience (she got an agent in 2023); a radical doula’s fierce memoir about birth in American and her journey to motherhood (she’s pitching); a first-gen Muslim Indian woman's memoir exploring matriarchy through the lens of generational trauma (she has multiple agent interest & we are preparing for a bidding war); a retired travel writer’s memoir of how he faced his mortality and found a new calling by hiking more than 3,000 miles along some of the world’s most iconic trails (he’s in revisions); a globetrotting academic’s teaching memoir with 9 lessons for becoming a global citizen; and an HIV-positive gay black man’s memoir of surviving the AIDS epidemic and finding his own renegade version of the American dream.

  • Sexton is a former editor-in-chief of Yoga International—an award-winning magazine that USA Today called “the Bible of yoga practice” and Slate dubbed “ethereally serious.” During her tenure, Sexton expanded Yoga International’s geographical range of stories to 7 continents; top-edited breaking news on health and wellness; and led the magazine to earn three consecutive Folio: Eddie awards for editorial excellence in “Spiritual/Religious Coverage.” The magazine’s mission was to show how yogic principles apply to today’s most pressing issues—from war and politics to environmental activism and social justice—exploring how ancient spiritual wisdom can be a force for change in the modern world.

    Sexton has also worked as an executive-level editor for Yoga Journal; as an editorial consultant for yoga and wellness startups and nonprofits like Omega Institute for Holistic Studies; and as a boutique PR rep for creatives and companies in the yoga world, earning her clients media coverage in 200 countries and territories, in more than a dozen languages. She has also been a two-time judge for the National Magazine Awards and a guest lecturer at Hiram College’s Lindsay-Crane Center for Writing & Literature.

  • Sexton lived in an American ashram for a decade and has been studying in the 5000-year-old tradition of the Himalayan Masters for 25 years. Today, she lives in the foothills of the Sierra de Madrid, Spain, where she writes, hikes, sings the blues, and plays with a tiny human who refuses to take off her snowman hat.

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What Industry Experts Say

  • As an editorial consultant for Omega, Shannon was a fountain of creative ideas and a super-producer among a team of four. What’s more, the content Shannon produced still ranks among the most highly viewed content on Omega Institute’s website. I highly recommend her.

    Angela Casey, Editorial Director at Omega Institute for Holistic Studies
    (Rhinebeck, NY)

  • Shannon is an award-winning writer and a gifted editor whose magazines and stories possess great depth, insight and clarity. Her strength and creative vision as Yoga International’s editor-in-chief helped guide the staff through a sea of changes while the magazine underwent a major relaunch. Her numerous honors and awards say it all. Shannon would make a great addition to any company looking to raise the bar on their content and brand.

    Jackie Bogdan, former Art Director of Yoga International
    (Buffalo, NY)

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