Coach Write – Details, episodes & analysis

In this inspiring conversation, Narinder Sheena shares her powerful journey from personal injury lawyer to full-time coach, revealing how her lived experience with chronic pain became the foundation for helping others heal. Discover how she transformed her daily pain tracking diary into a published book that's making a real difference in people's lives.

We cover:

• How to turn personal experience into compelling content that serves others

• The importance of finding your writing community and accountability partners

• Practical writing tips including the "vomit draft" approach and early morning writing routines

• How to navigate the publishing landscape, including lessons learned from a difficult first publishing experience

• Strategic ways to use AI as a writing partner without losing your authentic voice

• Creative marketing approaches, from conferences to local wellness centres

Connect with Narinder:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/narinder-sheenachronicpaincoach  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/narinder.sheena.3

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/narindersheena/

Narinder’s book: From Pain to Power: https://amzn.to/3VQqu92

Website: https://www.mapcoach.co.uk/

People and resources mentioned:

Shaa Wasmund https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaawasmund/

Ruth Kudki https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruthkudzi/

Optimus Coaching Academy https://www.optimuscoachacademy.com/

Reedsy https://reedsy.com/

Alliance of Independent Authors https://www.allianceindependentauthors.org/members/join?affid=10461

Ingram Spark https://www.ingramspark.com/

Amazon KDP: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/

Books mentioned/ recommended

Healing Back Pain: The Mind-body Connection, by John E Sarno https://amzn.to/47aLBdy

Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle https://amzn.to/3J4oVBH

The Go-Giver by Bob Burg and John David Mann https://amzn.to/4lSZ4v4

All About Love by Bell hooks https://amzn.to/45ALczK

Connect with Helen:

https://www.helenoneillcoaching.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oneillhelen

Register to join the next cohort of Coach Write 90: https://www/coachwrite.co.uk/coachwrite90

(some of the links above are affiliate links)

Welcome to Coach Write, where we turn coaching expertise into published pages. 

I'm Helen ONeill, portfolio career specialist, accredited future of work coach, and author. I'm on a mission to dispel the myths surrounding publishing and inspire more coaches to get their words into the world. 

Join me as I sit down with the coaching industry's most inspiring authors as we discuss how they went from blank page to finished manuscript.

Connect with Helen

https://www.helenoneillcoaching.com/coachwrite 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/oneillhelen/ 

In this episode of the Coach Write Podcast, Helen speaks with Paul Holbrook, founder of Diary Detox and author of "What Are You Doing? The Uncomfortable Truth About How You Waste Your Time at Work."

Paul shares his journey from spending 20 years in change management in the City of London to creating his own coaching practice focused on helping leaders manage their time more effectively. After being told by his brand consultant that "there's a book in this," Paul began his writing journey, creating a book that serves both as a tool to help those he couldn't work with directly and as a powerful marketing asset for his business.

We cover:

• The power of structure and how to leverage the skills you already have to make the writing process less overwhelming
• Why successful self-publishing requires professional support and how to build a publishing team
• The pros and cons of including your personal story in a business book
• The surprising power of gifting your book as a business development tool
• How accountability in the writing process can help keep you on track
• Why perfection is the enemy of done

Connect with Paul:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulmichaelholbrook/ 

Paul's book: What are you doing? The uncomfortable truth about how you waste your time at work: https://amzn.to/41rfjY6

Website: https://www.paulholbrook.com/

Diary Detox: https://diarydetox.com/

People and resources mentioned

Rachel Savage from Brand New Story: https://brandnewstoryhq.com  

Claire Wood from Spurwing Creative: https://www.spurwingcreative.co.uk/

GarageBand (Apple only):  https://apps.apple.com/us/app/garageband/id408709785

The video Paul mentioned: https://youtu.be/VeHMtoOn6Lg?si=hJWergyheLQY0mO1

PDF converter https://calibre-ebook.com/

Connect with Helen

Website: https://www.helenoneillcoaching.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oneillhelen

Register to join the next cohort of Coach Write 90: https://www/coachwrite.co.uk/coachwrite90

2026 Planner: Plan your Portfolio available on Amazon https://amzn.to/46ibuXU 

(some of the links above are affiliate links)

In this episode, Helen speaks with Sarah Manley, ICF accredited career coach for introverts and author of ‘The Quiet Catalyst: The introvert's guide to thriving in your career.’

Sarah shares how she learned to embrace her quiet strengths during a successful corporate career and how she transitioned to becoming a published author and launching her coaching practice both within the same year. Sarah offers honest insights about the writing process, going from a stack of Post-it notes to finished manuscript, and we discuss how to avoid the quick-fix promises in both the coaching and the publishing industries.

We cover:

• Making the leap from corporate life to coaching and authorship
• Finding creative inspiration through retreats and rest
• The power of quiet leadership and leveraging introverted strengths in the workplace
• Working with a hybrid publisher and navigating the publishing process
• The reality of post-publication marketing and building long-term book success
• Building community as an author and coach

Connect with Sarah:

Book: The Quiet Catalyst: The introvert’s guide to thriving in your career https://amzn.to/47XfjmN

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahmanleytqc

Website: https://www.thequietcatalyst.com/

Connect with Helen:

Website: https://www.helenoneillcoaching.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oneillhelen 

Register to join the next cohort of Coach Write 90: https://www.coachwrite.co.uk/coachwrite90

Book: The Murder at Kendrick Mannor writing as Jody Derby: https://amzn.to/47YLgLz 

Books, people, and resources mentioned

Quiet: the Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain https://amzn.to/3Kp2KXy

Think Faster, Talk Smarter: How to Speak Successfully When You’re Put on the Spot https://amzn.to/42NiGJx

Claire Winter: https://clairewinter.com/

Optimus Coaching Academy https://www.optimuscoachacademy.com/

The Published Expert https://published-expert.com/

Rethink Press https://rethinkpress.com/

Peter Mosley https://www.petemosley.com/

The Business Book Awards https://www.businessbookawards.co.uk/

Alliance of Independent Authors https://www.allianceindependentauthors.org/members/join?affid=10461

EMCC https://emccuk.org/join-us/

(some of the links above are affiliate links)

In this episode of the Coach Write Podcast, host Helen O'Neill speaks with Dr. Katie Best, founder of Katie Best Associates and author of ‘The 10 Toughest Leadership Problems and How to Solve Them,’ published by Pan Macmillan.

Katie shares how she went from yearning to write a book, to academic study, dabbling with fiction and then landing a traditional publishing deal with a major publisher. She provides invaluable insights into the traditional publishing process, including how she systematically approached finding an agent, and took a business approach to international rights negotiations.

We cover:

• How to build time to write into your schedule
• Finding and choosing an agent
• What’s required to pitch traditional publishers
• The reality of the publishing timeline
• How referencing software can save time during editing

Connect with Katie:

Website: https://www.katiebest.com

Newsletter (Dear Katie - leadership agony aunt fortnightly newsletter): https://www.katiebest.com/dear-katie 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drkatiebest

Book: https://amzn.to/4mjrKNf

People and resources mentioned:

The Writers and Artists Yearbook: https://amzn.to/4pl7XQ8  

Curious Minds literary agency : https://curiousmindsagency.com

Helen Coyle: https://www.helencoyle.com

Endnote: https://endnote.co.uk/

Mendeley:  https://www.mendeley.com/reference-management/mendeley-cite

Connect with Helen:

Website: https://www.helenoneillcoaching.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oneillhelen  

Register to join the next cohort of Coach Write 90: https://www.coachwrite.co.uk/coachwrite90

(some of the links above are affiliate links)

In this episode, Helen O'Neill speaks with Dr Benita Mayhead, Executive Coach, Coach Supervisor, and Director of Coaching Practice at EMCC UK, and author of ‘Duty of Care in Coaching: A Comprehensive Approach to Navigating the Complexities of Contemporary Practice.’

Benita shares her experience of following a wobbly path to academia that resulted in her completing a doctorate in coaching and mentoring at Oxford Brookes University. She reveals the challenges and insights from transforming her doctoral research into an accessible, practitioner-focused book that serves both professionals in the field and academic programs.

Key Topics Discussed:

• The unexpected path from thesis to published book and why it's not as straightforward as it seems
• How to unlearn an academic writing style and find your voice
• The usefulness and discomfort of feedback
• Choosing a book cover that represents the message within the book
• Why it's never the right time to write a book; and why you should do it anyway

Connect with Helen:

Website: https://www.coachwrite.co.uk  

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oneillhelen 

Join the waitlist for Coach Write 90: https://www.coachwrite.co.uk/coachwrite90

Connect with Benita:

Website: https://benitamayhead.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benita-mayhead-840ab95/ 

Book: https://amzn.to/4qT7Pb9

In this episode, Helen ONeill sits down with Wendy Keir, coach, mentor, and founder of Empower AI, to explore the fascinating intersection of book writing and artificial intelligence.

Wendy shares her journey of writing her book #BeMoreWolf: A Survivor's Story, Breaking the Trauma Cycle over eight months, and we debate whether that’s a long time or not!

We discuss:

• Navigating the emotional challenges of writing about personal trauma
• Her experience of being a writer with dyslexia
• Lessons learned from self publishing on Amazon
• How Wendy has transformed her book into an AI agent
• Ethics and being human in an AI agentic world

Connect with Helen

Website: https://www.coachwrite.co.uk  

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oneillhelen 

Join the January 2026 cohort of Coach Write 90: https://www.coachwrite.co.uk/coachwrite90

Connect with Wendy

Website: https://wendykier.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendykier/

Book: https://amzn.to/4bCKPrX

Resources mentioned

The Creative Penn Podcast https://www.thecreativepenn.com/2026/01/05/2026-trends-and-predictions-for-indie-authors-and-the-book-publishing-industry-with-joanna-penn/

In the first episode of 2026, Helen speaks with Kenny Archer business coach and founder of Archer Inspirations. Kenny shares the deeply personal story behind his book, The Story Behind the Coach.

We discuss:

• How to discover your authentic coaching identity.
• How writing can become a tool for healing
• The practical approaches that simplify self-publishing
• Writing from the heart

Resources mentioned:

Free weekly newsletter from Helen: https://www.helenoneillcoaching.com/signup

Coach write 90: https://www.coachwrite.co.uk/coachwrite90

Coaching services: https://www.helenoneillcoaching.com/services

Connect with Helen:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oneillhelen 

Instagram: @helenoneillcoaching

Connect with Kenny:

Website: www.archerinspirations.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kennyarcher-business-coach/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/inspirationsarcher

Book: The Story Behind the Coach: https://amzn.to/4pkhmX2

*some of the links above are affiliate links

In this minisode, Helen shares her top 10 tips for making your non-fiction book un-putdownable.

Connect with Helen

Website: https://www.coachwrite.co.uk

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oneillhelen

Join the January 2026 cohort of Coach Write 90: https://www.coachwrite.co.uk/coachwrite90

Resources: People Who Pivot: https://amzn.to/4pdLXFO

EMCCUK Events: https://emccuk.org/groups-and-events/events/ 

In this milestone tenth episode of the Coach Write Podcast, Helen ONeill sits down with Helen Hopper, co-founder of leadership consulting firm H Cubed and co-author of ‘The Art and Psychology of Board Relationships: The Secret Life of Boards.’

Helen Hopper tells the fascinating story of how a chance conversation around a campfire in Rajasthan led to a four-year journey of researching, writing, and publishing her first book with co-author Joy Harcup. From interviewing 50 board members to navigating the traditional publishing process with Routledge, Helen shares her insights into what it really takes to bring a book to life.

In this episode, you'll discover:

• How to find and work successfully with a co-author, including simple but effective collaboration techniques
• What to expect when working with a traditional academic publisher
• The ‘ART’ framework developed for the book
• Why sometimes the simplest solutions are the most powerful
• How writing a book can deepen your coaching practice and reconnect you with foundational theory

People and resources mentioned:

Coach Write 90 https://www.coachwrite.co.uk/coachwrite90

People Who Pivot by Helen ONeill: https://amzn.to/4oONVvW

EMCC UK https://www.emccuk.org

Coach Write Blog https://www.coachwrite.co.uk/blog

The Power to Choose by Robbie Swale https://amzn.to/4991Rwc 

Leaders quest https://www.leadersquest.org/ 

Helen’s co-author: Joy Harcup

Routledge https://www.routledge.com/ 

The Work Revolution by Jonathan Males https://amzn.to/4pCpGm2 

The City and Its Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami https://amzn.to/3MXei5u 

World of books https://www.worldofbooks.com/ 

Connect with Helen Hopper

Website: https://www.hcubed.co.uk/

Linked In https://www.linkedin.com/in/helen-hopper-h3/

Book: The Art and Psychology of Board Relationships:The Secret Life of Boards https://amzn.to/4acIFyB

Connect with Helen ONeill

Website: https://www.coachwrite.co.uk  

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oneillhelen 

Join the January 2026 cohort of Coach Write 90: https://www.coachwrite.co.uk/coachwrite90

*some of the links above are affiliate links