Last week, I was in a conversation with Red Thread Books’ Sierra Melcher about this idea: the Author as Authority.

It’s right there in the word. And yet many authors forget it.

But what does it mean exactly?


1. You are the authority over your own book.

Not your ghostwriter, editor, or marketing team. It’s your vision driving the project — which means you must:

✨ See your vision more clearly than they do
✨Know when to fight for it
✨Learn when to listen.


2. Authority requires executive decision-making.

You choose what stays, what goes, and how problems get resolved on the page.

You do not get to outsource this by polling others or defaulting to the “safe” choice.


3. Authorship creates external and internal authority.

When you write a book, you are seen as an Authority on that subject.

For many, this is the biggest driver of ROI: higher-paid speaking gigs, wider brander recognition, etc.

But beginning to honor yourself as an authority— that can be one of the biggest drivers of personal satisfaction.

The process of writing a book changes you internally in ways you don’t always expect, and that sense of internal authority may be one of the most fulfilling.

Whether in fiction or nonfiction, writing a book can give you a sense of accomplishment and self that you don’t get from other things. It challenges you, and it changes you.

This is something I think about often in my work with authors — how to help them step into that authority, not just on the page, but in themselves.

I’m Kimberly, writer, ghostwriter, & book coach.

If you’re writing a book and are looking for some support, structure, guidance, and/or someone or ghostwrite, set up a call with me. I’d love to see where your ideas will take you.