Mastering the Monograph
A 12 month programme with personalised 1-1 feedback for academics who want to get their book written in 12 months
If your monograph is still sitting half-finished while ‘urgent’ work takes over, you don’t have a writing problem—you have a system problem.
Without the right structure, support, and accountability, months turn into years, your book remains unwritten, and your career momentum stalls
Is this how you're feeling about writing your book?
🔹 Your confidence in your writing is slipping, and it’s affecting your other projects.
🔹 Writing has become something you dread because you’re constantly behind.
🔹 You’re watching colleagues publish while you fall further behind in your field.
🔹 You're procrastinating, and struggling to stay accountable
🔹You're stopping and starting, and getting frustrated that your timeline is always slipping away
🔹 You've become disconnected from your idea as other more exciting versions of the book present themselves, constantly moving you further from completion
I'm Dr Melanie Smith,
your academic writing coach
...it's time to change all that
Introducing Mastering the Monograph.
The truth? Finishing your book isn’t about finding more time. It’s about having the right system to get it done
No more frustration, delay and guilt. Let this become your favourite type of writing.
Full of joy, creativity and completion.
Inside Mastering the Monograph you'll follow my WRITER Framework alongside live support and 1-1 feedback
STEP 1: WHY
Mindset
Clarify your mindset and approach to book writing through practical advice so you can build the mindset not just to finish this book, but write many more. Get the book mindset, understand your why and how motivation won't get it done.
STEP 2: ROUTINE
Habit Formation
Develop and solidify a rock solid writing habit with the Academic Accelerator. You can't write a book if you are not writing regularly. This foundational training tackles your emotional barriers and give you the 6 tools for successful writing.
STEP 3- IDEATION
The Book Proposal
Nail your ideation & take control of your time for the swiftest book completion using my guide to writing a successful book proposal, alongside ideation frameworks and step by step planning guide that enables you to visualise the completion of your monograph within 12 months.
STEP 4 - TECHNIQUE
Drafting
Increase your confidence, speed and ease of execution with a collection of courses that retrains you in the preparatory work of writing, enables you to draft expertly with Academic Coach's 5 Drafts to Finish Framework and gives bespoke advice of about book chapter writing.
STEP 5 - ELEVATE
Editing to Elevate
Elevate your text to the highest quality with my 6 Stage Editing Framework. This guide to editing takes your prose from run of the mill to impactful, clear and concise, and is the most efficient way of bringing together you ideas across multiple chapters. A series of writing templates increases your speed and efficacy.
STEP 6 - RESULT
Completion
Ensure the maximum success of your book with this comprehensive guide of finishing and promoting your manuscript. From the minutiae of reviewers feedback, copy editing and dealing with the publisher to getting the most out of the book post publication, this is everything you need to complete your book.
This 6 Step WRITER Framework saves months on your timeline and protects you from procrastination and frustration. Clients went from not knowing how to execute the book effectively 😳, to KNOWING they could finish in 12 months.
THE W.R.I.T.E.R FRAMEWORK
The W.R.I.T.E.R Framework
In 3 minutes I will talk you through my proven WRITER Framework for writing your monograph in 12 months
Let's get to know each other better...
💫 An EU Law scholar, published author of multiple peer-reviewed papers, chapters, books, and edited collections.
💫 Consultant to the European Parliament bringing research to policy makers
💫Tenured Associate Professor position at Cardiff University for over 13 years, and led writing courses for faculty.
💫 18+ years of experience and 6 years in the coaching world, I've helped thousands of academic clients to foster a better relationship with their writing, maximizing productivity while minimizing time investment.
💫I established Academic Coach to provide the skills, mentorship, and coaching I wish I had, utilizing cutting-edge research in writing productivity, neuroscience, and behavioral psychology.
💫I work with individuals, organisations and Universities across different disciplines, from High Arts to Hard Sciences, training and coaching academics across the world inside and outside institutions.
Live coaching & 1-1 feedback
will support you to completion
will support you to completion
🎯 1-1 Feedback on 3 draft chapters of your choice
🎯 1 group call every 3 weeks for accountability and Q&A
🎯 Review of your ideation and arc
🎯 Membership of Writing Sprint Club
Real life client results 🥂: see what's possible for you
If you’re feeling stuck with messy, incoherent draft chapters and no real progress, meet Angela—she was in the exact same place.
😞 Before working with me
Angela was an experienced and well-published academic, but when it came to writing her book, she felt completely stalled. Her ideas kept shifting, and she couldn’t find a clear direction
💡 What we did
Using my WRITER Framework, we transformed her writing process—from mindset and ideation to initial drafting, editing, and structuring. Through targeted chapter feedback and deep work on her book’s arc, we sharpened her contribution and brought clarity to her project.
🎯 Result
Angela now writes with confidence, ease, and clarity. She successfully published her book on schedule and is already gearing up for her fourth! Most importantly, she built a sustainable writing routine that fits her family life.
If you’re feeling isolated, overwhelmed, and struggling with the sheer scope of your book, you’re not alone—Matthew was there too
😞 Before working with me
As an ambitious early-career academic, Matthew was highly productive—publishing journal articles, securing grants, and writing reports. But when it came to his book, he felt scattered and stuck. With tenure on the line, he needed to complete it within 12 months but found himself constantly pulled in different directions by competing projects.
💡 What we did
Using my WRITER Framework, we streamlined his writing process, kept him accountable, and built his confidence—both in the quality of his ideas and in managing multiple projects simultaneously. We also tackled the isolation of book writing, helping him develop the solo work skills essential for long-term career success.
🎯 Result
Matthew stayed committed, finished his book on time, and kept his publication pipeline active. He also maximized the impact of his book in his field—and is already starting the next one!
If you are a boom and bust writer struggling with the long term nature of books, with urgent tasks crushing your book writing time, you are in the right place
😞 Before working with me
Mid career academic with lots of competing responsibilities. Book constantly avoided for other 'urgent' projects and difficulty managing mindset and optimising time for maximum production, inefficient writing techniques, and non-existent pre-writing techniques. Boom and bust writing, up against deadlines.
💡 What we did
🎯 Result
Finished her book whilst keeping publication pipeline operating and able to submit for promotion with draft manuscript and book contract. Complete mindset shift on how long term projects were managed and completed. From barely managing to thriving 😄
Enrol now and you will receive these 3 bonus modules
for a limited time
BONUS 1 🎁
How to get Unstuck
Overcome your blockages so you can take the right steps to move forward with speed. This diagnostic training moves you from being stuck on your book, to writing routinely with practical steps you can implement no matter the root cause of why you stopped writing.
BONUS 2 🎁
Writing Sprint Club
Live co-writing with me for maximum productivity and accountability with FREE MEMBERSHIP (worth €1200) of The Writing Sprint Club, my signature co-writing space at Academic Coach. You will write alongside me, get coaching and cheerleading to complete your manuscript.
BONUS 3 🎁
Beat Procrastination
Take control of your time and behaviour by tackling procrastination once and for all. This training explores the psychological underpinnings of procrastination and provides an effective CBT exercise to kick procrastination into touch.
Here's everything you get inside worth €9953.00
🌟 Publishing Contracts 101 (Exclusive)
🌟 The Book Mindset: What you need, how to cultivate it (value €250)
🌟 The Why of Writing: Motivation and Momentum in Book Writing (value €250)
🌟 Overview: Before the Writing (value €350)
🌟 The Writing Accelerator Programme (value €650)
🌟 Overview: Drafting the Chapters (value €350)
🌟 5 Drafts to Finish: Academic Coach's Drafting Guide (value €279)
🌟 Executing the Book Proposal for Publishing Success (value €400)
🌟 Note Taking For Productive Writing: Faster more efficient production (value €350)
🌟 Save You Time Writing Templates (value €200)
🌟 How to Write the Literature Review (value €350)
🌟 The Editing Masterclass to Up-level your prose ( value €400)
🌟 Grammar Cheatsheet (value €49)
🌟 Writing to Completion: Results and Impact (value €250)
🌟 BONUS: How to get Unstuck (value €400)
🌟 BONUS: Ideation Framework (value €150)
🌟 BONUS: Planning the Monograph For Completion (value €300)
🌟 1-1 Feedback on 3 draft chapters & 🌟 Review of Your Ideation Arc (€2225)
🌟 1 group coaching call every 3 weeks for accountability and feedback (€1200)
🌟 Membership of the Writing Sprint Club - live co-writing with me 6 x 1 hour per month (€1200)
'I completed my book in 9 months...alongside a young family and a running a HUGE grant with many stakeholder meetings. With Melanie's coaching, I went from confused, unproductive writing sessions in April to a finished book by December. I cannot recommend Academic Coach enough. It has changed my writing life!'
Prof. K, UK University
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What if I am just beginning the research for my book - is this right for me?
The 12 month program is for those scholars ready to WRITE or are in the process of writing their book. If you are just beginning the research phase, or collecting data, you might want to wait until you are ready to write so you can get feedback on your written work within the 12 month program. This does not mean you have to have ALL your reading complete, or all your research, but a big chunk of it must be completed to enable you to work on writing the manuscript for 12 months. Alternatively there are options to follow a 24 Month timeline if required.
Does this program work for different kinds of books?
This program is designed primarily for research monographs, rather than edited collections or textbooks. It works for papers into a monograph, or a PhD thesis into a monograph, or an original monograph from scratch.
Does this program work for all disciplines?
Yes. I am an experienced coach working across ALL disciplines, from Arts and Humanities to the soft and hard sciences. This program works for everyone.
How large is the group in the group coaching call?
There will never be more than 10 in a group regardless of how many members enrol. There will be multiple groups to accommodate any larger numbers. You will not get lost in this group, and will get plenty of 1-1 feedback and a chance to use the group as hot seat coaching just for you if you wish.
When are the live group calls scheduled?
The live group calls will be 12.00pm on Mondays and 7pm on Mondays (UK TIME) to accommodate different time zones. Calls will be recorded so those who cannot join live can catch up with coaching.
When are the live co-writing sessions scheduled?
Currently Writing Sprint Club runs on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday 4-5pm UK time to enable multiple time zones to join.
