Nobody wants a boring book

We help thought leaders turn their big ideas into bestsellers.

Genius is a team sport.

There is an old story of a genius hunched over a keyboard in a remote mountain cabin, tirelessly working in service of the next great American novel. This is a myth.

Staggering works of genius don't get written in solitude—it takes a team. When you set out to go it alone, you are almost guaranteeing failure. We can help.

Fresh Complaint is a creative agency that helps you plan, write, and finish a book you can be proud of. We are a team of publishing professionals who guide you through the confusion and chaos of writing and editing to create something worth remembering.

You talk. We listen. The result is a book people can’t put down. We won’t let you settle for anything less than your very best. Promise.

Jeff Goins
Creative Director, Fresh Complaint

TELL US ABOUT YOU

OUR CLIENTS & PROJECTS

Our authors range from sales professionals to personal development teachers to online entrepreneurs—and more. We work with dozens of clients every year, some of which prefer anonymity. Here are a few who do not.

Unreceptive

Tom Stanfill came to us with a rough draft and a signed book deal with HarperCollins but needed help turning his twenty-five years of sales experience into a book that busy professionals would want to read. The result was a story-filled, heartfelt approach to not just persuasion but life itself.

The Successful Speaker

We helped podcaster and public speaking coach Grant Baldwin turn his online course into a comprehensive advice book on the art and business of public speaking. The Successful Speaker, published by Baker Books, is fun, entertaining, and helpful for anyone starting out as a speaker or who wants to go full-time with their craft.

Brave Thinking

Mary Morrissey came to us to translate her in-person seminar and forty years of personal development work into a piece of legacy that would outlast her. Together, we uncovered the threads that tied her life and business together in a short, practical work of transformation called Brave Thinking.

OUR PROCESS

PLAN BUILD FINISH

PLAN

The art of producing great books starts with a big idea. In the PLAN phase, we guide you through a disciplined process of taking your book idea and turning it into a fully fleshed-out synopsis and plan to write it.

Whether you plan to sell your book to a publisher or simply need a more detailed outline to guide you in the writing process, this is all book planning—the blueprint that comes before we can construct anything meaningful.

All great work starts with a plan. A book is no different.

BUILD

FINISH

Once you've created a vision that you've brought to life, it's time to put the finishing touches on your work and share it with the world. This is book finishing.

In the FINISH phase, we engage our team of world-class editors and designers to elevate your message and make your voice the clearest and most compelling it can be. Editing isn't just about making your words prettier. It's also about making your message work.

Whether you plan on self publishing or working with one of the Big Five, this is where we help you bring your project to the finish line and put it out in the world.

OUR SERVICES

We serve publishers and authors with the following services:

BOOK PLANS & PROPOSALS

We help authors plan their books before they write them. This process results in an annotated table of contents, edited writing sample, and detailed market analysis so that you can write your next book with confidence. Proposals include the book planning process plus an introduction to agents and a custom query letter.

GHOSTWRITING & COLLABORATION

We help authors plan, research, and write their books. Our writers have worked on business bestsellers, self-help and personal development books, memoirs, business fables, and children's stories. Whether you want someone to write the book with you or for you, we can help.

EDITING & PUBLISHING

We help authors finish their first drafts and edit them into manuscripts ready to publish. These services include developmental editing, copy editing, and book coaching. We can also guide you through the design and publishing process to help you get your book out into the world.

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