Helping mothers & educators make space for the novel they’ve been carrying for years
I’m Miranda Keskes, an author, former high school English teacher, and Author Accelerator-certified fiction book coach. I help women who have spent years caring for others plan, draft, revise, and pitch emotionally resonant, hopeful novels with structure, encouragement, and steady support.
I’ve been where you are
For years, I helped everyone else pursue their goals. Making room for my own novel changed the direction of my life, but it wasn’t easy. It took courage to finally prioritize a dream that had lived quietly in the background for years.
Before I became a book coach, I was a full-time teacher and a mom carrying around a novel idea that never seemed to make it onto the page. Putting my own creative dreams on hold felt necessary because I was so busy helping others pursue theirs.
Still, I found small pockets of time to write: during nap time, after the kids went to bed, and alongside my creative writing students. My Google Drive and journals slowly filled with short stories, poems, and narrative nonfiction. It felt so good to be writing again. Deep down, though, my dream was always to write a novel. Even though I taught literature and read voraciously, I didn't yet know how to build one from beginning to end. I decided it was time to learn.
I spent years studying the craft through books, webinars, and courses, piecing together my own education. But it wasn't until I worked with a book coach that everything clicked into place. I finally had a plan, and that plan gave me confidence. I stopped feeling overwhelmed and started making steady progress.
Now I guide other writers through that same step-by-step process, providing the guidance, accountability, and clear path forward I once needed myself.
You don’t have to figure it out alone.
Why I became a book coach
When we set out to write a novel, there’s usually a driving "why" that compels us to begin. The same is true for book coaching. Helping others has always been part of who I am, and I’ve almost always done it with a pen and notebook in hand.
I spent fifteen years as a high school English and theater teacher before pursuing my own writing more seriously through freelance work, online teaching, and writing coaching.
I discovered book coaching while revising my own novel. Julie Artz was my coach during that process, and I remember thinking almost immediately, I want to do this. Helping writers reach their goals, talking about craft and story all day, and supporting creative people through meaningful work felt like the perfect fit.
A year later, I enrolled in Jennie Nash’s Author Accelerator Fiction Certification program. While certification isn't required, I wanted to learn from experienced industry professionals and become the most thoughtful, effective coach I could be.
Now I get to spend my days helping writers move closer to their dreams, often with my furry companion, Lucky, nearby.
Book coaching feels like the work all the earlier chapters of my career were leading me toward.
The kind of coach I am
My approach combines the structure of an experienced teacher, the skills of a published writer, and the encouragement of someone who genuinely believes you can finish what you started. Every writer is different, but my coaching is grounded in three core principles.
Structure and accountability. I understand a busy schedule and provide practical structure designed to fit your lifestyle, with encouraging accountability every step of the way.
Encouragement grounded in craft. I am warm and supportive, but I also provide honest, specific feedback that will help your novel become stronger.
Clear next steps. I help writers identify the next right step for them rather than trying to write the entire novel all at once, all on their own.
I help writers believe they can do something that once felt impossible. My combination of structure, accountability, and unwavering encouragement helps writers move from "I've always wanted to write a novel" to "I'm actually doing it."
“During November, I really thought I would increase my daily word count. Instead, I hit a brick wall. Thank goodness I continued to invest in myself because I'm not sure what I would have done without Mandy as my book coach. She really helped me take down that brick wall, brick-by-brick…a huge burden was lifted, and I could focus on the story that I was trying to tell. I'm now on month five of working with Mandy as my book coach, and because of the goals she has helped me set, her feedback, and her thought-partnering, I am on track to have a complete first draft of my novel finished by the end of February!”
~Christina B, educator writing her first novel
Experience you can trust
I bring more than two decades of teaching, writing, curriculum development, and coaching experience to every manuscript. I am an Author Accelerator-certified fiction book coach, an award-nominated writer, and a former high school English and theater teacher.
Training
Author Accelerator Certified Fiction Book Coach
M.A. in Curriculum and Teaching, Michigan State University
B.A. degrees in English and Theater, Michigan State University Honors College
Michigan Professional Teaching Certificate
Experience
Fifteen years teaching high school English and theater
Creative writing instructor for the Traverse City National Writers Series
Instructional designer and online education product lead
Writing community
Michigan Writers Membership Chair and Regional Writing Ambassadors Coordinator
Women’s Fiction Writers Association STAR committee
Michigan Council of Teachers of English member
I’m a writer, too
Coaching is only one part of my creative life. I’m also a nonfiction and flash fiction writer whose work has appeared in Cleaver, Brilliant Flash Fiction, Blink Ink, Every Day Fiction, The Drabble, and other publications. My work has been nominated for Best Microfiction and Best Small Fictions, and I received an honorable mention in the 2025 NYC Midnight 100-Word Story Challenge. I’m currently querying my first novel, The Teachers’ Lounge, an upmarket novel about relationships, identity, and the complicated lives teachers carry beyond the classroom.
Select Publications
Start With the End: A Simple Bookend Structure for Novelists, published by Jane Friedman
Take Your Teenage Son’s Advice, published by Cleaver
Scenario: One of Those High School Parent/Teacher Conferences Where the Student is Strongly Encouraged to Attend, published by Brilliant Flash Fiction
For a more complete list, please go to my “Published Works” page.
What I love to read and coach
I’m especially drawn to emotionally resonant, character-driven novels that explore relationships, resilience, identity, love, loss, and the hope that carries people through difficult seasons. I coach fiction for adults and young adults across several genres, including upmarket and literary fiction, women’s fiction, historical fiction, romance, dystopian, speculative, and select fantasy. I’m not the best fit for hardcore science fiction, graphic horror, erotica, picture books, memoir, or nonfiction.
Regardless of genre, I'm drawn to compelling characters, cause-and-effect storytelling, and polished prose. A strong premise matters, but craft is what transforms an interesting idea into a memorable novel. That's one reason I love writing flash fiction; it’s an excellent way to hone your sentence-level craft.
A few of my favorites
The Correspondent by Virginia Evans
Theo of Golden by Allen Levi
Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall
The Wedding People by Alison Espach
Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Circe by Madeline Miller
The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
The Dublin Murder Squad series by Tana French
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
When I’m not writing, reading, or teaching, I’m chauffeuring my two teenage boys to their many sporting events.
Now, it’s your turn
Choosing to make space for your own creative dream is not selfish; it’s inspiring! Together, we can create a clear path forward that fits your life and helps you bring the story you care about to the page. You do not have to figure out the writing process alone.