I Helped a Stranger Write & Publish a Fantasy Novel (Full Case Study)

I Helped a Stranger Write & Publish a Fantasy Novel (Full Case Study)

June 19, 2026 · 29 min

About this episode

The episode discusses Michael Johnson's journey from idea to published fantasy novel, highlighting the creative challenges he faced and how they were overcome.

Today, I'm joined by Michael Johnson. Three years ago, he joined my Story Coaching program to get my help with his first fantasy novel. That book — Children of Ziwei — is now published! In this episode, I wanted to share Michael’s journey with you, so that you can see what it takes to go from idea to published book. Most importantly, you'll see how Michael overcame the creative challenges he faced along the way. This episode includes real clips from our coaching calls, so that you can see exactly how we fixed his story’s biggest problems and brought his book to life. So if you’re going through the process of writing a fantasy novel as well, you’re going to find this video extremely useful.  Watch the video version of this episode. Want my personal help with your writing? Apply for my 12-week Fantasy Writing Bootcamp . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

People in this episode

Host: Jed Herne

Guest: Michael Johnson

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Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Children of Ziwei

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