Kees M. Palingbiographer, journalist and writing coach
Life story coachingDen Haag, Benissa & online

Your life
in your words.

Write your life story: the things you’ve lived through, the people you’ve loved. In a book, for the people who come after you.

Let’s talk about your storyA free introduction. Just you and Kees.

You write it. I help you make it a book.

Kees Paling sitting at a café table
Kees M. PalingWriter. Journalist. Your writing coach.
Some things are worth keeping.Start with a memory

A small beginning

A book starts
with a memory.

You don’t have to know your whole story yet. One place, one person, one moment is enough to start.

If you could walk into your childhood home, what would you notice first?

The smell in the hallway. The kitchen table. A voice from the next room. Start with one detail.
Your first paragraph starts here.

Your reader along the way

I’m Kees.
Tell me.

More about my background

For more than forty years, I’ve been turning stories into words. Now I help you tell yours.

I’m an author and journalist, born in Utrecht in 1954. I live partly in the Netherlands, partly in Spain. I’ve written more than a thousand articles for daily, weekly and trade publications and published ten books with various publishers.

For the English-language Life-Shift book series, Ofkje Teekens and I guided groups of ten people at a time as they wrote about a turning point in their lives. Their stories were published on Amazon in four books. That is the work I want to do with you: listen carefully, read closely, and help you finish and publish.

My work appeared in

NRC Handelsblad / de Volkskrant / Elsevier /
Haagsche Courant / Intermediair / Juist

From a conversation to a book

Your life story. We’ll work on it together.

  1. 01

    Find the thread.

    We talk about your memories and who you are writing for. Together, we make a workable chapter outline.

  2. 02

    Put it into words.

    You write. I read with you, ask questions and give feedback. Chapter by chapter, at your pace.

  3. 03

    Make it a book.

    We bring the manuscript together. With editing, design and printing, your words become something you can hand down.

Coaching options & prices

Start with a ninety-minute session and a written plan for €695, or six months of coaching for €1,950. Editing, layout, cover design and publication on Amazon are €995. We discuss a proposal at your free introduction.

A few good questions.

Do I need writing experience?

No. We start with your memories and make a plan together. You write in your own words; I help with structure, tone and feedback.

Can we work online?

Our first two conversations are best face-to-face, but online works too.

Can I give this as a gift?

Yes. Get in touch and we can discuss an introduction or a coaching programme for your parent or someone close to you.

Will it become a printed book?

Certainly. I take care of the editing, layout, cover design and publication on Amazon for you. From one copy to any print run you like.

Online, or somewhere over a cup of coffee.

What’s
your story?

How would you like to meet?
A few sentences are enough.

Your details are only used to reply to you.

You don’t need a manuscript. A beginning is enough.