Write Your Business Book in 5 Days: a writing retreat by the sea

Most people who run a business have a book in them. They have the stories, the method, the hard-won opinions, and clients who keep saying “you should write this down”. What they do not have is five clear days, a quiet room and someone beside them who knows how a book gets finished.

That is what this retreat is. In the week commencing 23 November 2026, The Fig Tree in Shanklin will host ten authors for Write Your Business Book in 5 Days, a small residential writing retreat on the Isle of Wight. You arrive with an idea. You leave with your book. If you have been searching for a writing retreat in the UK that actually gets the thing written, rather than talked about, here is how it works.

Who is this writing retreat for?

This is a business book writing retreat, not a fiction workshop, and it is built for people who already have something worth saying.

• Consultants, coaches and advisers who want a book that opens doors and does the explaining for them
• Founders and business owners with a method or a story that keeps coming up in conversation
• Specialists who are tired of repeating the same advice one client at a time
• Anyone who has started a manuscript two or three times and stalled

You do not need to be a confident writer. You need a clear idea of who the book is for and why it matters to them. We will do the rest together.

We are keeping it to ten places on purpose. With a small group, every author gets proper one-to-one time, and nobody spends the week waiting their turn.

What does a day look like?

The shape of the week is simple: structure first, then sustained writing, with guidance close at hand throughout. If you would like the timings before you commit, ask us and we will walk you through how the days are built.

Breakfast is included in your rate and served from 8 to 10, so mornings start when you are ready rather than to a bell. From there the days are mostly writing. Sessions on shaping your chapters, finding your voice and keeping the reader with you sit alongside long, protected stretches of quiet work. There is a lounge for anyone who writes better with company, and your room if you prefer the door closed.

Evenings are yours. We serve breakfast but not dinner, so the evening meal is out in the town, which most authors come to like: Shanklin beach is a five-minute walk, and there is nothing quite like a late-November walk along the seafront to clear the head after a day of sentences. Restaurants in the Old Village and along the seafront, among them Pendletons, The Steamer Inn and Fisherman’s Cottage, are all within easy reach. Back at the hotel, happy hour runs every day from 5pm to 7pm with 20 percent off all drinks in the lounge bar.

What you leave with

The aim is straightforward: leave the Island with your book. What that looks like depends on where you are starting from, so we will agree the target for your week with you before you arrive.

Alongside the manuscript itself, you take home a clear structure you can defend, a title and chapter plan, and a working method for the last stretch of edits once you are back at your desk. You will also know, in practical terms, what happens next: how a business book gets from a finished draft to something a reader can hold. If you want to know what help looks like once the week is over, ask us and we will tell you plainly.

Who leads it

I am Wendy Sneddon MSc MCIJ, and I co-own The Fig Tree with my sister Karen. I will be leading the week, and I am glad to talk through my own writing and publishing background before you book.

I have run this hotel long enough to know that the right setting does half the work. A writing retreat by the sea is not a luxury for its own sake; it is what makes five days of concentration possible. My job during the week is to keep you moving: to help you decide what belongs in the book and what does not, to unpick the chapters that will not come, and to make sure you do not spend Wednesday rewriting Monday.

What’s included

The price covers your stay at the hotel and the guided programme for the week. Breakfast is included in your room rate every morning. We do not run a dinner service, so evening meals are taken in the town rather than at the hotel. For the finer detail, the number of nights and how much one to one time you get with me, ask us and we will put it in writing before you book.

What we can say for certain about the hotel:

• Your own room in our 23-room boutique hotel; the suites have private balconies and sea views
• Breakfast included in your rate, in the restaurant, 8 to 10, every morning
• Free high-speed Wi-Fi throughout, with reliable Wi-Fi desks in the rooms and lounge areas
• A quiet lounge bar and a terrace for writing outside the sessions
• Lift to all floors, step-free access, dedicated accessible rooms, and 15 free parking spaces
• Check in from 3pm, check out by 11am, and luggage storage either side
• Ferry discounts on crossings when you book direct with us

How much does it cost?

The full price is £1,495 per author. A Founding Author offer of £1,295 is available for the first retreat. Places at that price are limited, so ask us how many are left before you make your plans.

There are ten places in total. Ask us for the deposit and cancellation terms and we will send them in full before anything is due.

Dates

• Week commencing 23 November 2026: the first retreat
• Week commencing 25 January 2027: a further retreat, planned for those who cannot make November

Tell us which week suits you and we will confirm the arrival and departure days, so you can book your crossing around them. You can also see the rest of our retreats and events for the autumn and winter.

Where you stay

The Fig Tree is at 10 Queen’s Road, Shanklin, on the south-east coast of the Isle of Wight. It is a 23-room boutique hotel that Karen and I run ourselves, and our tagline, “Arrive as guests, leave as friends”, is meant literally. It is quiet, comfortable and small enough that the staff will know your name by the second morning.

Getting here is simpler than most people expect. Red Funnel runs from Southampton to East Cowes in 60 minutes by car ferry, or 23 minutes on the Red Jet if you are travelling on foot, and Shanklin is about 35 minutes on from there. Wightlink crosses from Portsmouth to Fishbourne in 45 minutes, with about 22 sailings a day, and it is roughly 25 minutes to us. The Lymington to Yarmouth crossing takes 40 minutes on the prettier New Forest route, then about 40 minutes across the island. Book your room direct with us and we can arrange a discounted crossing. If you are driving, there is free parking on site.

For a writing retreat on the Isle of Wight, late November has a particular appeal. The summer crowds have gone, the beach is empty, and the hotel is calm. It is the right time of year to shut the door and write. Earlier in the autumn we run The Art of Letting Go, our small wellness retreat by the sea.

How to book

Places are limited to ten, and the Founding Author offer will not last the full run.

• Email [email protected] with “Business Book Retreat” in the subject line
• Call us on 01983 241 010
• Or book direct on our website

Email is usually the easiest way in. If you would rather talk it through than type it out, the phone is better.

We are happy to have a short conversation first if you are not sure whether your idea is ready. That call costs nothing, and it usually settles the question either way.

FAQ

Do I need to have started writing before I arrive? No. Arrive with a clear idea and, ideally, a sense of who the book is for. If you have notes, talks, blog posts or a half-finished draft, bring them; they will save you time.

Can you really write a book in a week? A business book is typically shorter and more structured than a novel, which is what makes five focused days realistic when the structure is set early and the distractions are removed. We will agree a realistic target for your week with you beforehand, so that “finished” means the same thing to both of us.

Is the retreat residential? Yes. This is a residential writing retreat at The Fig Tree, and your stay at the hotel is part of the price. If you live on the Island and would rather sleep in your own bed, ask us and we will see what we can do for you.

What is the Founding Author offer? It is a reduced price of £1,295, rather than £1,495, for early authors on the first retreat. Places at that price are limited, so ask us what is left when you get in touch.

Can I bring a partner, or my dog? Partners are welcome to stay at the hotel at our usual room rates, which include breakfast, though the programme itself is for booked authors. Small, well-behaved dogs are welcome in selected rooms for £30 per stay. Please tell us when you book.

Is the hotel accessible? Yes. There is a lift to all floors and step-free access, and we are happy to talk through any particular needs before you book.