Book Coaching: An Introduction
I won’t lie to you. I have a pretty sweet gig right now. By day, I work for a company that offers book coaching. By night, I’m a writer. But most awesomely — I get to utilize the resources at my disposable at a great rate. Being an “insider” has allowed me to gain an intimate look at how important book coaching is to many writers and encouraged me to take those steps for my own novels.
“That’s great, Jade,” you say. “But what exactly isbook coaching?”
I’m glad you asked. Because it’s a common fallacy that most people think book coaching is simply “editing” or “fixing what’s wrong.” Book coaches certainly do that work, but their job is much more complex and much more meaningful than just “fixing” things.
Here’s a verbatim explanation of what book coaching is from successful book coach, Jennie Nash:
Book coaching is about giving writers a better way forward — a way to learn and grow and deepen your craft under the guidance of someone who can watch and witness, who can guide you toward success, and give you a repeatable process to follow to get you closer towards mastery.
When you break it down, book coaching really is about helping you become a better writer. That happens in many different ways over the course of many different exercises, books, and conversations. But the most important common denominator between ALL book coaches is this: they’re invested in your success. They wantto see you get that agent or book deal. They want to see your self-published book become a smash hit.
A book coach is essentially your personal trainer for your writing life. They are there to guide you, support you, encourage you, and give you helpful criticism. One week, they may be focused on the actual words on the page and the next, they may be focusing on your lack of confidence in your work. What they provide is much more than just editing.
When I talk to other about my own book coaching experiences (which I will do in another post), I usually get the same round of questions. I’ll post them here, along with my answers, so you don’t even have to ask me!
Q: I’ve written X books by myself and haven’t needed the help of a coach, so why would I need one now.
A: You don’t! If you are just fine flying solo and you’re happy with your results, there is absolutely NO reason to get a book coach. However, if you’re frequently frustrated with your process, want to improve your craft, find yourself reverting to bad habits often, and/or struggle with accountability — it may be time to look into a coach. There are so many reasons to have a book coach but it really is a personal decision based on YOUR writing journey.
Q: Book coaching is expensive, how can anyone afford it?
A: To me, this is probably the most worthwhile and well-founded objection I receive. Because it’s true. It is expensive. But so is going to Starbucks 3424325342 a year and getting iced lattes. So is spending $699 on a new iPhone. So is that HBO subscription. The truth is — we ALL spend money on extraneous things that we don’t really need. Some of us even overspend (oops…me). But when you get down to it, if you’re willing to invest in yourself and your writing career, you’ll be willing to make sacrifices. I’ve talked with hundreds of writers who have explained to me that even on their tight budget, they are willing to forgo certain things to make their dreams a reality. To improve on their craft. When someone asks me this question, I usually respond with… “Yup, it is. But how can you afford NOT to if it’s your dream?”
Q: I don’t have the time!
A: … I actually really hate this one. Because it can be used as an excuse for every.single.thing in our lives. Working out, eating healthy, practicing the guitar, painting the bedroom, fixing up that old bicycle. Blah blah blah. I know it’s controversial of me to say, but I’m gonna say it anyway. THIS IS AN EXCUSE. Unless you can map out every hour of every day where you are somehow unable to write — then you don’t need coaching anyway because you’re not writing at all…right? Regardless of if you invest in a book coach or not, we all have the same amount of hours in a day. We are all busy. The choice is really simple: you make time… or you don’t.
Q: I’m a self-published writer and the “needs” are different for my audience.
A: Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but self-published or not, story is story is story. If you write a bad story and/or have a book riddled with errors, it doesn’t matter who your audience is. Readers want a good story. If you’re self-published and telling a good story, then, hey, kudos! You probably don’t need book coaching. But if you’ve gotten those dreaded bad reviews that point out error upon error, especially in the realm of “story,” you might want to consider looking into book coaching.
Q: My mom, grandparent, teacher, boyfriend, ex-friend, {insert anyone else} thinks I’m a great writer, why do I need the help of a coach?
A: That’s great that people believe in you! That’s very important to have as a writer. However, just because your mom or your grandmother loves your book does not mean it’s good. #sorrynotsorry. And it doesn’t mean that you have a handle on how to build a believable character or know that your story ARC is a hot mess. They might be able to give you feedback, but unless you’re studying under someone who has experience in the industry of writing, it’s incredibly difficult to find the areas you need improvement on and actively WORK to improve them.
What’s fascinating is that when I do consultation calls with potential writers for our book coaching program, by the end of the conversation, we’ve usually pulled out the “real” objections. The “truth” of why they’re hesitant to start book coaching.
- I don’t want anyone to tell me that my idea/character/story/plot isn’t good.
- I don’t actually want to know what’s wrong, because I think it will be too hard to fix it.
- Knowing that I don’t have things “all figured out” will effect my ego and maybe even the way I approach writing.
- I don’t like to be dependent on anyone else’s thoughts/suggestions/advice.
There are a ton more, but you get the picture. The true objections aren’t reallythe surface ones I first listed. They’re usually the deeper, darker ones. And I get it! I absolutely do. Because I, myself, resisted coaching for the first two years I worked with the company. Why? Because mydeep, dark objections held me back from investing in myself. And once I let those objections go, I found that every single one had been unfounded. That not only was my writing better with a coach but my attitude and relationship with writing improved.
If you want an even deeper look at what exactly a book coaches does, check out this series by Jennie Nash.
Originally published at medium.com on October 26, 2017.
