Do you need a book coach? You know all about sports coaches. The great ones inspire their players to reach deeper, go harder, and win despite all the odds being against them. You may have heard about life coaches, too. They’re motivators who help you harness your inner resources to reach your personal and professional goals. If athletes and salespeople can benefit from coaches, why can’t writers? If you’re feeling stuck at any stage of your writing career, a book coach may be the answer.
What Is a Book Coach?
If you look at the websites of life coaches, you’ll note some similarities. They talk about personal transformation, transformative growth, empowerment, and building your best self. A book coach can help you in the same way. Working with a book coach, you’ll get someone who’s a combination of cheerleader and accountability partner.
A book coach can help you:
- Plan your writing
- Stay on schedule and on track
- Avoid procrastination
- Overcome self-doubt
- Push through to the end
While coaches don’t need degrees or other formal education, they often have certifications from coaching associations. The best-known credentials come from the International Coaching Federation (ICF) or the National Board of Health and Wellness Coaching (NBHWC). Currently, there are no specific licenses for a book coach, but some may have general coaching certifications.
What a Book Coach Can Do for You
Get Practical Guidance
A skilled book coach has experience in publishing. They’ll have firsthand knowledge of the ins and outs of working with a publisher, self-publishing, marketing, and everything else a successful writer needs to know.
A good coach may:
- Explain the pros and cons of self-publishing.
- Guide you to making the right choices for your budget and goals.
- Provide practical pointers on formatting, book proposals, and dealing with agents.
- Brainstorm marketing ideas with you.
If your writing coach is also self-published, they’ll have unique insights that can help you progress quickly from writing to publishing.
Establish Accountability and Structure
Some writers are their own worst enemies. If you’re a procrastinator, you are sure to find every excuse imaginable to avoid sitting down and working on your book. There will always be a reason to stop working. Even the most motivated writers can find their confidence flagging and their doubts rising as they sit alone and work every day.
Your coach will help you create a realistic schedule and an achievable daily goal, but they’ll also make room for days when you must push a little harder and do a little more. A writing coach will help you stay on track, stick to your schedule, and remind you of your goal when you want to give up.
Your writing coach can help with:
- Regular phone, video chat, or email sessions to make sure you’re working.
- Goals that break large projects into smaller, more manageable steps.
- Tracking your progress and showing just how far you’ve come.
Consistency is key to finishing a book. Every minute that you spend writing is a minute closer to writing “The End.” Too many writers give up too soon. With a book coach, you will have the structure, accountability, and motivation you need to stick it out.
Boost Your Confidence
Imposter syndrome is a widely recognized term these days, but it accurately reflects the reality for many people. Imposter syndrome is the feeling that you don’t deserve your achievements or position in life. You may feel that deep down, you’re not a good writer. You’re not skilled enough, original enough, or imaginative enough. You may hear these statements from people in your life, or they may be part of your own self-talk. Either way, it’s enough to derail even the most committed writer.
A coach can help keep imposter syndrome at bay. As a mentor and cheerleader, they will help you see that your creative breakthroughs are real, and setbacks are growth opportunities. They do that by:
- Encouraging you to finish your most challenging scenes.
- Exploring your book’s complex themes to understand them better.
- Nurturing your creativity.
- Guiding you on the right responses to criticism.
As your confidence grows, your coach will encourage you to keep pushing. You’ll find your creativity renewed as you learn to take on bigger challenges without fear.
Manage Your Time
Writing a book can become an all-consuming project. While some authors procrastinate and waste time, others can go the opposite way. They let the book absorb all their free time, leaving aside nothing for their friends and family, neglecting their other responsibilities, and otherwise mismanaging their time. That leads to burnout.
Some writers finish a book but get stuck in “draft limbo,” where they constantly revise, edit, and refuse to let go of the manuscript.
A writing coach can save you from burnout and draft limbo. They’ll help with:
- Creating a personalized schedule that makes time for all your responsibilities and doesn’t leave you exhausted every day.
- Setting realistic time limits for each step of your writing project, including research, drafting, revisions, and publishing.
- Sharing techniques to increase your productivity while you’re at your most creative.
- Encouraging you to let go of one stage so that you can move on to the next.
Without a writing coach, your book can feel like a huge, multifaceted problem that you can’t control. A coach will help you take control and manage your time efficiently.
A Book Coach Is Not an Editor
Don’t make the mistake of mixing your coach’s responsibilities with those of an editor. An editor helps you avoid errors in writing or organizing. They also help enhance your overall writing. A coach, however, focuses on helping you with your mindset and approach to writing.
Some Reasons to Consider Hiring a Book Coach
A book coach can help if you:
- Suffer from self-doubt about your writing abilities.
- Have no idea how to manage your time to fit in your writing.
- Want ideas on encouraging and nurturing your creativity.
- Need accountability, structure, and support.
- Want a motivator who’s always on your side.
How to Find the Right Book Coach
You may have decided a writing coach is the right choice for you. Now, how do you find the right one?
Coaching doesn’t require specific education or credentials. That’s true for most life coaches, and it’s also true for book coaches. That’s why it’s important to do your homework when considering potential coaches. Research their background and experience to decide if they’re qualified.
Ask yourself:
- Is the coach a published writer? Have they published in your genre?
- Does the coach have a strong publication history that includes books, literary journals, and magazines?
- Have they worked with other writers who went on to be successful?
Beyond that, you should dig a little deeper:
- Are they enthusiastic about your chosen genre?
- Is their writing compelling?
- Do you personally like their writing style?
This research will help you find a coach who’s compatible with you. When it’s time to work together, you’ll be on the same page, so to speak.
The following websites are good places to start your search:
- Writers.com
- TheWritePractice
- The Novelry
- Reedsy Publishing
- The Children’s Book Review
How Much Will a Writing Coach Cost?
Coaching fees start at $50 an hour and can go to $300 an hour or more. The rate will change depending on the coach’s background, credentials, and level of involvement that you want from them.
Get a Book Coach and Get Off the Bench
As an independent writer, you may be used to doing everything yourself. That doesn’t mean going it alone all the time. A writing coach can help you move past whatever is keeping you stuck. When your book is ready, Dazzle Printing will be ready to print it.
