So what is a book coach, anyway?
The term book coach baffles people a bit.
Most of us imagine the authors of books hunched over their laptops alone, tap-tap-tapping away into the wee hours of the night, eyes red from the strain of the screen and endless coffee. We think of them as solo travelers, journeying into their created world alone.
“No, I don’t stand behind the author as she types, muttering encouragements and suggesting approaches, blowing a whistle when she types ‘your’ instead of ‘you’re.’”
Of course, just one look at the acknowledgements section of any book belies this image. We know that - perhaps even more than raising a child! - it takes a village to make a book.
Still, we tend to think of that village peopled by the agent, the publisher, the publicist, the marketing team, and perhaps some early readers.
So it makes sense that when I tell people I’m a book coach, they look at me sideways. No, I don’t stand behind the author as she types, muttering encouragements and suggesting approaches, blowing a whistle when she types “your” instead of “you’re” (though now that I think about it, that kind of sounds fun).
No, a book coach, upon reflection, is perhaps more akin to a life coach.
A life coach is someone you meet with regularly, with whom you share how things are going in your life, to whom you ask questions about things you are stuck on, and from whom you hopefully receive some helpful advice. You might set up goals with a life coach - things you want to accomplish that perhaps you’ve been struggling to accomplish - and then check in on those goals together to help ensure you follow through.
A life coach is support, encouragement, strategy, and accountability and that’s pretty much exactly what I do as a book coach. Just for books.
Most of my book coaching clients are folks who have a brilliant, burning idea for something they want to write. Perhaps they’ve had it for years. And for so many different reasons, they need some support in bringing their story idea to fruition.
That’s where I come in. We meet weekly. Or monthly, depending on the author’s needs. We talk through the sticky bits of their plot, their characters - maybe the tone they’re really struggling to execute the way they want. We set goals; perhaps a specific number of pages to complete or a certain amount of time per week they set aside for writing. I read passages, offer suggestions, maybe make some changes. I create outlines or character profiles to help authors up and over roadblocks that might otherwise trip them up.
It’s a very tailored, customized experience. Some clients need a lot of support to just get the writing done. Some clients don’t need much accountability to write, but they need a lot of support to refine, focus, or organize what they’ve written. Some clients need the most help with the grand vision; they have a spectacular idea or multiple spectacular ideas but can’t quite see how they all fit together cohesively.
What all book coaching clients have in common - and what distinguishes them from developmental editing clients - is that the book has not yet been written. Their book is somewhere between the first kernal of an idea and a mostly-written manuscript. Once a manuscript is mostly written, I consider that developmental editing. The clearest way to understand the difference is: with book coaching, we are creating the story together; with developmental editing the story is already created, even if all the words aren’t written yet.
As with all things, there is nuance here, of course. Each client’s needs are different. Each story is different. There is unquestionably a nice, wide, gray area where developmental editing and book coaching meet on the spectrum of my services. It’s fun to explore that gray area with each individual client to see what particular combination of support is right for them.
But I’ll add just one more identifier between the two. In book coaching, I’m primarily working with the author. In a developmental edit, I’m primarily working with the words. Book coaching focuses on helping the author figure out what they need to get their book written - our focus is on the person doing the writing. In developmental editing, my work is to figure out what the writing needs to be complete, compelling, and cohesive - it’s more about the story, than the person who wrote the story.
Somewhere along the way, many clients transition from book coaching into developmental editing. They’ve succeeded in getting the words written and then they’d like me to review all those words, offer suggestions, maybe offer some sample passages etc. This is a really, really fun stage for me that I look forward to so much with my clients.
Really, it’s all quite rewarding. I believe so strongly that we all hold valuable, important stories inside of us. I experience it as an incredible honor when those who are compelled to share their stories invite me into their process to help them.
Could you use some help bringing your story to life or do you know someone else who might?
Send them my way!
I’d love to explore if we might be a good fit for book coaching (or developmental editing).
