Writing a book, whether it’s your first or your tenth, can be intimidating. Getting the idea is easy enough. Getting that idea from your head to your page in a concise, engaging manner, is another story.
Writers write.
You can’t be a writer without writing. But writers can have book coaches to help them through the process.
While the writing is up to the writer, sometimes the added help of a coach can ensure you take your idea from just the idea to the final product.
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Hiring A Book Coach: What Book Coaches Do
Hiring a book coach is not something to feel bad about. In fact, it’s very similar to hiring a workout coach to help you train.
When hiring a coach to help you workout, the coach is responsible for many aspects of your workout process: They may create workouts for you, a workout schedule, they may help you know what to prepare for meals, and they may even come alongside you as you go through your workouts to help you with form and encourage you as you complete your reps and sets.
The one thing the workout coach does not do is workout for you. You are the trainee and you must do the training yourself.
The same is true for a book coach. They can help you through the process, but you are the writer and must do the writing yourself.
However, just as hiring a workout coach can help you reach your goals in a much more efficient manner and help ensure lasting results, a writing coach can help you do the same.
In this article we discuss:
- What Does A Book Coach Do?
- Do I Need A Book Coach?
- How Do I Find A Writing Coach?
As you answer these questions for yourself, try to answer honestly.
Having a coach does not mean you are not good at what you do, but simply that you could benefit from some guidance and added accountability.
Let’s face it: Olympic champions have coaches. So do successful entrepreneurs. So why wouldn’t you?
What does a book coach do?
A book coach helps you through the process of writing your book, from brainstorming to publishing. Their specific coaching depends on what the individual offers and what you need.
If you need help with brainstorming, a book coach can help.
Want to outline but need a guide? Hire a book coach.
You’re stuck in the middle of your draft? Book coaches can help.
Are ready to pursue publication but don’t know how? You got it: A book coach can help.
From choosing self-publishing vs traditional publishing, a book coach can help you choose a path an keep you accountable to complete your book on time.
But coaches are more than simply people who help you maintain your dad lines. A book coach can help you through every step of the process just like a personal trainer can help you do every step of the process of working out. Of course, they can’t do the work for you, but they can encourage you to do the work and guide you in knowing how to do the work.
You could even consider hiring a book coach for one aspect of your writing experience.
If you have never hired a book coach before, you may want to start with hiring their services for brainstorming, then see if you can work on your own to finish your outline.
Or maybe you’ve written books before and know you always get stuck in the drafting stage. A book coach can help you through your writer’s block as well.
Do I need a book coach?
If you feel like some extra guidance, accountability, and a fresh set of eyes could help take your book from idea to publication, you may want to hire a book coach.
When deciding if you need to hire a book coach, start by genuinely accessing where you are at in your journey:
- Are you great at brainstorming book ideas?
- Do you know if your original idea is strong enough for a full book?
- Do you need help outlining?
- Do you prefer to write via pantsing (figuring it out as you go)?
- Do you struggle getting your draft finished on deadline?
- Do you know how to go about pursuing publication?
- Do you know how to find a good editor and how to self-edit?
- Do you work better on your own or with a team?
- What is your goal in writing this book?
Answer the above questions honestly. If this is your first time ever writing a book, hiring a coach to help you through the process will likely make your first writing experience more enjoyable and heighten your chances of being a success.
However, if you simply want to sit down and write a book for the fun of it, you do not have aspirations to publish, to meet a specific deadline, hiring a writing coach would likely cause frustrations.
Let’s go back to the personal trainer example: If you decided to hire a personal trainer, you probably have a personal goal in mind. You will get the most out of your investment if you have already decided to meet a certain goal and decided to hire a trainer to guide you through the process to do so.
If you hire a trainer but don’t have a goal and are satisfied with where you’re at, the experience may be frustrating for both of you.
The same is true with a writing coach.
If you know you need to meet certain goals and aren’t sure how to do it on your own, or simply want some guidance to do so, a writing coach may be a helpful option.
Consider where you are at in your writing journey, then move forward accordingly.
How do I find a writing coach?
Your journey to finding the correct writing coach for you starts with doing your homework. Begin by researching the writers you respect and see what they’ve already put out there.
Chances are, if they are known and credible in their field, they’ve likely already published books and blogs about the topic you’re interested in.
Before sending out that initial email, read their writing and see if you can find places where they’ve already answered the questions you may ask.
Most people are busy and don’t have the time or capacity to answer questions they’ve already answered.
If you’re wondering about a particular writer’s thoughts on character development, check their website and published books to see if they’ve already covered that topic. If they’ve already covered your topic, read all the information they have. If you still have questions or think working with them in a coaching relationship would be beneficial, reach out.
Explain that you’ve read their work, respect them as an author, and would love to talk further about the possibility of working together.
If you don’t have a particular author in mind, a simple Internet search can help you out.
Many well-known authors offer writing training via courses, guilds, or other packages for writers. This method is a way for established authors to coach many writers at once, and may be a good option for you as well.
Some authors offer courses that take you from beginning to end, some focus on specific areas of writing, and others focus on presenting their teaching in book form.
Sometimes a free trial is offered where you can test a course to see if the particular style of coaching works well for you. As you research your options, note the possibilities, then narrow it down to the several that look best for you.
Moving Forward
As you work through the process of finding the right coach for you, take your time. Just as different literary agents represent different manuscripts in the traditional publishing world, different coaches focus on different areas of the writing process.
Honestly assess where you are at as a writer and where you have room for growth, then choose a writing coach accordingly.
Remember that writing coaches have busy schedules. Do your research before reaching out. When you do send the initial email, be professional and respect their time.
You may want to ask the coach what type of writers they enjoy working with or are looking to work with.
Just as literary agents enjoy specific genres of writing, writing coaches enjoy working with specific types of writers. Be clear on your goals, aspirations, and where you are at as a writer.
Don’t present yourself as an established writer if you’re still learning. At the same time, don’t sell yourself short.
If you’re working on the third installment of your bestselling trilogy, be upfront. Explain where you’re at and where you hope they can work with you to accomplish your goals.
Don’t forget to enjoy the process!
Remember This About Writing
Writing is a long journey with many different stages. While publication is a great goal to have, the moment of actually publishing is short.
Enjoy the stages leading up to your goal, and the goal will be that much more rewarding.
Honestly assess where you are.
Do your research.
Be professional.
Be clear.
Want a Professional Team of Book Coaches On Your Side?
We would be remiss if we didn’t just outright say – this is what we do at Self-Publishing School.
We have teams of specialty book coaches in everything from Fiction Writing to Non-Fiction, from Memoir, to Children’s Books, and more.
Our coaching programs combine a solid, online course – for whatever stage you’re at – from writing your first book or novel, to increasing sales on your books, to using your books to launch a public speaking career – all of that combined with
- endless book writing and publishing resources and templates to get you moving
- a book coach to help you reach your goals
- a community group to post questions in and get real feedback from other published authors
- live weekly Q&A’s and trainings to answer your questions in real-time.
So, if I didn’t tell you that, dollar for dollar, we are most value-packed, Fortune 500, book coaching company out there, well, I would be leading you down a wrong path.
If you’re serious about hiring a book coach to help you achieve your writing or self-publishing goals, we can help.
- First, check out this video from Bill on how he self-published (or review any of our Self-Publishing School reviews and testimonial videos from students that have self-published with us).
- Then, book a call with our Resource Team to learn more.
Note: While Bill took a little longer to write and publish his books, we help authors DAILY write and publish quality best-sellers in 90 days or less. It’s all about the system.
Sign up for our video training to learn more.
ONLINE CLASS
Write and Publish A Book in HALF the Time!
Learn how 100 people finished and published their books in the last 60 days and how you can do it, too! Choose a time below to join the online class!
Disclosure: Some of the links above may contain affiliate partnerships, meaning, at no additional cost to you, Self-Publishing School may earn a commission if you click through to make a purchase.
