What Is a Book Coach?
Okay, let’s be real…I should have done a post on this much earlier. And I realized this a few weeks ago when someone dropped into my LinkedIn messages to ask, “So what does a book coach do?”
If you’re a super-busy person with only 30 seconds, here’s a quick, short answer:
Book coaches support authors in going from idea to a finished, published book.
If you want a more detailed explanation, then let’s go on a bit of a journey together.
A COACH COACHES
In high school, I ran track. I was hardly a natural athlete—it was simply the only sport I was sorta okay at. I never won a single race—in fact, the highest I ever placed was third. But I would’ve been even worse without coaches.
During my junior and senior year, this was Coach B. I’m calling him this both for privacy and because to this day, I don’t know how to spell his last name. He was more of a football coach than track—and he was your stereotypical coach at that. Speaking in a permanently hoarse yell, clipboard in hand, wearing a ball cap that may have been fused to his head, and using nicknames for everybody. Mine was Jon-Jon. He called me this so much, he forgot my actual first name. True story.
Despite his rough edges, Coach B was also very positive, upbeat, and encouraging. He also let me run early whenever track practice conflicted with one act play rehearsal (yes, I was a theatre nerd, too, no surprises there). I didn’t realize it at the time, but this was probably a sacrifice for him since he would stand out there with just me, timing my laps.
This taught me a valuable lesson for book coaching: to focus on the needs of the author. How do I need to push them to get their book “into shape”? Where do they need to be challenged more? Where do they need me to encourage them?
The heart of book coaching is no different than any other coaching. And just like how coaches have to mold training to the athlete, so book coaching has to be molded to the author. There’s no one-size-fits all option. And that’s a good thing.
THE PLANNING
There are two major roadblocks for most would-be authors:
Time.
A Plan.
The fun point here is how having a plan also addresses the time roadblock. If you have a book plan, it motivates you to make the time. But maybe that’s a blog for another day.
Many of the authors I work with have some kind of book outline at the beginning. Sometimes it’s a full-fledged book plan the publisher helped them with—or sometimes it’s a typo-riddled bullet list.
No problem. Book coaches can work with both.
We book coaches help relieve a lot of the writing anxiety involved in a book by helping the author develop a plan and being a sounding board for their ideas. We triage which ideas need to be in the book, which ones might need to be saved for another medium, and help identify the best structure for the book.
In coaching terms, think of it like putting together the training plan. It includes deciding on a phone call cadence, setting benchmarks for when sections of the book need to be completed and reviewed, and identifying both the author’s strengths and weaknesses. Knowing both helps the book coach tailor future calls to leverage the author’s strengths and help them improve.
THE WRITING
As you can probably imagine, writing is also a big part of book coaching. Just because someone is a natural storyteller doesn’t mean they are a natural writer. That’s where we step in.
Some of my book coaching involves ghostwriting. Sometimes it’s the whole book, sometimes it’s just part of the book so it doesn’t get stuck. Depends on my agreement with the author. But I always get a kick out of when an author I’m ghostwriting for wants to contribute their own passages.
But if they are writing their own manuscript, a big part of my role is going to be helping them improve their writing. This is the very close to what a Developmental Editor does. I look for what needs to be improved and provide notes and suggestions. It’s about finding the holes that need to be filled, the confusing sentences which need to be clarified, and any repetition which needs to be reined in.
In the process, the author becomes a better writer, honing in on their writing voice (which is often different than their speaking voice), and gaining skills which will help them in other areas outside of their book: writing newsletters, emails, and so on.
Regardless of how much of the writing I’m helping with, it’s a very collaborative process. Sometimes ghostwriting clients are surprised by how much involvement is still required of them. But I tell them that’s the only way to make sure their voice and message is captures authentically, the only way they can confidently say, “This is MY book” at the end of the process.
THE ENCOURAGEMENT
Lots of people start books. Very few actually finish. Even fewer actually publish. Book coaching makes a huge difference in helping authors reach the finish line. This requires a LOT of encouragement.
Pretty much every book I’ve worked on has a point where the author is stressed about whether they should even be writing a book. This is when book coaching can start to look a bit like therapy—helping the author identify their fears around the book and then take the steps to overcome them.
Author rapport is huge here—having a well of trust to draw from. Encouragement only works if the author is able to receive it.
But more than anything, it’s about accountability. Book coaches become like an accountability partner to keep the author moving forward, word by word, chapter by chapter, until a whole manuscript is ready to go out into the world.
THE MISCELLANEOUS
Different book coaches offer different services. I’ve known some who help out with the layout and design of the book. Others may help out with some of the marketing content or book proposals. Some just stick to getting the initial manuscript finished before passing on to an editor.
Personally, I like doing the line editing for the projects I coach. I think it’s one of the most fun stages of the book process because you finally get a full picture of what the book will truly be like. It always makes me feel like a member of the preview audience for an upcoming movie—I get to be one of the first fans.
But here’s a list of some services a book coach might also provide:
Workshopping the book title and subtitle
Book cover copy (author bio, summary, hard cover flap copy)
Web summary
Marketing materials (blogs, articles, social media posts, podcast episodes for promotion)
Layout and design
Line editing, copy editing, or proofreading
Book proposals to send to agents/publishers
So if you’re getting into book coaching for yourself, think about which of these services you might want to have as an add-on to set yourself apart. And if you’re an author considering a book coach, make sure you ask about these. Never assume they’ll be part of the package unless it’s spelled out in the agreement.
IS BOOK COACHING RIGHT FOR YOU?
You’d think I’d be biased here and shout, “Yes, of course it is!” and then give you a hard sales pitch. Nope.
Here’s the deal…book coaching isn’t right for everyone. So here are some things to consider:
Can I afford book coaching? (Cost can range from $7K to $15K, depending on the nature of the book and level of coaching. Ghostwriting will add to this.)
Will my schedule make it difficult for me to finish a book by myself?
How confident am I in my own writing?
Am I prepared to spend more time on my book if an editor says it needs a lot more work?
How important is it for me to get my book done by a certain time?
How important is this book to my future/my business/my brand?
If you’re still not sure if book coaching is right for you or not, then you’re probably not ready for it yet. It’s often a “you know when you know” sort of thing. But if you still think it would help to talk it out and get more info, then that’s definitely an option too.
