What is a Book Coach? How To Improve Your Writing Skills By Hiring a Book Coach

Are you struggling to finish your first book or wondering what to do when it comes to publishing your first manuscript? Well, worry no more, the answer to your problems could be a book coach!

Some common problems writers face, like finishing their first manuscript, handling their book’s publishing, dealing with agencies, can be manageable with the help of book coaches. A book coach can help with these thanks to their years of experience in the publishing industry. Book coaches offer writers and authors different services to help them improve their writing.

If you are interested in taking your writing career to the next level, investing in a book coach can be a smart choice.

Wondering where to start? Read on to find out what a book coach really does and whether you need one in your life!

What Does a Book Coach do?

As they are also commonly known, writing coaches work together with authors or content writers to improve their writing. They help in different situations. Maybe an author needs to finish a book, write a memoir or autobiography but doesn’t know how to do it. Book coaches also help freelance content writers get higher-paying clients by offering better quality content.

Simply put, their work is to coach writers to become better at their work. They can do this through the services they offer like:

Goal Setting

Whether you are working on a book, the whole process takes months to complete. To help with your process, book coaches can offer writing advice to help you achieve your writing goals. Every writer needs timelines to ensure they finish writing and don’t burn out along the way. Goal setting also helps keep your vision clear.

Brain Storming Ideas

While sifting through ideas, writers need a sounding board to flesh out their concepts and see if their story makes any sense. Even if you just started writing, having an outside perspective can help you create a unique story that will stand out from other projects.

Outlining Your Story

Some of the most popular books you know today were just creative ideas from authors before they became global hits. A writing coach can help you structure your story and outline your book to make more sense. If you are writing your first book, the publishing process can be challenging. With a good book coach, you can get help to make your book a reality.

Publishing Industry Knowledge

Different writing coaches might overlook the whole publishing process. If you have your finished work ready for publishing, you can find a publishing book coach to help you decide whether to self-publish or submit your work to agents, depending on your goals.

First-time writers might have a hard time getting their first manuscript published. Book coaches can help these first-time authors find their voice, write a killer book proposal, meet agents and publishers, and help set up book readings and book signings.

Signs You Need Book Coaching

Not sure if you need a book coach to help you through your writing process? Here are some signs that you can benefit from by working with a book coach:

You have an idea but don’t know where to start

Writers have many ideas, but turning those ideas into a feasible story is where the work comes in. This is where a book coach comes in handy. They can help you outline the structure of your story, develop characters, plot lines, and build worlds to turn your idea into a reasonable concept.

This is an important stage when writing a book because it will determine how it will turn out.

You are stuck

Going through writer’s block again? You have probably tried talking to your friends and family about your book to try and get feedback about story plots and characters. If you didn’t get the feedback you were hoping for, it might be time to try out a writing coach.

Whether you are stuck with a chapter or don’t know how to continue a character’s story arch can greatly delay getting your book published.

It is worse when you have a deadline looming over your head from your editors. In this case, book coaches can help you peel back layers and examine where you want to take the story. You aren’t their first author who is stuck on their project. They will help you figure out where you got stuck and the best way to start over or move forward.

You keep getting rejections.

Another rejection email? If you have finished your draft and are trying to get it published with no success, a writing coach can help. Coaches can help you understand why you are getting all these rejection letters. Is it your book proposal? The synopsis, or is your story too similar to other books?

They will take a closer look at your manuscript, your synopsis and find out what isn’t working and how to fix it. Helping you make your query letter and draft more appealing to agents can lead to you becoming a published author sooner rather than later. They are experts and can help refine your story to get you the book deal you want.

If you have gone through any of these signs in your writing career, it might be time to consider hiring a book coach.

Benefits of Working With a Book Coach

Working with a writing coach can be strange for some writers, but with their wealth of knowledge and skills, they can be beneficial whether you are trying to get a book deal or finish your first book. Below are some benefits a writing coach can offer to help you become a better writer.

Editorial Feedback

Even the best-selling books started as a creative idea before becoming a rough draft. One of the best ways to get it from an idea to a complete book is constructive feedback. An advantage of hiring a book coach is that you get feedback on your manuscript to correct different story aspects, like the voice or structure, before submitting it to publishers.

It is better to get critique from a good book coach before your book makes its way to your editor. Having a sounding board can help make your book more interesting and go in the direction you want.

Book coaches will work closely with you to address any issues so that your completed manuscript is ready for publishing when it gets to your editor.

Keep You Accountable

One of the best reasons to get a writing coach is to keep you accountable. It is easy to get distractions or feel like you don’t want to write at the moment, which is normal and happens to most writers. With writing coaches, you can set fixed deadlines, targets and track your progress to ensure you accomplish your goals on time.

This is important for fiction and nonfiction writers who need to stay on course to get their book published according to set deadlines.

Writers Confidence Boost

Writer’s block is common, and many writers face it from time to time. The right book coach will help you gain confidence in your work and support writing that book you always said you would. A pat on the back goes a long way to encouraging writers to write more and better.

Other people may not understand your dilemma or when you get stuck, but a book coach will, and they will help you get back on track with your writing process.

Publishing and Marketing Assistance

Are you writing your first book? It is common to feel overwhelmed when getting your manuscript to the right editor or marketing your book after writing. Writing coaches have a network of connections and know-how to navigate the publishing process. They can help you write your query letter, learn how to choose the best agent, and write a killer book proposal for a lucrative publishing contract.

Whether you need help negotiating your first book deal or you need to set up a book signing, they can help lessen your workload.

What To Consider Before Working With a Writing Coach

Now that you know who a writing coach is and what he does, you should know how to choose the right one to help polish your writing skills. There are many scams these days, and you need to be sure you are not throwing away your money. Here are some factors to consider before choosing a writing coach:

Niche Speciality

Like any other industry, there are different book coaches you can hire. Because of this reason, you have the ability to choose a writing coach who specializes in your writing niche. Are you writing a fantasy romance novel or an autobiography?

Different writing coaches specialize in different niches, like screenwriting, fiction writing, content writing, non-fiction writing, or academic writing. The last thing you want is to hire a sports writing coach, and you want to publish a romance novel.

You can also find book author coaches and student essay writing coaches to suit your book writing needs. Your best bet to find a book coach specializing in your niche is to conduct in-depth research. Their writing advice would be better suit your writing needs if their previous coaching clients had similar projects.

Relevant Experience

Experience is one of the most important factors you should consider before hiring a writing coach. You need to know their expertise to trust their advice on the best methods to market your book or which editors to

trust. How long have they been coaching? Have they coached any successful authors? Any successfully published books? These are only some of the questions to ask about your writing coach’s work experience.

A book coach with relevant and up-to-date experience will offer you a world of knowledge. If they are constantly helping authors publish their books, they might be aware of trends and ways to get your manuscripts to the top publishing houses.

Years of experience also build skills and helpful networks that can help in other aspects of publishing like marketing.

Testimonials

There is a reason why people share their testimonials online. It is to help others stay away from scams or benefit from excellent services through their personal experience with a product or service. Does your writing coach have glowing testimonials? What about recommendations?

Most good book coaches will have testimonials on their websites from their students or authors who have worked on projects with them before. You can also ask the writing coach for their credentials or conduct your online research for any online complaints.

A simple google search can give you information about their social media conduct or any unsatisfied clients.

Budget

Book coaches don’t come cheap, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t worth every penny. The cost of a writing coach will vary depending on various factors like:

• Their work experience and expertise in your niche
• Mode of coaching involved either through the phone, online, or in-person coaching
• The type of services offered. Book coaching services vary depending on your writing, the niche, and if you require more personalized coaching.
• Payment Structure. Some book coaches accept payment in stages until your book is published or even after promotions are done.

It is easy to get carried away, but you need to remember your budget when spending on a writing coach. Researching the going rates for the type of book coach you need will help you estimate the cost to pay.

It would help if you didn’t go for the cheapest one too, because you might be sacrificing the quality of the coaching services and end up losing money too.

Trial Coaching Session

Have you found a writing coach but still have doubts? If you aren’t 100% sure about the coach you choose, you can request a trial coaching session. Like Netflix and other services, you get a trial period before paying for the month, and you need to do the same with your book coach.

Most book coaches can even do this for free, while others may offer a trial coaching session for a lower price than their usual rate. Both parties can get a feel of what it is like to work together and lay the foundation for their project. You will be working closely with a writing coach so testing the waters is important.

Writing a book is not an easy undertaking, neither is the publishing process. It would help if you asked your book coach all the questions you need until you’re comfortable working together long-term.

Coaching Vs. Editing

It is easy to confuse a coach and an editor because their services are similar. Book coaches provide written feedback on your work just like editors, and some editors also train their writers to write better, just like book coaches.

Choosing between the two greatly depends on whether or not you have a completed manuscript. Editors usually come when most of the work is done for a one-time task. You send them the first draft, and they return it to you with comments and possible edits you should make.

They also provide an editorial letter with more general suggestions on your work. There is little to no communication, and you might have to do the edits independently.

On the other hand, the relationship is more of a partnership with a writing coach because you will be working together to develop and structure your manuscript. Like editors, they might send you comments on the margin for you to edit, but they will be with you throughout your writing process to brainstorm ideas, give you writing advice, and help even after you finish your book.

If you want more expert guidance on your book proposal, writing, and getting your manuscript published, you might need a coach.

Book Coaches

Although there are more affordable ways of getting editorial feedback and encouragement, a writing coach might be what you need to help organize your content and keep you on track until you finish your book.

Whether self-publishing or working with agents, you don’t have to do it alone. With the help of writing coaches, you can get help to publish your book, boost creativity, develop an editorial strategy, and handle the marketing process.

And maybe I’m the right book coach to help with your writing process.