Should You Get A Writing Coach?

You want to write the best book you can, but there’s so much to learn. Can a writing coach help you? Keep reading….

Image by John Schonobrich from Unsplash

Writing a book isn’t just about putting words on paper. Congratulations if you’ve gotten that far. Really. I can’t tell you how many people I’ve talked to who said, “I’ve got this really great idea for a book,” but never seriously tried to write it.

But there’s so much more to it. And I’m not even talking about spelling, grammar, sentence structure, plot, characters, and all of the “craft” of writing. We will assume for the moment that you’ve taken English classes and a good creative writing class. What comes next?

This is where you need a writing coach. There’s a lot they don’t teach you in that creative writing class when it actually comes to the business of being an author. Here are just a few of the basic questions they could help you with:

• What program or app is best to use? Microsoft Word? Google Docs? Scrivener? The days of simply writing on a pad of paper or a manual typewriter are long gone. You have to get those words into a digital format.
• How do you manage your writing time? We have busy lives, after all. Most writers still have day jobs. Many of us have children to raise and households to run. We have active lives. Where can you fit in writing time?
• Should you make an outline? What does that even entail? There are different kinds of outlines. Which is best for your kind of book?
• How do you find an experienced editor?
• How do you query a book to get an agent or publisher?
• Do you need an author webpage? How would you go about doing it?
• What sort of social media sites should you have an author page on?
• How does one promote or market a book after it’s finished? Will the publisher take care of that? What if you self-publish?
• Should you join a writer’s group?
• How do you go about designing a book cover and image?
• Should you self-publish? Or should you try to get published traditionally?
• Should you have a writer’s blog?
• What sort of writer events should you do after publishing? Book fairs? Author tables? Public readings?
• How do you handle the finances? Do you report book sales on your taxes?

And there’s so much more. When you stop to think about it, really think about it, the actual writing of your book is just a portion of the overall picture of your writing journey. And if you want to make a living from your writing, especially if you self-publish, then you need to learn how to make it a business and wear many hats. It can be a bit dizzying.

Enter the writing coach.

A good writing coach can bring order to the chaos, step you through the process, and help you build a good foundation to build on. You can’t be expected to know it all. They can lend their experience and organizational tools. They can answer the questions I posed above.

Like any other professional, they should be paid for their service, and this would be negotiated with them. But I assure you, it is worth paying for.

Recently I had the opportunity to be a writing coach for two different authors.

One is an author who has published a book and who has been in my writing group for years. Our group recently moved to being all-virtual, and she needed help understanding how to use the technology, namely using the virtual meeting app (Discord), uploading and downloading manuscripts from Google Docs, and how to leave comments on the virtual copy of a manuscript. We had several virtual sessions, and one in-person session, each about an hour long. I believe she now understands how to do these things, giving her the ability to continue benefiting and contributing as a member of our writing group.

The other person I coached is a beginning writer who has a great book idea (an autobiography with a bit of self-help added in), and she has a very compelling life to learn about — and learn from. But she needed help understanding how to outline the book, how to structure the sort of book she wants to write, how to do voice-to-text in different writing programs, and some general information about the business of publishing and marketing books. We had a phone session for about an hour and a half, and then an in-person session of about four hours. I really enjoyed sharing my knowledge, and I believe she feels better about the processes we talked about and more confident about proceeding.

And I’ve had a coach, too. Well, sort of: she’s a life coach, actually, not a writing coach. I needed help from Danielle for a very specific goal: to help me better organize my writing time each week. Over several sessions, we hammered out a weekly schedule and realistic expectations for my writing time and activities each day, then she followed up with me on a regular basis to measure my progress. As a result, I’ve doubled my efficiency. Despite working 50 hours a week and leading a very active life, I’m churning out at least a chapter a week, I’m blogging regularly again, and still finding time for all my marketing and promotional efforts.

And just for the record: yes, I’d love to be hired as a writing coach again. If you’re interested, please contact me.

How do you find a writing coach?

• Start locally. If you know some experienced authors, don’t be afraid to approach them and ask if they could help you as a writing coach, or if they know someone.
• Local writing organizations can be found in most regions and states and you can ask them if they have a listing.
• Online service sites, such as Fiverr.com, will have listings by professionals who are offering their services. Search for “writing coach.”
• Or contact me!

What qualities should you look for in a writing coach?

• Experience: They should have several publications, preferably of the sort of genre you are wanting to publish. Or they should have experience in the business of editing and publishing.
• References: They should come well-recommended.
• Cost: Negotiate a fee for their service that you are comfortable with. A typical range can be between $20–100/hr (I charge $30/hr) and may depend on the package deal.
• Services: What sort of services do they offer? Can they help you with the questions you are needing answered? Do they do editing too? Do they offer different packages?
• Scheduling: Can they meet virtually, or in person? Can they work with your schedule?

Writing can be a solitary activity, with just you and your words, but it doesn’t have to be. In addition to writer’s groups and writing organizations, a writing coach can be another option to help you in your writing journey. I urge you to consider their help.

Cheers and happy reading!