If your writing goals include:
1. Crafting a novel for kids or teens that you’re proud of, and
2. Landing a literary agent and a traditional publishing deal,
then a book coach may be the kind of help you need.
What exactly does a book coach do?
My job as a book coach is to help you transform your manuscript into a novel you’d be thrilled to see displayed on a bookstore shelf.
Here’s how I’ll help you do that.
By working with you one-on-one, I will:
- Provide accountability, such as regular due dates.
- Provide structure for your work, like specific “homework” that helps you keep moving forward.
- Give you individualized feedback—specific to your story–on your manuscript.
- Diagnose problems and suggest remedies.
- Identify what you’re doing well.
- Help you think like a writer AND like an editor about your work.
- Give you emotional and creative support for this hard work.
What will a writer gain by working with a book coach?
You’ll get feedback about the elements that make or break your story—the characters, the plot, the setting, the point of the story. And guidance to help you make your story stronger and more compelling.
By working with me, you will do things like this:
- Delve deeper into your characters to understand who they are, what they want, what they need, and why.
- Develop conflict, both internal and external, that pushes your main character to change.
- Make sure the emotions are on the page, where the readers can feel them.
- Figure out your worldbuilding—the how, when, and why of your world because you need to know way more about it than you will show to your reader on the page.
- Fix your story’s plot problems—like adding tension to a soggy middle.
- Bring out your story’s point or theme more clearly.
- Find the most interesting narrative voice for your story.
Depending on your needs and goals, this work can last from 3 months to a year or more. I ask new clients for a 3-month commitment. After that, we work together month to month.
Coaching happens in multiple ways.
You’ll receive my written feedback on each submission.
Within the manuscript itself, I ask questions and make comments. I like to point out where you’re doing good work because it’s sometimes hard to know what we’re doing well. I also point out things that need attention—like if dialogue is confusing or description goes on too long and I get lost.
You’ll also receive a short editorial letter that sums up my big-picture feedback. I’ll let you know if I’ve identified any major or minor problems. I’ll describe the strengths in the submission and suggest next steps.
Coaching also happens during our Zoom call.
We meet over Zoom a few days after you’ve submitted your work and I’ve returned my written feedback. During the call we go over the most significant issues, discuss your questions and reactions to my feedback, and plan your next submission.
BTW, this ongoing submission-feedback cycle is one of the biggest differences between a book coach and a developmental editor.
When to hire a book coach?
Here are some situations when you may benefit from working with a book coach:
- You know your story needs help/work but you’re not sure what to change or how.
- Your critique group has read several versions of your story and they no longer have anything new to tell you.
- You’ve revised based on professional feedback and now aren’t sure if your story is better or worse.
- You love your story, want to give its best shot at being published, and are determined to do what’s necessary.
If any of these situations sounds familiar, you may be ready to talk to a book coach about working together.
You don’t need to have completed a first draft to work with a book coach. Most of my clients have started working with me with a partial first draft.
What to look for in a book coach?
A book coach is a professional with a specific set of skills and level of expertise. For example, I have many years of experience as a teacher of writing, as a technical writer and editor, and as a college alumni magazine editor-in-chief. As a teacher and as an editor, I’ve worked with adults of all ages to write fiction and non-fiction.
I’m also a fiction writer myself and earned an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from the Vermont College of Fine Arts.
I’m a certified fiction book coach through Author Accelerator, a company that provides an extensive certification course.
Besides a book coach’s credentials, what should you look for?
A book coach’s specialty
Much like literary agents and acquisitions editors, book coaches tend to specialize in terms of age group and genre.
If you’re writing a middle grade mystery, a book coach for adult mysteries could certainly help with the mystery part. But such a coach will lack expertise in your target age group.
My specialty is helping writers of middle grade and young adult novels. I’ve worked with clients who write MG historical, MG contemporary, MG science fiction, YA fantasy, YA science fiction, YA speculative fiction.
What do you need the most help with—is it the tropes of your genre or is it fiction writing more broadly for your target age group?
Where are you, the writer, in the writing process?
How much of your story have you written—a few pages, a partial draft, a complete draft?
Some book coaches prefer to work with you on revising an existing draft while others prefer to help you plan and execute a first draft.
Also, how much experience do you have writing fiction? For example, do you understand how to write dialogue and action?
Some book coaches love working with writers who are new(er) to fiction. They’ll help you learn basic craft elements like the fundamentals of a scene. Likewise, if you’ve already written a novel or two, a book coach who works with experienced writers may be a better fit.
How to test the waters with a book coach
To get a sense of a book coach’s personality, you can do a lot of reading and lurking before you reach out.
Take a look at the coach’s website to learn how they talk about their work, like my Work with Me page. Do you like the tone or the vibe the coach uses about their work?
Read or skim their blog posts to see if the content speaks to you and where you are in your writing journey.
Take a look at their social media. What kind of content do they share? How does it make you feel? (I’m on Instagram and Facebook as @BookCoachMichele.)
Sign up for their email newsletter and/or any other freebies they offer (see below!). You’ll learn a lot about a coach’s voice and approach from their emails. Does this coach sound like someone you’d enjoy working with?
Most coaches will also have a way for you to contact them if you want to ask a quick question. This is usually a simple form on their site or an email address.
Most book coaches also offer a free introductory call. Mine is called a Creative Strategy Session. This is an opportunity for you and the coach to assess whether you are a good match.
Working with a book coach is a big step! Take your time to see if you’re ready.
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