Deciding whether you need a book coach to help you with your business book requires you to assess your experience, skills, and personality. (Ouch.) Some of us work better alone; some of us need a gentle push (or a swift kick) to keep us motivated.
If you’re a speaker, coach, consultant, or small business owner and you’re considering writing a business book, you already know the benefits of being an author. Writing a business book is an effective way to establish your authority and credibility, build your brand, and find qualified clients. But it’s not an easy route: The journey from idea to published book can be daunting. If you’re unsure of the process, you could benefit from the services of a book coach.
What Is a Book Coach?
A good book coach serves as a guide, trusted advisor, and accountability partner (which is a nice way to say butt-kicker). Coaches not only provide expert advice on structure, content, and style, but they can advise you on building marketing strategies into your book, help you find the key points that will resonate with your target market, and give you writing tips and tricks that will keep the words flowing, ensuring that you actually finish your book.
A coach can help you:
- Clarify Your Vision: Most authors have too many ideas. A book coach can help you right-size the scope of your book, transforming your initial idea into a coherent and compelling narrative.
- Stay Organized: Many people hate outlines—a holdover from grade school, I suspect. But a detailed outline, which a coach will help you develop, will keep you on track.
- Create a Realistic Writing Schedule: All of my clients are busy people. Writing time needs to be scheduled. Having to “turn in” chapters creates that sometimes necessary pressure to make the time to write.
- Guide You Through the “Messy Middle”: There’s a point in just about every book when the writer gets stuck in the weeds. An experienced book coach knows this and will keep you moving through the areas where authors typically get bogged down—and quit.
- Help Develop Your Content: Some book coaches do little more than hold your hand and kick your butt. It is my belief that we should do more than that: Coaches need to provide insights on developing your content, let you know when you need to expand on information, when you’ve gone down a rabbit hole, and ensure that you are presenting the material in a logical order. In short, they also double as a developmental editor.
- Polish Your Manuscript: I tend to fix things as I go—I can’t help it. A typo, grammatical error, insight into a clearer way to present material. Coaches should help you prep your manuscript for publication beyond just the content: insight into front and back matter, your author bio, providing ancillary materials, and advice on using calls to action in your book.
- Navigate Self-Publishing (Optional): Self-publishing isn’t rocket science, but there are multiple steps in the process including interior formatting, cover design (wicked important!), and optimizing your description and keywords to help your book gain marketing traction.
When a Book Coach is Beneficial
I will be the first person to say that not everyone needs a book coach. However, certain circumstances make their support invaluable. Here are a few scenarios where hiring a coach can be particularly beneficial:
- First-Time Authors: Nine out of ten people who start writing a book don’t finish. That’s because it’s a large project and if you’ve never written a book before, it can feel overwhelming. A book coach understands the process, the mechanics of writing a book and can step you through them. A good coach will help you develop a structured framework to follow, making the actual writing more manageable.
- Time-Pressed Professionals: For most busy professionals, finding the time and energy to write can be challenging, to say the least. A book coach helps you prioritize your writing tasks so you always know what your next step is. Regular check-ins keep you committed to your writing goals despite other business demands.
NOTE: If your time is better spent serving your clients and running your business, consider using a ghostwriter. They will take your thoughts, experiences, and ideas and weave them into a coherent book. (Yes, of course I do that. In fact, I started out as a ghost.)
- Those Needing Accountability: Oh, I feel you! Writing a book is a long-term project requiring sustained effort. It is so easy to find ANYthing else to do rather than write. A book coach holds you accountable; there’s some pressure to produce actual words on a regular basis. A good coach won’t shame you for not getting your work done—the first time. But she will work with you to see what kept you from writing and find ways for you to stick to your writing commitment. I have a special session every week where any coaching client can drop in and just write. Co-working makes the writing process easier, knowing you’re not the only one sitting there writing.
- Writers Lacking Confidence: Many of my clients have mixed emotions (at best!) about writing. Maybe they have “spellers’ block” or they didn’t do well in English. There’s a lot more imposter syndrome at even the highest levels of business than you would suspect. Even John Steinbeck had his doubts about his writing. A book coach can give you constructive feedback and should give you confidence in your writing.
Self-Directed Writing: Discipline and Skill Required
I will say this: Not everyone needs a book coach. Books were being written long before book coaches came along. Some individuals possess the discipline, skills, and motivation to write their business book independently.
If you decide to go it alone, consider the following:
1. Discipline and Time Management
Not gonna lie: Self-discipline and time management are rare skills. High achievers usually have these two qualities mastered. If you can set a writing schedule and stick to it, you are halfway there!
2. Strong Organizational Skills
Again, a book is a major project. It’s essential to go in with a plan (your outline) and organize your ideas logically. An effective outline serves as a roadmap: You know where you are headed and what you need to do next. A logical, detailed outline ensures your content flows smoothly. You also need to organize your time and work flow. Strong organizational skills will get you through. As a back-up, you might do a few “one-off” sessions with a book coach to get your outline where you want it and lean into the writing, leaving the door open to future sessions if you get stuck.
3. Self-Editing Proficiency
Good writers can make good editors but it is difficult editing your own work. So, the self-editing proficiency is really about editing the content itself—recognizing when you are running off on a tangent or not being clear. You need to be able to critically assess your own work, identify weaknesses, and make necessary revisions. The blind spot for many people with lengthy experience is that they miss breaking concepts down to a more basic level that their target audience will understand. Teachers are excellent at delivering information in understandable bites. The rest of us tend to assume “everybody knows that” whether it’s a principle of management or the meaning of a catchy, industry-related acronym. And, no matter how good a self-editor you are, once the book is written, it will still need to be passed through a professional editor.
4. Access to Resources
Having access to a writers’ community can be a double-edged sword. (One word: Egos.) A good group is worth its weight in gold for feedback, tips, and encouragement. A bad group at best will be an exercise in frustration. Usually it is the blind leading the blind. In addition to writers’ groups, you can access books and courses on structure, the actual writing, and the publishing process. Software and apps can make the writing process easier. While you don’t want to use AI to write your book (it’s not “there” yet), you can use it to help you with structure and ask it to suggest topics to include in your book.
So, Do You Need a Coach? Making the Decision.
Deciding whether to hire a book coach depends on your personal strengths, weaknesses, and circumstances. Here are some questions to ask yourself:
- Do I have a clear vision for my book? Do I know what I want the book to do for me, for my business, and for my reader?
- Can I set and stick to a writing schedule?
- Do I feel confident in my writing and editing skills?
- Do I want to use a traditional publisher or self-publish? Do I know how to go about either of these?
- Do I have access to resources that can support me? Should I take a course or join a writers’ group rather than use a coach?
- Will the services of a coach allow me to finish and publish my book in less time and result in a better product?
The first three questions are more important than the next two. Joining a writers’ group has no benefit if I’m the type of person who likes to work alone and I have the self-discipline to do so. I can figure out if I want to self-publish or try a traditional publishing route with a one-off coaching session. But if you are uncertain as to what you should put in your book or not sure of your writing skills, the right book coach can be a worthwhile investment. They can provide the structure, expertise, and encouragement you need to transform your idea into a finished book.
The last question is usually the deciding factor for my clients. The sooner the book is ready, the sooner they can leverage it for marketing purposes.
Wrapping Up
Bottom Line: If you are organized, self-motivated, and have worked on other long writing projects before (for example, a masters’ or doctoral thesis, company training manuals, long-form marketing materials), then you may very well be able to write your book without someone looking over your shoulder.
However, if you have tried writing a book and abandoned the project, have a tendency to procrastinate, or if you are unsure of your ability to write and finish a quality book, then it would be very helpful to have someone on your side, helping you through the process. Review the “Making the Decision” section above and be honest with yourself.
Whether you choose to work with a coach short or long term, or go it alone, remember the key to success is to have a clear vision for your book, a game plan in the shape of a written, detailed outline, and a commitment to finishing. With these elements in place, you have what you need to create a powerful business book that enhances your professional reputation and opens the door to new opportunities.
