A book coach can make all the difference for you, but—spoiler alert—there are things a book coach cannot do.
Writing a book is a very large project and for someone who has never done it before (and many who have), it can be overwhelming. In a previous post, I discussed how having a book coach can be super-helpful in getting your book organized, written, and published.
But, as AMAZING as a good book coach is, there are just some things we cannot do. (And some we should not do.) To help you refine your expectations, here are five things your book coach cannot do.
Your Coach Cannot:
Guaranty Results
When you’re searching for a book coach, you will see a lot of big promises out there: become a bestseller, five-star reviews, some even guaranty a certain number of sales (which is different come becoming a bestseller). If you are looking at someone who promises you those things, walk away.
Why?
Because they are most likely using “black hat” methods; legitimate coaches can’t guaranty that your book will catch fire. (Even traditional publishers sometimes miss the mark on sales estimates.) The biggest bookseller in the world is Amazon. It’s responsible for 67% of eBook sales and controls just over 40% of print book sales. Amazon has very strict rules about reviews (including no “review swaps” or paying for reviews). It also has amazing systems in place to catch people who try to game the system. As an author, you don’t want to get banned from the largest bookseller in the world.
FYI: It’s fairly simple to become a bestseller on Amazon. It’s a matter of choosing a category with little competition and then selling X number of books in a confined window of time. Some vanity publishers and book coaches have people in place to buy their new releases in order to pop sales and grab a bestseller ribbon. But it seldom results in sustained sales.
Fix your book for you
Most book coaches are there to help you—pointing out what needs clarification, what areas need additional information, or when you have gone too deep down a rabbit hole. What we won’t do, is step in and rewrite your book for you.
I review my clients’ work as we go. If there are sentences that are awkward, we work together to find a better way to get your point across. I probably make more suggestions than most coaches, but I am always careful to ask if what I’m suggesting changes the meaning or if the client just doesn’t like it. (My feelings don’t get hurt.)
A coach is there to make your book better. That means pointing out things you need to rewrite to make it stronger, easier to read, or more clear.
Make the final judgment call
I am full of wonderful(!) ideas and suggestions for your book. I love looking at possibilities and all the different directions you can take your book. But at the end of the day, it’s YOUR book, not mine.
A book coach will advise you on structure and organization. They will make suggestions on what to include and what you should consider leaving out. A good coach will show you how to find out what other people in your field have done and see what they might have missed. We should let you know if something you say is going to be polarizing or cause a backlash and weight the pros and cons of it.
But the final decision of what goes in your book is up to you. You get final say on all the things, from front cover to back cover copy. Nine times out of ten, you will know your audience better than the coach does and a good coach will defer to your experience.
Catch technical errors
A book coach is an expert on writing books. They are not experts in your particular field. That means they will not be able to catch any mistakes you make that are related to your expertise.
I have worked on books that involve finance, C-Suite level politics, case law, even running a music school. While I have a wide general knowledge (I’ve worked on a LOT of books!), I do not have expert knowledge in every field. If you say in your book that you need a clam-joint widget for the fram-filter, and you really need a spacing sprocket, I’m not going to catch that. I’m not even going to pretend.
It’s up to you to make sure your book is factually correct. Many of my clients have asked other experts, colleagues, to review their book before publishing to make sure they haven’t stated anything incorrectly. If you do make a mistake? Don’t worry—there’s always some reader ready to pounce on it and slam you in a review. So, let’s catch those technical errors before publishing.
Make you sit and write!
A book coach is not your mom. We’re not going to stand over you and make you do your homework. If you’re paying for coaching and not doing the actual writing, we will talk about WHY you’re not writing and try to uncover whatever is blocking you. But if you’re showing up session after session without words on paper, that’s on you.
I run a co-work session every week for my coaching clients. We meet on Zoom for two hours, briefly say what we’re going to work on, then mute our mics, put our heads down, and work. There’s something about knowing other people are working alongside you that helps keep you on track. Does it work every time? No. But there’s a little bit of peer pressure that happens in those sessions and people are more motivated to write to a schedule.
Final Word
I love helping people write their books. Most of my clients are self-starters and are motivated to finish their books. They have a very specific purpose for writing their books, something we discuss in the initial session and come back to in order to stay on track.
They also understand the value of having someone who knows the ropes guide them through the process. My clients are busy people—speakers, consultants, small business owners—with a lot on their plate. They are results-oriented. They are very used to hiring consultants and coaches to help them achieve those results.
The most satisfying result for me? Seeing my clients proudly holding their book in their hands. Well, that’s the second most satisfying result for me. The very best thing I can hear from them is, “I want to write another book.”
