In previous blog posts, we’ve addressed the questions of why you should hire a book coach, what you can expect from a coach, and the daunting “How much does a book coach cost?” But as Rebecca and I work to communicate what exactly we do, it’s important that we clarify the long-term value we offer writers.
Listing our writing coach services tells you in a concise way, what you’re paying for. But what we seek to build with our clients goes beyond any one list we could contrive. We aim to create long-term relationships and personalize each curriculum to fit what you need now, at this point in your journey.
What would you give to streamline your career? If you’re a new writer, you might not know, but seasoned writers will look back over their last decade (or more) and wish they would have had help. I wish that for myself. It would have saved me an awful lot of struggling.
The path to becoming a writer is a slow burn. It takes years upon years to develop the skills needed to make progress in this market. If you had the option of enlisting professional guidance to shorten that time as much as possible, why wouldn’t you?
Spinning the Hamster Wheel
We know from experience what it’s like to fumble around in a highly competitive and elusive industry, trying to reverse engineer other authors’ success, even without having any idea if those same things will work for you. It’s agonizing and beyond frustrating. But one of the most important lessons I’ve learned as a writer came from that very challenge:
Don’t spend your limited, precious time trying to fix what you can’t yet define. The time you have is finite. The time you have to pursue a creative endeavor outside your regular family and work time? Even more so. Don’t spend it fruitlessly running after solutions when you don’t even know if those are the the right ones.
We’re coaches because we’ve already been through this stage. We have been exactly where you are now. That’s why we want to help you. We know how it feels. It’s hard.
You Don't Know What You Don't Know
We can all agree that hindsight is 20/20, as the saying goes. An experienced professional who has earned said hindsight can save you from mistakes you didn’t see coming, provide you with insight and specialized resources, be the accountability partner you didn’t know you were missing, and teach you how to be confident in your craft. That isn’t even to mention the time and money years of trial and error would cost.
A good fiction writing coach can get you where you want to be in a fraction of the time it would take you on your own. You can’t fix what you’re not aware of, so sometimes it’s hard to get anywhere without enlisting the right kind of help.
It's About You
The right kind of help isn’t just any help. It’s tempting and easy to hit up a close friend, or even your usual book club, for feedback on your newest writing project. But sometimes that can be a painful mistake. Those people care about you and support your dreams but are likely not your target audience. And if you happen to be lucky enough to have your target audience within arm’s reach, you then need to be sure they are equipped to provide you with advice that is industry-savvy and story-sharp. Sometimes, a well-meaning friend can lead you off in a direction that worked for them, but won’t work for you.
If you want to progress, choose your circle wisely. Investing in a partnership is about more than checking off boxes. It’s about connection, motivation, support, and progression. What is it worth to you to accomplish the things you can’t seem to conquer alone? How much would that improve your life?
That’s priceless, isn’t it?
