Should you hire a book coach?
So this one is going to have to be a blog post because there is a LOT to unpack with this one.
The short answer is maybe.
In my opinion, book coaching falls in the same category as a professional manuscript critique. Most of what they offer can be found less conveniently for free. They are a convenience and time saving service, not a necessity.
What a book coach usually offers:
Critique and feedback on your work. You can get this for free through critique partners and groups, but you will probably need to spend a bit of time finding a good match and invest time in giving feedback yourself.
Writing advice. There’s a lot of writing advice for free on the internet. You can also buy writing craft books for less than most book coaching services.
Teaching specific skills. The ones I see the most are outlining/plot development and character development. Again, this information can be found for free online and there are paid short courses that may be a cheaper alternative.
That’s a very short summarisation of what they can offer but everything really boils down to one of those two categories and you can find that same information and service for free if you’re willing to put in the time.
Why a book coach might be helpful for you specifically:
You struggle to finish drafts and need not only advice on writing itself, but motivation.
You’re a terrible researcher and although the information is out there on the internet, you’re unlikely to find it.
You hate researching and don’t want to put in the time and effort to find all the relevant information. That’s valid, not hating on you for it.
You have utilised free writing advice already and are still struggling with foundational skills such as outlining.
You do not have the time to provide feedback on the work of others or feel uncomfortable doing so.
You want writing advice that is specifically tailored to you and what you’re working on.
Reasons a book coach might not be the right choice for you:
They’re an unnecessary expense. A book coach replaces the manuscript critique stage which, as I’ve said before, you can have done for free by another author. Their advice doesn’t, however, replace any of the other editorial stages. If money is an issue, book coaching might not be for you.
You have a good critique partner or critique group already or would prefer to be in an active writing group rather than work with a professional.
You have been writing for several years. If you’ve been writing since you were 14 and have been involved in the writing community for several years, you will get less out of book coaching than a true newbie.
You’re not good at verifying if someone is qualified to offer you advice. There are some really great book coaches out there, but there are some people offering the service who have never successfully published fiction, never worked as an editor, and have absolutely no relevant education. Note: if this is you, it is something you need to work on. There are a lot of scams out in the publishing world, at pretty much every step of the way someone is trying to trick you into paying them.
You don’t feel like you need one.
There’s a lot to discuss when choosing a book coach so I absolutely will do a blog post on the topic but I’m going to look into finding some writer’s who have had both good and bad experiences with book coaches to give us their insight as well. I might also chat with a few book coaches to see who they do and don’t think is a good fit for the service.
If that’s you, then please send me a message. I’d love to hear about your experience.
I’m a freelance editor who writes a blog providing editing advice (and the occasional bit of writing or self-publishing advice) to authors. If you’re interested, check it out here.
