What is a Book Coach?

What do Connor McDavid, Alexandra Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby have in common? No, it's not being the best hockey players in the NHL, although they arguably are. They have the same thing in common with Nicole Kidman, Marilyn Monroe, Tiger woods, many CEOs and so many others that are at the top of their game. It's that they have coaches. And in fact, many folks have different coaches for different things. These people are the best of the best and they still have coaches. So if you're doing something for the first time like writing a book, doesn't it make sense to work with a coach? But what is a book coach or a writing coach and how do they help? If you're wondering that this video is for you. Hey there, I'm Julie the book broad from Book Launchers. We're your professional self publishing team helping you write, publish and promote a nonfiction book that will impact your reader, grow your business and make you money. Our superpower is caring more about you and your book. And what we do differently is work incredibly hard to get your book into readers hands when it's done. And the best part? You get to keep all rights and royalties and have full control over your book. So what is a writing coach or a book coach and how do they help you? At Book Launchers we have writing coaches that work with our clients that are writing their own books. The role varies a little bit client by client because everybody has different needs, but they're always offering emotional support, accountability and writing guidance. Specifically, here's what we expect of writing coaches. Number one Build audience Clarity. Work with the client to develop clarity around who their ideal reader is and what the problem are that they're solving. This is essential. I like to think of this as the goal the author has for impacting the reader. Who are you helping and what are you helping them with? My book, More Than Cash Flow was focused on a new real estate investor who was starting to get all excited about buying a bunch of properties and I wanted them to make smart decisions to help them make money and minimize the problems. And I wanted to prevent people from getting into real estate if they weren't up for the common challenges. So get clear on who you're helping and how you're going to help them. Now if you're writing a memoir, you still need to do this and a writing coach will help. You have to figure out who the audience is for the book and what the emotional journey you're going to take them on is. What lesson do you want them to derive from your story cause a great story isn't quite enough. There needs to be a reason or an underlying benefit to consuming that story. Second Hook Development Once you have the clarity, you then begin developing the hook of the book. This is where I find the vast majority of authors need a lot of help but don't even realize it because this hook is your elevator pitch. And when you get it right, your book will sell well if it's connected to the audience that wants that solution or the lesson from your story. One of the best examples of a hook is also a great example of a book that sold really, really well and that's Rich Dad, Poor Dad. The hook is in the subtitle what the rich Teach their children that the Poor and Middle class do not what middle class parent doesn't want to read that Creating a great hook is so important and rarely does it happen in one phone call with a writing coach. Sometimes it does, but usually it takes a few calls because that's the juicy thing that you are uniquely suited to be offering a very specific reader. So it has to be benefit driven, create curiosity and make your ideal reader pay attention. That takes more work than than you probably realize. Number three Create an outline. Usually we get an author to brainstorm everything they can think of and then with the writing coach they organize it into major points and sub points to be covered, evaluating each one under the premise of does this fit with my hook? Number four Agree on a writing plan. Once you have an outline, create a writing plan. Are you going to write a chapter a week? That's harder than it sounds for some people. Or maybe you are going to plan to talk to your coach every single week and write for three hours in between. Our writing coaches have to have contact with our clients every single week, whether that's by email, text or phone call. So some authors set weekly calls while others commit to emailing something every week. Some vanish for a month despite many efforts to reach them, but they come back with the book half written. It's different for everyone, but the role of the writing coach is to find a plan that works for you in your life and then hold you accountable to your commitments. Number five Develop a chapter template. Essentially, this is something we do to support the author having clarity about how their book will flow and be laid out. The writing coach will work closely to with the author on chapter one so they can clearly see how to structure the chapter. Bonus points for having a writing coach that will make sure you start every chapter in a way that engages your reader. And the sixth thing we want our writing coaches to do is read your work, offer support, guidance, suggestions, and sometimes simple rewrites for demonstrative purposes. Not all writing coaches will rewrite, but our authors are not professional writers and often don't understand what tell a story or expand on the emotions here actually means. So our writing coaches, we'll rewrite it at least a few times so our clients can see what that means and then use that going forward. Number seven. Provide emotional support when you doubt your concept or you're just getting overwhelmed. 8. Kick your butt. Now you can see I'm wearing sandals, not shoes with socks. That's awesome. A great writing coach can sense when you're doubting yourself or you're afraid of your book. Number nine, Ask you questions to uncover ideas or stories that you may not have thought of or that you've just forgotten. Number 10, keep your book on track with your hook. Most authors start off strong, but then veer off and you will think of a bunch of details that are far more important than they really are. Or you'll just throw something in there because it interests you, but it doesn't actually fit with the hook of your book. A great writing coach is watching for this and is going to keep you close to your hook to deliver the maximum impact for your reader in the minimum amount of pages required. Whew. I bet you had no idea how much work a writing coach does to make your book great. Did you notice what a writing coach does not do, though? A writing coach does not edit your book. And while they may write out some example sections for you so you understand how to craft certain things in your book, they are not writing your book either. Your coach is there to make sure your first draft is the best possible first draft, and the value in that is enormous. I have a perfect example. One of our clients spoke to me a year before engaging with us, and he said he was gonna write his book and then bring it to us for editing. I said, sure, go ahead, but it's going to be better if you work with us sooner rather than later. He said, I'm very confident with what I'm writing and that it will be marketable. I just need to get the draft done so you can edit it. A year later, he brought us the draft, and while there was some great content in there, there was not a clear hook. Some of the content was irrelevant to the hook that did get developed after the fact, and the entire book needed to be reworked. He said, I guess this is a little like calling you in to fix a house that wasn't built right to begin with. We now have to take down some walls, pull up some flooring, and make a mess of it in order to fix it. And in doing that, because we didn't have it built right from the start, it's never going to be as good as if we had built it right from the start. It's been a hard lesson for him to learn and emotionally painful to have to go backwards before he can go forwards. But he did save money Not Hiring a Coach not everyone needs a book coach or a writing coach, but almost all authors would benefit from one. It's a lonely process, writing a book, and it's nice to know you're not in it alone. And many times you're going to save time and pain by having someone there to guide you to do it better from the start. Have you worked with a writing coach? How did that go? Let's chat about it in the comments below. And when you comment the day a video is released, you'll be entered to win some sweet noboringbookswag like this mug or this oh so soft. Journal new videos every Tuesday and Friday, so make sure you've subscribed and turn those notifications on on so you can be there to hang out after the new video comes out. And when you do that, you'll be one step closer to being one of my beloved YouTube besties. Like the one, the only Kevin McGuire, Alan George, and Self Publishing with Dale and Studio 38. You may not have a mug yet, but your efforts have not gone unnoticed or unappreciated. Seriously. Thank you to each of you for your comments, likes and shares. You guys make my day. Now, there's something every person writing a nonfiction book should know, and that is how to start your chapters so it's more interesting. That video is right here and maybe you're thinking, oh heck no, I'm not going to write this book. I need someone else to do it. Well, this is a playlist about hiring ghostwriters to write your book for you. I'd love to spend more time with you. I think you're kind of cool. So go ahead, click on one of those videos and we'll keep on hanging out. I'll put the coffee on.