The immeasurable rewards of book coaching

In my previous career as a researcher, I would frequently travel for work to observe and interview people in specific and particular environments. The last time I traveled for work was *consults calendar* May 2021. I distinctly remember how hard it was to conduct interviews wearing masks!

Here we are, three years later in May 2024, and I just got back from my first official book-coaching-specific work trip! I taught workshop sessions and had 1:1 meetings with writers on the first ever Craft & Publishing Voyage. 

It was amazing and exhausting. I’m an introvert who leads a very quiet and predicable life punctuated occasionally by Zoom meetings with colleagues and clients. I was not prepared for the constant movement and energy and people-ing required for in-person book coaching and travel. I don’t think I slept more than two consecutive hours a night for the first half of the trip because I was so wired and excited. (I’m still catching up on rest, quiet, and sleep even though I got home on Sunday.) 

Spending a week with writers is a gift. To be immersed in the writing world, talking and learning about the craft of writing and the business of publishing with like-minded others, is priceless.

The best part, for me, was impacting many people personally in a short amount of time. In my previous career, I rarely found out what happened as a result of the research insights and recommendations we provided for our clients. Though we gave actionable suggestions and strategies for product, service, and experience design, it was rare that we saw the outcomes of our work. Conversely, teaching writers to dig into the “aboutness” of their books and offering specific and actionable feedback on their challenges provided immediate results – and therefore, reward for me.  

I helped one writer develop her brand new nonfiction book idea. I helped a few others think through the potential “invisible magnetic river” that holds a piece or a collection together. More than one writer needed help making an annotated table of contents connect between one chapter and the next. Many benefited from using a logline formula to increase the conflict and stakes in their quiet stories and get clear on the core of their books. 

Joy.

I’d love to help you as well. I offer an hour-long session where we work on whatever you bring – could be your opening pages, an outline, or even just an idea you want to run by someone – and we solve your most pressing problems through collaboration and coaching.