a teal notebook sits on a white table beside a white keyboard and below a white computer mouse and cream rose.

You may have noticed a bit of change has been happening here on my website with new services and a new focus. Let me tell you all about it.

This little website has been in my life for a long, long time. It’s changed and evolved a lot as I’ve experimented to figure out what I really want and need it to be.

And I think I’ve finally figured it out.

My new business focus is book coaching for women romance writers.

I’ve decided to niche my business down to a handful of book coaching services focused on romance novels and the women who write them for a few reasons:

  • Romance novels are my favourite books to read and work on.
  • Women writers are my favourite clients to work with.
  • Book coaching has captured my heart as a way to both help grow the story and the writer.

It feels like the right fit for me. And as we all know, with writing and freelancing, that gut feeling is really, really important.

Why book coaching instead of editing?

While I still very much fit into the freelance editing community and want to remain a part of it, I’ve found that book coaching fits my interests, skills, and lifestyle better. Here are a few reasons why.

Book coaching is relational.

In book coaching, we meet on video chat regularly (once or twice a month at least) to talk about your story and what’s working or not working in the manuscript or in your writing process. We brainstorm ideas together, get to know each other well, and I get to toss questions at you to open up conversation so we can really dig deep into your plot or characters or theme together. And in-between video calls, we email back and forth, continuing our relationship-building.

I love this about book coaching. I love becoming friends with my writer clients and getting to talk with you not only about your manuscript but also about your cat or your holiday or the book you’ve been reading. I love the look on a writer’s face when we’re chatting through a block and the lightbulb goes off when the ideas click.

Book coaching often leads to longer working relationships with clients.

Book coaching is a long-term relationship over months during which we go back and forth over your pages and your ideas, asking and answering questions. If you’re drafting or revising, I get to go along for the ride and help you as you go on that journey. Most folks take at least a few months or much longer to write a book, so we get lots of time to work together. I love this sustained, ongoing relationship.

Book coaching is focused on teaching and helping.

As a book coach, my role is to help you write your book and become a better writer. Through our conversations and the developmental notes I make on your pages each week or month, I learn what it is you actually need help with and tailor our time to helping you develop the skills or practices you need most. We have the time to work on specific aspects of your story or your manuscript rather than having to cover the entire thing at once.

When I was a kid, if you’d asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up I’d have said a teacher. That didn’t end up happening for a few reasons, but as a book coach, I get to do the teaching thing in a different way.

Book coaching is better for my time management.

Going through an entire manuscript at once to do deep-level developmental edits takes a long time—anywhere from 30-60 hours. As a mom to a toddler and with limited childcare, I don’t have time to do that right now.

As a book coach, I get to provide developmental feedback in smaller chunks of 10-20 pages at a time. I can do that when my kiddo naps or in the bits of time that I do have childcare. I can do the work I love in one or two hour blocks and still provide valuable help to my clients without holding your manuscript hostage for months at a time.

Book coaching is more affordable (for you).

I know many folks who want to work with me but can’t afford the $2500+ for a full developmental edit. I want to help as many writers as I can and smaller monthly payments for ongoing developmental feedback as you write is easier to build into your budget than one big lump sum for edits. Plus, the coaching enables us to go back and forth on pages or problems, allowing you to fix problems early on so they don’t show up in later pages, making revisions faster and easier, and future editing less expensive.

Book coaching is more scalable.

I want to help writers, but I also need to make money. Book coaching allows me to scale my business up to work with more clients or on more projects at once because of the way the work is structured. By working on smaller sections of pages and having scheduled calls with clients to chat through notes instead of wading through huge documents one at a time and writing out every bit of feedback, I can make this a more viable income stream for my family.

Does book coaching sound like the thing you need to make progress toward your writing goals?

I’m now scheduling book coaching packages as well as manuscript evaluations for Spring. Contact me today for a free discovery call to chat about your project and how I can help.

Not sure if we’re a good fit? Try coaching out with a First Chapter Critique for only $98 and get a discount off your first three months of ongoing book coaching.

Photo by Laura Olsen on Unsplash