What to Expect in a Book Coaching Call

One of my absolute favourite parts of being a book coach is the coaching call.

Why? Because this is when I get to talk with my writers.

If you know me, you know that I love to chat.

My introvert husband sometimes gets very frustrated with me for wanting to chit chat all the time. Sometimes he just wants a few minutes of silence. Sorry, babe. And when I go out for coffee with a friend, we often talk for hours. I have been kicked out of many Starbucks locations well past closing time because of this.

So what does this mean for a coaching call?

It means a few things.

I’m friendly and love to laugh and go back and forth in conversation.
And, I often have to remind myself to hold my tongue a bit, because you need to talk as much or more than me in our coaching calls.

No need to be nervous. It’s just a conversation.

I’m not saying any of this to put any pressure on you to suddenly become a person who talks a lot or to speak eloquently. Some writers talk a ton in our coaching calls. Some talk a lot less. I often giggle or cheer when my clients have a lightbulb moment. I absolutely love it when our conversations lead to solutions and a writer who is even more excited to head back to the keyboard and hammer out a new or revised scene.

Coaching calls with me are casual, fluid conversations that I try to keep as natural and comfortable as possible. Yes, I’ll ask you tough questions. But those questions are meant to help you think about your writing — especially your writing problems or hurdles — in a fresh way so that we can keep you moving forward on your writing journey.

Coaching calls with me are casual, fluid conversations that I try to keep as natural and comfortable as possible.

It’s amazing how just saying your thoughts out loud to another person as you muddle through a plot hole can help you grab hold of the perfect solution.

A book coaching call is a chance to ask questions and talk through the answers. The goal of a book coaching call is to help you move forward toward your writing goals, to make sure you understand any feedback you’ve received on your writing, to help you figure out solutions to what’s not working in your writing life or manuscript, and to have someone to celebrate your wins with. Believe me, coaching calls often include at least a few minutes of me telling my client all the things I love about their project.

So what can you expect in a book coaching call?

In a book coaching call, you can expect to talk about your writing: how it’s going, what’s working, what’s not working, and possible solutions to anything related to all of that.

It’s a conversation. That’s it!

Sounds too simple, right?

Fair enough, it’s a guided conversation. 🙂

Book coaching calls with me typically follow this formula:

A greeting and some small talk. Because we are building a relationship and getting to know one another.
I’ll ask how the most recent written feedback I sent you is sitting and if you have any questions about it.
You ask any questions you have about the feedback or your story or writing or publishing and I answer them as best I can and/or ask you questions in return to help you think through things. Sometimes the best answers come from you, not me. My job is to help you find them.
Together we set your goal for our next deadline and we chat about your next steps.

Sometimes we’ll also talk about questions that came up earlier in the week but that were too long or complex to answer in an email.

The goal of a book coaching call is to help you move forward toward your writing goals, to make sure you understand any feedback you’ve received on your writing, to help you figure out solutions to what’s not working in your writing life or manuscript, and to have someone to celebrate your wins with.

Book coaching calls can be on video-chat or audio-only.

I love getting to talk face-to-face and see my clients when we chat. But I also understand that some folks are more comfortable using audio-only communication or just don’t have the bandwidth to support video, so phone or turning off the camera is always an option. One of the best things about a 1-1 book coaching relationship is that it’s customizable to your needs.

So that’s what you can expect in a book coaching call. It’s a conversation about your manuscript with someone who is super excited to be a part of helping you read your writing goals. It’s a conversation with someone who is there to ask you questions, to answer your questions, and to bounce ideas off of. It’s really fun and I’d love to talk about your work-in-progress (WIP) with you, so grab a cuppa and let’s chat!

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

I’m have immediate openings for monthly book coaching packages and manuscript evaluations. Contact me today for a free intro call to chat about your project and how I can help.

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