Last week, Author Accelerator's CEO Jennie Nash and I did a webinar about the difference between beta reading and book coaching. While book coaches and beta readers help authors succeed at two different points in the creative process, an organized and passionate beta reader could also become a successful book coach. Jennie is hosting a free Business of Book Coaching Summit, and she's here to tell you more about it.

“The Spun Yarn has brought a systematic, strategic approach to beta reading, which offers writers much-needed support at a critical part in the development of a book. It’s part of a new era in the world of publishing, where smart writers put together a team of people to help them write the best books they can. In a very crowded marketplace, it takes this kind of intention to break through with agents, editors, and readers. For the same reasons, many writers are also turning to book coaches to help them structure, finish, and revise their books and then navigate the path to publishing.

A beta reader brings a critical perspective to the author once a draft is complete. A book coach serves as an editorial guide and a project manager while the author is getting that draft in shape. Coaches often work with writers for long periods of time – 6 months, 9 months, a year, and even longer – and this intense 1:1 relationship is part of the deep satisfaction of the work. Coaches are intimately involved in the writer’s process while they are bringing their dream to life. (To learn more about the difference between beta reading and book coaching, listen to this webinar I did with The Spun Yarn’s Sarah Beaudette.)

If you’re drawn to beta reading, you might consider adding book coaching to your income stream as well. It will allow you to spend even more time enveloped in the world of books and writing. It’s work you can do from home, ramping up or down depending on how much time you have to devote to it and how much money you wish to make. There are five key skills you need to be an effective coach, and odds are very good that you already have some of them. If there are some you don’t, they can be taught. That’s exactly what we are doing in Author Accelerator’s Book Coach Training and Certification program. The skills are as follows:

1. Mechanical editing skills. An effective book coach understands the basic mechanics of good writing. We can identify errors such as head hopping, info dumping, and point-of- view violations, and we can explain to writers why these errors weaken the work and how they can be fixed. This teaching aspect of book coaching runs throughout each of the 5 key skills, which brings up an important point: You don’t have to be a published author to be a good book coach. Writing well is a different skill than teaching or coaching, and you can learn to be an effective book coach regardless of your record of success as a writer.

2. Narrative design. While paying attention to the details of mechanical editing, an effective book coach also has an eye on the big-picture elements of a book. We talk to our writers about the point they are trying to make, the message they hope to convey, and the impact they want to have on their ideal reader, no matter whether that impact is to entertain or to educate, or something in between. We look at the structure and shape of a story or argument, paying attention to plot holes, logical problems, and the way the work moves and flows. We look for a strong resolution and emotional payoff, since that is usually what the reader is coming for.

3. Marketplace awareness. I coach my coaches never to guarantee their writers any sort of success in the marketplace, because it’s impossible to predict what will happen in the publishing arena. Instead, a good coach will help their writers understand the way books are bought and sold, research the competition, and help determine the best publishing path for their book.

4. Project management. A book coach helps their writers complete a complex intellectual undertaking. It’s a big project, where goals need to be set and deadlines need to be met, but a coach also helps writers through the emotional aspect of producing a book. We understand the creative process, and the way doubts can plague writers, and we are there as a cheerleader and a support when the going gets tough.

5. Compassion. In my 10 years working as a book coach, I have been continually amazed at how many writers have suffered some sort of hurt around their creative work. Someone told them they had nothing to say or that they couldn’t write or that they were wasting their time. I am a tough critic to be sure, but I always give my advice with compassion for how hard it is to be a writer, and I insist that the coaches I train do this as well.

Does book coaching sound like the kind of work you might enjoy? If you would like to learn more about what book coaching is all about, please join me on January 20, for a week of free online programming at Author Accelerator’s Business of Book Coaching Summit. I have 15 experts talking about mindset, money, marketing, and business strategy for book coaches. If you feel called to this work, our Book Coach Training and Certification program and Business of Book Coaching master class are available, as is a special Business Mastermind, starting in March 2020, in which I will be working directly with a small number of coaches. Start with the Summit – it’s going to be great!”