Am I Ready For Book Coaching? Part III: Coachability
We're continuing our 3-part series aimed at helping you determine whether or not you're ready for book coaching and this one is a doozy!
*If you haven't read my post describing what a book coach is/does, I recommend going over and checking that out first so you understand some of what I'll be referring to here!
{Don't miss: Part I: Why? or Part II: Time}
Coachability
Ask yourself:
Am I really ready to BE coached?
I've seen a million descriptions of what it means to “be coachable,” generally in the context of the business world. While many of those ideas can apply here, being coached on an elective, creative project that has an element of subjectivity to it warrants its own discussion.
A COACHABLE MINDSET
A few words pop to mind for me when I say that a "coachable mindset" is important:
Open. Receptive. Curious. Engaged.
Part of a bigger growth mindset* that makes a writer coachable, in my experience these are the attitudes that pave the way for all future success in my coaching relationships.
They foster a willingness to try new things and unlock layers of potential in a writer and their project.
So what do these attitudes look like in practice?
Let's look at two examples that come up frequently:
(1) Technology
It comes as a surprise to many writers that technology is part of writing.
While you certainly don't need a degree in coding from MIT, an openness to learning some of the basics like Microsoft Word's "Track Changes" or how to navigate Dropbox or Google Drive is essential if you want to share your work with a coach or editor. Beyond that, there are software options out there that can be of great assistance in holding a large long-form project (Scrivener comes to mind) and a willingness to test it out could make managing a project easier and better organized.
Instead of shutting down immediately and retreating behind some variation of, "I'm not good with technology," a coachable writer pauses, takes a breath, and says, "Okay— technology can be a little intimidating for me, but I understand that if I take my time and ask for help where I'm struggling, learning this could serve me. I'm open to it and curious about how I can utilize it in my process."
(2) Notes and suggestions (especially on something like structure)
One of the most exciting aspects of working with a coach is having someone with whom to brainstorm and refine ideas. Someone truly invested in your book and whose brain/life experiences will bring a different perspective to the work.
But for many writers, having big things like their book's structure challenged can be very difficult.
For example, say you've finished a full draft of your novel and you've invested in a book coach to help with your revision process. Say your novel currently has two equal point-of-view characters and is written linearly to cover a thirty-year period. When your new book coach suggests cutting one of the points-of-view out of the book entirely, and then re-working the novel into a non-linear structure, it's easy to see how that might be hard to hear. It can feel like you're 'throwing away' months (or years!) of effort or writing you feel attached to. The temptation may be to immediately argue all the reasons why that POV character is essential or why a non-linear structure would never work.
Being coachable does not mean a writer automatically adopts every change, it means that they stay receptive and curious, engage with fresh and sometimes uncomfortable suggestions, and then make their choice based on their judgment as a writer, not defensiveness or attachment.
Maybe they play around with what those changes might look like and ask questions about why the coach is suggesting them. Maybe they engage with the idea by sketching out the changes or rewriting a key chapter or two to see what it feels like.
Here’s the thing—
Every writer wants to hear that their first draft is stunningly perfect, that people will be clamoring to get hold of their book without a single change, and that Random House is fully prepared at this very moment to dedicate a team of marketers to making them a worldwide sensation. I get it. I really do. But that’s not the way writing books works.
A coachable writer not only understands the necessity of revision and editing, but embraces it. They welcome a trusted outside perspective and the potential it will help them unlock in their writing. They actively cultivate excitement around meaningful notes, even those which they ultimately choose not to implement.
True Story —
A longtime literary magazine editor I know shared that while she was interning as a reader at The Paris Review in her twenties, she had a chance to see the back-and-forth between the editing staff of the magazine and some very well-known and well-respected writers. She said that she was surprised to realize how heavily edited some of their pieces were before going to publication, but even more shocking to her was how consistently they got excited about the suggested edits. She noted that it was this quality, more even than the writing itself, that became for her a hallmark of a true professional.
As you consider working with a book coach:
Consider the aspects of learning or feedback that can be most challenging for you individually.
Noticing those places you're most resistant or feel most vulnerable can help you identify where you may need to build in a bit of extra space and care for yourself before you respond to notes or suggestions. This will help you stay open, receptive, curious, and coachable throughout the process so that you can get the most from the coaching relationship.
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* The term growth-mindset, coined by Carol Dweck in her 2006 book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, is more nuanced than is often acknowledged. Dweck addresses some common misperceptions in this article for The Harvard Business Review and I particularly love her reminder that all of us are actually a mixture of fixed- and growth-mindsets, and that identifying and working with our fixed-mindset triggers is a key part of this work.
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COMMITMENT
A coachable writer has made a commitment to getting the most from their coaching experience.**
This looks like:
(1) Open communication and honesty.
A coach is working solely with the information the writer provides to them. A coachable writer reaches out to the coach if they are struggling in some way. They communicate if expectations, assignments, or materials feel unclear to them.
For example, when a coachable writer has struggled to get pages in on time, they skip the excuses because they understand that their book isn't "homework" and their coach won't give them detention. Instead, they remember that their coach is on their side and reach out to let their coach know what's going on. They work with their coach to brainstorm solutions that will keep them connected to their work and moving toward their goals.
(2) Trusting the process generally.
A book is a long-term project that often has many moving parts and simultaneous threads that need to be managed. It's also a deeply iterative process that includes cycles of planning > drafting > revisiting planning > revising. This looks a little different for individual writers and projects, but there is always an iterative aspect to the process.
A coachable writer understands that discovery happens IN the work. They trust that by continuing to show up and engage in the process, that forward progress will be made, even if there are moments where ideas or threads feel slippery or tenuous. They're also receptive and open to pausing to revisit previously written work as new information presents itself or when the coach feels a reconnect is necessary to keep things from going off the rails.
A coachable writer believes that "stacking another brick" is the week-in-week-out way a book gets written and they embrace and lean on deadlines and coaching calls to help them stay connected to that process over the course of bringing their bigger vision to life.
(3) Trusting the process they've invested in.
There are many effective ways to approach the writing of a book and each coach or writing instructor will have their favorite tried-and-true methods. There isn't One True Path that is right for every single writer or every type of book.
That said, hopping from method to method is almost always a surefire path to NOT getting a book completed. A coachable writer knows that 'shiny object syndrome'— chasing new and 'shiny' methods or teachers or resources— is often a procrastination method and dilutes the power of their coaching experience.
A coachable writer commits to the process they've chosen to invest in. When they choose to work with a coach, they commit to seeing that coach's methods through. They follow through on exercises and assignments that the coach has selected specifically for where they are in their writing process. They maximize the tools and resources their coach has provided as well as the one-on-one attention to their work.
As you consider working with a book coach:
Consider what you're truly ready to commit to as a writer right now.
In addition to time, do you feel prepared to commit to this coach and her expectations, style of communication, and methods? Are you able to embrace the iterative nature of the writing process?
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** Note that this is quite different from "getting their money's worth" which is often code for an expectation that either the coach will spend X amount of hours on their book in a given period or a guarantee of publication (or other external result). When a writer chooses to invest in coaching, it is important that they understand what that investment means/guarantees and what it does not. Very few (if any) ethical book coaches will guarantee a specific result nor do many work on an hourly rate.
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Working with a book coach can be a deeply rewarding and generative experience.
For many, many writers, it proves to be the key to getting their book finished and into the world. It also staves off the sometimes lonely and bewildering experience of navigating a many-leveled long-term project alone. The collaborative sense of shared vision and emotional investment can keep the energy around the book high and productive over the months or years required to see it through to the end.
It's an incredible experience when embarked upon with clear understanding and awareness.
Dig deep and ask yourself the questions posed in this series:
Do you genuinely want to write this book?
Do you have the time to commit to writing it?
Are you ready to be coached?
If the answer to all of these is a resounding YES! then congratulations—
You're ready for coaching!
Hop on over and book yourself a free call so we can talk about your project and what your best next steps might look like! It's not a sales call— just 30 minutes to talk about your book or writing process or answer any questions you have.
