The Skills Of A Writing Coach
I am a firm believer that a non-published professional can become a successful writing coach. However, that doesn’t detract from the fact that guiding a writer to write effectively requires certain skills, such as knowing how to tread unfamiliar or uncomfortable territory and helping a writer craft the best version of their story, all while leveraging personal strengths to benefit the writer.
Deciding who to serve makes all the difference in coaching sessions. And a coach should identify a zone of genius by channeling their own experience in a space where they can navigate easily and investigate the author’s issues. For me, I prefer to work with writers suffering from self-doubt and perfectionism.who suffer from self-doubt and perfectionism, as I can relate to that kind of writer, because when I first started studying Korean over a decade ago, I pushed myself to sound as Korean as possible. The realization that I will never become a native Korean speaker came after my first year of living in South Korea. The same goes for writing anything; instead of striving for perfection (emulating another writer’s voice), a writer should focus on building on the correct skills and recognizing their limits.
Having a system in place is the antidote for chaos. By solid systems, I mean embracing technology to streamline coaching sessions. For example, collaboration platforms like OneDrive and Google Drive are useful for sharing documents. Even Reedsy has a self-publishing application that lets writers and editors collaborate simultaneously. All of these tools make collaboration simple by generating a shareable link. If a coach instructs a writer to produce 500 words a day for 30 days straight, the coach can make daily notes and suggestions on the file at any time. And in between, they can exchange voice notes with walkie-talkie apps like Voxer. This is especially helpful for more shy or introverted writers who don’t work well in person or on video calls.
Coaching a writer means knowing your shit when it comes to busineess practices. I can go on all day about this, so here are some key bullets to drive home my point:
- Establish boundaries for time-management purposes. A client shouldn’t call you in the middle of the night with a burning question.
- Editorial skills (knowing how to write; recognizing incorrect usage of grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc) are crucial for evaluating a narrative design for the author’s writing. A coach must know the difference between there, their, and they’re; and not promote fallacies like “I before E except after C.”
- Connect with clients correctly by showing empathy. One coaching style that works well with a bullish writer doesn’t work with a timid writer, especially when it comes to memoirists.
- Help the writer make peace with marketing and experiment with different social media platforms. Twitter and BlueSky promote creativity by limiting word count, Substack works well for serial narratives and building readership through newsletter marketing, and LinkedIn is well-suited for thought leadership and professionals who want to reinvent themselves.
- Take small but actionable steps by showcasing business skills with a website, easy-to-understand contracts, and customized project plans for each client. These and more add legitimacy to a coaching business.
Last but not least, a writing coach must visualize success by believing they can meet any challenge. Working with memoirists means I have to search for ways to best serve a central moment in someone else’s life. By studying Psychology, I can learn to ask the right questions and engage with others in their zones, affording me the skills to capture a writer’s mind so I can develop a well-formed idea of why they want to write better.