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I've Dipped My Toes Into Coaching Waters
Recently, I had a client hire me for a couple of different gigs for two different novels they were working on. I gave feedback and they were quite pleased with the work I had done and realized that they needed more guidance. So they asked me to take a look at the reworked beginning for one of those novels, and then work through with them the process of how to structure and outline something properly. Basically, they wanted a coaching session. I was absolutely flattered and tickled beyond measure. I have done a dialogue workshop before, and I have even coached fellow authors how to do things, whether it be something writing related or self-publishing related, like figuring out how to use different types of computer programs. But this gig was my first paid one-on-one coaching session. It was a lot of fun!
Honestly, it has never occurred to me before to do any sort of coaching as a gig, because of that ol' imposter syndrome. You know those lovely self-doubts: "I need to have X number of books out before I'm a REAL author." Or, "That $7000+ that I spent on summits, workshops, courses, software, and books isn't the same as grad school." Never mind, of course, that I've learned more about the craft of writing since doing all of those summits, workshops, courses, and stuff than I ever did with my college education, despite the gazillion classes I took.
I'm seriously considering adding coaching to my repertoire of gig offerings. It was extremely gratifying to know that I helped that author work through something that they were struggling with. I love knowing that I helped someone! It makes me feel good. So if I do this, I'll need to decide what kinds of topics that I'm willing to coach. Or do I want to come up with some courses? Hm...
What to do? I'm not sure. I liked what I did with this client. I read through what they had written, which was about the first 40 pages-ish, and read their notes on backstory, world, characters, themes, etc. And then I showed them how what they had could be used to create an outline and what types of information went where. I made a point to say it could look like this, or it could look completely different. That was just to give them an idea of how to do an outline, and they didn't have to use what I suggested at all.
I don't want to be a ghost writer, but I think it could be fun to help other people who are stuck and unsure how to figure out where to take their story. Sure, people can plug stuff into ChatGPT and get the same kind of help, or in AutoCrit, or whatever, but some people refuse to use AI for various reasons, or are unaware how AI can be used for these purposes. If I started offering to coach people, I'm wondering how to structure it. A per visit charge? A charge for reading and commenting on the materials first? I don't know.
If any of you have either coached or been coached, I'd love to hear your perspectives on how it worked for you and what you did. You can email me at holly@hlbernabe.com.