From Journalist + Speechwriter + Communications Manager to Book Coach

What is the path to becoming a book coach? Author Accelerator Certified book coaches answer 7 questions about their journey. Today, we feature Amy Bernstein -- and it happens to be her pub day!

1. What did you do before becoming a book coach?

Before becoming a book coach, I enjoyed a decades-long career plying various writing and editorial trades, including stints as a journalist (print and public radio); executive speechwriter in the Obama Administration; federal communications analyst (don’t ask!); and all-around marketing-communications manager. Looking back, every job I held since college involved writing in one form or another…yet I was never quite sure about my skill set! And didn’t think I should call myself a writer!

2. How did your background prepare you for book coaching? What skills/talents/experiences feel most relevant?

I believe two critical factors laid the groundwork for my book coaching. The first is being a lifelong reader. (I think you need to be in love with books to want to produce them.) The second is all the years I spent shaping or editing text–and training others to do so–for a variety of purposes, always with the intent of communicating and sharing meaning, and meaningful information, with an audience. I arrived at book coaching with longstanding habits of critical thinking, writing with purpose, and sharing techniques for writing as clearly as possible.

3. What is your relationship to reading, writing, and/or creativity? What kinds of books do you read? What other creative work do you do?

I view reading, writing, and creativity as inextricably linked aspects of imagination. It’s a symbiotic relationship, isn’t it? It’s hard to imagine reading or writing without inflaming the imagination–just as the imagination inflames a desire to write, if not also to read deeply into the ways of the world. I tend to read literary fiction, primarily, and a lot of old classics, as well. (I’ve never abandoned my habits as an English Major with a concentration in Victorian literature.) I have, however, also branched out into reading works by authors from cultures and races beyond my own, and find those works almost as exciting as traveling to the lands where they’re based (Korea, China, Japan…). As for other creative work: I sang with classical music choirs for many years, before my vocal chords developed other ideas. And I was a hard-core drama kid, which is probably why I ended up writing so many plays later in life.

4. What is the last best book you read?

Always hard to choose! But I was blown away by the Elena Ferrante trilogy, My Brilliant Friend, a few years ago. I was obsessed with those books for months and read them back-to-back. More recently, I was deeply impressed by Jayne Anne Phillips’ most recent novel, Night Watch. Just when you think there’s nothing new to say about the Civil War, she finds a fresh way in.

5. What is your favorite part about being a book coach?

I love many aspects of book coaching (including, of course, when an author gets a publishing deal or sees their book in print for the first time), but the most thrilling aspect is that moment when an author discovers their point–they understand what the book’s about and how it will be shaped. That is a magical moment. It does not arrive easily or quickly, but it’s always worth the work to get there.

6. What is your biggest challenge around being a book coach and what are you doing to address it?

I prefer to work one-on-one with clients, and that poses significant challenges in terms of workload. By that I mean there are limits to how many clients I can responsibly handle over a period of months, as my contracts persist for long stretches, in most cases. I am in the process of finding where my limit lies. I think I’m getting close–and when I reach a point where I may crowd out other priorities (including teaching), I will begin a waiting list.

7. Who is your ideal client and what is the first service you offer them?

My ideal client is someone who is seriously committed to developing an idea for a commercial nonfiction book into a solid book proposal. This ideal client understands that going from the idea stage to a market-ready book proposal is hard work and requires months of dedicated time and energy. This client is so excited about their book, they are willing to make this work a priority. One service I provide that helps authors to get clear about where they are with their project involves reading a sample of their work and preparing a detailed editorial letter offering feedback and guidance on next steps. You can learn more about my manuscript assessment (a partial manuscript version is also available) here.

8. A special additional question for Amy today! It’s her pub date! So the question is: Can you share an excerpt from your new book?

Sure!

A young Sylvia Plath wrote in her journal that “the worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.”

That sounds true, but I don’t think it is true.

Her assertion implies that only by banishing doubt can you effectively be creative—to practice your art. There are moments, to be sure, when an artist in the flow of creativity (known as cognitive disinhibition) does not feel doubt blocking the way.

But realistically, doubt is a near-constant companion of anyone making art in any form. Doubt is fuel as well as foe.

Let us therefore not engage in fruitless attempts to banish doubt, or even conquer it. Let us seek productive co-existence with this emotional shadow that hovers nearby, just out of sight, like a ghost.

Let us befriend the ghost.

***

Every single act of creating is also an act of doubting.

You cannot “make” without wondering. You cannot wonder without questioning.

You cannot question—deeply—without exposing yourself to the unknown.

Becoming exposed leads to feeling vulnerable. Feeling vulnerable leaves you open to uncertainty.

Uncertainty is a close cousin of doubt: a state where truth and clarity shimmer like ghosts. So much you do not know, cannot pin down.

Cannot point to and say, Yes! That! When you create, you will doubt:

Accepting that is your gift to yourself.

As Carl Jung once wrote:

“Nothing is more poisonous to the nervous system than a disregarded or checked creative impulse.”

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