Book Coach Spotlight: From Librarian to Book Coach

What is the path to becoming a book coach? Author Accelerator Certified book coaches answer 7 questions about their journey. This time we feature Laura Aliese Miedema.

Book coach Laura Aliese Miedema

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

I worked in teen and adult programming at my public library and would plan and market fun and informative things to do surrounding the world of books. I recently launched a Creative Writers Cafe at my local cafe, pairing caffeine and a writing night out, loosely patterned off our library socials and Paint Nights. I’ve always surrounded myself with books, bookish people, and, of course, coffee.

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

Working in a library, selecting books to feature from countless others gives you a sixth sense about what will resonate with readers and which premises have that “it” factor. Librarians help people from all walks of life in practical, systematic ways, and this focus on servant-hearted leadership and rigorous research has increased my capacity for big-hearted coaching that is thorough in its service to the writer.

Creative writing classes and writing yourself give such a window into the knowledge and skills needed for successful authorship. I coach writers through the same fears of entering the marketplace that I have grappled with. Hands down, having felt the feelings writers struggle with, is invaluable to my empathy as a coach. I know how hard it can be, and I check in with this part of me when giving needed feedback. I speak to the need for focus and discipline with passion and empathy. These fears are very real and demand a coach who can be real with their clients.

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?

Books are my lifeblood. I can’t compute without them, seeing the world through the lens of my favorite thinkers and characters. I act as a librarian of ideas, collecting them to lend them to others, presenting on habits and disciplines that help writers of faith persevere through the ups and downs of the writing life. As coaches we exercise a certain type of faith in the author and the finished product—we see the client’s book on the shelf before they do and help them believe in it ‘til they finish their masterpiece. Faith can be an ally in coaching and writing, and I love to encourage writers to see the possibility and potential we all have.

4. What is the last best book you read?

I am reading Atomic Habits by James Clear. I really appreciate his emphasis on working on your systems, not making more and more goals. As a coach and writer, I have made my share of pie-in-the-sky goals. Now, I’m more concerned with HOW I work and how I can systematize success.

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

People. And ideas. I love seeing the best in both and bringing out the best in each. I once worked with a writer who was paralyzed by all the “rules” her writers' group demanded. She was writing a children’s book about curiosity, and these writers were crushing her natural gift of exploring and experimenting. I gave her permission to check in with her own writer's gut. She learned to trust herself and her own exploration of the writing craft and finally got back that inner spark. Her story was freed up to be whimsical and playful. It got published, and she is now writing the sequel with newfound freedom and joy. 

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

I care so much and am so passionate about the magic of book coaching, that I set myself up for burnout, without keeping the proper boundaries in place. I also have health issues, so if I overdo it, I feel it and know it. I have to be firm about what I will or will not do, and be clear about it to others and myself. I have several accountability people in my life, but I am also developing my own “Overwhelm-Detector.” If I start to dread my coaching work because it’s too much too fast, or I’ve over-scheduled, I will start pushing it off and procrastinating. That’s when my “Overwhelm Detector” rings and notifies me I need to practice self-care in the form of boundaries around my time and energy, usually in the form of more realistic scheduling and not over-providing over what I’ve been paid for.

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

My ideal client is curious, open, and teachable. They work hard and know what they don’t know. They are ready to get off to the races and don’t make excuses. I want to work with people like that no matter the genre or skill level of writing. A writer I worked with had won awards and ground out novels with consistency. She was motivated and scrappy. But she had relegated a trilogy she adored to the bottom of her desk drawer because she thought there was no market for a gentle read, young adult historical novel. Because she trusted me, our work together revealed she was neurodiverse, and really wanted to bring that to her novel’s main character. After careful market research, we found a thriving market for her book and restructured the novel to bring out the best in her idea, making it saleable, but more importantly, making it alive–resurrecting a long-dead dream that the book of her heart would see the light of day again. She was elated and so was I. Pure magic.

I love the freshness and flexibility of the Blueprint method and that’s where I love to start—at the curious and wild possibility stage. My “Design Your Book to Stand Out and Stand Up” package is found here: https://lauraaliese.com/packages/