13 Comments

Glad to have found you .. through the NAMW newsletter.. I’m a memoir writer who has been asked to support another aspiring author so set up a 1:1 programme to help them .. I’d like to walk alongside others to the first draft point in the future.

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Oh excellent. I'm looking forward to the NAMW presentation coming up. Will you be attending?

It sounds like you are building a book coaching business. Yay!

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I’m not sure .. Will check out the date / time ..

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Thank you for this Substack, Jennie! I work as a book coach and I love the depth of knowledge you bring to the subject. I appreciate the way you describe the difference between the editor--who makes the book better--and the book coach, who helps the writer improve upon the creative process. I also love that your Substack is called "the ART and business of..." because coaching is indeed an art!

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Oh yay -- I'm so glad you are finding it helpful. Thanks for letting me know!

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Such a great description of the role of a book coach. Yet, I'm a bit confused as Caroline Leavitt refers to a developmental editor and there are many developmental editors who also offer book coaching services but are all coaches considered developmental editors?

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This is a great question. I'm going to answer it in a post and will let you know when I've done it.

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Hi Jill -- I think I saw that you saw my FAQ post on this question but I can't find your note again. I'm still learning about Substack! You were asking about Tracy Kidder's editors and other developmental editors who work with writers over time. SOME writers are lucky enough to have editors that function like book coaches. I have no doubt Tracy Kidder would be one such writer. Most writers do not have that luxury. The point I was hoping to make/show is that many times the lines are blurred between different kinds of editing. The important thing is to know what you want and need and what will work for you.

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Just watched the Ted Talk with Atul Gawande - thank you for that reference. I, too, have had wonderful experiences working with coaches. What great timing for this article as we begin a new year - reminds me to get a coach! Learning is deeper and so much more fun when another person wants us to get better too.

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Joan, you are such a model of the writer as a lifelong learner! It's very inspiring!

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From a writer's perspective who has worked with a coach, I can't imagine my WIP would be as good or as developed had I continued to stumble on my own. Gawande's Ted Talk is fabulous and speaks to the understanding that we can't know everything on our own. And sometimes things that are very familiar, because we've done them until we don't recognize we're doing them, may hold us back.

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Well said!

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I'm so happy you're here, Jennie!

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