By Linda C. Senn
A previous article – “Why hire a book coach?” – gives you a good idea of what the book coach will do. But how about you? How can you get the most out of your book coaching sessions. These suggestions benefit both you and your book!
- To the best of your ability, complete the last assignment before your next session. For some clients, taking the assignments seriously enhances their commitment to the whole project. (If your coach hasn’t given you one at the end of each session, ask that they do!)
- Call or show up on time! If your coach plans on a 3:00-4:00 session, that’s when they will be available – not 3:22-4:22. Some allow a small grace period. But if you routinely abuse that, you can expect them to become more rigid about the time.
- Most book coaches allow a few emails between sessions, especially where a dilemma may be holding up your progress. However, you are on your honor to not overdo it. Don’t ask your coach to teach you about the entire book industry, one email at a time. And resist the urge to chit-chat about a phenomenal phrase or sentence you just created.
- Ask if brief phone calls between sessions are permitted. If they aren’t, don’t.
- If your book coach has just taught you something incredibly helpful, remember to say Thank you. They appreciate encouragement, too!
- Find out the policy on giving you feedback on a few pages of your manuscript. Often an evaluation of five or ten pages comes with the coaching contract. But some charge an additional critiquing fee if you submit too many pages.
The client and book coach explore, create, and progress as a team. It’s good to honor each others’ preferences and guidelines in that partnership.
© Pen Central Communications 2006
For additional information, contact Linda Senn at Linda@PenCentralOnline.com
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