Even Coaches Need a Coach to Finish Their Book

by Ruth Bullivant

Even coaches need a coach to finish their book

A book coach helps you to look at your own ideas from a different standpoint. Sometimes, you get so locked into a particular view, you need someone else to open the shutters and say, "What could it look like if you...?" That's what Amy Goldmacher, Author Accelerator certified book coach, did for me as I wrote my nonfiction book, even though we live on opposite coasts of the Atlantic ocean, and in time-zones five hours apart.

Dear New Book Coach - A Quiet Companion was published in January 2025, but it might still be sitting in rough draft in my Docs folder if it weren't for Amy. Book coaching works. We write books to be read. That means, someone else has to read what we’ve written. If we live completely inside our own heads as we write, we will never have the windows thrown open onto the world outside. We may not take the time to think about how our readers may perceive our book, how it could be broadened to meet their needs, or focused on dealing with a unique point they may need to know about (and can find nowhere else). A book coach gives you perspective, encouragement, and clearer vision.

The thing is, I am a nonfiction book coach too. I know the theory. I’ve coached writers to publication. I've even published a book before.

But being an experienced book coach doesn't mean you won't suffer extreme self-doubt as you write this book. That you won't find yourself thinking on the third re-write: this is utter rubbish. That you won't cry, this is all too hard! Your book coach is objective and able to give you the honest feedback you need. They are trained to give that feedback and know when to be gentle and when to be firm. It's really not the same as asking your mum, or your best friend, what they think unless they are, 1. experienced in the book industry, and 2. (this is the kicker) understand how to step into the shoes of your ideal reader and help you see your book from the right perspective.

If you are reading this before February 19, 2025, you could join Amy and me for a companionable fireside chat about our coaching relationship, and self-publishing and how I created an audiobook: RSVP

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Ruth loves to get writers started on their books knowing what lies ahead of them, so she runs a free program for nonfiction writers, quarterly, that addresses the risks of writing a book. It's called the Nonfiction Book 360 - a 4-day Planning Intensive and you can register your interest here.

Browse for more information about Dear New Book Coach - A Quiet Companion here.

Connect with Ruth on LinkedIn.