Book Coaches

Everyone is writing a book these days--or so it seems--so it’s no wonder that book coaches have sprung up everywhere. There’s so much business for people who refer to themselves as book coaches, book shepherds, book stewards, etc. A good book coach can save a novice writer/publisher hour of time and hundreds if not thousands of dollars.

Unfortunately, there are no standards for people who offer to help writers get published or become self-publishers. Anyone can hang out a shingle and send out three and four figure invoices for services they may or may not provide well.

How can a new or even a seasoned author choose the right book coach? Here are a few questions that aren‘t always asked:

• What do you want the coach to do? Will the coach help you achieve your goals and not just those of the coach? If your goal is to produce a book to supplement your speaking career, for example, your coach should not push you to emphasize bookstore sales.

• How long has the coach been in business? The right book coach will have been around long enough to know at least a little about the entire publishing business. Regardless of the coach’s background, the coach should know something about all phases of the business.

• What are the coach’s strengths? Most coaches do know something about the business, but few know everything. Look for a coach who knows his or her own limitations and is willing to trust others who know more than they do about particular areas. If the coach says “I do it all,” beware. Very few people do everything well.

• What will the coach charge you for? Different coaches charge different amounts for different services, so there are no hard-and-fast rules. Still find out what the coach charges for the services the coach does and how much the coach marks up services contracted from others. Do expect to pay a premium if the coach brokers services, but find out how much a premium you’ll be expected to pay. I know people who paid coaches obscene amounts for third-party services the coach actually paid someone else to do. Find out if the coach will share the service provider’s invoices with you or let you communicate directly with the service provider.

• How many clients is the coach working with, and how much in-house help does the coach have?
A coach with too many clients makes you the small fish in the big pond. A coach with no clients has a suspicious amount of free time. Both are red flags.

• Will the coach provide you with references of several recent clients? You can assume that you’ll get the names only of satisfied clients, but it’s a start. Call them and ask how satisfied they are.

• How many books will you need to sell to pay for the coach’s services? This is a tough question. You don’t know until your book actually comes out how much profit you’ll make on each sale. Still, unless your book is so specialized that it can carry an unusually high cover price, estimate that you’ll make $2 or $3 for each book you sell to the book trade and $10 or $12 for each book you sell at the back of the room. For every $10,000 you pay a coach, you’ll need to sell between 1,000 and 5,000 books before the money stays in your pocket. Ask your coach how many copies he or she thinks you’ll sell, and expect an optimistic answer.

• How long does the coach expect the relationship to last? This depends on what the coach will do for you. But like all temporary relationships, it needs to come to an end. Make sure you spell this out so you don’t continue paying the coach after the coach’s work is done.

• Will the coach let you out of the contract if your plans change or the relationship sours? Don’t expect bad things to happen, but make sure that if they do, you will not be locked into a commitment you can’t sustain. The coach needs you as much as you need the coach. I know still other people who had acrimonious difficulties extracting themselves from a deteriorating relationship with a coach. Make sure you can end the relationship peacefully without paying for services not yet rendered.

These are just a few questions you can ask, but they are ones I have found often don’t get asked until it is too late. There are many excellent book coaches, and I know you can find one who is perfect for your needs.