Considering writing coaching or developmental editing? Why not do both at once?
“Writing coaching” sounds like an open-ended commitment, similar to, say, sports coaching or executive coaching. I reject that model. I want to help authors complete books, not charge them for counseling every week.
But I like the idea of helping an author to get progressively better as they make progress on their book.
I’ve just completed two editorial projects for authors writing business books, a process I’ve done multiple times in the last few years. In all of these cases, the plan consisted of three stages.
- We collaborate on idea development to nail down the basic idea and a table of contents.
- The author drafted chapters; the coach/editor edited and provided feedback.
- The author assembled all the chapters into a manuscript; the coach/editor provided feedback on this draft.
Here’s what happens in each stage.
Stage 1. Idea development
It’s unproductive to begin writing without a plan. The first step in that plan is to brainstorm what the book is about and nail down a title. I do that with a 90-minute idea development session in which I challenge the author to describe their audience and the problem their book is going to solve for that audience.
The output of the idea development session is a book description — basically, flap copy — that makes promises about what the book going to do for the reader.
Once that’s nailed down, we work on a table of contents, basically a list of chapters. The author creates this in the form of a spreadsheet, listing the title of each chapter, the question it will answer for the reader, and what it will include (for example, case studies, research, frameworks, and advice).
(All these processes are detailed in Build a Better Business Book.)
Stage 2. Drafting and coaching
With the plan laid out, the authors begin drafting chapters. I’ll often meet with them before a chapter to go over their fat outline — the plan for how the chapter will be laid out and what it will include. Once they’ve drafted a chapter, I’ll edit it and write up a few general skills that the author can learn, for example, how to write a case study better, how to treat quotes from sources, how to explain a framework, and so on. We’ll then meet and discuss the edits along with some coaching on process and effective ways to write.
For the first chapter an author drafts, it may take two or three tries until we’re happy with it. For additional chapters, it’s best not to go back and rewrite them immediately after the feedback, unless the feedback is basically, “Throw this draft away and start over.”
This one-chapter-at-a-time method has significant advantages. First, it allows the author to see that they are making steady progress in creating content. Second, the cadence can vary — if an author needs three weeks to write a chapter, I can wait, rather than insisting that we meet every week. Third, each chapter is a chance for the author to learn more about the craft of writing chapters and apply that knowledge in the subsequent chapters.
Coaching tends to consist of some combination of “this part was great” and “this part had a problem.” By breaking things down by chapter, I can encourage the author about the parts of what they wrote that are working while giving them specific feedback on places that need improvement. Critiques work better when we’re both looking at a piece of prose that I’ve used to make a point, like “Here’s how to avoid passive voice” or “Here’s how to write a case study story that shows a protagonist triumphing over challenges.” Then the focus can be on “How can this writing be more effective?”, which is productive, rather than “Am I a good writer?”, which is not.
Stage 3: Editing the full draft
When the author has drafted all the chapters, they’ve got a complete book, but they’re certainly not done. They must then go back to those chapters, fix all the problems I cited as well as any others that they discover, and make them as complete and perfect as possible. The process of revising the whole manuscript at once tends to reveal problems that weren’t visible on the first go-round, like inconsistencies and repeated concepts.
Once the manuscript is complete, the author turns it over to me and I do a developmental edit on the whole thing. The perspective I can get from a full manuscript allows me to turn a collection of chapters into a coherent manuscript. I always write an edit memo to accompany the marked-up manuscript, addressing global issues.
No one’s drafts are perfect after one revision. And there are always inconsistencies between chapters. This full developmental edit is essential. It can take a book that’s got a serious problem and make it work — and it can also take a book that’s in good shape and enable it to achieve greatness.
Why this process works
In my experience, this process is the best possible way to keep author spirits high, help them learn, and turn their manuscripts into the best book possible. When the author has already drafted a full book and asks me to edit it, there are always a lot more problems. When, instead, I coach the author along the way, they make steady progress and end up with a coherent and publishable manuscript (and lots more confidence as a writer).
The other benefit of this process is financial. I charge for the idea development planning, for each chapter editing/coaching session, and for the full edit of the combined manuscript. I get a steady stream of payments, and the author gets to see a delivery of value aligned with each invoice they pay.
If you’re considering a writing coach, consider hiring one that uses a process like this. It’s the best way to get smarter as you go, make sure you’re getting value out of every coaching session, and end up with a publishable manuscript.