I’ve spoken to and worked with thousands of Authors, and every one of them (including myself) has faced significant challenges while writing their book. The most common are:
If your intrinsic motivation is strong enough, it’s possible to overcome these challenges on your own. I’ve written at length about how to overcome procrastination, work through your fears, and create a writing plan that will help you finish your book.
I’ve also published a free online course—Scribe Book School—that will teach you everything you need to know about writing and publishing.
But having the knowledge it takes to write a book often isn’t enough. Many people, especially first-time Authors, need some form of support and accountability outside of just themselves.
One solution is to work with a coach. Working with a good book coach is one of the most effective forms of support and accountability you can find. In my experience, Authors who work with a coach are much more likely to finish their book than those who don’t.
There are plenty of great writing coaches out there. If you decide to look for one, read my post on how to choose and evaluate a nonfiction writing coach. It will teach you the qualities you should look for, how to assess options, and how to test coaches to find the right one for you.
You’ll also learn that finding the right book coach is a lot of work. That’s why we created the Scribe book coaching program: Guided Author.
We’ve gone to extreme lengths to find the highest quality nonfiction writing coaches, and we’ve developed a proven process that provides everything you need to write, self-publish, and market your book.
Over 50% of Authors that go through our program not only write their books—they publish their books. That kind of track record is unheard of in the book coaching world (most programs are lucky to get 5% of their clients to publishing, and many have publishing rates below 1%).
In this post, I’ll cover:
Thinking about hiring a coach to help you finish your book? Schedule a free consultation to speak with one of our Author Strategists, and see if our coaching program is right for you.
Guided Author is for nonfiction Authors who are ready to write their book but need guidance, accountability, and professional expertise.
We specifically designed it for entrepreneurs, consultants, executives, and other busy professionals who have very little time but are still dedicated to writing their book. Many of our Authors are writing their books while running a company or working full time.
Their motivations for publishing a book range from financial benefits like generating more leads and growing their business, to intangible benefits such as impacting others and leaving a legacy.
Common industries of our Authors include:
To learn more about the kinds of Authors we’ve helped, check out our Author Success Stories.
There are certain foundational steps to writing a nonfiction book, such as defining your book positioning and target audience.
If you don’t work through these before you begin writing, it’s very likely that you’ll write a book that doesn’t resonate with an audience. As a result, few people will read it, and you won’t end up with the outcome you’re hoping for.
Many book coaches will focus more on the writing process itself and spend less time (or none at all) on helping you define these crucial elements of your book.
In Guided Author, we provide you with templates and processes to help you define your positioning and audience first. And we work directly with you, one-on-one, to ensure that you’re crystal clear on these before you begin writing your first draft.
As I mentioned earlier, the biggest challenges of writing a book are largely psychological. So we spend less time coaching you on how to write, and more time helping you work through the fears you face throughout the process.
This, above all other factors, is what you want to look for when hiring a book coach. Many people can teach writing. But the emotional obstacles are where people get stuck. Working with someone who can guide you through those is crucial to your success.
When we chose our book coaches for Guided Author, we began with a pool of over 300 talented writers that we regularly work with. There were several who excel at interpersonal interactions with our clients. Each of them have decades of experience and have published dozens of books, either on their own or as a ghostwriter.
From that group, we selected 5 extraordinary humans to become our head coaches. They worked with me directly for several years, learning the ins and outs of the program I’d developed.
Our 2 top coaches, Emily and Chas, run Guided Author. And they both continue to receive rave reviews from our clients.
Most coaching services are strictly focused on coaching you through the book writing process. And while some coaches will also have knowledge about publishing, publishing your book is not included in their service.
With Guided Author, we include book publishing as part of the program. It includes everything from editing services and book design, to the printing and distribution of your book (more on this below).
NOTE:The publishing industry has changed. You no longer need to hire a literary agent, write a book proposal, and convince traditional publishing houses in New York to give you a book deal.
In fact, self-publishing is now the best option for 98% of Authors. This is what we include as a part of Guided Author. To learn more about the differences between traditional and self-publishing, check out my post on book publishing options.
Or, if you want the shorter version, check out my summary of traditional vs. self-publishing.
In addition to weekly coaching calls, participants of Guided Author get to take part in a 3-day intensive book writing workshop and quarterly masterclasses with me.
They also gain access to the support and reassurance of our private community of Authors who have gone through the program.
Over the course of the program, our coaches guide you and your peer group through our proven process. You work together to create the best book possible. And at the end, you’ll have a self-published book ready for distribution in print and eBook formats.
We’ve worked with and coached clients who have gone on to become bestselling and award-winning Authors. They’ve launched new careers, built entirely new businesses, and experienced significant professional success as a result of publishing their books.
Here’s a summary of everything the program includes:
Guided Author costs $18,000 total ($1,500/month for 12 months). We offer a money back guarantee. If you want to write and publish a great book, schedule a consult to speak with one of our Author Strategists.
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