Would a Writing Coach Help?

Bev Walton-Porter pub­lishes The Scribe and Quill. You can find more about Bev, her writ­ing and her writ­ing coach ser­vices on her site. I’ve known Bev over 10 years and have admired her­self and her accom­plish­ments that long too.

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Thanks, Laura, for hav­ing me as a guest on your blog to talk about writ­ing coaches and why a writ­ing coach can be ben­e­fi­cial to your read­ers. Although I’ve only addressed a hand­ful of ques­tions here, read­ers may e-mail me at scribequill@gmail.com for addi­tional information.

Q: What is the ben­e­fit of hir­ing a writ­ing coach?

A: There are many ben­e­fits. First, a writ­ing coach can help you stay focused and on point with your cur­rent project or goal. Next, a writ­ing coach can help you over those rough spots when you’re stuck in a rut or aren’t sure which avenue to take next. In addi­tion, a writ­ing coach is some­one who encour­ages and sup­ports your efforts, yet offers con­crete sug­ges­tions to assist you in reach­ing the next level on your cre­ative jour­ney. My coach­ing phi­los­o­phy offers a bal­ance of cre­ativ­ity and pro­duc­tiv­ity that is adjusted to meet each client’s spe­cific needs.

Q: How do you choose a good writ­ing coach?

A:  I think it’s impor­tant to know some­thing about your poten­tial writ­ing coach, such as what expe­ri­ence they have in the writing/publishing com­mu­nity. Also, while it’s nice to work with a pro­fes­sional who has years of expe­ri­ence under his/her belt, I think it’s also impor­tant to work with some­one who matches your per­son­al­ity and who shares the same vision for your progress and suc­cess that you do. You may choose a writ­ing coach who has over a decade or two of expe­ri­ence in the writing/publishing com­mu­nity, but if he/she doesn’t sync with who you are and what you hope to accom­plish, then I believe you’re miss­ing an impor­tant part of the equation.

Q: How do you find a writ­ing coach?

A: There are two impor­tant parts to this equa­tion. The first part of the equa­tion is locat­ing a writ­ing coach. The sec­ond part of the equa­tion is find­ing a writ­ing coach that best fits your per­sonal style.

You can ask friends/colleagues for refer­rals, you can approach a pro­fes­sional and ask if they’ll men­tor you (for an agreed-upon fee, of course) or you can research writ­ing coaches online.

Once you locate a poten­tial writ­ing coach whom you think might fit your needs, you should con­sult them and see if they fit your style on both a per­sonal and a pro­fes­sional level. One writ­ing coach does not fit all, shall we say.

Q: How did you become a writ­ing coach?

A: Mov­ing into the role of writ­ing coach was a nat­ural pro­gres­sion for me since I’d been teach­ing online writ­ing courses since 1997. I was already work­ing with writ­ers one-on-one to help them brain­storm ideas, develop their work and pol­ish com­pleted projects, so it was a short jump to adding “writ­ing coach” to the ser­vices I offer.

Again, thanks for hav­ing me as your guest, Laura. It’s been a pleasure!

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Bev offers one-on-one coach­ing ser­vices through e-mail, instant mes­sage and tele­phone start­ing at $15 for 30 min­utes and $25 for 60 min­utes. E-mail scribequill@gmail.com for more info.

To view Bev’s publishing-related resume, visit the link below:

http://www.scribequill.net/BevWaltonPorterCV.pdf

BIO:

Bev Walton-Porter has been a pro­fes­sional writer, edi­tor and instruc­tor for 12 years.  She is the author of Sun Signs for Writ­ers (Writer’s Digest Books), Mend­ing Fences (Whiskey Creek Press), and Hid­den Fire (Whiskey Creek Press). She is also a co-author of The Com­plete Writer: A Guide to Tap­ping Your Full Poten­tial.  Bev is the Direc­tor of Edu­ca­tion for Author School. She is a client of the Mered­ith Bern­stein Lit­er­ary Agency in New York City.

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