Book Coaching Services
I work with Christian writers to help them create life-giving fiction and memoir, with all the excellence they can muster. Because stories are powerful.
For more about me and my philosophy and qualifications, read my long bio.
I work one-on-one with creators of contemporary and historical fiction for YA and adult audiences to help them think through and plan their book before beginning their first draft.
I dig deep with memoir writers to help them find the throughline of their life and create a cohesive, meaningful story.
I guide and support writers as they compose their first draft. I help them get their story out of their head and onto the page.
I engage writers in back-and-forth discussions, asking them hard questions, to guide them in planning for writing success. Together, we consider a character’s personality, backstory, and motivation. We explore the what and the why and the how… and the order in which it all unfolds. Along the way, I point out what’s working and what’s not, and tell them how to fix it. I give assignments and make deadlines. I give them tough love, but I try to be kind. Because writing is hard, and surprisingly personal. But stories are powerful.
As your book coach, I will come alongside you as you undertake to do an important work: to create a coherent setting, relatable characters, and a plausible plot out of nothing, in order to tell the truth in a winsome way.
If you’ve already written your book, but you feel that it’s not as good as it could be, I offer full and partial manuscript evaluations to help you identify and ameliorate its shortcomings.
I am an Author Accelerator certified fiction book coach.
“Susan Soesbe brought a fresh breeze to my flagging writing sails. Her dedicated, professional guidance provided just the motivation I needed. The input she offered was thorough, helpful and encouraging, and in the end I came away with a completed manuscript ready to present to agents. Susan is a gift!” ~ Melissa Kline, Middle Grade Fantasy author
Scroll down to see which service is right for you.
Not quite sure? Email me with your questions!
Dear Writer,
Are you my ideal client?
My ideal client:
is committed to Jesus Christ and His kingdom,
possesses a worldview shaped by the scriptures, both Old and New Testaments,
reads broadly and widely,
is eager to learn, and readily accepts constructive criticism,
is willing and able to make the effort to learn and practice,
has her identity firmly in Jesus, not in Being a Writer or Publishing a Book,
has a story idea they're excited about,
has time and mental bandwidth to do the work required to write a book, and
is willing and able to make a financial investment in their development as a writer, and in this particular book project.
Send me an email today for a free half hour consultation! If I’m not the right coach for you, no hard feelings.
I can give you some tips and maybe help you find someone else you’d like to work with.
Respectfully,
Susan
FULL STORY PLANNING
12-Week Full Story Planning
This package uses Author Accelerator's complete 17-step Blueprint for a Book to help you think through every aspect of your story before you begin writing, from why it needs to be told, to plotting and world building, to title and jacket copy.
MINI BLUEPRINT
A Smaller Package to Get You Started
This package uses an abbreviated version of Author Accelerator's Blueprint for a Book to help you think through key aspects of your story before you begin writing.
STORY WRITING
6-Month Coaching to Complete Your First Draft of 60k-80k words
This package will help writers who work best when they have accountability, structure, and big-picture feedback. The goal is simply to complete a first draft, to get that novel out of your head and onto the page!
FULL MANUSCRIPT EVALUATION
You’ve written your book. But it’s not working. You’ve done everything you can think of to make it work, but it’s still not what you want it to be. You might benefit from a full manuscript evaluation.
PARTIAL MANUSCRIPT EVALUATION
If a full manuscript evaluation isn’t in your budget, or if you suspect the issue is more stylistic than structural, you may benefit from a partial manuscript evaluation.
Your finished manuscript will be
cohesive, telling a compelling story in the way you imagined it.
Is book coaching right for you?
YES
You are open to feedback
You have time to do the work
You are teachable
You have the support of your family
You are ready to invest in yourself and your career as a writer
NO
You believe your book is perfect
You're too busy right now to commit to doing the work
You already know everything about writing
Your immediate family is unsupportive of your writing
You don't want to/or can't make the investment in your writing
FAQs
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A book coach is a person who helps a writer turn an idea or story into a manuscript. The coach will ask foundational questions to help the writer identify what it is he or she is hoping to accomplish with their project. The coach may assist the writer in crafting an outline before beginning to write, or she may evaluate a manuscript in progress, or a finished manuscript. She will identify problem areas and suggest solutions. She will help the writer set deadlines and meet them. Some coaches offer help with writing query letters, which the author uses to secure the services of a literary agent.
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Critique: By the time the author has completed a first draft, he or she has usually lost the objectivity required to assess the manuscript's strengths and weaknesses. A fresh eye is needed. A Book Coach can identify specific areas of the story that need work (such as narrative arc, character development, pacing, prose, etc) and, importantly, give the writer specific "next steps" for making improvements.
Accountability: After the Coach and writer have agreed on next steps, the writer will set deadlines. Book Coaches usually offer face-to-face meetings or video conferences designed to keep the author on track.
Industry knowledge: Book Coaches generally have experience with, or current knowledge of, the rapidly-changing book publishing industry. A Book Coach can assist the writer in sticking to genre norms, creating promotional content (such as a book description or author biography) and identifying appropriate literary agents to query.
Connections: A Book Coach can usually recommend other professionals as needed, such as an editor or proofreader.
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Classes and groups can be very helpful for learning and accountability. A Book Coach, however, offers personalized attention, and can therefore give the writer more targeted advice. A Book Coach will meet with an author one-on-one to focus on a single project, identify problem areas, and give specific assignments to help the writer move their story out of their head and onto the page!
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Publishing is a business, subject to trends and to the whims of the reading public. Nothing can guarantee that a writer will get published! There is no guarantee that an author will ever earn any money from publishing either.
Ready?
Let’s Get Started
