Balancing Your Writing and Coaching
Today’s success story comes to us from Author Accelerator certified book coach Nancy Stroer! She has officially opened her book coaching business.
Tell us about your experience creating your business. Had you done this before? Did you enjoy the process?
I earned my coaching certification in May, and had my first paying client right away (a practicum client who wanted to keep working together). I like to work and think and grow a business organically, and found myself having to scramble a little to decide what packages I wanted to offer at what prices.
Setting up a website was a new thing for me and not something I particularly enjoyed doing. But I’m positively preening for having done it! Sometimes you just have to do a thing and put it out there! It was super-helpful to have other coaches’ websites to look at.
What did you do to celebrate this achievement?
Well, these are the COVID times, right?! But my family is super-supportive and happy for me, and I’ve got lots of in-person and virtual writing friends who’ve raised their glasses in recognition of the work I’ve put into getting certified and starting my business. That’s enough hoopla for me :)
What has been the most satisfying part of the journey so far?
I’ve done lots of teaching and training in my working life, and the best part of that is helping a client see what’s good and true about their work, and showing them how they can do even more of that. I’ve been lucky to find some great clients, and to have just-right clients sent my way by [the Author Accelerator matching team]. Hardworking, thoughtful writers are so fun to work with! I just love getting down into the weeds and the words and digging up all the good stuff.
What was the most challenging part of launching your business?
All that thinking takes a lot of energy. Sometimes I surface from a client’s Blueprint or pages and my RIBCAGE hurts, I am putting so much of my actual self into the work. All hail, those of you who can work with dozens of clients at a time! So far I’m doing okay balancing my own writing with coaching, but I’m going to have to keep my business small for now, to manage my energy levels.
What kind of writers will you serve? What services will you offer?
I’m a novelist myself, so I’m focusing on novels and narrative memoir. My favorite genres both to read and to work on are literary, historical, and women’s fiction. Even more specific than THAT, though, is my driving desire to work with other female veterans who are writing fiction about their experiences in the military. There is just NONE of that out there, so I am going to have to find these people. I’m going to have to teach them how to break through that tough shell we were forced to develop (this is the hardest thing for me as a writer, too). I’m working with an Air Force veteran who’s writing a memoir about her deployment to Afghanistan, and I’ll take all of that work, too, please! But I want more military novels written by women. Want, want, want.
How do you plan to market your business?
I’m in a number of groups for female veterans but am still trying to find the women who are writing fiction. I’ve volunteered to mentor through the Veterans Writing Project but they haven’t sent me anyone yet, maybe because I asked to work with women. Can I just repeat myself here? Female veterans are going to have a doubly hard time being vulnerable on the page. I think it’s what stops them from even talking about their experiences, let alone writing about them. But I’m fortunate that I can grow my empire slowly. I’ve run some small writing groups on the little military base where we live in the UK, and am putting together an online class that I hope will attract others. This Air Force memoir writer I’m working with hosts the Women of the Military podcast, so I am pretty sure I can find clients through her, when all of us are ready for that. I’ll keep putting feelers out on the socials but am not all that interested in doing big, splashy marketing campaigns. I’m the queen of getting a lot done in small but consistent increments. Slow and steady, that’s me.
Do you have any advice for book coaches wanting to start their own business?
Jennie’s advice for being (or becoming) very clear about who you want to coach, and how, has been my guiding principle in this first six months of working as a book coach. I can start to feel bad about my methods and goals when I listen in to the coaches calls… because it sounds like everyone else is just gunning their engines and making piles of money (which is awesome! Go for it!). And here I am, puttering along. But I love my quiet, literary life, and I love my handful of precious, amazing clients. You have to be clear about what you want out of this gig, and aim for THAT.
What are the next steps in your career?
We may have another intercontinental move coming up (in the last 30 years I’ve only lived in the US for three of them!), and/or I may need to take a day job so I can keep my visa to stay in the UK. I’m keeping my book coaching small for now, but if I can find one woman writing fiction about her military experiences in the coming year, and snag her as a client, I will be pumped.
If you are a female veteran fiction writer or know someone who is, visit Nancy’s website! You can also follow her on Twitter and Goodreads.