This past May (2023) marked five years of fulltime self-employment as a writing coach. I’d like to mark the occasion by sharing some reflections on my experience so far.

Listening to Clients and Customers

When I went out on my own in 2018, I had three main products I’ll list below in the order I started them:

1. Book Proposal Academy, a standalone digital course
2. One-on-one coaching, a higher-priced and higher-touch service
3. BookCamp, a lower-priced subscription-based training center and community for writers

I started all three while still in my corporate job with a traditional book publisher. As I made the transition to self-employment, I thought my main focus would be to grow BookCamp. It seemed to me the most scalable product of the three.

I was also open to representing authors as a literary agent, helping them pursue book deals. But it became clear over the first couple years I was more of a coach than an agent. I did some agenting, and helped land a small number of book deals, but the coaching side of the business has always been more robust. Mind you, agenting involves quite a lot of coaching, but it’s a fundamentally different business.

Honestly, I like coaching more. Agents serve a really important role in the traditional publishing industry. If you want a book deal, I strongly encourage you to pursue representation. But in terms of my own sense of vocation, there’s a lot about the agent role that reminds me of my work as an acquisitions editor. Agents say no a lot, for example, like acquisitions editors do. They have to; otherwise they’ll spread themselves too thin to help their existing clients.

But as a coach, particularly inside BookCamp, I get to say yes over and over and over. I get to work with a writer from the very beginning of the process all the way to when they’re holding their published book and beyond. I’m not saying I’ll work with anyone, but I am saying the main criterion is determination. If you’re a writer who is determined, who’s willing to put in the effort and not give up, I can help you get to where you want to go.

The other thing I enjoy as a coach that I didn’t get to do as an acquisitions editor and wouldn’t get to do to the same extent as an agent is help writers grow their platform/audience. Helping writers get the audience their work deserves is so gratifying.

Here are my main products, currently:

Book Proposal Academy

I launch Book Proposal Academy once or twice a year, typically, with the occasional micro launch to a partner’s audience. This is pretty much what I was doing five years ago too, but we’ve made a lot improvements to the course. It now includes separate modules for children’s and fiction authors, for example, as well as a module on pitching and query letters and one sheets. We started with a small number of sample book proposals. Now we have a growing library of over twenty deal-winning proposals! Plus, we’ve recently improved the look and navigability of the course. I’m super proud of it.

One-on-one Coaching

When I started one-on-one coaching sometime in 2016 or 2017, the price was $150/month; now it’s $1000/month. This program includes a monthly video call, but it also includes editorial assistance, and I quickly learned the editorial work can be time-consuming, which is why I kept raising my rates. I provide a high level of service to a small number of one-on-one clients, and that seems to work well.

BookCamp

BookCamp is my main focus day-to-day. For a small monthly fee writers can join and go on the journey with us from establishing a writing habit to launching and promoting their book. Just saying that gives me a rush. Here’s a picture—a map, if you will—of the journey we take together:

I love BookCamp. I love it so much that when I start talking about it, I quickly go from sharing about its features to randomly saying, “I love BookCamp!” The community we’ve built over the years is something very special. Leading this community is my job, but it’s also an honor and a privilege.

As just one example, I’ve been hosting a BookCamp coworking session most Mondays at 11AM ET for at least a couple years now, and it is just the best way to start my week. I love BookCamp!

The Members Area and our offerings keep getting better and better. We now offer twelve coworking sessions per month, thanks to some very generous members. And I now pay two other writing coaches to help me with the monthly submission reviews (as a member, you can send in two pages of your material for a professional review every month!), which just adds to the breadth of service we give our members.

I could go on and on—about our monthly Fireside Chats, our master classes, our interviews with experts, our virtual writing retreats, the amazing goodness that happens in our Facebook Group. And the books! My word! Our members are getting books into the world like crazy. Here’s just a few of them:

Mastermind Groups

Early in 2022 I started a Mastermind Coaching Group with a vision of working closely with a small group of (no more than ten) writers. We meet twice a month, and our meetings have three main components:

1. Accountability for the goals members set for themselves,
2. Guidance both from me and members, and
3. Encouragement

The first group quickly filled up so I started another group, which is almost full as well. I’m now talking with a writing coach friend about the possibility of offering a third group that meets in the evening (the current groups meet during the day in the Eastern time zone).

The bond that happens in these groups is remarkable, and it’s a joy to lead them. I’m excited to chase these writers’ books into the world right alongside them!

Client Work

Another significant part of my business is client work, which falls roughly into three categories:

• Developmental editing/rewriting
• Writing book proposals (or book plans for self-publishing clients, but proposals and plans are virtually the same thing)
• Book proposal reviews

Apart from the reviews I don’t really advertise these services. Projects seem to come by referral. I’m picky about the projects I take on, and I enjoy this work immensely.

The above does not capture everything we do to generate revenue. We also do some affiliate marketing, for example. But I’d say this covers at least 90 percent of what we do. As I look at what the business offered five years ago vs. now, I’d say it’s much the same, but better and more expansive. Our products have improved significantly, and we’ve expanded what we offer to match the various levels of investment our clients want to pay.

What Kind of Business Is This?

I know of businesses where the owner found or developed a singular service or product that did well. These owners then pour everything they have into this one thing, and off it goes. Or Seth Godin talks about two paths: the path of the freelancer vs. the path of the entrepreneur. He says it’s important to choose one or the other.

As far as I can tell, neither model has been my journey. My experience has been that of trying, and when successful maintaining, multiple parts of the business. I sometimes look wistfully at businesses where it seems like all they do is one thing, but I also wonder if I’d find that boring. Anyway, I try to keep listening to my clients and customers to determine what’s next.

To me it’s been helpful to think of myself as having a conversation with my business. If I listen carefully, it’s as though the business itself tells me what I should do next. It has a life of its own!

Experiments

One thing I’ve learned about starting a business is that everything is one big experiment. I experimented in my corporate job too, but the stakes were lower.

The thing about an established company is that presumably folks there have figured out some ways to generate a profit. Once you figure this out, the next step is to scale what’s working, to grow it.

When you start a new company, you don’t really know what’s going to generate a profit, so it’s all an experiment. This is likely why entrepreneurship is not for everyone—this experimenting piece. It can be maddening.

Ask my wife what’s it’s like to live with me when I launch something new. Suffice to say, I can be difficult to be around. I send this new thing into the world, and then I wait. And wait. And I hover. And I drive everyone around me crazy while I kvetch about it. I think I’ve gotten a little better at this since the beginning, but it’s still a struggle, believe me.

Yet there’s no way around it. Experimenting, in the beginning, is really all there is. Some things work, some don’t.

Self-Care

One thing I keep learning is that if I’m taking care of myself, everything else goes so much better. If not, even when things are going well, I’m not able to enjoy it as much as I would like.

I’m talking about things like exercise, sleep, eating well, going on date nights with my wife, connecting regularly with my family and friends, reading good books, therapy, going to my annual checkups (doctor, dentist), taking vacations, worshiping, and meditating.

These things don’t just happen. They require decision and energy, and they have the added difficulty of feeling like selfishness, even though I try really hard to remind myself these things are not selfish. They are, in fact, the only path to being truly selfless in my experience.

In short, the better I take care of myself, the more value I can provide the people I serve.

Not on My Own

Where would I be without the folks who help me keep this train moving?! I met Jodie Von Kamecke through a mastermind group Jonathan Milligan led. The mastermind grew out of our membership in Platform University, which itself was the outgrowth of Michael Hyatt’s book Platform (there’s always a book!).

Speaking of Michael Hyatt, I remember meeting with him and Joel Miller of Full Focus, talking with them about the possibility of hiring a virtual assistant. They helped me realize the expense involved was actually a no-brainer investment, and that’s when I connected with Jodie. She served as my executive assistant for several years, and now she’s our director of operations.

Recently we’ve hired a new virtual assistant, Claire Mannion, who has already helped us up our game in incalculable ways. Others I work with regularly include:

Tom Burdick, who helps with all the technical aspects of doing launches and promotions

Kelly Gammon, who helps BookCamp members set up and improve their websites

Rebecca Cooper, who sends out our “books of the month” to one-on-one clients

Eric Scheur, who helps me with promotional video editing.

I also use a number of services for project-specific work, including:

Upwork

FancyHands

Fiverr

Freelancer

99Designs

Advisors Aplenty

I’m acutely aware of the people and companies I’ve relied on for guidance, including:

Growth University, led by Brian Harris. GU was the first business coach organization I hired, and they helped me significantly enhance my lead-generation operations.

Jeff Walker, the godfather of course launches. Jeff’s Product Launch Formula and related book Launch helped me launch Book Proposal Academy, which was my first foray into monetizing my blog. That launch was the beginning of everything else. Jeff’s a pro. Love his stuff.

Zack Spuckler, of Heart, Soul, & Hustle. Zack demystified Facebook ads for me.

Shane Sams, of Flipped Lifestyle. My friend Grant Baldwin introduced me to Shane, who’s a master at helping people build subscription-based memberships. His Membership Masters Newsletter helped me rethink how I promoted BookCamp, which was hugely helpful.

Steven Foust, who’s an entrepreneur in his own right as well as an employee for Flipped Lifestyle. Steven and I became fast friends and connect via Voxer or Zoom once a week.

Tom Blaylock, of Five Capitals Coaching. Tom and I have just started working together, and I’m hopeful!

An Unexpected Joy

One fun part of my job I did not anticipate is getting to connect with fellow coaches and business owners out there. I think of Liz Wilcox, Stacy Juba, Daniel David Wallace, Morgan McDonald, Chandler Bolt, Mike Kim, Jeff Goins, Ray Edwards, Joe Bunting, Ariel Curry, Liz Morrow, Kent Sanders, Neal Samudre, Mindy Kiker, Jenny Kochert, Honoree Corder, Jody Mayberry,  and Jeff Brown, to name a few. These folks have become friends and confidantes as well as collaborators. They’re an AWESOME group of people!

Future Horizons

I’m excited about doing more in-person events. Our next one is coming up this fall. It’s called Midwest Muse, and we have some spots available. It’s going to be amazing!!

Midwest Muse will take place in Chicago in conjunction with the American Writers Museum, and who knows, it may become an annual thing. But I’m also looking forward to hosting an event in a more camp-like setting. I have some ideas for 2024!

One thing I’d like to do more of is my own writing. Occasionally a BookCamper will ask how my own book is going. What I tell them is that I’m constantly living in the tension between being a writer and being a writing coach. It’s tough. Imagine a football coach who’s also a football player, and you get some of the idea, but that analogy breaks down quickly for multiple reasons. Anyway, I do want to pursue my own book project in the months ahead.

Thanksgiving

If you’re reading this, you are most definitely part of this journey, and I can’t thank you enough! I look forward to helping you get your book into the world!

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