Opportunity: Mini-Blueprint Coaching Session With Laurie Calkhoven

Laurie Calkhoven, an Author Accelerator certified Book Coach, spent 20 years in the book publishing industry. When she left the corporate world to be a full-time writer, she was an Executive Editor with the Scholastic Book Clubs. Since then, she has had more than 50 books traditionally published by Simon and Schuster, American Girl, Scholastic, Penguin, and others.

She’s celebrating the launch of her book coaching business by taking on her first ten clients at 50% off. There are still a few spots left.

Laurie’s also giving away a mini-Blueprint coaching session (a $150 value) to one Writing and Illustrating reader. To get in the running leave a comment. Reblog, tweet, or talk about Laurie’s services on Facebook with a link and you will get additional chances to win. Just let me know other things you do to share the good news, so I can put the right amount of tickets in my basket for you.

If you have signed up to follow my blog and it is delivered to you every day, please let me know when you leave a comment and I will give you an extra ticket. Thanks!

*******

BELOW ARE A FEW INTERVIEW QUESTIONS  WITH LAURIE’S ANSWERS:

Why Become a Book Coach?

I have always enjoyed working with writers. I teach at regional SCBWI conferences and at the Highlights Foundation, but during the pandemic, I realized how much I miss interacting with other writers. I worked with a book coach myself and realized how much she brought to my novel. I looked into the Author Accelerator program and saw real value in the tools they provide to help authors achieve their visions. I signed up for the nine-month book coaching training and was certified in late December 2023. It’s been wonderful!

What Exactly is a Book Coach?

As a book coach, I work with writers at every stage of the process:

· Are you nurturing the seeds of an idea and want some help in brainstorming and shaping your project? Author Accelerator’s Blueprint for a Book and the Inside Outline are great tools for that. I love bouncing around ideas with other authors, and after having done the Blueprint myself, I can’t imagine starting a new project or a revision without running through those exercises and talking about them with a coach.

· Do you have a first (or fifth) draft and want some feedback? I can provide a deep-dive development edit. I look at both the big-picture issues like voice, pacing, structure, plot, and character development and offer scene-by-scene feedback.

· Are you ready to start submitting? I can work with you on your query letter, synopsis, logline, and first ten pages.

· I have one client who sends me pages on deadline every two weeks. I provide project management, accountability, and feedback to help her stay on track. I’m delighted to watch where her creativity takes her. If you need something similar, I can be here for you.

What’s the Difference between a Book Coach and a Developmental Editor?

Developmental editing is one of the things I provide, and I love it. But I also provide the other services listed above.

Editors usually come in near the end of a project to do a deep-dive edit. Book coaches can be there from the very beginning. Editors in publishing houses are busy and overwhelmed. They haven’t stopped editing, certainly, but they might love a novel and turn it down because it needs too much work. It’s much easier for an editor to say no than to say yes to a novel. A book coach can help writers eliminate as many no’s as possible.

What Kinds of Books do You Coach?

I’m working on chapter books, middle-grade novels, and YA novels. The picture book market is a difficult one and I have chosen not to coach picture book writers, but I love working with other kidlit authors. I’m probably not the right coach for high fantasy, but all other genres are welcome.

You can find out more on Laurie’s website: https://lauriecalkhoven.com/book-coaching. She is happy to schedule a discovery call with anyone who thinks they might want to work with her. Feel free to reach out to her if you have any questions about training to become a book coach yourself.

Happy writing!

*******

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy