COACHIN G THROUGH THE WRITING PROCESS

Y our book-coaching journey is about to begin! And you may be wondering…

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When I get to “the end,” am I done?
How soon can I self-publish or start pitching to literary agents?
• I‘ve already written and revised a draft – how many more drafts will I need?

Your coach will help you determine when you’re ready to pitch or publish, but we can’t give
you a firm number of how many drafts you’ll need. Writers come to us with books in various
stages of completion, with varying skill levels, and with varying levels of ambition. We do
believe that a coach can help a writer produce a draft that is farther along than a typical first
draft. Working with a coach is also likely to cut down on the amount of time you spend
revising. All that being said, we strongly believe in the writing process: planning, drafting,
revising (and more revising), editing, and then polishing. Working with a coach may help
streamline the planning, drafting, and revision stages, but, in particular, it will not replace the
revision stage. And there are some issues that you and your coach may just not be able to see
until you’ve written the entire book. Your coach can help you at every stage of the process,
but the coaching priorities will shift at each stage. We’ve developed this tool to explain how
that shift works:

The Hierarchy of Editorial Concerns (Fiction and Memoir)

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 Before the Draft: The Inside Outline/Blueprint
• We offer two powerful tools that work together to help nail down your story’s
foundation: The Inside Outline and the One-Page Book Summary.
• The Inside Outline helps you figure out not only what happens in your story but
why it happens. It allows you to trace the point of each scene, to lock down the
cause and effect trajectory that leads to the next scene, and to make visible the
changes occurring within the protagonist.
• The One-Page Book Summary forces you to make important decisions about
your ideal audience, comparable books, and the point of your story, on just one
page, so you can see the whole sweep of your book at a glance.
• Both tools work for fiction and memoir; they can also be used at any stage of the
writing process, and your coach may recommend using them at various points along
the way.
• If you are coming to coaching at the start of a draft or the start of a revision, you might
want to start with Inside Outline Coaching, our four-week, four-deadline program. This
program (which also includes the One-Page Book Summary) allows you to devote the
necessary time to really get the Inside Outline set before you start writing. From there,
you can easily transition to the 12-deadline Manuscript Accelerator program, and
you’ll be ready to write forward.

The First Draft: Nailing the Foundation, Getting to “The End”

• Usually the main goal of a first draft is to get to “the end” with a story that is not yet
perfect, but is holding together. If your coach sees red flags, fatal flaws, or
opportunities for course-correction at the big-picture level, they will tell you.
• Your coach will help you move forward to the finish line while thinking through big-
picture story issues. You’ll get constructive criticism in a collaborative spirit, and may
do some problem-solving or brainstorming together if you’re feeling stuck. Your coach
may even give you some exercises to help you to make key decisions about character
arc, plot, or other foundational elements.
• Your feedback will also include encouragement – not to give false praise, but to point
out what you’re doing well (so you can keep doing it!) and so that you feel motivated
to keep coming back to your draft and moving it forward.
• Editorially, the focus is on Tier 1 and Tier 2 (bottom tiers) of the Hierarchy of Editorial
Concerns: the story’s foundation.
• The story (and each scene in the story) must have a point and a purpose.
• The story should start in the right place.
• The world of the story should be believable and logical.

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 • There must be narrative drive, a clear cause-and-effect trajectory – the
protagonist makes clear decisions, with consequences.
• There must be a protagonist with an objective or desire.
• The protagonist must have external and internal conflicts.
• The point of view must make sense and serves the story.
• The point of view characters’ emotions should be on the page.
• The writer is showing, not telling.

The Revision Draft(s): Story Development and Pacing

• You and your coach may be celebrating the completion of a draft. Yay! That’s a huge
milestone!
• But then you’re both going to roll up your sleeves and get busy – the work of revision
begins.
• Your coach may offer you some revision tools from our courses (such as the
Manuscript Audit worksheet from our How to Revise a Novel course, or ask you to
do an updated Inside Outline). You might also consider a manuscript evaluation /
read-through at this stage. That way your coach – and you – can get a feel for the
sweep and flow of the entire book. If you’d like a different coach to review the
manuscript with “fresh eyes,” that is an option.
• Your coach will help you establish revision priorities and a system for revision. You will
have a clear path forward. You will not be alone in your revision!
• There will likely be some continued focus on lingering Tier 1 and Tier 2 issues from the
Hierarchy.
• If Tiers 1 and 2 are solid, the editorial focus shifts to Tier 3 of the Hierarchy. (And if not,
at least one round of revision might focus on shoring up Tiers 1 and 2 – really nailing
the story’s foundation before building on it.)
• Your coach will look more closely at balance in Tier 3. What is the balance of
narration vs. dialogue? Of main narrative vs. backstory?
• Your coach will look at pacing at the scene level, the chapter level, and across
multiple chapters.
• Your coach will look carefully at the passage of time. What is the time frame of
the story? Is the chronology of events clear? Is the passage of time logical?
• An awareness of the market – and the expected word count for the genre – is
important to keep in mind. If your story runs long, cutting to get the word count down
may happen now. Your coach won’t do the cutting for you, but may suggest areas that
feel wordy or slow, or show examples of the types of cuts you could continue on your
own. Similarly, if you story runs short, your coach will help you find areas for
development.

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 • Revising is an iterative process, and you may create several revised drafts before you
and your coach decide it’s strong enough to move on from Tiers 1-3. This process can
be difficult and feel slow, but persevering through it will lead you to what is truly the
best version of your story.

Polish Drafts: Copyediting, Clarifying, and Fine-Tuning

• If most, if not all, of the first three tiers of the Hierarchy are in place, the focus on later
drafts begins to shift to Tiers 4 and 5.
• Your coach will look closely at paragraphs, sentences, and words.
• Your coach will still look at pacing, though it may now be more at the level of
sentence rhythm and paragraph length.
• There may need to be some tightening up of scenes and paragraphs.
• Grammar should be correct. While your coach will not do a full line edit or make
all the corrections for you as part of your Manuscript Accelerator program, she
may point out recurring grammatical issues or patterns to watch out for, and
point you toward some resources to help.
• The style and tone should be consistent. Your coach will point out areas where it
is not.

Options for the Final Polish

• Your coach might be appropriate for this stage of work, or we might suggest another
service outside of your coaching program. We do offer line editing and proofreading
as standalone services; you can email accelerate@authoraccelerator.com for more
information and pricing.
• Your coach (or a professional proofreader) will pay almost exclusive attention to Tiers 4
and 5 of the Hierarchy at this stage: grammar, word choice, and style.
• You may want to consider a standalone Manuscript Evaluation or a Manuscript Edit
(either from your coach or a different one for “fresh eyes”).
• If you are interested in publishing but aren’t sure of which publishing path is right for
you and your project, we offer our Navigating the Path to Publishing course, which
lays out the paths to publication – traditional, self, and hybrid – and discusses the
pros / cons of each. Worksheets help you assess your goals, finances, and skills, and
determine which path is best for you; numerous resources are provided.
• If you know you are interested in traditional publishing, your coach may tell you you’re
ready for pitching. We offer the following services to help with the pitching process:
• Pitch Track: Fiction and Nonfiction. The Pitch Track is a self-paced, eight-step
online course with instructional videos, case studies, and workbook exercises.
You’ll come away with a query letter, a synopsis, a pitch strategy, a clear vision of

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 what kind of agents you’re seeking, and a greater understanding of all the steps
and possible outcomes in the pitching process. Coach feedback on pitch
materials can be purchased for an additional fee. The Pitch Track can also be
incorporated into the Manuscript Accelerator program.
• How to Write a Query Letter course. This online course, applicable to writers of
fiction or nonfiction, and in any genre, covers all the elements of a query letter
that will make literary agents take notice.
• Query evaluation. You can get two rounds of coach feedback on your query
letter.
• Building your agent list. Overwhelmed at the prospect of researching agents?
Need a plan of attack? We can help! We will research agents who would be a
good fit for your work and provide you with a list of 30 to contact.

Here’s that Hierarchy of Editorial Concerns again, with the focus of each tier spelled out:

We hope this information helps to clarify how our book coaches can offer targeted feedback
and support at each stage of the writing process!

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