Finding a Great Christian Book Coach

by Adam G. Fleming

When Christian authors get stuck and aren’t sure how to begin writing a Christian book or how to finish writing it, it makes sense to find a Christian book coach. 

Here are some questions to ask (and answers to look for) when searching for a good Christian book coaching experience.

First, ask yourself: am I ready to be accountable to begin and finish my Christian book? If the answer is yes, you may be ready to start looking around for the right coach.

Once you’ve determined you’re ready, the single most important question is, “Does this person really know how to coach?” Why is this such a critical question? Think about this: In the phrase “Christian book coach” the words “Christian” and “book” are just the adjectives, and “coach” is the noun. “Coaching” is the verb, that’s the action you’re looking for. So the most important part of the phrase is quality coaching. 

What is Coaching?

Coaching is an industry, but it’s also a specific skill set, and many have entered the industry and call themselves a coach without getting much or any training in the skill set. They may say that they’re “just a natural” at coaching, or even put it in more spiritual terms, “God gave me the gift of coaching.” The gift of coaching is not mentioned in scripture! That isn’t to say it’s unbiblical, it just means this isn’t a spiritual gift people can download. Since I began training people in coaching skills in 2010,  I’ve never met anyone who walked into the first session of a training course who already had all the skills.

Coaching, like information technology, is a modern solution to modern problems. (That’s a statement for another blog.) Coaching is a methodology best taught in a practical training course. There are coaching novices, professionals, and master coaches. 

So, when you ask whether someone can coach, there are a few ways to determine their skill level. 

• You can ask about the training they went through or the number of hours or years they have been practicing. When I hire a coach for any purpose, I like to know that they’ve been trained in the skills considered “core competencies” by the International Coach Federation.
• How many clients have they worked with, and what kind of results did they get?  
• Are they a coach who will have conversations with you or are they selling a one-size-fits-all program that you’re supposed to go through on some online platform? Our group coaching program offers real-time meetings as well as some online support.

Christian book coaches are here for you!

Now let’s talk about the adjective “Christian”.

There are a variety of things you may be looking for in a Christian book coach. 

• Accountability to finish your book
• Community (in a coaching group with other Christian authors) for support and encouragement
• Industry expertise — someone who can also help you edit or publish your book.
• Someone who will pray with you.
• Someone who can consult you on how to market your book.
• Someone who can help you sell your book.
• Someone who can help you network and build a business or speaking career based on your book.
• Someone who can tell you the truth about your work– in love, of course. Really. Honesty is hard to find these days, right?

In practical terms, when you’re looking for a Christian book coach, you’re not just looking for a coach. It’s difficult to find someone who is well trained and experienced in basic coaching skills, who can also teach or instruct you in these publishing-industry specific issues (since teaching, instructing, consulting are different skills than coaching), and who is willing to pray with you and challenge you to write the best Christian book you can write. 

What does a coaching group do for you?

At Victory Vision Publishing, our coaching group is designed to provide you with:

•  Christians who are trained to coach as facilitators, and who are also publishing industry experts or writers themselves, who will encourage and support you as you finish your manuscript and continue to do so if you choose to DIY when it comes time to publish.
• A community of other Christian authors to share your journey with.
•  Additional services for editing, consulting on the publishing process, and on the marketing process as well. 

Just remember: the first step is to complete the writing of your Christian book. Our team of Christian book coaches will be excited to help you do just that! 

What we offer:

We offer an accountability group for as low as $64 per month, and custom, individual coaching, starting at $2497.00 for six months. 

If you’re not sure if Christian book coaching is for you, I’d be happy to answer any questions. Just email me at adam@victoryvision.org.

Or:

Interested in getting to the next step? Click here for a free discovery meeting with Adam.

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About the Author: Adam G. Fleming, PCC, is the CEO, Lead Ghostwriter and Head Coach at Victory Vision Publishing. He has been certified in coaching since 2009. Adam has written and published 13 books (with more on the way), of a variety of genres including satirical fiction, leadership development, and poetry. He released his first book, White Buffalo Gold, in 2012. Adam is also a part-time pastor at Thrive Church in Goshen, Indiana.

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