Private Book Coaching

Choose from several private book coaching programs, depending on where you are in the writing process and how much support you want. After viewing the options, please feel free to email or call me with any questions.

Focused Book Coaching (6 sessions over 3–6 months)

Book coaching gives you a thinking partner and ongoing support as you write your book. We’ll shape our work together based on your individual needs, but overall you get structure, accountability, editorial feedback, and encouragement.

Who book coaching is for

Book coaching is for you if you want a sounding board and one-on-one advice as you work on your book. One of these scenarios might sound familiar:

You’ve got a great idea for a book. When you describe it to friends and colleagues, they say “I want one—when will it be done?” But you have no idea how to get from “idea” to “done.”
You’re doing it—you’re writing a book, word by word, page by page. And yet every time you sit down to write, you get a knot in your stomach—questioning your ideas, your writing, your marketing, your publishing, everything.
You know yourself well and you know you need structure and feedback to make progress and improve. You might have tried a class or a writers’ group and asked friends and colleagues for feedback, but you aren’t sure those tactics are actually helping.

What book coaching includes

Focused Book Coaching includes:

Six 90-minute private coaching & consulting calls. You send a prep form to me ahead of time so we can be sure to cover your priorities. And we record the calls so you can get back to the brilliant things you say (which you will), and you can download an MP3 if you like.
Editorial feedback on draft manuscript pages. Before each call you send me manuscript pages (up to ~5k words/20 pages) or other documents (e.g., book outline, marketing copy) you’d like feedback on. I spend significant time reading and commenting on your work (usually in Track Changes in Word). When I return your document, I often include supplemental material with educational content. We can discuss my notes during our call—or we can cover other priorities.
Two 15-minute inspiration calls. These ad hoc calls are for you to use when you need help getting unstuck, want a pep talk, or have a new idea to run by me. I can usually talk to you within a business day.
Scheduled email check-ins between calls. If you don’t report in, I’ll be after you…
Unlimited email access to answer quick questions. I usually turn client questions around the same day (but it might depend on your time zone!).
Proprietary worksheets, templates, and checklists. I’ve developed a lot of tools over the years. Almost everyone gets some standard pieces, but you’ll also get resources individualized for your specific challenges or questions.

Topics coaching calls cover

Since we design the work around your needs, our conversations can be broad ranging. We might cover:

Goals – Your personal, business, and book goals and strategy for achieving them
Strategy – How to think about your book and what it can do for you and your business
Audience – Who they are, why they should listen to you, and the implications for your writing
Book topic – Assessment of multiple possible topics; helping refine the topic as the book evolves
Framework – The overall structure of your book as well as the detailed outline (if you’re an outliner)
Content – Clarifying, expanding, and refining specific ideas
Planning – Your writing schedule, your publishing plans, etc., step by step
Writing patterns – Habits and tendencies to leverage or improve (grammar issues, long sentences, overused words—whatever it might be)
Mindset – Head junk, impostor syndrome, writer’s block, getting unstuck, fear and ways to work with/through/around it
Publishing – Traditional vs. indie, what it takes to self-publish, different strategies
Marketing – Strategies, tactics, and ways to leverage your book content

In a nutshell, you get a thinking partner, expert advice, and unwavering support as you write your book.

The coaching timeframe

Focused Book Coaching typically spans 3 months (two sessions per month) to 6 months (one per month).

Some clients like a firm schedule with coaching sessions every week or every other week without fail. This approach can be useful if you like structure and/or if you know your topic well and have fairly well “self-contained” writing—for example, you can easily outline it.

Other clients want more spaciousness in the process with a month or more between sessions. Many of them are writing “emergent” books and they need the time for their ideas to percolate. And many clients have extraordinarily busy lives with business, family, eldercare, travel and on and on.

We’ll work with your schedule, but—don’t worry—I won’t let you drag things out indefinitely. You need to get your book done!

The investment

$3995 paid up front, or 3 payments of $1400 ($4200 total).

Working with Karin gave me the accountability I needed along with the space to go through my own journey to vulnerably share my ideas in writing. She assured me my angsts were normal and that I would find my way.Writing a book is hard emotional work. I don’t know how anyone does it without a coach! —Rachel Downey

Extended Book Coaching (12 sessions over 6–12 months)

If you know you need support for a longer period of time, consider Extended Book Coaching. The structure is the same as Focused Book Coaching, but it includes twice the sessions—for far less than twice the price.

Extended Book Coaching usually spans 6 to 12 months and includes:

Twelve 90-minute private coaching & consulting calls (recorded)
Editorial feedback on draft manuscript pages or other documents (up to ~5k words/20 pages provided before each call)
Four 15-minute inspiration calls for help getting unstuck
Scheduled email check-ins between calls
Unlimited email access to answer quick questions
Proprietary worksheets, templates, and checklists

The investment for Extended Book Coaching is $6995 paid up front, or 6 payments of $1200 ($7200 total).

Karin is helping me find my written voice—to move from literary shyness to boldly sharing my story and ideas. She is an insightful, respectful editor who brings my voice to clarity and lifts my writing to new levels. I tell every emerging writer I know about her, and I recommend her without reservation. —Betty Morton

Plan Your Book Intensive

When you begin writing a book, the magnitude of the project can overwhelm you. This intensive is dedicated to planning your nonfiction book so it feels more manageable and you get started on the right foot.

Who this intensive is for

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This intensive is for you if you have a brilliant book idea or know your content and want to spring into action. You might fit one of these scenarios:

This is your first book. You aren’t quite sure where to start—and you don’t know what you don’t know.
You’ve started working on your book but find yourself spinning. You’re wondering if you need to take a step back and develop a better plan.
Writing your book is a priority; googling how-to’s is not. Your time is too valuable to spend figuring everything out on your own.

What it includes

The Plan Your Book Intensive includes:

A full day of hands-on planning in person or via phone or video call
A 90-minute call in advance of the big planning day
Pre-work assignments (for both of us)
Detailed, organized notes from the planning session (Clients are usually shocked at the volume and detail of the notes generated and organized for them.)
A 90-minute follow-up call to answer questions
Email availability for two weeks post-project to answer any additional questions that come up
Proprietary worksheets, templates, and checklists

During the intensive we will work together to:

Define your goals to position your book for success
Clarify who you’re writing for and why
Tease out the core elements of your book and develop a high-level book outline
Explore your publishing options
Identify your potential writing pitfalls and tips for getting unstuck
Create a project plan to guide you going forward

You’ll save time and gain momentum by eliminating confusion and finding focus. Let’s speed you on your book-writing way.

The timeframe

The planning day itself is one full day or two half-days, but the entire process (pre-work, post-work, scheduling meetings) usually spans 3–4 weeks.

The investment

$3295, payable upfront; $3895 if the full day is split into two half-days. Additional half-days (and all the related pre-work, post-work and documentation) are $1600 each.

As a coach myself, I appreciated Karin’s approach. What she brought in her specialty area (coaching writers) was an absolute difference-maker and something I had never experienced.
Karin understands more than the grammar and style elements of writing. —Eric Larsen

Book Planning & Coaching Combo

Guided DIY Book Coaching

For a fast start to your book-writing project and then serious ongoing support, combine Extended Book Coaching with the Plan Your Book Intensive. You get everything included in both:

A full day of hands-on planning in person or via phone or video call with pre-work assignments (for both of us)
Detailed, organized notes from the planning session
A total of fourteen 90-minute private coaching & consulting calls (recorded)
Editorial feedback on draft manuscript pages or other documents (up to ~5k words/20 pages provided before each call)
Four 15-minute inspiration calls for help getting unstuck
Scheduled email check-ins between calls
Unlimited email access to answer quick questions
Proprietary worksheets, templates, and checklists

The investment is $8495 upfront, or 7 payments of $1255 ($8785 total), a significant additional savings off purchasing individual components.

Single Coaching Session

Working with a coach entails an ongoing relationship; there are ups and downs, and you progress and gain momentum over time. But occasionally people find it helpful to have a single session to dissect one particular topic. When you have a nagging issue, or fear about something, there can be a real sense of relief that comes from talking about it and getting feedback. Are you on the right track, or do you need to make adjustments?

A single session includes:

Pre-call questionnaire
Optional: Editorial review of up to ~2500 words/10 pages
A 90-minute phone or video call (recorded)
Follow-up resources (articles, worksheets, etc.) as appropriate
Email availability for a week post-call to answer any follow-up questions

Without editorial critique, the investment is $495; with editorial critique, $695.