Coaching is big business so it’s not surprising that there’s been a growth of people calling themselves coaches in the book and publishing realms. As in the business world, “coaching” can be a vague term, further confusing because there’s no standard for who can call themselves a coach. Similarly, in the writing world, many authors and editors are now using terms like book coach, writing coach, and author coach to offer a variety of services.

If you are looking for help with your writing project or book, it can be difficult to know who to turn to. As someone who is both a certified executive coach, specializing in writing, books, and publishing, and a twenty year developmental editor veteran who has not only done the work but hired other developmental editors as a Director of Content, I know these two roles well. Let’s demystify who you need.

Should You Hire a Developmental Editor?

Developmental editors (also called structural editors or substantive editors) are the people you call when you want big picture help on your writing project or book. For a nonfiction book, a developmental editor will give you feedback and suggestions on pieces like organization, the flow of ideas, the structure of the arguments, etc. In fiction, a developmental editor will offer feedback and suggestions on things like pace, character development, overall plot, etc.

Developmental editors focus on a single work of writing usually. You hire them to help you improve your project or book. There are situations in which a developmental editor may work alongside you during the writing process, but for most self-published authors, this stage comes after a draft is complete. As a developmental editor, there were certainly times when I’ve held hands and offered encouragement to the writer I was working with, but the focus was generally on getting that specific piece of writing finished.

Most authors and books will benefit from the process as long as care is taken to select the right editor for the project or book. There’s a special kind of magic that happens when an author and developmental editor mesh well. That’s why I always used developmental editors as Director of Content — the benefits were clear and present on almost every project in the hundreds that I handled. This was true even for experienced and talented writers.

While cost-conscious writers may opt to use critique partners or beta readers in place of developmental editing, these options are usually less robust and can create additional issues if the individuals don’t have the right skills for developmental editing (this is also why I recommend choosing different people to developmental edit and copyedit — the skills needed are different. A great developmental editor will generally be an ok copyeditor and a great copyeditor will generally be an ok developmental editor. There may be exceptions to that, but the skills and approach are different enough that it’s challenging to be great at both.) If you have the resources to hire a great developmental editor, you should. It’ll be worth it in the final draft.

Should You Hire a Book Coach?

Here’s where things get a little murky. In general, a book coach, author coach, or writing coach will work with you throughout the process of writing and finishing your project or book. Some may have specialties in marketing books or in motivation, etc. The focus, however, is generally not the words on the page. It’s on you, as the author. In other words, a book or author coach is someone you hire to help you with all of the stuff that surrounds the words on the page: your mindset, the writing process, your career as an author, how you present yourself as an author, dealing with rejection and bad reviews, motivation, burnout, navigating your relationships as they relate to writing, and so on.

While I’ve certainly had coaching conversations that have focused on the words on the page, the focus on the client - coach relationship is broader. Ideally, there’s a lot of author development that goes on in the process so that over time, you reach your goals and move on from the client - coach relationship. The other lovely thing about working with a coach is that there’s no other agenda than you. I have a host of writer friends and colleagues that I can talk to, but coaching conversations always move me further faster because the goal of the coaches I’ve worked with myself are to help me succeed. That’s it. Because the focus is on you, you and your coach will be working specifically with your personality, your experiences, your goals, and your skills to not only make this project better but future projects or books too.

As a writer, my writing world, #authorlife, and words on the page have improved so much through coaching. A good deal of that progress happened because coaching allows you to shake off all of the advice and “shoulds” and discover what really works for you. Instead of continually trying what works for others, I was able to develop a better knowledge of what works for me as a writer. The words on the page, my writing process, and how I view myself as a writer all improved so much that it was one of the reasons I pursued becoming a coach.

Given some of the confusion with “coaching” in the writing world, I recommend looking for a certified coach who has completed training approved by a coaching organization like the ICF (International Coach Federation) if you’re looking for someone to help you improve your author life and all the bits that go into creating written works. This will help you make sure that you’re getting a coach who has been trained as a coach (trust me when I say that you will appreciate the difference when you’ve experienced it) rather than an editor or author who is using the term coach. There are undoubtedly exceptions, but it’s a good short-hand to work from as coaches who are certified and members of organizations like this have agreed to abide by ethical standards as part of their membership. If you’re going to pay the money for a coach (rather than an editor or mentor), you want to get the greatest impact.

The Fundamental Difference Between an Author Coach/Book Coach and a Developmental Editor

Having been on both sides of the fence, I’d argue that the fundamental difference between a book coach and a developmental editor is the focus/scope. A developmental editor focuses on the words on the page for a specific piece of writing. A book coach focuses on the person doing the writing. There will be some overlap, of course, because it’s difficult to separate the words from the person, but in general, that would be the split.

Knowing what you need upfront can help you find the right editor or coach for you. Consider what you’re looking for help with, how much of an investment you can make, and what you want the outcomes to be. Both developmental editors and author coaches can play important roles in your success, but the reason behind hiring one or the other will be different and the timing of their use may also be different.