You Paid for Feedback, Not for Me to Worship Your Draft

Hiring a book coach is a great move, especially if you want guidance, support, and someone to help you turn that beautiful chaos in your head into a real, finished book.

But how you show up as a client matters just as much as the feedback you receive.

Want to get the most out of your coaching experience? Fantastic.

Want to waste your money, infuriate your coach, and ensure they never work with you again? Well… here’s how to do that (so you can do the opposite).

1. Treat the coach like a vending machine

Insert payment, receive instant validation. Except… that’s not how it works. A coach is there to challenge and support you, not just to say, “Well done, you genius”, and hand you a publishing deal with a ribbon on top.

Instead: Expect collaboration. Be ready for feedback. Engage with the process.

2. Ignore the feedback and do your own thing anyway

If you’re going to rewrite the whole book your way no matter what, why are you paying for input?

Instead: Ask questions. Be curious. If you disagree, talk about it. That's what the calls are for - coaching is a conversation.

3. Miss deadlines, dodge meetings, go quiet for weeks…

…then suddenly resurface expecting emergency-level support because “everything’s urgent now.”

Instead: Communicate. Life happens. But respect your coach’s time and plan ahead.

4. Say “this wasn’t helpful” without explaining why

Coaches are not mind-readers. If something didn’t work for you, tell us why. “This sucked” is not usable input. “This didn’t address what I was struggling with. Here’s what I hoped for” is.

Instead: Give specific, constructive feedback about the feedback.

5. Expect the coach to magically fix your book

We are not ghostwriters, therapists, or sorcerers. (Although I do have a very dramatic cardigan.) You still have to write the thing.

Instead: Come to each session ready to work. Show up with your questions, your doubts, and your determination.

Final Thought

Your coach wants you to succeed. Truly. But this only works if you bring your best self to the process. Your open self. Your engaged self. You're willing-to-do-the-work self.

Be kind. Be coachable. Be committed. We’ll meet you every step of the way.