auria “Hussein” cortes

Writing is lonely work. Sure, friends humor me from time-to-time and allow me to go on and on about my book. But in the end, sometimes I want more than just a shoulder to cry on. I want expert advice. Yes, sometimes I need guidance. There, I said it.  

When I heard Andrew Zack started Author Coach™, I was intrigue. Is this the type of service I’ve been looking for? Is this the type of service other writers are looking for? To find out, I asked Zack a few questions.  

His responses are pasted below. Zack offers advice on author coaching as well as general publishing advice. You can find out more about Author Coach™ by visiting www.authorcoach.com.   

Quotable quote 

“A desperate, insecure writer is far more likely to fall prey to a scam than a confident, educated writer who takes the time to perform due diligence and treat the search like a business project and less like trying to find a pretty girl (or boy) to take to the dance.” – Andrew Zack 

Let’s start with the basics so my readers understand the Author Coach™ business model. Explain the premise of how your company works. 

It’s a very simple concept:  Author Coach provides “one-stop shopping” for authors looking for editorial guidance, coaching, and input.  Because Author Coach has many coaches, authors of many different genres and subject areas will find their needs met by this one firm. 

Further, Author Coach is not elitist or snobby in the way some book doctors or free-lance editors are.  I’ve heard from more than a few editors that they have so much business that they can’t take on anyone who needs too much attention or whose project needs too much work.  Author Coach believes that any author can benefit from having a coach and we are happy to work with authors at all levels of experience. 

Finally, Author Coach is not just about “editing” or “doctoring” books.  It’s about coaching, so that we’re not about simply taking your manuscript and editing or rewriting it.  We want the authors themselves to become better writers.  Hence, an author coach may help an author stay on track by calling to see how many pages he or she has written that week.  A coach may recommend that an author read various books, or suggest that the author write a short story or two in first-person before writing an entire novel.  An author coach may help an author write a query letter or put together a submission list to agents or editors.  We are more than pencil-pushers; we are coaches who motivate, educate, and help writers achieve their publishing goals. 

As a successful, well-respected agent I’m sure agenting keeps you pretty busy. What events inspired you to launch Author Coach™? 

I actually came up the publishing ladder in editorial.  I very much enjoy the editorial process.  Talking to various free-lance editors and book doctors, I came to realize what a difficult challenge it must be for most authors to get advice and editorial work they can trust.  Looking at writers’ sites like AbsoluteWrite.com, I realized how much incredibly bad information there is out there, confusing writers.  I have a couple of friends who are life coaches and it occurred to me that there is a need for more than editors who just mark up the manuscript and then toss you back into the sea of agents and publishers.  Sure, you might have a better boat, but what good is that without a compass, a sense of direction, and the knowledge of how best to sail that boat?  I realized that what a lot of writers seemed to need was as much advice on how to pursue their publishing dreams as they did editorial help.  They needed a life coach for their writing life.  Hence, Author Coach was born. 

And while I am busy as an agent, of course, so many of my skills developed starting and running my own agency could be applied to Author Coach that it did not seem that much of a challenge to start a second, separate company.  Once I did and started talking to other free-lance editors and book doctors about coming on board, I was nearly overwhelmed by the positive response.  The concept had a strong appeal, as did the idea of having someone else to tackle back-office operations, advertising, and marketing.  I fully expect that within the next year or so, AuthorCoach.com will be the number one destination website for authors seeking free-lance editorial assistance and coaching. 

Critics point out there is an inherent conflict of interest between your literary agency, The Zack Company, and Author Coach™. What’s your take on their assessment? 

Well, obviously, I think they are wrong!  They are separate companies entirely, beyond ownership.  They serve separate, though obviously complementary, markets.  They do not refer to each other.  Frankly, unless you were familiar with my background or read my biography on the AuthorCoach.com website, you would never be aware that I also have a literary agency. 

Obviously I anticipated that some authors would claim there was a conflict.  It seems to be inevitable that whenever an agent chooses to venture into areas beyond simple representation there is a great hue and cry from some authors who believe that agents should only do business one way: the way those authors say.  But the reality is that there is no conflict.  The Zack Company is not sending out letters to rejected authors telling them to seek the services of Author Coach.  And Author Coach is not recommending The Zack Company as an agency. 

More importantly, I have, from the start, been completely transparent about having started this second company.  Why?  Because not to have been would have implied that I was trying to hide something.  And certainly I am not.  I recognized a need in the marketplace and decided to start another company that would meet that need.  It’s really as simple as that. 

Next I may design the perfect manuscript box for authors to submit their material in.  If I start to sell those off a new website, would that be a conflict?  I’m kidding, of course, because I’m not in the office-supply business, but I hope the analogy comes through. 

What qualifications should a writer look for in an author coach? 

First and foremost, experience in the area in which you are writing.  There are many free-lance editors out there, but if you are writing romance, you really want someone who has worked on publishing romance novels.  If you are writing self-help, you want someone who has experience in that area.  Author Coach has many different author coaches available and covers an extremely wide range of genres and subject areas.  That’s what makes AuthorCoach.com one-stop shopping for authors in search of editorial assistance, guidance, and services. 

What are the commitments a writer is required to make to ensure the author-coach relationship is successful? 

The relationship between an author coach and his or her client may be only partly editor/author.  It may also be part mentor/mentee or part teacher/student.  The relationship can be very organic and grow over time.  If an author enters into the relationship, how successful it will be depends a lot on the author’s willingness to take editorial input and incorporate it into their work, to recognize that an author coach with several years of experience working inside a publishing house knows more than their friend who had their first novel published last year.  Being open to constructive criticism and not defensive is probably the most important commitment an author can make to have a successful experience with an author coach. 

What are the commitments a writer should expect from their author coach? 
That he or she will read material by the deadlines agreed upon; that he or she will provide the kind of detailed feedback the writer seeks; that he or she will help the writer feel more knowledgeable and more empowered to pursue his or her publishing goals. 

At what point in the writing stage should a writer consider working with a coach? 
I don’t think there’s a bad time to start working with a coach, but it makes sense that an author should have some idea of what they want to accomplish when they start working with the coach.  Theoretically, an author could come to me and say, “I’ve always wanted to write a book, but I haven’t written a word,” and the relationship could start there.  But I’m not sure that most authors would find that to be the most beneficial and, yes, cost-effective, way to start out.  Better would be to at least have a few chapters, if not a full manuscript, or a proposal. 

With a few chapters or a proposal, an author coach would have a sense of the author’s writing abilities, style, and direction, and could therefore give more specific coaching and advice. 

In their quest to become published, writers (especially newbies) are susceptible to scams. Last summer, I contacted a book coach who indicated that along with the monthly coaching fees, I was required to sign away 20% of all future earnings should my book be published. Needless to say, I told him where he could go. So that writers are aware, what are the standard coaching fees they should expect to pay?<o:p> 

Our rates are published on the AuthorCoach.com website.  There are hourly and monthly options.  Currently those rates are $125/hour or $2,500/month.  They are subject to change, of course, so an interested author should check the site for the latest rates. 

The Author Coach engagement letter specifically says that we have no interest in any finished work.  That said, I don’t know that the situation you describe is a “scam.”  If an experienced editor said they would work with you for a very reasonable fee, .e.g., $25/hour, but you had to agree that the editor then had an ownership interest in the copyright of the resulting work, is that a scam?  Or is it simply a sweat-equity deal?  Often “editors” become nearly or actually “co-authors,” and in such cases should they not have an interest in the work?  I don’t know the specifics of the offer you received, but based on the little you’ve offered, it’s not “glaringly” a scam. 

At the risk of being virtually tarred-and-feathered on several writers’ sites, I have to say that I think writers in general are a bit too afraid of being “scammed.”  I think what happens more often than not is that writers don’t do their due diligence.  They don’t check references before submitting, and they give too much power to agents or publishing-house editors.  You can look at nearly any literary agent’s website and see whom they represent and who published those authors’ books.  You can then look at the publishers’ websites and learn more about them.  When you find an agent representing the kind of book you are writing, and whose clients are being published by publishers you recognize, e.g., Simon & Schuster, Random House, etc., then odds are you’ve found a reputable agent. 

But if you just go to the library and start leafing through the Literary Marketplace (LMP) or one of the many guides to editors and agents out there and sending out queries based solely on those books, then you are simply not doing your due diligence and run the risk of finding someone who may not be the best choice. 

Also, keep in mind that there are always two sides to every story. For every author out there knocking an agent, is an agent who believes that author is mistaken, was wrong, was disloyal, or is just nuts! Before you believe in one rant on one website, do some more research. 

For additional information, visit the Author Coach™ website.  

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