When a longtime friend of mine contacted me and asked me to be her writing coach and editor, she wasn’t 100% sure exactly what she was asking me to do. What she knew was that she needed help with:
- setting deadlines (and sticking to them)
- staying motivated to write
- improving her writing technique (and receiving validation that she can write well)
- having an impartial critique of her story’s content
- getting a comprehensive professional edit of her final draft
So, to clarify our working relationship as it would progress through the stages of her book drafting process, I made her this handy chart – because when you live via PowerPoint for over a decade, that’s where you go to solve all problems. =)
One thing that I wanted to emphasize is that the farther along in the drafting process a writer gets, the more the workload gets shifted from the WRITER to the EDITOR.
At the outset, there’s literally nothing for the editor to work with. There is no text to review until the writer writes the shit down (as I eloquently specified in my diagram chart).
However, my friend didn’t just want me to be an editor. She also wanted the first three things on the list:
- setting deadlines (and sticking to them)
- staying motivated to write
- improving her writing technique (and receiving validation that she can write well)
That there’s teacher territory, y’all. And since I’ve worked as a tutor, trainer, and teacher (and some other things that didn’t start with T), I love getting the chance to utilize my coaching creds. One difference between editing and coaching is that coaching can start without a manuscript. In fact, it is usually better to start with coaching.
Why? Well, because my friend has been caught in the trap of procrastination via busywork for YEARS. Instead of writing more of her draft, she would go back and revise/edit/mess with the stuff she’d already written down. That’s like continuing to mow the same section of your yard over and over while the rest goes native.
DON’T DO THAT! And if you’re already doing it, STOP THAT! What you need is someone to give you deadlines and enforce them – which is something that a lot of us try to do for ourselves, but ultimately fail at. I know I do; I suck at winning arguments with myself.
What to do, then? Either enroll in a writer’s group or workshop that sets progress deadlines for its members, or work with a writing coach. Both options have their merits and drawbacks, but I think I’ll make that a separate post.
But for now, know that if you have great ideas for manuscripts and can’t seem to get yourself to write that shit down – you are not alone. You’re actually part of the proud majority of rampant procrastinators.
