What’s the Difference Between a Book Editor and a Writing Coach?
If you’ve been looking into working with a professional on your book, then you’ve probably come across both book editors and writing coaches.
A lot of book editors and writing coaches offer both services, so as a writer, you may be wondering what the difference is and which one is better suited to your needs.
Here’s a quick overview to help you understand the similarities and difference of these services.
Book Editors
There are many types of book editor, but the kind closest to a coach is a developmental editor. These book editors work closely on the book to assess creative writing elements such as plot, pacing, characterisation, worldbuilding and more.
Here’s what you can expect from them:
Extensive written feedback to peruse at own pace. Developmental editors provide both in-line comments and written feedback. The written feedback comes in the form of an editorial report — a document usually around 10k words long — which breaks down their in-line feedback in more details.
A shorter time investment. Editing is usually a short time investment than coaching. Since the editor is reading your book solo, the timeline depends on things like their own schedule, the length of the book, and the level of work needed. You can expect an edit to take between 5-8 weeks.
Feedback given in one go. Most editors don’t have contact with their clients while they work. So during the duration of the edit, you’ll be able to focus on other creative projects and let the editor get to work. Then you’ll receive all of their feedback in one go for you to read through.
Often only one follow-up coaching call provided. A lot of editors offer a follow-up call to discuss the feedback in their report. Since their feedback is so extensive, it’s important to have this 1:1 time to discuss changes and workshop new ideas.
Book editing is great for writers who:
Are doing final revisions before pursuing self-publishing or querying; work best alone with time to develop their own ideas; prefer to have written feedback that they can continue to refer back to; have a busy schedule and can’t commit to coaching calls.
Writing Coaches
Writing coaches can be hired for various things — such a helping the writer to plan their novel, helping the writer to revise their novel, or keeping the writer accountable while they draft. Coaching offers vary greatly, so it’s important to do your research to see which option might be best for you.
Here’s what you can expect from them:
Written and verbal feedback. Coaching benefits from the mix of both written and verbal feedback. Because coaching features a more 1:1 collaboration, you’ll likely receive in-line comments on your manuscript, written report-style notes, or coaching call check-ins.
A longer time investment. Given the nature of coaching being more collaborative, it’s likely that the time commitment will be longer than edit. You can expect coaching service timelines to range between 2-6 months.
Feedback given gradually. Rather than receiving one long editorial report at the end of the edit, you’ll likely receive feedback more gradually. This could be weekly, fortnightly or monthly, depending on the service, to give you the opportunity to review your book in more bite-sized chunks.
Frequent coaching calls and check-ins. Coaching includes frequent communication, which could be coaching video calls, phone calls, texting, or a mix. Again, these could be weekly, fortnightly or monthly depending on the coaching requirements.
Writing coaching is best for writers who:
Have a newly finished first draft or work-in-progress they need help with; work best collaboratively and with the support/ accountability of another; prefer to talk through their ideas and receive feedback gradually; have flexibility in their schedule for frequent calls.
Ultimately, it comes down to which service is the right fit for you and your book.
The editor or coach you reach out to should be able to point you in the right direction and explore your best option with you so that you feel clear and confident moving forward.
If you’re interested in working with an editor or coach, you can check out my developmental editing service or my coaching offers which help writers to either draft their book or revise them.
