Making Your Goals a Reality—Introducing SBE Coaching!

Happy Thursday and welcome back everyone!

For those of you that are new, my name is Susan, and I’m a freelance fiction editor specializing in Sci Fi/Fantasy and Romance. 

We’re continuing with our January theme of starting off 2024 big and bold! Taking those scary steps to make this year your year.

If you can believe it, we’re almost at the end of January—already!

You’ve brainstormed, you’ve planned, you’ve made your goals. If you’re anything like me, you’ve bought the new planner, you’ve written out all the lists with fancy new pens.

But this is about the time that newness wears off. The excitement of new goals and all the possibilities before you falls a bit to the wayside of the reality of the every day. It’s what I not-so-affectionately refer to as the “January Dark”.

Overcoming the “January Dark”

The dishes start piling up, the work days get longer (while the sun still barely peeks out), and all you want to do with the tiny amount of free time you have is to curl up and lose yourself in a great—already written!—book.

Making time for your writing, your author career, feels like something that needs to be put off, for easier days, sunnier days—when you’ll have more time. 

But that mindset is a trap. And trust me, it is one I have fallen into on the regular. 

“Well, I’ll have more time in a month.”

“Once I get past this project, I’ll be able to dive into that.”

“This just isn’t the right time, but I’ll get to it.”

It can be so easy to fall into that trap of “later” until you look up again, finally thinking you might be ready… and it is the New Year again.

I’ve been there. More times than I can count, trust me. 

Making habits to keep your goals past this point, past the “January Dark” is hard.

And it is even harder when you’re trying to do it alone. And that is what a lot of being an author is. Solo work—creating the characters, figuring out the plot, ironing the issues, getting the words on the page—until you’re ready to find an agent or an editor.

But there is another option, if you find yourself wanting to conquer those goals this year. This month. Now. Making 2024 your year, no time to waste. 

And that is Book Coaching.

What is book coaching?

Book coaching is a partnership to help get your story on the page. It’s support from me and my team to help you push yourself to the next level of your writing and author career, whether you are self-publishing or going the traditional route.

We can help you get to “The End” for the first time, get to “The End” faster, or write more “The Ends” —more books, especially for those of you looking to enhance and accelerate your self-publishing career.

So what does that look like?

I’ve created three levels of coaching — tailored to meet your needs and your budget.

At different levels, they all include:

• Accountability check ins – keeping you on track on the hard days

• Goal Tracking – A plan to make it to “The End” on your schedule, in real time. 

• Calls for questions and story brainstorming—no more getting stuck for days or weeks on end!

• Editorial feedback—catching plot holes and character issues as you go!

• And more!

Having support while you write and create can help you not only stay on track, but push yourself to the next level, find a support system— a partnership on your writing journey—and save yourself a ton of editorial work down the road.

I’m so excited to be taking this next step, to be better able to serve authors on an on-going basis. Fighting the good fight against the “January Dark” and keeping those goals going!

I know the old saying of “only you can write your story” feels cliched but it is so true, something that I truly believe.

Even if you feel like you are writing in a crowded market, your experiences make your story unique. And if you’re craving that story, if it feels like it needs to get out of your head and onto the page, I can guarantee someone else is out there, excited to read it.  

And we’d love to help you make that a reality. 

If you are interested in learning more, I’d love to hear from you. Reach out and tell me more about your goals and your project. I’d love to connect and show you how book coaching could be the right fit for you big and bold 2024 goals. 

And until next time, keep writing!