Q&A: Do Writers make Good Coaches or Editors?

On the surface it would seem so, but...really?

Photo credit: George Wylesol, NYT

Hey, Everlastings, let’s do another Q&A. I’m going to throw this out there and I know you’ll come through with some amazing answers. But I should tell you I’m doing this for selfish reasons, too.

Remember a few weeks ago when I was trying to promote a new venture I chose to call “editorial assists”? I’d set it up as limited-session editing help involving short creative writing pieces, and I created a new section here at WE where you could read about it, check out the payment plan, and then apply if it sounded like something you might want to get involved in.

I said this:

• The pieces I’ll help you work on need to be creative nonfiction pieces: memoir, vignettes, personal opinion, humor. I want to see work that comes straight from your experiences and from your heart. (See my piece on Creative Nonfiction to give you an idea of what I mean.)

• I’ll be looking at style as much as anything, since this is about creative writing, but I’ll also look at whether or not you’re giving your readers what they came for. Did you repeat the same thoughts in more than one place? Is your story tight enough and clear enough? Does it say what you wanted it to say? If you started off on one track, did you bring it full-circle to the end? Did you leave your readers satisfied?

I worked hard to get it just the way I wanted it, and then I published it. I worked even harder on my author page and changed it completely so I could have a nicer looking home for this new project. Everything seemed to be the way I wanted it.

You’ll notice I’m talking about this venture in the past tense. That’s because I’ve pulled it after only a few submissions, all of which I’ve turned down. I realized at some point that I just didn’t have it in me to make this a business.

It’s not that I haven’t given individual advice to many writers who have sent me their work, asking me if I could tell them how to improve it. I have, I will, and I always enjoy doing it. That’s what prompted me to make it a more formal effort—one I would charge for because now I would be putting my skills to work in greater effort.

But once it became a business and I saw the amount of work it would take—not just the editing but the bookkeeping and the promotion and all the rest—all I wanted to do was go back to my writing.

My writing. My real love. The thing that takes up my time and takes me away…

I’m sorry to those I’ve had to turn down. I’m sorry to those who might have wanted my services. I’ll continue to help when I can, but honestly, there are so many others who can do this far better than I can—and they seem to really enjoy it.

So to my questions: First, to those writers who also have editing/coaching services, or are teaching writing in any capacity, how do you manage and still get your writing done??

Do you ever feel your own unique writing methods might get in the way of helping others to find theirs?

I ask that because I know me: I make impossible demands on myself and have ridiculous expectations. I’m a royal fussbudget when it comes to the words I’ll allow to go out there. I’m afraid I’d be that kind of fussbudget with others who might not be as uptight about these things as I am. I wouldn’t want to stunt them or shift them into a writing style which is good for me but maybe not for them. And once I started charging them for my services would I become more an editor and less a friend and make a mess of the whole thing?

Am I overthinking this?

To those of you who have used these services—how have they worked out for you? Are they as useful as you thought? Did you and your editor work well together?

I started Writer Everlasting because I wanted to build a community where those of us with writing skills might share what we know, and those who are still learning would benefit from our stories. I don’t think of it as a business and I realize now that’s the way I want it. But I am intrigued by those with far more energy who have made the entire writing process into a business. I admit I’m a bit envious. And in awe.

So can we talk? We all come at this from different angles, different backgrounds, different needs. I’d love to have this conversation.

There are no paywalls, but becoming a paying member means I can keep going here. You can join the paying ranks through Substack, or, if you want to support my work in other ways, you can donate any amount at any time at Ko-Fi or at Paypal. Thank you!