If you’ve ever spent a Saturday watching or participating in a track and field meet, you’ve probably witnessed someone falling out of the blocks. The sprinter is crouched and ready, head down and waiting for the starting gun . . . And then, the moment arrives and they stumble and fall. 

It’s a tough thing to witness, even tougher to have experienced.

We’ve all been there, right? We're ready to go, the race is ahead of us . . . and we fall out of the gate.

This time of year, “New Year, New You” gets all the hype. Encouragement is abundant for 2025. And who can dismiss a fresh start, especially after the last several years? Like the sprinter, maybe you were ready to go, the race ahead of you . . . and then you crashed. 

If that’s you, today is about helping you up after you've broken the promises you made to yourself about your writing goals, your publishing plans, or any other resolutions you’ve made around your...

Rejection happens.

Every writer faces rejection. The difference between the writers you read about and the ones you don’t, comes down to who conquered that fear. It’s up to you to decide which path you choose.

But it’s not that simple, is it?

It’s easy to list how many times great books were rejected – J.K. Rowling was rejected numerous times before she finally found a home for Harry Potter – but we lose sight of the choice that the writers made. They chose to lean into The Resistance.

Let me explain.

Rejection is an outcome, but what if it was actually a positive outcome? To be rejected, you have to revise, submit, and query. You have to hone your craft. One of the biggest secrets writers don’t get to see, and sometimes ever know, is that they oftentimes have less control over rejection than they think because it’s a numbers game.

“The Resistance can’t win if you keep writing.”

A writer can’t control an agent...

What’s your biggest publishing question?

If writing a book isn’t hard enough, there are also the questions that surround what to actually do with your book when it’s ready to publish. How do you build a book that will appeal to publishers? How do you create a proposal or query an agent? Most writers neglect the actual business part of writing because of the sheer difficulty of it.

The business of being a writer is complicated. Don’t let it get between you and your publishing dreams.

You’ve got questions that need answers. Every writer does. Oftentimes those questions are what stand between you and achieving the next step in your publishing career.

But what if there was a way to alleviate those pesky questions?

At Author Coaching, one of the many services we provide is one-on-one coaching. You can book a meeting with one of our agents to go over the questions you have.

We teach and coach first-time and veteran authors interested in advancing their...

Are roadblocks keeping you from pursuing your publishing dreams?

Recently we received this comment on Facebook: “I am so sick of all the roadblocks to publishing a book when you’re an everyday person.” We agree. That’s why we built Author Coaching - to help you navigate the ever-increasingly complex world of publishing. Today, let’s begin removing those roadblocks. Let us show you how. 

A book proposal changes how you are viewed.

At Author Coaching, we hear a lot about what stops you from publishing your book. The comment we mentioned earlier said, “If you’re a celebrity of any type, you can get your book of any kind on any subject published without any obstacles. It’s ridiculous and it’s simply not right.” It’s not fair. We’ve got to eliminate those barriers and create a level-playing field for your book idea.

That starts with a book proposal. Too many writers with potentially great book ideas are...

It’s 2025. You’ve made it!!!

How are you doing on making your New Year’s resolutions?

That can feel like a loaded question, especially if you’re not good at keeping up with them. Resolutions are tough. Most of them leave us with a yes or no proposition. I’m either sticking to my diet or, most likely, I’m not. I’m either hitting the gym or I’m not. But what if instead of focusing on the all-or-nothing that resolutions leave us with, we found a better way?

At some point, you’re either still on pace or you’ve given up. Not much wiggle room. Why are we so harsh that we create a pass-fail system to begin each year that we wouldn’t give to our worst enemy?

That’s why we need to create goals that are resolution-proof. Those are the types of goals that stay with us, the sticky ones. When spring gets here, summer starts, or fall begins, you don’t feel ashamed or guilty about those optimistic goals you set way back...

The past year may not have turned out how you planned it to be.  It may have been filled with setbacks,  heartache, and changes in how you live and work.

And yet there’s a lot to be grateful for, too. Perhaps one thing you haven’t considered is how this past year has made you a better writer. You might look down at your creative goals for this year and see more dreams than accomplishments. We’ve stewarded multiple clients through finishing books while they took on new challenges and new duties.

On the publishing journey, you will face setbacks. The writing will struggle to come together as the deadline looms. The proposal you’ve been working on will have to wait while you help fix another issue for someone else. You will enjoy moments of inspiration and celebration, and everything in between. What the past year is trying to teach us is: that things we cannot control are going to happen. How you respond to them is what is going to make the difference...

What’s a TBR?

TBR is an acronym that stands for to be read. Many people use it to refer to their reading lists. Now is a great time of year to add books to your TBR. Like you, we believe books are magic, and the right book has the power to change your life.

There are a lot of ways to change your life. You could move, get a degree, start a new job, etc. With any life-changing opportunity, there comes a cost. Change can be expensive, both financially and mentally. If you want to know one of the cheapest, quickest ways to change your life in 2025, read a book.

With that said, here are a few books that we highly recommend for life-changing results.

• Greg McKeown’s Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less is a Yates & Yates favorite. When our clients are trying to prioritize their publishing, their business or ministry, and their personal life, we hand them this book. It has the power to align your life with getting the right things done.
• When it comes to...

You are what you read.

To be a good writer, you have to be a good reader, too. Behind every writer is a book that played a pivotal part in inspiring you to become a writer. Maybe it was a childhood book or something from grade school that made you want to pursue this passion. Now that you are chasing this dream, it’s time to have an intentional reading list. It’s vital to a writer’s success, and with it being Christmas time, there’s still time to treat yourself.

Here are three book recommendations for helping you become a better writer.

He may not inspire you to become a horror writer or read The Shining, but Stephen King’s On Writing is an essential read for all writers. Immensely helpful and illuminating to any aspiring writer, On Writing shares the experiences, habits, and convictions that have shaped King and his work. What makes King’s On Writing so good is the way it blends his story into a book about how to become a better writer. That...

An email list changes everything.

If you never ask, the answer is always the same.

This post is about the importance of email and the one thing you can do to start building (or enhancing) your list.

First a story.

During a recent exploratory call with a potential client, when asked about their email list, they said, "Yes, I have one." Game changer. Suddenly the entire conversation shifted because this author had taken the most important element of platform building and was doing it.

Having an email list signals to us as literary agents that you take your platform building seriously. You are investing in your career as a writer and author.

“Email > Social Media”

Too often in conversations about platforms, writers focus on followers on a variety of platforms. Mark Cuban said it best when he described why this is a problem: “You wouldn’t build your home on rented property, so don’t build your platform on social media.” Email is the foundation you...

In a recent inspirational post on Instagram (Follow us @author_coaching), a writer asked us, “I feel like I need thicker skin but also don’t want a hardened heart in the process. Any wisdom on how to do that?" 

That’s a great question. 

No one wants to become some Grinch-like writer living alone with a dog on top of Mt. Crumpet, envious of all the writers out there doing what you wish you were doing. If you’re an introvert that loves dogs, there might be something in that life for you, but for the rest of us - it’s tough to have thick skin. 

If you want to cultivate a thicker skin, the first step is to own the things you can control. You can’t control what that agent is going to say, right? Here’s what you can control: Putting together a well-researched query letter. You’ve done everything you can to give your manuscript the best opportunity possible: you know the agent’s genre of expertise,...