I am an author. I have been an author for more than a decade and in that time, I have heard one question over and over again, “why don’t you coach authors?”
Because being an author for me is being a coach. I can’t help myself. First, because sharing comes naturally to me, and second, because I love helping others succeed. I always have. I nurture and prod people. I did it in Fortune 500 companies and I do it now .
Helping authors thrive is certainly not a new concept. There are writing blogs and coaches and marketing services galore. There are books on the subject enough to stock shelves and stacks to the ceiling, to cram libraries winding around blocks for miles.
Why add my voice to the cacophony of advice?
Well, why not? I’m already using it after all. Only last week I helped edit a book. The week before I pointed a new author to my favorite editing software, ProwritingAid. I am constantly providing guidance and advice to help my fellow authors find a niche to support them, or the right tools to help them gain visibility with new readers.
I don’t believe anyone, especially new authors, should wander the forest alone as I did for many years, reinventing the wheel when so much assistance is available , a wealth of expertise exists, and so many coaches are available to lift them up. We all think writing is a solo sport, and in many ways it is. But learning the craft of writing, publishing, and marketing or finding a team to help you launch and support your book, cushion your mental health, and provide continued positive energy? That is anything but solo.
So welcome to my new blog, dedicated to helping authors plan, write, connect, publish, market, sell and thrive. There are no cute acronyms for all those letters. Believe me, I have tried coming up with some, so I am simply calling this “Maddy’s Author Tool Box.”
Readers—don’t despair. I am not abandoning you. We will be focused on books as always, so please stick around and learn what goes on behind the scenes in an author’s life. Join in the discussions. Ask questions. Let us know what you want to know about the writing process, and what authors you want to hear from.
Austin Kleon wrote a small, powerful book titled “Show Your Work: 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered” that promoted the thinking behind this blog long before I was smart enough to arrive as this point.
“Be an amateur,” he wrote. “Sometimes amateurs have more to teach us than experts…The best way to get started on the path to sharing your work is to think about what you want to learn and make a commitment to learning it in front of others…Forget about being an expert or a professional, and wear your amateurism (your heart, your love) on your sleeve. Share what you love, and the people who love the same things will find you.”
I plan to be your amateur in the fields of craft, publishing marketing, networking, self-care and technology—my own personal weakness. I will point you to experts, carve paths and share with you the short cuts that I wish others had shared with me. I will admit my failings, take you on the long, frustrating meanderings, opening my vest to offer my mistakes, that you might learn from them before making them yourself.
In other words, I will share what I love. Offer it on my sleeve that you who love it too might find your way here and share what you love about writing and publishing fiction, that we might learn and succeed together.
Welcome to Maddy’s Author Tool Box!
