Coaching for Writers

I’m delighted today to be turning the spotlight on my good friend and accountability partner, Kathy Halsey. Kathy and I are both long-time participants in Julie Hedlund’s 12 Days of Christmas for Writers, which helps writers evaluate the year just past and prepare for the year to come. During a discussion about accountability in the 12 Days Facebook Group sometime in late December 2017 or early January 2018, Kathy suggested she and I test out being accountability buddies. We’re still going strong six years later and we’ve become good friends in the process. I’m delighted to be interviewing her here on By Word of Beth today. Beth: I’d like to open this interview by having Kathy explain how our accountability sessions work, how they’ve developed over time, and talk about what our weekly accountability sessions mean for her writing life. Kathy: Hi Beth. I don’t know what I’d do without an accountability partner like you. Finding someone you trust to be with you on this roller coaster ride of writing is key to motivation and determination. To be successful, Beth and I offer these thoughts: Find a person with shared interests, and a positive mindset who will commit to sharing weekly/monthly goals with you. Your partner is a cheerleader and a “critical” friend who will tell you the truth with care. It’s not necessary to write for the same audiences or in the same genres. In our years together, Beth and I have rarely critiqued each other’s work. What we do is email each other every Monday, talk about our intentions and our accomplishments for the new week. We cheer, we cajole, whoop it up; we throw pity parties when we need to. We give each other grace for not accomplishing all our intentions, and we share personal stuff, too. Over the years, we’ve refined our process so it works for us. Currently we discuss our side businesses, what we’re reading/writing, queries, and webinars. Those “didn’t dos” land on our new intentions list. Discuss what you want to track. It can be as simple as sharing these three items: What you did What you’re doing What do you need help with I look forward each Monday to what Beth and I did as a team. Each week feels like a true “reset” with a weekly roadmap for writing! I’ve found it a powerful practice to save all our updates virtually. I enjoy reflecting on my accomplishments at the end of the year. Such an affirmation of my efforts! Beth and I encourage you to find partners and ask questions in the comments. Look for possible partners in your SCBWI groups, classes you take, webinars you attend, or 12X12, The Writing Barn, and Storyteller Academy. Beth: I save all my accountability emails too. It’s a great way to look back on the year and see that we really did accomplish a lot! Thanks, Kathy, for giving people suggestions for how they can make accountability work for them. Kathy, can you tell me a bit about your background in case there’s someone out there reading this who doesn’t know you? I know your background has a great bearing on our other topic today. Kathy: I’ve been a reader and writer since I was a kid. I kept a diary, wrote bad poetry as a tween, and by college, my friends tapped me for term paper advice. I taught for 32 years, first as a seventh grade English teacher, later as a K-12 school librarian. Once I retired, I became a bookseller at Cover to Cover Books for Young Readers and did a short stint selling books via Junior Library Guild. My years as an educator, librarian, and presenter give me a deep background in identifying what makes for a great presentation, be it a school visit or conference session. As a former Past President of the Ohio Educational Library Media Association, I ran our state-wide conference, vetting proposals and contacting keynoters. Now, as a children’s author, I decided to combine my love of teaching, kidlit, and author visits into a side business, Ask Infowoman: a Library Consult. I enjoy helping other writers make their visits more fun, instructive, and engaging. Doesn’t Ask Infowoman sound great? ~ B. Beth: I’m so excited about all the possibilities in your Ask Info Woman offerings, Kathy. You’re going to help so many people with this side business. And on the topic of helping people, one thing that I know writers often talk about and struggle with (as I do) is imposter syndrome. I certainly have trouble imagining myself standing up in front of a class during a school visit, with them looking at me as The Author. Can you offer any guidance in that regard? Kathy: We need to remember that our careers are multi-pronged; we are creatives but also in business for ourselves. Your author’s voice is yours alone, and no one else knows what you know, your point of view, on the work you’ve created. Here are some pointers: Have an affirmation/mantra to ground you. (Mine is: “Manifest success.” If I can see myself doing it, then I can step into that new opportunity.) Recognize the work and money you’ve invested in yourself to write, publish, and present. Value that time and be compensated for it. (Check others’ websites for how they price visits.) New and seasoned authors aren’t expected to know what educators know. We have different skill sets. We SHARE the same goals to teach young people to follow their passions, become literate, and enjoy learning. You are a partner and ally. As a teacher and librarian, I always learned something from author visits that I could expand upon and utilize in my teaching. Authors are rock stars in most teachers’ and librarians’ worlds. If you haven’t been in a school for a while, volunteer at your school library’s book fair or volunteer periodically to come in to shelve or check out books. Read my blog post If a Writer Visits …

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