Define: Coach- “to give instruction or advice in the capacity of a coach.”
Define: Mentor- “a wise and trusted counselor or teacher.”

When I started writing I thought to myself, “ok I could use a mentor, someone to provide me with occasional guidance”. When I started editing I quickly realized I was wrong, what I had needed was a coach from the beginning.

If you don’t have experience in writing, I recommend that you get yourself a coach. While a mentor is great, most of the time they won’t get down to the nitty, gritty level you need help at. You need someone who is going to tear your ideas, characters and plot apart and help you put them back together.

If you were an athlete you might us a mentor for motivation but if you want to play in the big leagues you’re going to need a coach to get you to that level.

When I first started working with my editor, I told her flat-out that I needed her to be my coach because I didn’t know what I was doing and I didn’t know where to start. She has been able to guide me on my journey and I truly believe every new author needs this. I’m not saying tour coach needs to be an editor or you need to pay someone to be your coach but you need help and a lot of it from someone who has done this before.