Why do I need a coach?

Publishing is how academics get tenure, get a raise, engage the public, and raise their own profiles and those of their institutions. Not to mention how they create meaning out of the big ideas that really make them tick.

But a busy scholarly life filled with teaching, committees, conferences, admin, family, and more means that your own research, writing, and publishing often fall to the bottom of the list. A coach is there to help you move forward with the writing you really want to do. But more than that, a coach gives you the habits to write more efficiently, more meaningfully, and with more enthusiasm and confidence.

Faculty coaching can help you articulate your goals, set boundaries to protect your time, and focus on what matters most to your intellectual life. If you aren’t making time to write, coaching can help you create routines and rituals that make the writing experience feel (like Gertrude Stein’s Paris) both exciting and peaceful. If you want to do more than you have, coaching can help you connect with that inner fire. Working with the right coach is an experience that can boost your career and change your life.


Why should I work with you?

Some academic coaches try to toughen you up by perpetuating the harsh competitiveness of academia and publishing. Others have a one-size-fits-all approach, making work only about schedules, goals, and getting it done no matter what your personal experiences and professional pressures. The first approach often exacerbates anxiety and reinforces bad habits or a negative mindset. The second is just a short-term solution that usually lacks long-term change.

Our team of coaches gives clients positive, concrete steps they can take to transform the way they approach writing. When you work with your coach to develop a work plan, they consider the whole you with all the complexities of your particular life. If you feel stuck but eager to do more, your coach helps re-light your confidence. We advocate “big idea” thinking that leads to wider engagement and collaboration instead of competition. We encourage you to see yourself as a writer as well as a scholar. We want you to move forward — rather than look back — and develop habits and techniques that will positively impact your scholarly life far into the future.


How does it work?

We focus on creating better habits and more positive ways of thinking about research and writing so that you have more energy, clarity, and time to make the impact that you want to make.

Most faculty clients start in the “Transform” phase. (But some prefer to begin with Idea Therapy.) You will learn to set more motivating goals, calm your writing worries, get excited about your work, think like a writer as well as a scholar, and create routines and rituals to make it more likely that you will make time to write and that you will enjoy that time. All while you are moving ahead on your priority project with the support of a coach who is always there for you.

Once you transform your writing practice, you can continue with individual coaching for as long as you want to in the “Progress” phase. Most of our faculty clients find the experience so essential to their writing practice that they work with us for 1-3 years, but you can choose whatever works best for you. Many faculty prefer to join a coaching group that best targets their needs. At present we have these groups reserved for female faculty: Public Scholars, Senior Faculty Writing Books, Junior Faculty, Social Scientists, and Academic Mothers. And there’s another group for male faculty who want the same benefits of accountability, camaraderie, and support for creating a more productive writing life.


How much does it cost?

Transform $995/£795
Progress individual $400/£300 per month
Progress group $280/£220 per month
Please note the one-time admin fee of $75/£60 if your institution prefers to pay for coaching directly rather than allowing you to be reimbursed.


How do I get started?

Fill out the form to set up a free consultation to talk further about how Writers and Scholars can help you.