I am working with book coach Barbara Boyd on my forthcoming book, Blueprint for a Memoir and on another book that I keep referring to as the book book, even though it has a working title. I’m just reluctant to share it yet because I feel superstitious about it—like if I utter it, someone will steal it. This is truly silly, I know, but it’s what I feel. I am very attached to my working title, and there is a lot that hangs on it, so it shall be known here as the book book—a book about books. I spoke here about my decision to work with a book coach after thinking that I didn’t need one and quickly learning how very wrong I was. I was smarter this time around.
Coaching a Memoir Writer
Barbara Boyd says on her website that a book coach is a combination of “an editor, a project manager, a mentor, and an honest BFF … [providing] editorial feedback, emotional support, and project management and accountability.” In my conversation with her, she was extraordinarily sensitive, intelligent, and articulate. I concentrated on her work with people who are writing memoirs. It was really a fascinating interview of a person whose centredness and empathy I could sense on Zoom all the way from her olive farm in Italy to my condo in Canada. Please listen.