Certified!

It’s been a while since I’ve posted new content here. This has been for a number of reasons, largely that I was working dilligently on my book coaching certification and [continue to] train for my black belt test in Krav Maga, which will be in August. Both of these are monumental tasks for very different reasons, and every day I remember not to take them lightly.

I submitted my certification application to Author Accelerator promptly after the new year, and received a response about four weeks later. While most of my work was praised for my no nonsense but kind approach, there were a few sections where I simply did not meet the mark. I was not stepping into my authority as a book coach in some areas. I knew my stuff, but I needed to show it by being firm and pushing for more effort from the writer to produce the work we were capable of improving together.

This was, for me—the straight A student riddled with imposter syndrome—a tough blow. Was I not cut out to be a book coach? Was I too much of a pushover? I’d put everything into my editorial feedback, what if I couldn’t figure out what was missing? What if I revised my work, and it came back again?

We all know these thought patterns are mostly irrational and destructive, even while we’re having them. But it doesn’t necessarily make them easy to avoid. Why I’m writing about this moment of self doubt (that so directly relates to my business and credibility) is because it’s another example of failure teaching me that there is always room for improvement. Even if we meet our quota, run out of time, or just “feel” finished, we never stop learning how to be and do better. There’s danger in perfectionism, certainly, but there’s danger in complacency, too. I had, like when I failed my belt midterm (twice), become too content with where I was and not allowed myself room to keep growing.

Once the wallowing was over, it was time to turn the computer back on and get to work. I opened up each of the documents that needed revising, reread the feedback email, and started pouring over my work. It was immediately clear to me where I’d gone wrong. I deleted wishy washy language, picked up on places where I should have pushed a little harder, and provided more in-depth feedback.

But I wasn’t done. I cycled through reoccurring waves of imposter syndrome over the following weeks, hopping back into the documents here and there to tweak my comments, adding things in, changing my word choices, and whining to anyone who would (or wouldn’t) listen about my anxiety that whatever I did wouldn’t be enough. That I didn’t have what it took to be a certified book coach.

Failure and redemption aren’t linear. Needless to say, after my hemming and hawing, resubmitting my application, and weeks of anxious email refreshing, the news was in. My revised work met the high standards for certification with Author Accelerator. I am now an Author Accelerator-certified book coach in nonfiction and memoir!

It took me much longer than I expected to get here, but I’m deeply proud of the work I put in and honored to be part of such a rigorous and prestigious program. I’ll have more to say in the weeks and months to come, but for now, know that I have more to offer than ever before, and will continue to learn to best serve clients in the years to come. I’m working on announcing some updated intro offerings for new clients but feel free to check out my services page in the meantime.