Book coaching is a very unique and personal relationship that requires the person being coached to become incredibly vulnerable, and sometimes even to face triggers and fears associated with telling their story. For that reason alone, choosing the right book coach is incredibly important; after all, you want to make sure that you’re comfortable with the person who you’ll be working with throughout your sessions, right?
This page will tell you a little more about me and my approach to book coaching, the target populations and types of books I specialize in, and it will also have a TL;DR at the bottom.
Without further ado, let’s dive in!
My name is Hannah Wolfram (H.M. Wolfram) and I’m actually a historian by training. However, very little of my work experience is in that field; instead, I was always focused on helping people to improve their lives and situations through education and writing.
In fact, it was while working as a coach in higher education that I received a certification in Adult Mental Health First Aid from the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, which helped me lay the foundation for my approach to book coaching and guiding people through the writing process.
I believe very strongly that writing can bring a level of catharsis and healing that is quite hard to match (though it is not a replacement for therapy; I am not here for you to trauma-dump or to treat your mental health, but rather to support you in your journey).
Potential Clients
I am open to working with individuals of any gender (including LGBTQIA+ folks) and any ability/neurotype (including disabled and neurodivergent folks) as long as the relationship can be built on mutual trust. We both have to be comfortable with each other and able to trust that we are safe and secure in the other person’s presence or, simply put, the process will not work.
If, for any reason, either of us feel like we are not a good fit for each other, there is no shame in saying so. You don’t even need to provide me with a reason, just as I reserve the right to not provide one to you.
My Process
After you express interest or find this website and decide that you would be interested in working with me, I will share a form that I’d like you to fill out so I can gather some basic details about you, your story, and what you’re looking for in a coaching relationship. (You can find the form here.)
I will take a look at your answers and email you to schedule a Discovery Call if I feel like we could potentially work together. On this Discovery Call, we will spend about 30 minutes getting to know each other and discussing our specific expectations around our coaching relationship. If you feel like you would like to proceed from there, you’ll have my email address to reach out at any time; I will also send a follow-up a couple of days later to see how you are feeling about the call. Feel free to not respond to this email if you don’t think we would be a good fit; I don’t mind, and it will only be the one email. There won’t be any spammy sales pitches from me!
Once the Discovery Call is completed and we’ve determined payment options, I will send you a contract that must be signed and returned to me (via email) before we can schedule our first appointment. The contract will detail elements of our working relationship such as:
- What are the payment terms?
- What are the expectations for the coaching package?
- Who owns the rights to the ideas from our book coaching sessions?
- What happens with royalties if I do publish?
After the contract is returned and the down payment made, we can schedule our first session!
Projects I Love
When it comes to the types of books I will or will not work on, there are a few things to keep in mind:
- My absolute favorite projects to work on are memoir and own-voices manuscripts.
- While I love poetry, I am no good with rhyme and meter, so I will only be able to help with certain styles and vibes. If you’re still interested, great!
- I am okay with all levels of explicit-ness, whether in words, sex/sexuality, and actions; however, I draw the line at graphic abuse and violence toward children and animals.
- I do not enjoy hard sci-fi or horror, and please, for the love of all things good and holy, don’t come at me with zombies. 😉
TL;DR
This is not therapy or a licensed mental health treatment.
I work with everyone as long as we can respect each other.
Vibe checking is totally legitimate and expected.
I don’t work without a contract.
Memoirs, own-voices, and soul books are my jam.
No graphic violence/abuse toward children or animals.
No hard sci-fi or horror (and especially no zombies!)
Testimonials
“I worked with Hannah to make progress on a book idea I’d been wanting to write for years and could never figure out how to start. In our first session, she helped me get clarity on the approach, the narrative through-lines and an ideal structure and together we crafted an outline for my first draft. Each time we met, her cheerful supportive energy and insightful feedback left me feeling energized to keep my momentum going and not only did I make some great progress with my draft, but our work together made the whole process feel much more manageable and less intimidating. I would recommend Hannah to anyone who knows they have a book idea in them but just needs a little help making it happen. You’ll be glad you did!” – Bridget R.
“I had a session with Hannah and I was amazed how much ground we covered in just one hour!
I only had a sketch of a book idea that is very dear to my heart and quite personal. I literally had no meat in the bones so to speak, I just had the spark of an idea.
By the end of one of the quickest hours of my life Hannah had given me some important legal points, gave me advice on what direction could work but also how I could progress, publishing routes and what my next steps were.
I am in awe of her passion, talent and her ability to make me feel so comfortable to share my precious idea with her and that now I actually believe my book is possible and not just stuck as a tiny seed of an idea!
I would not hesitate to Hannah her up again when it comes to the editing stage and she has so much talent she is going to go far.” – Philippa H.