Hi, I’m Cathryn. I’m a Book Coach and Author who also does a fair bit of writing for media, speaking gigs, and the occasional karaoke session. But only in front of a large audience. I’m not into those small, private karaoke rooms. Think of somewhere between a hall and a stadium. That’s my jam.

But seriously, while I joke (kind of) about loving a big audience, I’m very serious when it comes to coaching. When you start and finish your book (I’ll be honest, it’s the keeping-on-going and finishing which gets people stuck), I’ll be cheering like the embarrassing parent whose had one too many beers at a football game.

After 15 years of working in marketing and media, I finally wrote that book I’d been dreaming about. In fact, I started it when my newborn son was 6 weeks old. “Now that I’ve got all this free time, I can start writing that novel!” I thought. Clearly I had baby brain and wouldn’t know a good idea if it poked me in the eye.

A few months later, after spending months writing when he was asleep and driving myself into the ground with exhaustion, I took a break from my book. It was a sexy comedy, and it’s hard to be funny when you’re exhausted and on the verge of tears all the time.

Just over a year later, I was talking to my husband about my unfinished manuscript, which was silently mocking me from my desk. I hated the fact I hadn’t finished it (even though the time hadn’t been right) and I  knew that it was time. My husband agreed and supported me. “You don’t want to wake up at 70 and say ‘Damn, I wish I’d written that book,” he said… and it was the final bit of motivation which drove me to get it done.

Going back to the book, I’ll admit I was still exhausted, because I was back working full-time and my son wasn’t a great sleeper, but I was also determined to finish it and decided that I could survive on an average of four hours’ sleep a night for a few months. So, guided by the wisdom of two published authors, I discovered the ‘secret formula’ for finishing a book and got my first draft finished.

From there I went on a huge journey of editing, pitching agents, getting excited and then let down by said agents, self-publishing, publicity, author talks, photo shoots and more. If you google my novel ‘Sex, Lies, and Cruising‘, you’ll get an idea of what a crazy ride I had doing everything from morning television, to prime time FM radio, large metro newspapers, and magazines like Cosmopolitan (which was my #1 target publication to reach my audience).

There was even ‘talk’ about my book being made into a TV show!

From there I personally managed to get Big W (Australia’s biggest book retailer) to stock my book, and negotiated a deal with a wonderful distributor which saw my novel going into small and large bookstores across Australia and New Zealand.

Last I heard it was with a major distributor in London who is looking at selling it into bookstores across Europe and the UK.

Now, as much as I love writing, and had started on the next two books in the trilogy, I felt a new calling when I discovered coaching. Wow. I once described coaching as a lighthouse shining out over a stormy sea. As sappy as it sounds, that’s just how it felt when I discovered the power of coaching. I wanted to be the best coach I could, so before I started working with clients, I studied a Diploma of Leadership, Coaching and Mentoring – run by Queensland TAFE and accredited by the International Coaching Federation.

I went into it thinking that coaching was basically giving people advice (which I used to love) and by the end of the first lesson I was almost holding back tears. I know, right? I sound like a complete doofus but if you’ve ever had an experience where something resonates with you, especially if it’s the very first time you’ve had that feeling – it can be pretty overwhelming!

After doing some general ‘life’ and business-related coaching for a while, I worked with my own coach (I basically think it’s essential to have a coach and experienced mentor in business) and identified my ‘zone of genius’ – which is just a fancy way of saying that I get to use all the skills and experience I’ve gathered through a career of marketing/media, book publishing and coaching, and put them together in one awesome and powerful package.

This, ladies and gents, is how I became a Book Coach.

I help successful business women go from idea to first draft, and then we work together on a road map for next steps, whether you want to pitch or self-publish, and we can include a strategy for marketing and PR to suit your objectives.

Read more about my coaching offer here…

If you just want to cut to the chase and book a free Book Clarity Call with me, please apply here. You’ll see a list of available call times and will need to do a quick pre-call quiz so I can see where you’re at in your book writing journey. There’s honestly no obligation, because I only work with people who are the right fit at the right time. If I am not the best person to work with you, I’ll let you know.

Look forward to talking to you very soon.

Cat