- 2024 DIGITAL CONFERENCE
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- FREE ONLINE & NEWSLETTER COACHING OPPORTUNITIES
- CLASSES, COHORTS, COACHING & CUSTOMIZED ADVICE
Are you full of ideas and passion, yet somehow, the act of creating just doesn’t flow?
Do you sit at your desk, staring at a screen, feeling stuck and overwhelmed, blocked by a wall you can’t seem to break through?
If you’re a writer plagued by creative blocks or feeling overwhelmed under the constant pressure to produce, know you’re not alone. These struggles can be isolating and disheartening, much like being stuck in a mental storm, with doubts and fears pouring incessantly.
Over the years, Becca Syme has coached thousands of writers who have worked hard to assimilate someone else’s system only to encounter the frustration that comes with discovering it just doesn’t work for them.
At Better-Faster Academy, we’ve seen countless writers struggling to fit into systems that just don’t work for them. That’s why we’re committed to helping you understand WHY certain strategies aren’t working and how to discover ones that do. Through personalized coaching, abundant free resources, and a supportive community, we aim to help you leverage your unique strengths and establish effective strategies for writing, editing, plotting, and marketing. Our goal is to empower you to work and live BETTER-FASTER.
How we can uniquely support you!
With Becca’s regularly updated QuitCast series available on YouTube and audio podcast platforms, you gain access to information and advice geared to helping you understand your unique strengths and processes. Each episode is designed to tackle common writer struggles, question entrenched beliefs, and provide alternative perspectives on the writing process.
The Better-Faster Academy offers numerous opportunities for coaching, without any cost. Through our online sessions and newsletter coaching, you get practical tips, guidance, and regular doses of inspiration right in your inbox or through live, interactive Facebook online sessions. These opportunities help you stay focused, productive, and connected.
Explore Our Classes & Coaching Cohorts
Our wide range of classes, cohorts, and personalized coaching options provide you with the support you need at every stage of your writing journey. Whether you prefer self-paced learning, interactive group classes, or one-on-one coaching, we’ve got you covered. Plus, our advice is always customized to your unique needs, strengths, and writing style, ensuring you receive the most effective guidance for your individual journey.
What People Are Saying About The Better-Faster Academy
The Marketing for Introverts course gave me the tools to understand myself and my author business in a way no other source has. I didn’t even realize that I apply 30+ marketing tactics already until this course taught me how to identify them! And some of the other homework bits seemed obvious once they were…
I really enjoyed the Strengths For Writers course. Ever since I completed WBF 1 and 2, I’ve been fascinated by the CliftonStrengths. Learning more about them has enhanced my understanding of my Top 10 and their potential contributions to both my career and personal life. Thank you to Becca and her dedicated team for their…
At first, I wasn’t sure if I would like the format of this class (it’s very different from the Write Better-Faster class I took a couple of years ago, but that makes sense because the focus is a lot different). There weren’t discussions during the class, though in hindsight this also makes sense – this…
Enrolling in the ‘Burnout and Overwhelm’ course has been a transformative experience for me as a writer. The description of the class resonated deeply with my feelings of overwhelm, and I’m truly grateful that I took this course. It provided me with invaluable support during my journey towards burnout recovery. This class helped me shift…
I’m excited to implement the course’s personality-specific insights in my creative practices. The content was clear and well sequenced and had a good balance of explanation and examples. I appreciated the frequent prompts for self-reflection, which helped me to digest and integrate the concepts. I highly recommend the course to anyone who’s struggling to achieve…
This class was very helpful for me – both in making me look at what I was doing and asking why I was doing it, and in sharing stories with others and seeing what their struggles were and how we approached things differently. It has been interesting to see what recommendatings have been shared both…
To say that the Strengths for Writers 101 course is life changing may sound dramatic, but transformative is the only way I know how to accurately describe it. Understanding my strengths and how they affect not only my writing but my daily life has made a huge difference. Now I know why I am like…
I read your book “Dear Writer, Are You Intuitive?” and loved it. It felt like you’d had an electrode planted in my brain and were reading my thoughts. I decided to enroll in Write Better-Faster 101 and couldn’t be happier. I had so many aha moments and feel so much more confident about myself as…
I really loved and enjoyed the Burnout Class. It helped me to break down what gives me energy and what takes my energy on a personal and deeper level than before. I have been following Beeca and her Burnout content for 3 years now and this course is what solidified the info for me down…
Absolutely essential to my beginning to recover from burnout. The lectures and classes pointed me in the right direction, and the instructor helped me develop a personalized plan for my recovery.
The Burnout class was so helpful! It got me writing again and helped me understand where I needed to either give myself grace or take action. I highly recommend this to any writer who’s on the brink.
Learning to confidently run effective Facebook ads has been on my to do list forever. I’ve taken a variety of classes and hired others to do them for me. Nothing I tried gave me the confidence or knowledge I needed to make this task feel doable and manageable. Because learning about my Strengths has been…
Becca comes in with some real talk. I’ve read all the books in this series, and this one is very like the other ones. It was a hard year for everyone, and she has action steps to get beyond the funk we’re all in after a doozy of a year.
Working through some real questions through this series and happy to have gotten to this book in particular. What can I take away from 2020? How can I serve my readers better? Such great questions I’ll be pondering. Definitely recommend!
I felt like Becca peeked in the window of my writing room and said, I know exactly what this woman needs! And then she delivered. This attitude shift can possibly change my life. I’m excited to try. Thank you.
I am a big fan of all Becca’s ‘Dear Author’ books. Unfortunately, she’s right. The calendar may have turned over, but the pressures writers are facing today are just as intense (if not more) than they were in 2020. If you are a writer struggling with productivity, I cannot recommend this book heartily enough.
I have learned so much each time I read one of her books. Advice that makes the most sense like a light bulb moment. I’ll read anything and everything she puts out.
This book examines the reasons why authors may be having trouble writing and not selling their books as well as they had hoped. The focus is on the stress of modern life, in particular during challenging times as we’ve seen in 2020 and 2021. Syme builds on the concepts from the other books in the…
Who finds that they need a manual for their life right now — not just for writers. Okay, it’s primarily for writers and creative people, but I think if you read the title and something resonates inside you then pick up this book. I highly recommend this book if you are still feeling foggy brained,…
A topic at just about every virtual writers’ conference in 2020 has been how to write in a pandemic. How do we pull entertaining stories people will like out of imaginations overheating with every headline, each more dire than the last? Well, this book gives you ideas, some according to your personality. Like the process…
Thing I love about Becca’s books, and especially this one, is that it feels like I’m sitting in a Starbucks having a conversation with her as a friend about my struggles with writing. There’s no guilt, no shame, just a lot of encouragement and challenging my negative thoughts. The only thing missing is a Venti…
This is another must read book for indie authors. It explores how to recognize and work through writer’s block. What I like best about this book is that the author recognizes there is no one tried and true way to work through writer’s block. Instead there are multiple paths for dealing with writer’s block and…
I really appreciated the multifaceted approach this book takes to Writer’s Block, including highlighting when writer’s block is a normal part of the writing process. It’s helpful to know different causes for writer’s block and how to confront them. Another great read in this series!
I love Becca’s Dear Writer books. I find them entertaining, encouraging, and incredibly enlightening. I have many forehead-slapping moments with each one. I’m a full-time mid-list author, meaning I spend a lot of time writing and writing just to keep my head above water. She really makes that journey more fulfilling.
Writer’s block is such a hard thing to talk about because most of the industry tries to pretend it doesn’t exist and that if you are blocked you clearly aren’t trying hard enough. But it’s not that simple and Becca not only realizes that, in this book she shows you the many different things that…
Some books try to give readers all the right kind of answers. Dear Writer, Are You in Writer’s Block? does better and helps you learn what sorts of questions to ask so you can find your own answers because, after all, we’re so different, one answer may be the right answer for one person and…
Becca Syme continues to hit it out of the park when it comes to solid, healthy, positive coaching advice for writers. I can’t recommend her books enough–they’re simply the best thing I’ve found out there in terms of fostering a beneficial author mindset while still offering practical tips and advice on how to how to…
Becca has such a refreshing way of interpreting writerly advice. I’m so thankful to have discovered this series after following advice that only frustrated me. Writer’s block looks different for all of us because we’re all different! So, of course, the way we come out of it’s going to be different too. I love that…
If you’ve been to a writer’s conference, you’ve heard the aphorisms “You can’t edit a blank page” and “There’s no such thing as writer’s block.” But, as well-meaning as those presenters have been, they don’t know what works or doesn’t work for you and why some techniques don’t fit. One size, or one-liner of advice,…
After loving the first two books in this series I bought this one on release day and started it not much later. This is another great book for authors. I love this series and I wish I could convince everyone to read these. Where book 1 and 2 address more general concepts that can easily…
I devoured all three of the books in this series quickly and decided to work with her team in the Better Faster Academy too. These are now the books I recommend to all the writers I work with. Excellent material.
Becca Syme has a knack for saying things that aren’t always fun to hear, but boy, are they useful. If this book had been around a few years back, I’d have saved some time and grief. I also love Syme’s sense of humor.
I am devouring these ‘Dear Writer’ books like I need them to breathe! It’s so freeing to see there are so many ways to do things and the best way is the one that’s right for me. The personality science behind why something may or may not work for me is fascinating. Thank you for…
I really enjoyed all the books in this series, and this book is not an exception. I sent an excerpt to all of my friends about how stressful the industry is. I disagreed with her chapter on dictation, but it has been useful to explain river and train people to people for whom dictation doesn’t…
More great information from Becca about questioning the premise. You don’t need to do everything people are telling you to do. Consider whether it is right for your situation. Read the book for more information about the specific “must do’s” you may not have to do. What a relief.
You need to read this book. QTP: or do you? Yes, yes you do! Last year I was in a dark place and on the verge of giving up, when a friend suggested I read Dear Writer You Need to Quit. That book shone a light to show me the way out of where I…
So my kid asked me, are you questioning HER premise? Yep, I am, and so far, Becca Syme has proven a credible source that I can learn from. Loved the first book, Dear Writer, You Need to Quit” despite my initial reaction. She was right, not only are there things I need to quit, but…
Becca’s third book is most likely the best one yet! I’m not yet a published author, but I’m so glad I picked up this book and her others. Not only does Becca’s writing makes me laugh (I love her geeky references and her great analogies/metaphors), but she gives advice in a really compassionate, yet honest…
This was recommended by a fellow writer and I devoured it in one sitting. Chock full of advice for the multi-tasking author who’s hitting a brick wall.
This book is like peeking behind the curtain to find the Great Oz manipulating stage craft. Burn out is serious, and what’s *behind* burn-out. It’s not depression. It’s something else. The author explains what it is and how it works.
I recommend This book for ALL writers whether you think you’re in burnout or not. It was so eye opening. If you are in burnout, it gives you the tolls to get out. If you’re headed that way, it gives you the tools to reduce the slide (and maybe prevent it altogether). And if you’re…
Something has been missing from my writing soul for several months. I tried to press on, but I missed two deadlines and could barely force myself to work through my editor’s line edits. Burnout. Or maybe the slide. This book, and the associated videos on Syme’s QuitCast channel, will help you identify what is contributing…
I was in burnout long before I found Becca’s Quitcast series on YouTube, but didn’t realize where I was, or know what to do about it. Reading this book reinforced all the “Ah-ha!” moments I had when watching the videos, and added a few more. This is a keeper for me, one I know I…
I’ve experienced burnout both in my former career in and as a fiction writer. Having Becca break down the burnout process (fulcrum point, slide, and pit) and explain how to manage the recovery process of building a ladder by refilling our “energy penny reserves” and learning to honor our “plate size” provides hope. She shares…
This is hands down the best advice for writers I’ve encountered in five years of pursuing traditional publishing and eight more of being an indie author. Much of what Becca says about the publishing industry and human behavior are things I felt were true at a gut level but had no way of proving. It…
I needed this short little book by a writing coach. It’s easy to internalize what the big names in indie publishing are doing and think you somehow have to do it exactly the way they do to achieve any kind of success, even if it’s not what you’ve ever done and it doesn’t fit with…
I’m definitely questioning my premises after reading this book; for the first time, I feel like I can be an indie author on my own terms. That it’s okay to not be after quitting my day job (or education in this case). I haven’t published yet because I’m more worked up by the educational constraints…
Okay everyone out there looking for the easy way to success…this isn’t it, but I will tell you that this book is the beginning of changing your life for the better. I’ve been working with Ms. Syme for quite a while now off and on for a few years. She not only is 100% the…
This is one of the best non-fiction books I read so far. Not that I’ve read a lot of non-fiction books, but I’ve been reading more of them since this year and this one really stood out for me. One of the main reasons this one stood out to me is that something about this…
I’ve been skimming the edge of writerly burnout for months, and this book has arrived just when I needed it. It asks writers to question all of the assumptions we hold about who we are and who we’re supposed to be as writers. Using positive psychology, the book also asks that we focus on developing…
This book is more than just about being a writer in 2020. It’s about surviving and thriving as a writer and author whenever life throws unexpected plot twists your way. If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that life can throw us some real curveballs and we’d better learn how to deal with them. Becca…
I didn’t pick up this book because I thought I was blocked. Frankly, I’ll read anything Becca publishes. I was a burned out writer, thinking maybe I should quit writing when I first picked up Dear Writer, You Need To Quit (QuitBooks for Writers Book 1). The laugh was on me, though, because quitting (writing,…
An experienced writing coach helps you better align your own skills and personality with what can work for you as a self-published author, despite all the conventional wisdom that may have you feeling utterly inadequate because you’re not outlining, dictating, and publishing 20 books a year and killing it on Instagram while making enough to…
I took Becca Syme’s Write Better-Faster course in March 2020. I took the course because I’d been feeling ‘stuck’ and unproductive with my writing and other aspects of my life. The course helped me understand why I do what I do and how to use my strengths and personality to achieve my goals. I think…
In these days of rapid release and book-a-month publishing schedules, Becca slides in with some real talk: fast writing is not for everyone. That’s just one example of the many premises Becca rises up and challenges. This isn’t a book on what to do to reach publishing success. As she says, there’s no silver bullet.…
Becca’s writing voice is so authentic – you will feel as though your best friend is telling you a few hard truths, but that she is rooting for you all the way and proving encouragement.
Becca takes the “you do you” mantra further making it “you do the best you.” Instead of willy nilly adopting systems and processes that work for other writers, she encourages the reader to dig deep into their personality, environment, platform, resources and patterns to determine what, as an individual, makes a person’s writing process work…
WARNING – there is no magic bullet. Simply reading this book isn’t enough. You have to sit down and actually do the work. But the eye-opening illumination the first time you apply her technique will blow minds and rock worlds. Genius appears deceptively simple in hindsight.
If you’re mentally and/or creatively exhausted. If you just can’t find that focus you know you have, especially when it comes to writing. If you know you’re pushing yourself too hard, but you also know you can’t stop…Go read the book. Now.
As someone who entered burnout while working in the public accounting industry, I have to say, “This book isn’t just for writers!” Regardless of how you burned out, you’ll learn why it happened, what you can do to feel better, and how you can prevent it from happening again.
This book is blowing my mind. It’s taken me a while to figure out how to describe what Becca does because it’s not like anything else but I think I finally nailed it. It’s like sports psychology for writing. And it really works.
The author’s personal experiences with burnout show she’s not talking from an ivory chair. She’s been there and done the work to recover. She knows exactly how easy it can be to slide into the pit and what needs to be done to recover and setup long-term methods to prevent another burn.
Becca’s guidance in this class and beyond has been truly eye-opening for me, not just in writing, but in life. I feel like I’ve come to know myself so much more because of it, and have been able to relate better with those I have relationships with. I recommend her class to everyone who will listen.
I’d been stuck for a few months on my edits, but didn’t know why. This class helped me dig deep to figure out what was going on, and I finally feel motivated again to work on my manuscript!
WBF 2.0 takes you deeper and gives you more tools to work with and more insight in developing your strengths as a writer. It’s a natural choice for any WBF alumni.
This second-level course to Write Better Faster was exactly what I needed to understand why I’ve been struggling with the industry and offered me the tools necessary to refocus my attention and my energy on my own work and finally get that book published.
If you have the time and money to take only one class to advance your writing career, then Write. Better. Faster. is THE class to take.
It’s the best thing I ever did for my writing life. I discovered how I can make this work for ME through this class. No more trying to duplicate a system that doesn’t work for me.
TAKE IT! WBF has been the most rewarding writing workshop I’ve ever taken because of how personal it is. If you struggle with time management, focusing/procrastination, etc., this is the class for you.
You will thank yourself after completing this course. I suggest walking in with an open mind and get ready to have your mind blown!
Writer Better Faster changed my writing career. I’m more confident and more productive than I’ve ever been.
Becca Syme’s Write Better Faster classes have revolutionized my mindset. Now that I understand my brain’s deliberative process, I’m better able to accept my writing production schedule and tailor my process to a genre more accepting of a slower publishing rate.
If you’re looking for a trusted professional who’ll be as passionate about, and invested in, your well-being and success as you are, then Becca Syme is ready to show you the way.
In 2016, I made $971 from my books and had an editor I wanted to hire sample then reject my manuscript. In 2018, as I write this testimonial, I make #971/day. I’m a six figure author (#Significance). That 2016 editorial reject? It’s now my bestselling book. You can do this, too. Only Becca can show you how.