For many years, I have been supporting emerging and established writers with their stories, articles, or book-length memoirs. I do this both through workshops, and with one-on-one consultations.
I have helped writers of all ages work through challenges and helped rekindle their enthusiasm so that we share the satisfaction of seeing a dream realized and a goal met.
You can choose how you want to work with me to make your writing project come to fruition.
1) The One-Hour Consultation
I wasn’t kidding on my homepage, you know, about you, the writer, giving me, the teacher, an hour of your time, and me bolstering your efforts to reach a place of enthusiasm, energy, and joy.
How can I do this in sixty minutes? Because I have spent a lot of time with writers and I am good at finding out what makes them tick, and what could make their writing sing. During our chat, we’ll identify your creative strengths and your motivations for your current project. We’ll talk about the audience for your work, too. Often, when a writer can imagine their readers, the work comes beautifully into focus.
Other subjects we’ll talk about:
Are you writing for yourself, or your family, or a community of people?
Do you have literary ambitions?
How do you feel when you’re writing?
Life has many demands. How much time do you want to commit to writing on a weekly basis?
Are you comfortable writing “on spec,” or before you have a contract with a publisher, or do you want to work on a proposal to a publisher?
What would be the very best outcome for you, if you were to start and finish a particular writing project?
2) The Weekly Check-In
After deciding on a course of action, you may wish to have the support of weekly check-ins. We can do this by email or on the phone or Facetime, etc. Yes, I am a bit tough when it comes to encouraging you to make progress, but I am also smart when it comes to helping you set up systems that work for you, so that progress is not only feasible, it’s enjoyable.
I guarantee that your feelings will range from satisfaction to joy, especially when you see the pages start piling up. You may feel just as excited when the epiphanies start to come along and trust me, they will. Once you’re deep into the writing process, you’ll start to see how no one but you can write this particular book, essay, or story.
That’s what you’re aiming for, right? Beauty and heart. I’m behind you all the way.
And if you’re aiming to inspire and illuminate, that’s great, too. If you’re focusing on humour, I’ll be first in line to read your work.
3) Manuscript Evaluation
You may be looking for feedback on a manuscript that you would like to polish for publication, I am happy to evaluate fiction or non-fiction, both in long and short forms.
I am fast and fair. I’ll laud you to the skies if you connect to that deepest part of yourself and bring me along with you, with, let’s say, a non-fiction work. With a novel or short story, I’ll make concrete suggestions about how you can make something good into something much better. Pacing, character development, skillful plotting, the role of setting, mood, and atmosphere, we can focus on whatever your needs may be. Literary devices are also used in non-fiction, so we’ll talk about that as and when it comes up.
I will write a detailed response to the work, via email, covering the quality of the work and suggestions for strengthening it. The structure and content will be evaluated, along with the themes and the vocabulary. I will help clarify if you have created art—a story that triggers emotion and holds the reader’s attention, or does it read like a journal entry, or a rumination, still looking to speak to a universal human experience?
My priority will be to keep you motivated and keen. I have some tricks up my sleeve and I know how to do that. To make sure you’re having some fun, too! If you don’t love your book/story/essay, the reader won’t either.
There are parameters to manuscript evaluation. So, copyediting, line-editing, and proofreading are not a part of this. They are distinct tasks that have to be addressed when the manuscript is ready.
I set the fee according to length and complexity of the material, and most of all, the experience of the writer, who might need more concentrated support. The fee might be hourly for a short work, or it might be a project fee, which we will work out in advance, for an entire manuscript.
Examples of fees:
One-Hour Consultation: $100.
Weekly Check-in: $50.
Manuscript Evaluation: $250
Overall:
I am available as a writer for work on your project, whatever it may be. This might be booklets, celebrating company or organizational milestones, work I’ve done before and thoroughly enjoyed, or it may be profiles of notable musicians, authors, business people and entrepreneurs, for whatever publishing purposes you may need.
My work is accurate and always on time. I enjoy research and conducting in-depth interviews. I aim for a consistent level of readability.
References on request.