Editing & Coaching
Start Here: Free Consultation
Writing isn’t a one-size-fits all endeavor. Each person and project has unique needs that can be best served in different ways. In this 30-minute consultation, we will discuss your project: where you are, what challenges you’re facing, your goals, budget and schedule. I’ll point you towards the next steps you can take, whether or not that includes working with me.
Limit: One free consult per person per calendar year.
All prices listed are USD.
For coaching information, please scroll down
Sample Edit
Because I offer free consultations, I don’t offer free sample edits. However, I’m happy to edit up to 20 pages (5000 words) for $250. The feedback will include Markup similar to what I would offer in a full manuscript edit, along with a bullet-point list of my observations and recommendations. I can’t address story structure in 10 pages, but I can usually get a good sense of your storytelling and composition.
If you choose to hire me for a full developmental edit directly after a sample edit, you will receive credit for the amount already paid.
Creative Breakthrough Session
Not sure what step to take next? Having trouble with a thorny plot twist? Are you in the query trenches and not getting any responses? Let’s brainstorm solutions! Bring me your writing and publishing-related challenges, and let me help you figure out your next steps. We’ll meet on Zoom and I’ll record the call so you can refer back to it.
You’ll receive:
- An experienced brainstorming partner to help you with your most pressing questions
- A recording of our call for your records
Cost:
- $250 for 60 minutes
Time frame:
- You’ll usually be able to schedule our call within a week or two
Developmental Editing
Developmental editing is where we figure out what story you’re trying to tell and the most effective way to tell it. Does the structure support the story you’re telling? What are your natural writing strengths, and where could you use different techniques to make it stronger? My approach with developmental editing goes deeper than the surface rules of structure and storytelling. My process includes both logic (the rules) and intuition (the issues that show up beneath the words). I dive deep into what’s working, and what’s holding you back. I give you the toolkit—and a tailored writing handbook—to get where you want to go. To use a real estate analogy, this is where we make sure you have the right blueprint, materials and tools for the house you want to build.
This is for one round of developmental editing. Some of my clients then move into coaching, and I work through the revisions with them; others go off and revise for 6-9 months and then come back for a manuscript evaluation. Clients who have completed a developmental edit with me receive a 20% discount on coaching or a subsequent manuscript evaluation of the same project.
You’ll receive:
- An extensive editorial letter (10+ pages) to guide your revision
- Heavy Markup queries and comments
- A one-hour follow-up call to discuss your questions and next steps
- A recording of our call for your reference
Cost:
- $2,500 for up to 39,999 words
- $3,500 for 40,000 to 50,999 words
- $4,500 for 60,000 to 79,999 words
- $5,500 for 80,000 to 99,999 words
- $500 for each additional 10,000 words
Time frame:
- 4-8 weeks, depending on length
Manuscript Evaluation
You’ve taken your manuscript as far as you can, but you’re not sure if it’s ready to submit. A manuscript evaluation is a high-level overview of issues that need to be addressed before you take the final steps to self-publish or begin querying. A manuscript evaluation does not replace any level of editing. Rather, it gives you a summary assessment of where you are on your path to publication. To continue with the real estate analogy, an evaluation is akin to having someone tell you how to stage your home for sale.
You’ll receive:
- Light Markup
- A 5-7 page editorial letter analyzing structure, storytelling and composition
- A one-hour follow-up phone call to discuss your questions and next steps
- A recording of our call for your reference
Cost:
- $1,650 for up to 60,000 words
- $250 for each additional 10,000 words
Time frame:
- 3-4 weeks, depending on length
Nonfiction Book Proposal Review
If you have a completed commercial book proposal, I will review it to make sure you’ve made an effective business case for your book. I’ll look at each section (hook/overview, target audience, competing/complementary titles, marketing plan and author bio/platform). I’ll make suggestions for improvements, both in terms of writing quality and marketability of your book.
These reviews include evaluation (but not hands-on edit) of one sample chapter up to 5,000 words.
To get the most out of my feedback (and your money), I highly recommend reading Michael Larsen’s How to Write a Book Proposal.
You’ll receive:
- An email with my overall feedback
- A section-by-section analysis of your proposal
- Light Markup of your proposal
- A 30-minute follow-up call to discuss your questions and next steps (for each pass, if desired)
- A recording of our call for your reference
Cost:
-
$827 – One pass
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$1,984 – Up to three passes (with client revisions between each)
Time frame:
- Two weeks (one pass)
- One to three months (three passes)
Writer, Story and Creativity Coaching
Hone your voice, discover your strengths, and become a timeless storyteller.
For writers of all stripes (fiction, nonfiction, screen, playwriting, etc.)
Writing is not a standardized process. Whether you want to write a memoir about a specific period in your life, bring a ground-breaking concept to life with evocative storytelling, or you’ve always wanted to write and finally have the time, writer coaching is about you and your goals. Within the packages below, I tailor each to you and your specific desires.
Hiring a writing coach is like having a personal trainer for your writing. I’m a cheerleader and champion for my clients, and I work with a very limited number at a time, in order to give each one my deepest attention.
This is performance coaching (aka mentoring), not ICF coaching. I’m not a leadership or life coach (though I have lots of clients who are). I’m more like a pitching coach in baseball, or an acting coach. The term “writing coach” is commonly searched, so that’s what I call it for SEO.
Beyond writing, I can help you with researching agents, writing queries and synopses and supporting you along your path to publication, whether that’s traditional, self-publishing or hybrid.
I can offer considerable guidance in just a few pages.
Writer Coaching with Page Reviews
Custom packages available on request.
Starter
- A comprehensive edit of up to 1,000 words (four consecutive pages) per month
- One 60-minute call (phone or Zoom) per month to celebrate breakthroughs, discuss challenges and plan next steps
- A recording of our call for you to download and keep
- Recommended reading, writing assignments and homework
- Three-month package: $867
- Six-month package: $1,632
- 12-month package: $3,060
WIP support
- A comprehensive edit of up to 5,000 words (20 consecutive pages) per month
- One 60-minute call (phone or Zoom) per month to celebrate breakthroughs, discuss challenges and plan next steps
- A recording of our call for you to download and keep
- Recommended reading, writing assignments and homework
- Three-month package: $1,657
- Six-month package: $3,120
- 12-month package: $5,850
Accelerated
- A comprehensive edit of up to 10,000 words (40 consecutive pages) per month
- One 60-minute call (phone or Zoom) per month to celebrate breakthroughs, discuss challenges and plan next steps
- A recording of our call for you to download and keep
- Recommended reading, writing assignments and homework
- Priority email access
- Three-month package: $2,239
- Six-month package: $4,219
- 12-month package: $7,911
Find Your Flow Creativity Coaching
Renew your commitment to yourself and your writing. Learn to:
- Jump-start your creativity
- Get the most out of butt-in-chair time
- Maximize creativity while minimizing screen time
- Feel more fulfilled creatively
Page reviews (up to 5,000 words) are available as an add-on for $0.07 to 0.10 per word
Basic
- Jump-start your creativity practice with one 60-minute Zoom call per month
- Download and keep recordings of our calls
- Find and enhance your creative flow with personalized practices
- Grow your skill set with recommended reading, writing assignments and homework
- Three-month package: $637
- Six-month package: $1.199
- 12-month package: $2,247
Standard
- Stay in the flow with two 60-minute Zoom calls per month
- Download and keep recordings of our calls
- Enhance your creative flow with practices tailored to your unique needs
- Learn how to go deeper with recommended reading, writing assignments and homework
- Get answers to questions between sessions with priority email access
- Three-month package: $1,147
- Six-month package: $2,159
- 12-month package: $4,049
Intensive
- Strengthen your creative flow with four 60-minute Zoom calls per month
- Go deeper into your creativity with exercises tailored for you
- Download and keep recordings of our calls
- Expand your practice with recommended reading, writing assignments and homework
- Get answers to your most pressing questions within 24 hours
- Three-month package: $2,022
- Six-month package: $3,819
- 12-month package: $7,189
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