Empower A Better World through Clear, Compelling Storytelling
Whether you’re a stay-at-home parent, psychologist, wildlife biologist, journalist, or a bank clerk who's attended so many yoga retreats that you’ve developed a system for others to gain the same physical and emotional resilience, one thing is clear: You’ve got the desire and the goods to help people step into a more engaged version of life.
The roadblock is, How do you unearth the core message of your content, and learn to meld the essential elements needed for the layered, linear storytelling of a compelling book that spans tens of thousands of words?
The cleanest path forward is to cement your goals and core aspects of your content so that you can elevate writings that stem from your values or cause. That means efficiently digging into factors like the angle you’ll take on the topic, defining the readers who are most vital to reach, and the most impactful content and structure to connect with those readers in an engaging, accessible, and authentic way.
I meet developing authors where their values are while providing tailored, structured guidance on vital content that ultimately fosters healthier lifestyle choices or communities. That includes writers of self-help, memoir, nature essays, historical fiction, and big idea and how to works about intentional living topics like fitness, holistic lifestyle approaches, broad spiritual development, overlooked cultures or times, social equity, or environmental action (see full genre details below).
As a coach, I offer clear, direct, in-your-corner input for service-oriented writers over weeks or months, in addition to medium-touch to high-touch, in-text feedback on your writings. I can also help craft the writing life you want by teaching the strategy behind content decisions, such as which publishing path to choose.
Or, for more detail-focused offerings -- manuscript reviews, ghostwriting, line editing and more -- I'll provide a tailored estimate after reviewing content (the graphic below of traditional publishing prep steps has asterisks with my service offerings).
All feedback is grounded in knowing that your book must meet your personal and professional publishing goals, and calls out what's working and what could use polishing.
How we collaborate ...
Which book-development guidance meets your needs?
Perplexing First Steps
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Nail down your core message and map out foundational book elements with a Blueprint
If you’re stalled out in the book idea stage, I’ll provide regular feedback for unearthing your work’s main point and for clarifying foundational story elements that, together, provide your road map for confidently pursuing the content development journey.
Blueprint Benefits:
You receive oral and written feedback on more than a dozen factors that are key for readers to connect with your work, such as creating a reader-interest-driven outline, and clarifying your genre. I offer individualized, in-your-corner feedback as a book coach certified in NF, memoir, and fiction by Author Accelerator.
Who Benefits Most:
This big-picture perspective helps every writer. You may benefit most from this guidance that is founded on the Author Accelerator-designed Blueprint tool when deciding between book ideas, seeking to clarify the outline and more of your work, or seeking a way forward with tangled elements of a completed manuscript.
The Road Map Process (two options):
High-Touch Blueprint
For straight self-help and other NF that does not include your personal stories: Work with me to refine your table of contents, define the reader’s arc of change and more, based on your submissions over 2 months. The feedback includes weekly in-text comments and an editorial letter, and four 30-minute coaching calls after key submissions. Also available for historical fiction writers, where feedback on an opening chapter is included, and the change we'll track is with the main character(s). Investment: $1,800 and 8 weeks.
For memoir or hybrid memoir (i.e., self-help with narrated stories from your life): Write your opening and closing scene for straight memoir, and get feedback on the audience, ideal reader, your arc of change and more with both. Feedback includes weekly in-text comments and an editorial letter, and four 45-minute coaching calls after key submissions.
Investment: $2,200 and 8 weeks.*
The Streamlined Blueprint
Click here if you’ve already received Blueprint training, or some key story elements are in good shape or otherwise don’t need much attention. Investment of from $1,200 - $1,500, and 6 weeks.*
*A Blueprint is required before Book Proposal Development coaching of memoir and some nonfiction, such as hybrid nonfiction that includes narrative elements.
A Fuzzy Plan Forward
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Flesh out your book’s structure, clarify your audience, and more with a formal Book Proposal
If you’re confused about how to create impactful storytelling over tens of thousands of words, I’ll guide you on developing sample chapters and the key aspects of your bio and other essential proposal elements, which will allow you to enjoy a smoother writing process and ensure your content mirrors your goals. My feedback is informed by years of helping university faculty and authors showcase their ideas in print, and from freelance writing for decades using the kind of succinct, compelling language of a proposal.
Book Proposal Best Fit, Benefits:
A proposal is typically essential to pitch NF and memoir for traditional publishing. But it helps any writer understand chapter development, and to gel your understanding of the work, and what’s needed to complete a full manuscript. You’ll gain oral and written input on the eight proposal elements, which help with factors like presenting yourself well as an author, and preparing an overview of the book to help guide outreach materials. Helping developing authors with this document is just one of the Publishing Steps* that I offer guidance on in the graphic above.
The Book Proposal Process:
We work back and forth on this essential tool, often building on what was learned about your vision for the work from the Blueprint. Specifically:
Over 12 weeks, we collaborate to define the key theme and audiences for your nonfiction book or memoir proposal,* select the most compelling comparable titles to showcase your work’s new offerings, and to develop the other proposal elements that can bring representation by literary agents, or direct interest from a press. Specifically, you’ll receive:
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Weekly written feedback on your developing proposal elements
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3 weekly meetings per month via Zoom for 45 minutes
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Input on selling yourself effectively as the book's author, and showing that you know the key readers and marketplace for your work; refinement of the overview, drafting of selected sample chapters, and developing the book’s outline and marketing plan; refining in-progress proposal elements, sample chapter refinement, and next step discussions.
Investment for straight nonfiction : $1,300 per month for three months, or $3,900 total.
Investment for memoirists/hybrid memoirists, after previously developing a Blueprint with me: $1,530 per month for three months, or $4,590 total.
Coaching Hours are available to complete Book Proposal elements, at $650 for 10-hour blocks.
A Muddled Draft
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Overcome draft content cohesion challenges, faltering transformational journeys, and more using Content Revision Feedback
If you’re stuck in a draft manuscript or proposal that won’t gel, I offer clear, in-your-corner guidance on the big picture level, and an eagle-eye review so you walk away understanding the strengths and key next steps to improving your work’s structure and content before pitching or publication. I also provide early content advice on a few drafted chapters.
Who Benefits Most from Full Content Review:
Writers who've already attended trainings on craft, and/or received feedback from writing partners, professional Beta Readers and such while developing a full or near-complete manuscript.
The MS/Proposal Review Process:
I assess your proposal, or your nonfiction manuscript, historical novel, or memoir. With both reviews, you’ll receive an onboarding Q&A to share your goals and content considerations, plus a one-hour coaching call after the feedback, and a call recording to refer back to during revisions. The core feedback involves:
For the Manuscript Review, you receive a strategic 8-or-more-page editorial letter about what’s working, where you could focus more energy, and actionable next steps to efficiently advance your content. I insert in-line comments into the margins of your manuscript to expand on editorial letter points. An emphasis is on factors such as structure, voice, narrative flow, character or topic development, and whether the reader receives the needed take-home message by book’s end
Investment: $2,500 - $5,000 for up to 80,000 words (.04c/word added over that).
An editorial letter-only approach to the Manuscript Review typically ranges from $1,750 - $3,250, with a round of follow-up, email feedback.
For the Proposal Review, you receive a strategic 6-or-more-page editorial letter about what’s working, challenges in proposal sections and sample chapters, and actionable next steps to progress on completing your draft. Sample chapters are a maximum of 40 pages (at 250 words/page).
Investment: $2,000 for NF or memoir.
An Agent Pitch Package is available after either Review when seeking guidance on selecting literary agents and developing a query letter (click link at column end for details on that, and voice and style edits).
The Two-Chapter Critique:
Who Benefits Most From Chapter Feedback:
A Two Chapter Critique can help test your chemistry with me before committing to a full manuscript review, and your chapter-development skills.
The feedback will consist of a 2-4 page letter summarizing your work’s strengths and areas for improvement.
Investment: For chapters between 3 - 4,000 words, 8 cents per word for a critique only or 10 cents per word for a critique plus a voice and style (line) edit. For chapters between 4 - 5,000 words, 7 cents per word for a critique only, or 9 cents per word for a critique plus a line edit. (In either case, a 3,000-word chapter minimum applies.)
You can apply the cost of the Two-Chapter Critique toward a full-manuscript review, within 18 months.
Why do this work with me?
I’ve guided traditionally published and self-published authors of diverse content through the book-development process since 2016, as well as providing various levels of editing support for six publishers.
I offer the big-picture sensibility that helps you unearth your service-oriented book’s focus from the competing options, and to tackle overwhelm while melding the essential elements needed to craft an engaging book proposal or book.
I also have an eagle eye for polishing manuscripts for publication, and to guide the query letter development and pitch process, if the traditional publishing path is chosen.
My passion for projects that foster healthier lifestyle choices or healthier community perspectives comes from growing up in a predominantly African American community with a fascination for how people process experiences and evolve. My own path has involved decades of writing about science and healthy living topics, and of training in a mindfulness-related martial art (Aikido), attending progressive Christian and non-creed based, inclusive churches, and studying and experiencing energy healing modalities.
Testimonials
Genre Specialties
Nonfiction that highlights intentional living, such as in:
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Self-help, including with memoir elements, and narrative memoir that does not center on depicting extensive trauma details
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Narrative nonfiction, including nature essays, and environmental justice journalism
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Broad spirituality, from mindfulness, to energy healing modalities, to progressive Christianity
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Big idea and how to books, such as on diversity topics, or sustainable gardening
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Life science-related topics, including wildlife conservation, native landscaping, sustainable agriculture, and climate change mitigation
Fiction
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Historical fiction— exploring human nature through real or fictional characters, including overlooked cultures and times, and works that highlight marginalized communities or connections to nature; not focused on works that are primarily fantasy, sci fi, horror, mystery, or domestic or other thrillers