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 excited about sharing their yoga expertise, 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 topic (see Genre Specialties for all the details below).
As a coach, I offer clear, direct, in-your-corner input for mission-driven 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.
For more detail-focused offerings -- manuscript reviews, ghostwriting, line editing and more -- I'll provide a tailored estimate after reviewing content.
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 ...
Where are you stuck in the book-development process?
Perplexing First Steps
1
Nail down your core message and map out foundational book elements with a Blueprint
The complexities of thinking through the core parts of a manuscript can be overwhelming. If you’re stalled out in the book idea stage, I’ll provide regular feedback for unearthing your work’s main point and for defining foundational story elements so that you gain a clear 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 refining your book’s central theme and clarifying your genre. I offer this individualized, in-your-corner feedback as a book coach certified in NF, memoir, and fiction by Author Accelerator. I’ve also provided early-stage feedback for an award-winning memoir and other works at two of the six publishers I’ve worked with.
Who Benefits Most:
You may benefit most from this guidance founded on the Author Accelerator-designed Blueprint tool when deciding between book ideas, for creating a reader-interest-driven outline and defining foundational book elements, or when you need a plan to untangle content or address inconsistencies in a completed manuscript.
Two Road Map Options:
High-Touch Blueprint
Receive in-depth feedback to define your ideal reader and the protagonist’s, or reader’s, arc of change, refine your table of contents, and more. The feedback includes weekly in-text comments and a weekly editorial letter about your submissions, and four coaching calls after key submissions.
Investment of $1,800 -$2,200, based on genre, and 8 weeks.*
The Streamlined Blueprint
This streamlined version of my high-touch coaching focuses on what most needs attention in your book idea and draft work. This can be a way to move your book forward on a budget. The streamlined process is best for writers who have some key story elements that are already in good shape. You’ll benefit from six weeks of weekly feedback on written exercises, weekly editorial letters, plus three coaching sessions on factors that most need attention.
Investment of $1,200 - $1,600, based on genre, and 6 weeks.*
*A Blueprint is a required step before Book Proposal Development coaching of memoir and some nonfiction, including hybrid nonfiction that has narrative elements.
A Fuzzy Plan Forward
%20(2)_edited_jp.jpg)
2
Flesh out your book’s structure, clarify your audience, and more with a 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 helps 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:
-
Weekly written feedback on your developing proposal elements
-
3 weekly meetings per month via Zoom for 45 minutes
-
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
3
Overcome story cohesion challenges, faltering transformational journeys, and more using Content Revision Feedback
Have a draft manuscript or proposal that won’t gel? I offer clear guidance on the big picture level of what needs to be solid so you move forward understanding the strengths and key next steps to take your content to the next level. The in-your-corner feedback is based on reader expectations for your genre, or an agent’s expectations for the eight parts of a proposal.
Full Content Review Benefits:
Your book represents you, making it important to have professional, holistic feedback that allows for a clear understanding of what polishing steps are likely needed before self-publishing, or before pitching your MS or proposal to agents.
My feedback comes as an experienced writer and a certified book coach and editor who’s provided structural and voice/style input for an award-winning memoir and other works at two of the six publishers I’ve worked with, and structural feedback for independent authors that include two whose work got picked up by Hay House.
Who Benefits Most from Full Content Review:
Writers who have attended craft trainings, and received feedback from unbiased, experienced 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. 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 manuscript’s end.
The Manuscript Review includes:
-
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
-
Selected in-line comments in the margins that expand on overview points made in the editorial letter
-
A one-hour coaching call within a few weeks of receiving your individualized feedback
-
A call recording to refer back to for revisions
Investment: $2,500 - $5,000 for up to 80,000 words (.04c/word added over that).
The Proposal Review includes the items listed above, but a strategic 6-or-more-page editorial letter instead about what’s working, challenges in proposal sections and sample chapters, and next steps to make progress on your draft. Proposal sample chapters are a maximum of 10,000 words total.
Proposal Review Investment: $2,000 for NF or memoir.
An Agent Pitch Package is available after either content review, when seeking guidance on selecting literary agents and on developing a query letter.
Or you can test your chemistry with me before a content review by receiving Two-Chapter Feedback. This offering consists of a 2-4 page letter summarizing your chapter's strengths and next steps for improvement.
Investment: From $480 for an editorial letter on a minimum of 6,000 words total, to $900 for an editorial letter and in-text Voice and Style (Line) Edits of two chapters with a maximum of 10,000 words total.
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 mission-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 diverse 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:
-
Self-help, including with memoir elements, and narrative memoir that does not center on depicting extensive trauma details
-
Narrative nonfiction, including nature essays, and environmental justice journalism
-
Broad spirituality, from mindfulness, to energy healing modalities, to progressive Christianity
-
Big idea and how to books, such as on diversity topics, or sustainable gardening
-
Life science-related topics, including wildlife conservation, native landscaping, sustainable agriculture, and climate change mitigation
Fiction
-
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