Empowering Feedback, Storytelling
Empowering Feedback, Storytelling
As a certified book coach, I empower developing authors with storytelling and publishing guidance while offering a structured approach to develop and refine your work. Having a book coach can also help with crafting the writing life you want, because getting a book to print can be draining without some strategy behind content choices and what publishing path you'll pursue (the traditional nonfiction pre-publication path appears directly below, with asterisks for my services).
Who I work with: Mission-driven, intentional-living writers, such as a sustainability expert wanting to attract a broader audience to their ideas, a self-help aficionado considering which book structure and theme to go with, or a first-time memoirist or historical fiction author wanting input on the story elements to include in a work that explores human nature or overlooked individuals in history. See genre specialties list below.
How our collaboration works: We use Zoom or similar software for meetings, and I offer a free consultation to see if we are a good fit, as well as a two-session coaching option as wanted before diving into early stage book idea and structure development, preparing a book proposal, or coaching to pitch a completed work to literary agents (more on coaching is in this FAQ). For manuscript reviews, ghosting, and more sentence-level services, I'll provide a free work estimate tailored to your project and timeline after reviewing sample content. Regarding approach, I provide straightforward, medium-touch or high-touch input. The manuscript development services are informed by acing a certificate in editing program, and being a ghostwriter of nonfiction, with a background of winning state and national feature awards.
%20(2).png)
Which Book Coaching Package Fits Your Needs?
Blueprint & Outline Coaching
Consider investing in the following offering from a book coach certified by Author Accelerator, whether you are deciding between book ideas, clarifying the outline and more for the book idea you've chosen, or seeking a way forward with elements of a completed manuscript:
The Blueprint for book planning — We work back and forth for 2-3 months to solidify your book’s outline and foundational elements using the Blueprint framework, an Author Accelerator-designed tool. More than a dozen factors are considered to develop your book's road map, such as clarifying the genre, theme/main point, and narrative arc. You get oral and written feedback on your exercises to define these key factors for readers to connect with your work. See details by genre below.
Or consider a two-session Mini Blueprint for basic input on foundational elements of your work, and to get a sense of my coaching style and your content development process ahead.
Mini Blueprint
To capture your book idea and get early feedback on it with the Mini Blueprint, you’ll complete a one-page summary of a dozen-plus book-related elements (using an Author Accelerator-designed tool focused on nonfiction, fiction, or memoir particulars), and return that before our first session. At that 60-minute session, we’ll discuss your work’s theme, your writing goals, and factors such as who your ideal reader is. A 45-minute follow-up session within two weeks will cover remaining Mini Blueprint questions. Investment: $199.
Blueprint by Genre
For self-help and other NF: Work with me to refine your table of contents and define the reader’s arc of change and more, based on your submissions over 2-3 months. The feedback includes weekly in-text comments and an editorial letter, and four 30-minute coaching calls after key submissions. Investment: $1,800.
For memoir: Write your opening and closing scene and get feedback on the audience, ideal reader, your arc of change and more. Feedback includes weekly in-text comments and an editorial letter, and four 45-minute coaching calls after key submissions. Investment: $2,200.
For historical fiction: Write your opening scene and get feedback on the theme, audience, genre specifics, etc. Involves 4 submissions by you and four rounds of feedback over 2-3 months. The feedback consists of includes weekly in-text comments and editorial letter, and four 30-minute coaching calls after key submissions. Investment: $1,800.
*A Blueprint is required before Book Proposal Development coaching of memoir and some nonfiction, such as hybrid nonfiction that includes narrative elements.
Book Proposal Development
A Book Proposal is essential to pitch nonfiction to traditional publishers, and memoirists also benefit from having this ready for the traditional route -- and for the approach's emphasis on thinking through key elements to include in the work, the ideal audience and other particulars so your work advances smoothly.
I spent more than a decade assisting faculty at universities showcase their work in print. That public relations training included developing hundreds of press releases using the kind of succinct, compelling language that is essential in a proposal.
Book Proposal Development — Drawing on my big picture strengths, while we work back and forth over 3 months on this essential tool for traditional publisher consideration of nonfiction (and memoir*). The process easily builds on what was learned about your vision from the Blueprint, and covers the eight elements of a standard proposal, as well as starting to draft two chapters. 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 five other elements of a proposal that can bring representation by literary agents, or direct interest from a press. With the Proposal Development package, 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; a second month focuses on refining the overview, drafting selected sample chapters, and developing the book’s outline and marketing plan; and a third month, on refining in-progress proposal elements, potential sample chapter refinement, and next step discussions.
Investment for nonfiction: $1,300 per month for three months, or $3,900 total. Proposal development package can be extended with additional coaching packages of 5 sessions or more, as needed. A Pitch Package (covered at the link below) is among the polishing services available as a follow-up to proposal clients seeking guidance on selecting literary agents and developing a query letter.
Investment for memoirists who previously developed a Blueprint with me: $1,530 per month for three months, or $4,590 total. Memoirists might also consider the Manuscript Review service in the right column, as interested agents want to evaluate their completed memoir too, and Line Editing for voice and style, covered at the link below.
Coaching Hours are available as a package to complete Book Proposal elements. Investment: $650 for 10-hour blocks.
Content Revision Coaching
A successful manuscript has many moving parts, making clarity and reader engagement challenging. My manuscript and book proposal reviews draw on experiences as a certified editor who has provided an eagle eye on all stages of content development for self-published authors and six publishers. I highlight the strengths and areas where you could focus more energy, providing actionable next steps to improve a completed or near-complete manuscript.
Ghostwriting of nonfiction manuscripts also available for select topics (see Genre Specialties list below this services recap section, and Polishing Details link for ghosting details).
Manuscript Review — I assess your nonfiction manuscript, historical novel, or memoir for strengths and areas to consider elevating. The emphasis is on factors such as pacing, whether tangible and emotional elements further the narrative drive, and whether the reader receives the needed reward at book’s end. With the Manuscript Review, you’ll receive:
-
An onboarding Q&A to share your goals and insights about your work in a 45-min. call
-
A strategic 5-or-more-page editorial letter about what’s working, where you could focus more energy, and actionable next steps on big picture elements for you to make the most progress on completing your next draft
-
In-line comments on your first two chapters (or first 24 pages)
-
A one-hour coaching call
-
A recording of the coaching call to refer back to as you write forward
Investment: $2,400 for manuscripts up to 80,000 words (.04c/word added over that).
Proposal Review -- I assess your nonfiction book proposal or memoir proposal for strengths and big and small areas to consider elevating. The Proposal Review focuses on factors such as ensuring the overview highlights the book's theme and structure appropriately, and strengthening elements of your author's bio and marketing plan. With the Proposal Review, you'll receive:
-
An onboarding Q&A to share your goals and insights about your work.
-
A full read of your proposal, including up to 2 sample chapters (of a maximum of 40 pages).
-
A strategic 6-or-more-page editorial letter about what’s working, challenges in the core elements and sample chapters, and actionable next steps on big picture elements for you to make the most progress on completing your draft.
-
A one-hour coaching call to answer questions on feedback or next steps.
-
A recording of the coaching call to refer back to as you revise the proposal.
Investment: $2,000 for nonfiction or memoir. Agent Pitch Package is available as a follow-up to Proposal Review clients seeking guidance on selecting literary agents and developing a query letter (click link below for details on that, and line editing for voice and style).
Genre Specialties
Nonfiction
-
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 characters, including within marginalized communities; not focused on works that are primarily romance, fantasy, sci fi, horror, mystery, or domestic or other thrillers