I learned it the hard way, so you don't have to.
When I first started writing fiction, I thought It was enough to have a good idea. I figured I'd crank out an amazing story, and some editor in New York City would make sure I had all the commas in the right places and fix my plot holes. I was wrong. I became obsessed with learning everything there was to know about query letters, punctuation, story structure, and everything else I needed to become a published author. Now, I love helping other writers find their footing in the publishing world by improving story archs, explaining technical rules, and panning for gold in a novel to make it shine.
MY JOURNEY
HOW IT WORKS
I use your work to help you learn to be a better writer.
In preparation, I'll learn about your idea and work with you to choose the right story structure and plot your book so you hit the right beats at the right time while fleshing out characters until they feel like real people. With a sample of your writing -- or heck, even your whole novel -- I'll give in-depth explanations for every edit I make. Depending on your needs, I'll explain everything from why a comma does or does not go there to how to know when to hit which plot points. I'll work with you on eliminating novice mistakes, crafting stronger sentences, and sharpening important moments.
I'm here to help all the way to a contract.
QUERYING
It's not enough to have written and polished a manuscript. You have to get someone to read it. Whether you're seeking an agent or want to jump straight to a publisher, you'll need a great pitch line, an intriguing query letter, and a solid synopsis. Boiling your book down to it's bones is not fun, but it's necessary. I'll help you bring as much soul to your query letter and synopsis as possible while sticking to industry guidelines.
Developing
So you have an idea? Great! That's the first step. Now you need to set yourself up to write it. This starts with a conversation, which leads to plotting, rounding out characters, and scene goals, and ends in a road map to your novel. You'll also receive some helpful tools to maintain as you write.
Before You Write
-
Hook Worksheet
-
Character Development Worksheet
-
Story Structure Worksheet
-
Scene Structure Worksheet
-
Tutorial of all Worksheets
-
Beat-by-Beat Analysis
$100
1st Draft
Write your heart out. It might all pour out of you at once, or it may take a years. It helps to set realistic goals and stick to them to stay on target. You may also look for feedback in the process, and I'll be here for you. I'll coach you through roadblocks, review unplanned developments, and cheerlead you through your first draft.
While You Write
-
10 Scheduled Progress Check-Ins
-
3 Milestone Check-Ins
-
3 Brainstorm Sessions
-
3 Beat-by-Beat Reviews
-
2 3000-Word Critiques
-
1st Draft Self-Editing Checklist
$200
Evaluation
Yay! You finished your first draft! Give yourself a high five then let it sit for a couple weeks. When you're ready, reread it and use your First Draft Self-Editing Checklist to fix what you can, then send it to me. I'll read it and evaluate the flow, voice, organization, and suggest area for improvement. I'll also set you up for the next draft.
After Your Write
-
Voice & Tone Consistency
-
Character & Dialogue
-
Beat-by-Beat Critique
-
Point-by-Point Evaluation
-
5000-Word Content & Line Edits with in-depth explanation
-
2nd Draft Self-Editing Checklist
4¢ per word
BEGINNER PATH
Line Edits
You finished your 2nd draft. Or maybe it's your 8th. Either way, you're ready to have someone else look at it on a detailed level. I'll make corrections directly onto your document, without track changes, so make sure you're ready to pass it off for this step. I'll catch whatever grammar, punctuation, and spelling errors I see, but my focus will be on word choice, clean writing, and sentence structure.
Polishing
-
Clean Writing
-
Word Choice
-
Voice & Tone Consistency
-
Clarity
-
Wordiness
-
Sentence Structure
-
Sentence to Sentence Flow
-
Note any large-scale weak points
5¢ per word
Clean It Up
Now that you've applied big-picture edits and have done your first round of line edits, it's time to get tedious. From "Once upon a time" all the way to "The End" you'll need to read your manuscript again to make your writing as clean as possible. You may still need help getting a handle on grammar and punctuation rules, or you may struggle with showing versus telling. I'll critique along the way until it clicks.
Keep Learning
-
In-depth Explanation of Edits
-
Clean-Writing Tips
-
Line Edits
-
Structural Edits
-
Review & Critique
-
Voice & Tone Consistency
-
Content Edits
-
Sentence Structure
-
Dialogue & Action Tags
7¢ per word
Revisions
This is the part that might hurt. You'll need to cut some scenes, rewrite others, and figure out how to zip them up seamlessly. When the large-scale revisions are done, move onto line-by-line things like sentence structure, showing versus telling, dialogue and action tags. If you see grammar or punctuation errors, fix them too. I'll cheer you through the process and review sections as you go.
Rewriting
-
10 Scheduled Progress Check-Ins
-
3 Milestone Check-Ins
-
2 Brainstorm Sessions
-
2 3000-Word Rewrite Critiques
-
2 3000-Word Line Edits with explanation
-
Clean-Writing Checklist
$300
1st Chapter
Why not start at the beginning? The first chapter has to do a lot work. It introduces the world, the characters, and makes promises to your readers. It's also what an agent or publisher will request to consider representing your novel. I'll give you comprehensive critique with explanations and set you up with tips, tools, and techniques to apply to the rest of your manuscript.
Getting Started
-
In-Depth Explanation of Edits
-
Clean-Writing Tips
-
Line Edits
-
Structural Edits
-
Review & Critique
-
Voice & Tone Consistency
-
First Page Checklist
-
First Chapter Checklist
-
Beat-by-Beat Worksheet
-
Self-Editing Guide
7¢ per word
Writing Clean
After you've applied what you learned from the 1st chapter to more of your work, come back for round two...or three or four. With every chapter, we'll dive deeper into your story to round out characters, solve pacing problems, and fix plot holes. We'll also continue to tweak sentences, cut bad habits, and strengthen your skills.
Keep Going
-
In-Depth Explanation of Edits
-
Clean-Writing Checklist
-
Line Edits
-
Structural Edits
-
Review & Critique
-
Voice & Tone Consistency
-
Dialogue & Action Tags
-
Sentence Structure
-
Beat-by-Beat Review
-
1st Draft Self-Editing Checklist
6¢ per word
Evaluation
Yay! You finished your first draft! Give yourself a high five then let it sit for a couple weeks. When you're ready, reread it and use your First Draft Self-Editing Checklist to fix what you can, then send it to me. I'll read it and evaluate the flow, voice, organization, and suggest area for improvement. I'll also set you up for the next draft.
Almost There
-
Voice & Tone Consistency
-
Structural Edits
-
Character & Dialogue
-
Beat-by-Beat Critique
-
Point-by-Point Evaluation
-
Beta Reading Q&A
-
3000-Word Content & Line Edits with In-Depth Explanation
-
Clean-Writing Checklist
-
2nd Draft Self-Editing Checklist
3¢ per word
INTERMEDIATE PATH
Line Edits
You finished your 2nd draft. Or maybe it's your 8th. Either way, you're ready to have someone else look at it on a detailed level. I'll make corrections directly onto your document, without track changes, so make sure you're ready to pass it off for this step. I'll catch whatever grammar, punctuation, and spelling errors I see, but my focus will be on word choice, clean writing, and sentence structure.
Polishing it Up
-
Clean Writing
-
Word Choice
-
Voice & Tone Consistency
-
Clarity
-
Wordiness
-
Sentence Structure
-
Sentence to Sentence Flow
-
Note any large-scale weak points
4¢ per word
Clean It Up
Now that you've applied big-picture edits and have done your first round of line edits, it's time to get tedious. From "Once upon a time" all the way to "The End" you'll need to read your manuscript again to make your writing as clean as possible. You may still need help getting a handle on grammar and punctuation rules, or you may struggle with showing versus telling, or you just might want a sneak peak at line edits. I'll critique along the way until it clicks.
One More Step
-
In-depth Explanation of Edits
-
Clean-Writing Tips
-
Line Edits
-
Structural Edits
-
Review & Critique
-
Voice & Tone Consistency
-
Content Edits
-
Sentence Structure
-
Dialogue & Action Tags
5¢ per word
Revisions
This is the part that might hurt. You'll need to cut some scenes, rewrite others, and figure out how to zip them up seamlessly. When the large-scale revisions are done, move onto line-by-line things like sentence structure, showing versus telling, dialogue and action tags. If you see grammar or punctuation errors, fix them too. If you want me to take another at a section I'm happy to do it. I'll also set you up for the next stage of edits.
Getting Closer
-
Voice & Tone Consistency
-
Structural Edits
-
Beat-by-Beat Review
-
Up to 3,000-Word Line-Edits with In-Depth Explanation
-
Clean Writing Checklist
-
2nd Draft Self-Editing Checklist
5¢ per word
Contact
Like what you see? Get in touch to learn more.
Your 1st Chapter
Query Letter
In order to get an agent or publisher, you'll have to write a query letter. And then probably rewrite it. A few more times. I will help make sure you have everything you need and nothing that you don't.
One More Step
-
In-depth Explanation of Edits
-
Clean-Writing Tips
-
Line Edits
-
Structural Edits
-
Review & Critique
-
Voice & Tone Consistency
-
Content Edits
-
Sentence Structure
-
Dialogue & Action Tags
5¢ per word
Synopsis
This is the part that might hurt. You'll need to cut some scenes, rewrite others, and figure out how to zip them up seamlessly. When the large-scale revisions are done, move onto line-by-line things like sentence structure, showing versus telling, dialogue and action tags. If you see grammar or punctuation errors, fix them too. If you want me to take another at a section I'm happy to do it. I'll also set you up for the next stage of edits.
Getting Closer
-
Voice & Tone Consistency
-
Structural Edits
-
Beat-by-Beat Review
-
Up to 3,000-Word Line-Edits with In-Depth Explanation
-
Clean Writing Checklist
-
2nd Draft Self-Editing Checklist
5¢ per word
Sample Pages
You finished your 2nd draft. Or maybe it's your 8th. Either way, you're ready to have someone else look at it on a detailed level. I'll make corrections directly onto your document, without track changes, so make sure you're ready to pass it off for this step. I'll catch whatever grammar, punctuation, and spelling errors I see, but my focus will be on word choice, clean writing, and sentence structure.
Polishing it Up
-
Clean Writing
-
Word Choice
-
Voice & Tone Consistency
-
Clarity
-
Wordiness
-
Sentence Structure
-
Sentence to Sentence Flow
-
Note any large-scale weak points
4¢ per word