Writing Lessons and Story Coaching
Ongoing, one-on-one support for fiction writers.
The five links above lead to details about coaching packages designed to help with specific needs, aims, and budgets. We can also personalize a package or build one from scratch just for you—be in touch!
Download a PDF with service and package descriptions, policies, and current pricing.
Reach out to set up a free 20-minute exploratory call, or ask questions via email.
Current coaching clients: You can book sessions here.
Download a PDF with service and package descriptions, policies, and current pricing.
Reach out to set up a free 20-minute exploratory call, or ask questions via email.
Current coaching clients: You can book sessions here.
a little more about the packages
Goals and Progress
The Accountability Buddy
This package focuses on making progress with your writing in a way that works for you! It’s for people working on a novel or other specific project.
Writing Support for the Overwhelmed and Overextended
Keep the Flame Alive
What might it be like to have a reliable, safe, interpersonal space where your creative, writing self is the main event? This package is for parents, caregivers, people dealing with chronic health issues, people whose lives feel eaten up by gender transition or other queer-in-a-hostile-world experiences, people navigating through grief, teachers, and anybody else who needs to reconnect with their voice or creative spark—to write with support but without pressure. You’re still in there, friend!
Craft Skills
Guitar Lessons but It’s Writing!
This package focuses on writing craft and practice. It’s for people who want to write more and explore their creativity, people who feel stuck and want to level up their skills and knowledge, or people working on a novel or other specific project and wanting targeted guidance.
Planning and Early Drafting
Let’s Get This Party Started!
This package focuses on helping you start writing your novel. It’s for people at the idea-generation, planning, or staring-at-a-blank-page stages, or who are stalled out or going verrry slooowly in early drafting.
Revision Process
The Revision Strategist—and Cheerleader, Too
This package focuses on revision planning and forward motion with the revision process. It’s for people who have completed a manuscript and are struggling to revise, overwhelmed or confused by feedback, or otherwise in need of a knowledgeable and encouraging guide for this next part of the journey.
The Accountability Buddy
This package focuses on making progress with your writing in a way that works for you! It’s for people working on a novel or other specific project.
Writing Support for the Overwhelmed and Overextended
Keep the Flame Alive
What might it be like to have a reliable, safe, interpersonal space where your creative, writing self is the main event? This package is for parents, caregivers, people dealing with chronic health issues, people whose lives feel eaten up by gender transition or other queer-in-a-hostile-world experiences, people navigating through grief, teachers, and anybody else who needs to reconnect with their voice or creative spark—to write with support but without pressure. You’re still in there, friend!
Craft Skills
Guitar Lessons but It’s Writing!
This package focuses on writing craft and practice. It’s for people who want to write more and explore their creativity, people who feel stuck and want to level up their skills and knowledge, or people working on a novel or other specific project and wanting targeted guidance.
Planning and Early Drafting
Let’s Get This Party Started!
This package focuses on helping you start writing your novel. It’s for people at the idea-generation, planning, or staring-at-a-blank-page stages, or who are stalled out or going verrry slooowly in early drafting.
Revision Process
The Revision Strategist—and Cheerleader, Too
This package focuses on revision planning and forward motion with the revision process. It’s for people who have completed a manuscript and are struggling to revise, overwhelmed or confused by feedback, or otherwise in need of a knowledgeable and encouraging guide for this next part of the journey.
policies and what to expect
- Getting to know each other: Unless we already know each other, we’ll start with a free 20-minute exploratory call to figure out whether I’m the right support person for you. If not, I can direct you toward ways to find somebody else (or possibly even refer you to one of my amazing colleagues)! This will happen via Zoom unless we agree to some alternative.
- Putting it in writing: If we both feel good about this, we’ll sign a contract. I’ll also ask you for a bunch of information about your writing life and coaching needs/dreams.
- Our first session together will focus on goal-setting. The idea is to work out where you are, what you’re trying to do, and what will help you do it! Every session will end with some version of goal-setting or vision of concrete next steps.
- Minimum initial payment: When we start working together, your first payment will be $300 (or more, if the first 4 weeks of services exceed that amount). That amount applies to coaching services we contract for in the coming month(s) until it is used up. You don’t have to decide exactly what those services will be ahead of time.
- After that, current clients (people who’ve have had coaching or editorial services with me within the past 3 months) can simply pay for the 4 weeks to come.
- Please note that, although clients are welcome to take time off coaching for independent work applying what we’ve discussed and/or to reduce cost over time, the $300 initial payment must be used within 6 months. The payment will not be refunded, except in the unlikely event that I cannot continue providing coaching services (in which case I will refund the unused amount).
- If you want to work together and can commit to an ongoing coaching process, but you cannot pay $300 in one go due to financial constraints, let’s talk about it. (I have certainly been there!)
- Services do not “roll over” from month to month. These coaching services are arranged in 4-week packages; use all the components during those 4 weeks. If life explodes on you, be in touch. (The $300 initial payment does roll over until used up. Further explanation, including an example of how this works, and current prices can be found in the Coaching PDF.)
- Email communication: Clients are always welcome to email me (as an accountability measure for you or to let me know what’s up), but we’ll generally discuss any issues beyond scheduling concerns during our coaching sessions.
- Cancellation: If you need to cancel a scheduled session, please let me know via email at least 48 hours in advance—longer if at all possible—so that we can reschedule. If an emergency happens, tell me as soon as possible and we’ll work together to figure something out.
- Missed sessions: If for whatever reason you do not show up at a scheduled session, I will spend that time working on an email to you based on your pre-session form (if available) and everything else I know about you and your work. The session will not be rescheduled or refunded.
- Internet failure: If our session is interrupted by tech issues, and we are able to reconnect within 5 minutes, we’ll extend the session to make up for the hiccup. If we can’t reconnect in that time, we can either reschedule the remaining session time or finish up via email.
