book editing & coaching PACKAGES
I enjoy performing a wide variety of book coaching and editing services. Below, you will find descriptions of packages of some of these services and their accompanying fees. If you don’t see the service you require listed, please contact me for a no-obligation quote of my availability and fee.
Please visit my Testimonials page to see what some former clients have said about my work. And get in touch with me through my Contact page if you’d like me to supply you with contact information so you may speak to a past client. I believe word-of-mouth is the most accurate form of advertising.
FULL Manuscript Evaluation package: $1,500
One of my favorite freelance writing jobs is helping an author like you craft your work of fiction or memoir by thoroughly reviewing your manuscript (MS) and providing you with a professional evaluation.
For this service, after an introductory phone/Zoom meeting, I carefully read your entire MS, evaluating both its structure (chapter structure, narrative arc, length, etc.) and content (character arc, narrative drive, satisfying ending, etc.). I provide in-text notes for your MS and write a summary letter that includes detailed lists of your manuscript’s strengths and weaknesses, and recommends steps to take to improve your work. We then meet by phone or Zoom to discuss the MS, notes, and letter. For this service, after an introductory phone/Zoom meeting, I carefully read your entire MS, evaluating both its structure (chapter structure, narrative arc, length, etc.) and content (character arc, narrative drive, satisfying ending, etc.). I provide in-text notes for your MS and write a summary letter that includes detailed lists of your manuscript’s strengths and weaknesses, and recommends steps to take to improve your work. We then meet by phone or Zoom to discuss the MS, notes, and letter. By the time we are finished, you will understand your story’s strengths and weaknesses and know the next steps you need to take on your road to publication.
A Full Manuscript Evaluation Package includes the following:
1-hour introductory phone/Zoom meeting
Evaluation of up to a 60,000-word manuscript. For longer manuscripts, add $250 for every additional 10,000 words.
3 weeks review time
Review of the entire MS with notes provided in the document
A summary letter evaluating the MS for structure and content, listing strengths, weaknesses, and next steps
1-hour summary phone/Zoom meeting to discuss MS and letter
If you are interested in a Full Manuscript Evaluation Package, please click below for a Client Intake Form. Submit the completed form and I will contact you to set up an introductory phone/Zoom meeting.
PARTIAL MANUSCRIPT EVALUATION PACKAGE: $500
Perhaps you are having difficulty with one particular part of your manuscript. Or perhaps you’ve written a few chapters and are wondering if they are any good. If this is the case, a partial manuscript evaluation might be just the help you need.
For this service, after an introductory phone/Zoom meeting, I carefully read up to 12,500 words of your MS, evaluate it for both structure and content, provide in-text notes, write a summary letter that includes detailed lists of your partial MS’s strengths and weaknesses, and recommend steps to take to improve your work. In short, I am performing a full MS Evaluation on a portion of your book.
Note: Since my comments and suggestions will be based only upon the portion of the book I review, once you have completed the MS, these notes may need modification to be relevant to the overall book.
A Partial Manuscript Evaluation Package includes the following:
1-hour introductory phone/Zoom meeting
Evaluation of up to 12,500 words/50 pages of your MS
2 weeks review time
Review of the partial MS with notes provided in the document
A summary letter evaluating the partial MS for structure and content, listing strengths, weaknesses, and next steps
1-hour summary phone/Zoom meeting to discuss MS and letter
If you are interested in a Partial Manuscript Evaluation Package, please click below for a Client Intake Form. Submit the completed form and I will contact you to set up an introductory phone/Zoom meeting.
BOOK CONCEPT CONSULTATION PACKAGE: $1,500
Do you have an idea for a novel, but you’re not sure it would really work? Or maybe you are unsure how to turn your idea into written pages. If so, my Book Concept Consultation Package might be just what the doctor ordered.
For this service, after an introductory phone/Zoom meeting, we begin with a Book Concept Evaluation Form that asks you wonderfully insightful questions about your book concept and helps you decide important details such as what it is about, when and where it takes place, who the hero is, what he/she wants, and so much more. You carefully complete the form and submit it to me for review. I provide you with notes on your form and write up a summary letter, evaluating your book concept, listing its strengths and weaknesses, and supplying suggestions of how to improve the concept. We then have a Zoom/phone call to discuss the questionnaire, notes, and suggestions. From there, we move into actually planning the book when we take the information from the evaluation form and apply it to a Build a Book Mini Workbook that you will submit to me for review. I again write up notes on the form plus provide a summary letter with strengths, weaknesses, and next steps, which we discuss during another phone/Zoom conversation. In the end, you will have a well-developed book concept and good information about how to proceed with your rough draft.
A Book Concept Consultation Package includes the following:
1-hour introductory phone/Zoom meeting
Book Concept Evaluation Form (completed by you)
2 weeks for review (by me)
In-document notes for evaluation form
A summary letter evaluating the book concept, listing strengths, weaknesses, and next steps
1-hour phone/Zoom meeting to discuss the notes and letter
Build a Book Mini Workbook (completed by you)
2 weeks for review (by me)
In-document notes for the focus form
A summary letter evaluating the book summary, listing strengths, weaknesses, and next steps
1-hour summary phone/Zoom meeting to discuss the notes and letter and beginning your rough draft
If you are interested in the Book Concept Consultation Package, please click below for a Client Intake Form. Submit the completed form and I will contact you to set up an introductory phone/Zoom meeting.
Note: This Book Concept Consultation Package provides you with a thorough review of your book concept and introductory guidance for writing your novel. If you feel you may need more hands-on guidance to write your book, please consider a Book Writing Package or one of my Book Coaching Packages.
BOOK WRITING PACKAGE: $2,400
Maybe you have always wanted to write a novel but you have no idea how to go about starting it and you are looking for someone to walk you through the process, step by step. If so, this is the Book Writing Package. In my ten years plus of book coaching, I have developed a Build a Book Workbook to coach my clients through the process of beginning to write a book, from developing their book concept to starting their rough draft. This workbook takes 8 weeks to complete and is broken into two main sections: motivation (2 weeks) and planning (3 parts of 2 weeks each = 6 weeks).
In the motivation section, we explore your reasons for creating the book, your expected audience, and the purposes you want the book to fulfill. We begin with an introductory phone/Zoom call where we get acquainted with each other and the project. Then you spend two weeks completing the motivation section of the workbook, which you send to me so that I may provide you with notes and a summary letter of strengths, weaknesses, and next steps that we discuss in a second phone/Zoom call.
In the planning section, we begin by looking at the book’s genre, working title, and context—how it fits in with other books of its genre. Once again, you complete this section of the workbook and send it to me for review, and we discuss notes on this section in a third phone/Zoom call. The next planning section part deals with character development: the hero, the villain, and some more minor characters. After you do these workbook sections, we will have our fourth phone/Zoom call. And then, for the final part of the book writing package, we explore your story’s timeline, cause-and-effect relationship, and plot. Your “homework” for this section includes writing two chapters of your book. Our fifth and final phone/Zoom call consists of a discussion of the book’s overall strengths, weaknesses, and the steps to take to continue with the book’s rough draft.
A Book Writing Package includes the following:
1-hour introductory phone/Zoom meeting #1
Build a Book Workbook: Motivation Section (completed by you) – 2 weeks
Review of the form (by me) with notes provided in the document
A summary letter (by me), listing strengths, weaknesses, and next steps
1-hour phone/Zoom meeting #2
Build a Book Workbook: Planning Section: Genre, Title, & Context (completed by you) – 2 weeks
Review of the form (by me) with notes provided in the document
A summary letter (by me), listing strengths, weaknesses, and next steps
1-hour phone/Zoom meeting #3
Build a Book Workbook: Planning Section: Character Development (completed by you) – 2 weeks
Review of the form (by me) with notes provided in the document
A summary letter (by me), listing strengths, weaknesses, and next steps
1-hour phone/Zoom meeting #4
Build a Book Workbook: Planning Section: Timeline, Cause & Effect, Plot (completed by you) – 2 weeks
Review of the form (by me) with notes provided in the document
A summary letter (by me), listing strengths, weaknesses, and next steps
1-hour summary phone/Zoom meeting #5
If you are interested in a Book Writing Package, please click below for a Client Intake Form. Submit the completed form and I will contact you to set up an introductory phone/Zoom meeting.
BOOK COACHING PACKAGES
You may have a great idea for a book but don’t know how to go about writing it. Or perhaps you’ve begun a novel and are stuck after drafting just a few chapters, unsure of where to go from there. Or maybe you’ve completed an entire manuscript and know it needs major revisions because it just doesn’t work. In any case, you should consider hiring me as your book coach. Together, we will devise a plan based on your individual needs and then work together to achieve those goals.
When viewed as a whole, the process of writing a book may seem daunting. However, when divided into discrete tasks, with each task building upon the previous one, crafting a book becomes not only possible but also enjoyable. And in the process, by working with me as your book coach, you will learn how to write more effectively. Throughout the process, I’ll provide accountability and review your work to keep you headed in the right direction—toward a completed manuscript.
Book Coaching Package Fees: For book coaching packages, my fee is based upon the frequency of our sessions:
• Once a week = $1,200/month
• Twice a month = $700/month
• Once a month = $400/month
Terms: Each book coaching session includes:
• Review/editing of up to 25 pages/6,000 words of the author’s work
• A 1-hour one-on-one coaching session via Zoom or phone call (author’s choice) featuring:
• A written review/critique of the author's work completed since the previous session
• A conversation about the review/critique
• A discussion of what the author will work on for the next session
If you are interested in exploring a book coaching relationship with me, please click below for a Client Intake Form. Submit the completed form and I will contact you to set up an introductory phone/Zoom meeting.
MANUSCRIPT EDITING PACKAGES
Once you’ve completed the rough draft of your manuscript, you might appreciate some assistance determining the next steps you need to take on your road to the completion of your book. That’s where my manuscript editing services are helpful. Very often, I perform these three services as a package, moving from big-picture developmental editing to mid-level copyediting to detail-oriented final editing. However, in some cases, a writer only needs one or two of these services. If you are unsure what editing work your manuscript requires, please contact me for a free consultation.
Descriptions of each of these editing services:
Developmental Editing Package: $3,000
This service involves the big-picture elements of your book such as its overall message or premise, its literary arc, its structure or organization, and its voice or tone. Do the subplots support the main plot? Are your characters interesting and believable? Is your story’s point of view clear and consistent? Is your dialogue realistic and optimized? While performing a developmental edit, I examine these—and many more—elements of your manuscript/partial manuscript, list their strengths and weaknesses, and give you helpful feedback on how to improve them and the overall manuscript. At the conclusion of my evaluation, I provide you with an annotated copy of your manuscript and a summary of my assessments and suggestions.
Developmental Editing includes the following:
1-hour introductory phone/Zoom meeting
Editing of up to a 60,000-word manuscript. For longer manuscripts, add $250 for every additional 10,000 words.
4 weeks review time
Review of the entire MS with notes provided in the document
All manuscript changes recorded using MS Word Track Changes
A summary letter evaluating the MS for structure and content, listing strengths, weaknesses, and next steps
1-hour summary phone/Zoom meeting to discuss MS and letter
Copyediting Package: $3,000
For this service, after an introductory phone/Zoom meeting, I look at the mid-level elements of your work to see if they are doing as much as they can to help you obtain your literary objectives. I begin with an examination of each chapter, then look at the paragraphs, the lines, and the individual words within that chapter, to make sure all are pulling their weight. I provide detailed notes in the document pointing out the strengths and weaknesses of the various elements of your writing and offer helpful suggestions of ways you might consider improving them. Any changes made to the manuscript are done with a light touch so that they blend perfectly with the original. I also furnish you with a recap of these edits in a separate document, a summary letter. We meet to discuss the edits in a phone/Zoom call at the completion of the process.
Copyediting includes the following:
1-hour introductory phone/Zoom meeting
Editing of up to a 60,000-word manuscript. For longer manuscripts, add $250 for every additional 10,000 words.
4 weeks review time
Review of the entire MS with notes provided in the document
All manuscript changes recorded using MS Word Track Changes
A summary letter evaluating the MS for structure and content, listing strengths, weaknesses, and next steps
1-hour summary phone/Zoom meeting to discuss MS and letter
Final Editing Package: $3,000
As the name suggests, I provide this service as the final stage of editing a manuscript for publication. After an introductory phone/Zoom meeting, I perform a final editing by checking your manuscript’s overall consistency. Is it uniformly formatted correctly? Do you maintain a consistent POV? Are your chapters numbered correctly? Does each chapter flow smoothly into the next? I also do a complete review of spelling and grammar. If you want your work to be taken seriously by an agent or publisher, it must be free of these avoidable errors, and I can help you accomplish that. Any changes made to the manuscript are done carefully so that they blend with the original. I also provide a recap of these edits in a summary letter. All edits are reviewed and discussed in a follow-up phone/Zoom call to ensure that you are satisfied with the final product.
Final Editing includes the following:
1-hour introductory phone/Zoom meeting
Editing of up to a 60,000-word manuscript. For longer manuscripts, add $250 for every additional 10,000 words.
4 weeks review time
Review of the entire MS with notes provided in the document
All manuscript changes recorded using MS Word Track Changes
A summary letter evaluating the MS for structure and content, listing strengths, weaknesses, and next steps
1-hour summary phone/Zoom meeting to discuss MS and letter
Complete Manuscript Editing Package: $8,000
This package includes all three editing services: developmental editing, copyediting, and final editing, as described above, with 4 phone/Zoom calls: an introductory phone/Zoom call and one after each phase of editing.
The Complete Manuscript Editing Package includes:
1-hour introductory phone/Zoom meeting
Editing of up to a 60,000-word manuscript. For longer manuscripts, add $750 for every additional 10,000 words.
12 weeks review time
Two 1-hour intermediary phone/Zoom meetings
Review of the entire MS with notes provided in the document
All manuscript changes recorded using MS Word Track Changes
A summary letter evaluating the MS for structure and content, listing strengths, weaknesses, and next steps
1-hour summary phone/Zoom meeting to discuss MS and letter
If you are interested in any of these editing packages, please click below for a Client Intake Form. Submit the completed form and I will contact you to set up an introductory phone/Zoom meeting.
