Bring Your Written Creations to Full Fruition

You: The incredible writer with the soul of an artist, brimming with creative ideas, and not quite sure how to get them all out there in written form. Maybe you’re a blogger; maybe you’re a novelist; maybe you’re trying to finish a thesis. If you want to write, I can help you.

Me: The writing coach, personal editor, and catalyst who’ll turn up the burner, light a fire under your written projects, and watch as you bring your projects to fruition.

You + Me = A writing dream team. 

You’re a writer: I know it and I believe it.

You have mountains of stories and words, messages meant to move straight from your pen to the eyes and ears of the world.

And maybe all you really need is some kind and gentle help from an experienced writer and editor to help you move your thoughts and ideas into the realm of reality.

Leann Harris, after a bit of coaching with me, wrote:

“Ever since I came across your site and read about your helping people find their “voice” I’ve realized that that’s really the biggest thing holding me back from blogging more often. I have a TON to say! But it’s been blocked in my chest below my throat. My problem is I don’t know how to approach it or how to give it voice … this really helps to hear what you wrote! Thank you!”

Whether you’re writing for the web, working on a book or larger project, or trying to pull together an academic paper, I can help.

If you have a deep desire to bring your gorgeous ideas to fruition, through the art of writing, I can help you.

If you find that you need help organizing a project, keeping it moving, identifying your main themes; if you want feedback from an actual reader who knows her stuff when it comes to the standards of professional writing in a variety of genres, then I can help.

With a M.A. degree in Creative Writing, plus over ten years of experience in professional editing, teaching and tutoring English, writing and publishing in various genres, and running and participating in writing workshops, I can offer you top-of-the line expertise and assistance with your project.

My prices are competitive and my work is comprehensive. To learn more about my experience and qualifications, click right here.

Testimonial from coaching client Susan May:

“Thank you SO MUCH for the quick and thorough feedback. It is exactly what I need. I am simultaneously more excited and more at peace about my writing projects and LIFE after reading your emails (what a bizarre combination! But really it’s true!)

 

I work with bloggers, students, poets, fiction writers, and just about everyone in between. Often, services and prices need to be tailored to you, your needs, and your project. While I do offer specific packages (descriptions are located below), my clients’ needs often fall outside the provisions of a single package. A blogger who needs a lot of copy-editing may wish to pay by the hour; a writer who needs several email coaching sessions may need to consult with me to discuss their needs so that we can agree on a fair price. However, check out the pricing on my specific packages if you need an idea of how much the service will cost you.

If you need straightforward editing services, I currently have three different coaching/editing packages available. If any of them suits your needs, that’s perfect! All descriptions are located below this form. 

Please do take the time to fill out this form and get your free email consultation if you think that I can help you.

Pricing for custom packages:

All prices are by the page, assuming a double-spaced page in 12-pt font to be approximately 300 words.

Prices for the “deep edit” and the “smooth & simple edit” reduce by 25 cents per page for your second and third edits, if you decide you want another “go ’round.”

If your project is based in web writing (such as a series of blog posts, or a review of your advertising copy, newsletter, etc.) please cut and paste your text into a word processor, double-spacing the work and using a 12-point font.

Option One: Coaching/Deep Edit

Turn the heat up (WAY up) on your writing project.

This is the package for you if …

• You’re working on a writing project (either short-term or long-term) and need extra help in organizing the work in order to develop themes and ideas.
•  You’re preparing a project for publication & you need it polished up until it pops & shines for your audience, ringing with the sound of your one & only voice.
• Your project is not publication ready, but you have a clear idea of what you want to say & why, and you need help giving your message the structure and clarity it deserves.
• You need help organizing a longer piece.
• You want detailed, objective, and constructive feedback on how to make this work as strong as possible.
• You are ready to take your writing to the next level.

What you get: A “deep edit”

I will read your piece/project closely and in detail at least twice, and will provide you with margin notes as well as a separate set of detailed, thoughtful, typewritten notes (several pages in length) that will include:

• A thoughtful and objective analysis of the piece, what I drew from it as an “outside reader,” and my ideas on how an audience may respond to your work.
• A discussion of major themes and patterns that I see in your work, and ideas as to how you might expand upon or organize these themes.
• My commentary on your tone and style: what I notice, what jumps out at me, what sounds the most authentically like you, and what I want to see you do more of.
• A variety of ideas and thoughts as to how you might organize the piece.
• Mention of any questions your work raised, places where I found myself confused or lost, or other constructive criticism.
• Suggestions as to how to make your writing “pop” and shine in all the right places.
• Constructive criticism regarding any consistent “mistakes” that you might want to clean up, grammatically or structurally.

(Click here to read a sample of the first few pages of a deep edit I did for another client).

What You Pay:

The coaching/deep edit option is priced at $4.00 per page. This is, again, negotiable, depending on the nature of your project and how far along you are in the editing process, in addition to what you can afford. If your piece is academic in nature or based on a topic with which I’m not familiar, I may charge slightly more per page. (Again, the pages should be double spaced, in a 12-point font, averaging at about 300 words per page).

Remember, when you get a second or a third deep edit from me, the price goes down each time: the second deep edit is $3.75 per page, and the third is $3.50 per page.

Works over 75 pages will cost less; prices are negotiable & will be discussed during your free consultation.

Option Two: The Smooth & Simple Edit

Clean up that work that you KNOW is already oh, so hot & spicy:

This is the package for you if you are …

• Working on a writing project and want/need some extra insight and a professional eye to help you polish things up.
• Generally sure of how you want your project organized, who your audience is, and how you wish to address them.
• Uncertain as to whether your project is the very best it can be at this point in time.
• Pretty certain that your project is organized and on track, but want to make sure that you’re really hitting home with your points.

What you get:

• I will read your project at least twice, keeping an eye out for themes and patterns, tone, style, and voice.
• I’ll return the project to you as a Word document (or Google document) with detailed margin notes (using Word’s “edit” and “track changes” functions) pointing out any places that may need more clarity, places where your voice really shines through & I want to see/read more, and my thoughts on organization, tone, and audience.
• Hints about “problem areas” (grammar-wise or structure-wise) that you may want to watch for.
• Margin notes will be specially personalized to address the specific issues on which you would like feedback.

What you pay:

The “smooth and simple edit” is priced at $3.00 per page. This is, again, negotiable, depending on the nature of your project and how far along you are in the editing process, in addition to what you can afford. If your piece is academic in nature or based on a topic with which I’m not familiar, I may charge slightly more per page. (Again, the pages should be double spaced, in a 12-point font, averaging at about 300 words per page).

Again, when you get a second or third edit from me, the price drops by 25 cents each time, making your second “smooth & simple” just $2.75 per page, and your third $2.50 per page.

Works over 75 pages will cost less; prices are negotiable & will be discussed during your free consultation.

Option Three: The Tried & True Copy Edit

This is the most basic service that I offer. Without any extra notes on style or tone, I will go through your work and clean up your grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

This is appropriate if you are not looking for a thorough and detailed critique, but simply need a set of professional, experienced, and very detail-oriented eyes to make sure that your writing reflects your intelligence and professionalism.

Copy-editing is $2.00 per page.

FAQ:

Do you work with web writers?

*********YES, I absolutely work with bloggers and other web writers.*************

In fact, most of my current clients are bloggers. Check out the brief note above about how to format your web writing so that we can determine the number of pages and a fair price–all it takes is a quick cut & paste into a word processor.

Do you ever provide coaching via Skype or phone?

While I much prefer to work with writers over email, if I’ve gone over a draft for you and you feel that you need further help or clarification, we can set up a time to talk on Skype. I charge $45 for thirty minutes over Skype. I also coach via email, with negotiable prices.

Do you provide copy-editing services without the extra coaching?

Indeed, I do! If you scroll past the descriptions of the editing packages I provide, you’ll see that I edit copy for $2 per page.

What if I have follow-up questions after I read your notes? Can you give me some extra email coaching and advice?

Yes, I will answer your follow-up questions for clarification at no extra cost. Follow-up is factored into the price of each package. However, if you find you have further questions beyond your project’s scope, and would like in-depth email coaching, we will work out a price for additional coaching.

How do you determine your prices?

I set prices based on how long it takes me to go through an average piece of work. In general, for in-depth editing, it may take me an entire afternoon to go over just 15 pages, but I still try to keep my prices fair and competitive.

How do I get in touch with you?

Just fill out the form you see above–your questions come straight to my email inbox, and I’ll get back to you in no less than one week. (Usually I’m much quicker than that, though!)