Story Coaching for Fiction, Non-Fiction, and Memoir

Story Coaching is a 3-step process designed to transform your early draft into a fully realized manuscript ready for final polishing, copy editing, and proofing.

Step One is an editorial assessment. This service is often separated out by other editors, but I include it as a vital part of your process. An editorial assessment is an overview of a complete draft of your story. I will read through your entire manuscript and provide big-picture, in-depth, written feedback concerning elements such as structure, characterization, consistency, voice, plot continuity, and style. The assessment will identify your story’s strengths and weaknesses.

Step Two is the interrogation. Usually, you’ll see this called “Developmental Editing,” and again it is usually charged as a separate service. The interrogation is a live (in-person or zoom), nitty-gritty, detailed, merciless examination of your story for unclaimed opportunities and unnecessary material. I will use provocative questioning to help you see your story fresh, from multiple angles, and with the precision necessary to excavate the best version of your story from your draft. You can split up your interrogation time into shorter meetings as you revise, or use it all at once.

Once you have finished a fully revised draft, we’ll move to Step Three: a second assessment, complete with written feedback, to ensure you are on a productive path toward your final draft. A final 30-minute live consult will clarify any lingering questions.

STARTING FROM SCRATCH? If you don’t have a complete draft, or even if all you have is the seed of an idea, I can help you not just build the structural skeleton but also then get meat on those bones. I offer intensive, one-on-one guidance and feedback–in person, on zoom, and/or via emailed notes–for $95/hour. Then, once you’ve got that complete first draft, we can move on to the Story Coaching process as outlined above.

Story Coaching and Dramaturgy for Plays

We will focus not on getting your play ready for publication, but rather ready for submission to theatres for consideration for potential production. Theatres do their own new play development, but they are inundated with scripts, and the closer your play is to production-ready, the more likely it will stand out.

Note: for pricing purposes, a “page” is 8.5×11, 12-pt font, 1-in margins, script formatting.

Step One is an editorial assessment. This service is often separated out by other editors, but I include it as a vital part of your process. An editorial assessment is an overview of a complete draft of your story. I will read through your entire manuscript and provide big-picture, in-depth, written feedback concerning elements such as structure, characterization, consistency, voice, plot continuity, and style. The assessment will identify your story’s strengths and weaknesses.

Step Two is the interrogation. Usually, you’ll see this called “Developmental Editing,” and again it is usually charged as a separate service. The interrogation is a live (in-person or zoom), nitty-gritty, detailed, merciless examination of your story for unclaimed opportunities and unnecessary material. I will use provocative questioning to help you see your story fresh, from multiple angles, and with the precision necessary to excavate the best version of your story from your draft. You can split up your interrogation time into shorter meetings as you revise, or use it all at once.

Once you have finished a fully revised draft, we’ll move to Step Three: a second assessment, complete with written feedback, to ensure you are on a productive path toward your final draft. A final 30-minute live consult will clarify any lingering questions.

STARTING FROM SCRATCH? If you don’t have a complete draft, or even if all you have is the seed of an idea, I can help you not just build the structural skeleton but also then get meat on those bones. I offer intensive, one-on-one guidance and feedback–in person, on zoom, and/or via emailed notes–for $95/hour. Then, once you’ve got that complete first draft, we can move on to the Story Coaching process as outlined above.

Copy Editing and Proofreading for Fiction, Non-Fiction, and Memoir

A book’s text is referred to as “copy,” thus copy editing is fine-tuning your story on a sentence level. Your story should be as close as possible to final draft before investing in copy editing. Big picture issues like characterization, plot, pacing, and voice should already be in place. The copy edit will address grammatical or punctuation errors, incorrect facts, anomalies, misspellings, inconsistencies, and glaring typos. I will aim to help you create the most readable version of your story, by ensuring your language supports your intent. We’ll pull your book together page by page and line by line.

The final step is a proofread. Think of it as the final polish before heading off to press. I’ll double-check everything, ensuring that nothing is lingering to get in the way of a reader enjoying your writing. Missing commas, misused words, layout issues, every pea underneath the mattress.

Both services are offered individually, but you can also bundle them together to get a 25% discount!

Copy Editing and Proofreading for Plays

Dramatic literature is a different beast. It’s meant to be heard and seen on a stage rather than read on a page. Because a play is stripped down to dialogue and stage directions, the process of polishing up your story for submission to theatres requires a different sort of rigor. Rather than separate copy editing and proofreading for plays, I offer an inclusive polish-read that will still focus on the nuts and bolts of your language and syntax, while also ensuring your manuscript looks professional and correct when submitted to theatre literary departments.

Formatting

If you are looking to self-publish, you need to make sure your story is formatted beautifully before uploading it to the various digital distributors. I’ve invested the resources and time to learn both Vellum and Atticus, and will ensure your story looks great on the page, whether paper or screen. You will receive a print-ready PDF and an epub that works for all digital platforms. All will be ready and primed for upload and publication. Don’t fight with a word processor. I’ll make sure your front and back matter are pristine, and ensure everything from page numbers to chapter headings are attractive and consistent.

I also offer this service for dramatic literature if you are interested in creating and publishing a beautiful paperback (and ebook!) version of your play as opposed to just an actor’s copy.

These prices apply to books that are mostly text. Image-heavy or complex books (i.e. children’s books, cookbooks, textbooks) require further negotiation as they require far more time.