Coaching

I’m a firm believer that basically any writer can benefit from coaching sessions, because they are so individually tailored and all about making you into the best authorial self.

But you might specifically benefit if you are looking for any or all of the following:

tutoring on the nuts and bolts of fiction-writing or academic craft;
conceptual feedback on your work, to let you see the direction your text is heading in, and if that’s where you want it to go;
accountability check ins and external deadlines;
assistance building a writing schedule and/or personalized roadmap to manuscript completion that will work for you, both rigorously and flexibly;
empathetic support on a text that feels vulnerable, difficult, emotional, beautiful;
confidence-building conversations that help you to locate yourself within your chosen expertise, or within the field of publishing;
strategies, worksheets, prompts, and trouble-shooting for your specific project;
brainstorming sessions to get excited about and focused on your work;
problem-spot coaching, to help you assess challenges and surprises that come up in your writing;
ideation conversations, for those first stages of manuscript planning;
revision plans, to help you apply feedback from peer-review, beta-reads, or critique groups
***insert your specific need here***

If that sounds like you, I offer a variety of coaching options from which to choose.

“Working with Alex has been one of the best decisions I’ve made in my writing career. As someone who struggles with writing characters, as I prefer plot and dialogue, Alex’s strength in this area has been invaluable. I don’t know if I would have ever self-published my latest book without their guidance and expertise in narrative structure and character arcs. They clearly love what they do, and the worksheets and exercises they’ve had me complete to better understand the characters and works I’ve been writing were so deeply tailored to me. Alex really takes the time to understand my voice, my fictional world, the stories I want to tell, and what each project needs. The word “coach” could not be more applicable.”

Shaina Krevat, author Tales of Mundane Magic

Work with me »

The Light Bulb

$150/hr

If you only need an hour or two of my time to brainstorm a particular issue, work through a specific problem, or get a pep-talk and pointers from someone who has read your work and can speak to both your talents and your areas for improvement, this is the service for you.

The Lantern

$500 for four 60-minute sessions ($600 if paying through your institution)

This is the coaching package for you if you are looking for a longer-term commitment than a singular brainstorming session, but feel confident that after a month or so, with plans in hand, you can complete the work without further accountability check ins, trouble-shooting, or consulting.

The Lodestar

$1000 for ten 60-minute sessions ($1300 if paying through your institution)

The best deal, and the most hands-on, this coaching package is for folks who are really looking for someone to mentor them through a significant portion–or all–of a project. Here we not only make plans, but execute them. And you’ll have me for those writing moments that challenge you, for long-term time management needs, and as your kind, but truthful, advisor.

Please note:

All coaching sessions take place over Zoom, unless you require specific disability-related accommodations.

In advance of each session, I’m available to read 5-10 double-spaced pages of your work to facilitate our conversation, as long as they are delivered 48 hours ahead of time.

After each session, I’ll email you a written recap of our discussion with any “next steps” we agreed on.

Coaching feedback is verbally given unless we agree on specific disability-related accommodations.

That said, you can add developmental editing to your coaching package if you’re really keen to get notes/questions/feedback in the margins of the pages you send me. If so, please note that when you email me, and after I’ve had a chance to review some of your writing I will quote you an additional per word rate–to be invoiced monthly–for that service.