Book Coaching & Ghostwriting

As a book coach (and occasional ghostwriter), I work closely with authors to help them structure and complete propulsive novels, memoirs, and nonfiction projects.

Whether you come to me with a bare-bones idea or with a completed first draft that needs some attention, you will receive supportive, helpful, actionable feedback. As anyone who has worked with me one-on-one or has been in one of my group classes will tell you, it’s a highly effective, successful, and fruitful process.

My clients have sold projects to imprints of Simon and Schuster, Double Day, Chronicle Books, and Random House and have received book reviews in The New York Times, The New Yorker, and The Washington Post.

Their essays have been published in Dorothy Parker’s Ashes, Zibby Mag, the Insider, the Washington Post, Salon, Kveller, New York Magazine, The New York Times, Today, Cosmopolitan, and Vogue.

What I offer:

  • Book Outline, & Structure

    Anyone who has worked with me one-on-one or in any of my group classes will tell you, I am obsessed with structure. Whether you want help outlining your book or support from outline to publication, I will help you identify the exact structural scaffolding your book needs to come to fruition. This outline– or plot spine– is what keeps the train on the track, what keeps the reader, reading, but it’s also what keeps you, the writer, writing.

  • First Draft Support

    Whether you have a bare-bones idea or a half-finished draft, I specialize in providing support, experienced insight, critical feedback, and organizational strategies and Zoom sessions that will help you move from page 1 to the final period (.) in your draft.

  • Critical Edits with a Literary Agent's Eye

    I can see structural holes from space, but I don’t just fix these holes for you. After 25+ years working in the publishing industry, I know what books agents love and, more importantly, hate. I will help you identify what’s missing in your draft beat-by-beat, scene-by-scene, or chapter-by-chapter. I either provide developmental edits or line edits depending on what suits the current needs of the author or project.

  • Second Draft Edits

    Struggling to address notes from your editor or book agent? It happens. Bring me your draft and their feedback, and we can work together to address their concerns without sacrificing your vision or voice.

  • Concept Reworks

    Do you have a great idea for a book proposal that isn’t selling? Let’s sit down to review the current project, any feedback you’ve received, and the ways in which you can pivot your proposal to make it more enticing to agents, editors, and marketing teams.

  • A Book — Full Stop.

    Bring me your thoughts, vision, idea, thoughts, or messy first draft. I will help you transform your vision into a well-structured, propulsive novel, hybrid memoir, non-fiction book, or book of essays. We will work together every step of the way to create the manuscript you’ve dreamed of writing for years.

INQUIRE

How I work:

  • Need feedback on a particular portion of your book proposal or novel draft? Book an hour-long session to workshop or ideate with me.

  • If you simply need help getting started, we can work together via a series of hour-long sessions on small- to midsize projects such as outlining your novel or writing a market-ready book proposal. (For more, read about how I format proposal projects.)

  • Work with me every step of the way to write a manuscript over the course of 3-12 months. We’ll start with an idea and hammer it out, word by word, scene by scene, and chapter by chapter into a finished draft.

  • I occasionally take on ghostwriting projects for authors looking to tell a page-turning story. Subject to timing and availability. Contact me to learn more.