Coaching & Mentorship
Coaching Packages
Want in-depth help with your novel, short stories, memoir, or nonfiction book? Whether you are just kicking around some ideas, have a rough first draft, or are struggling with plotting, a coaching package is the ticket.
Writing a novel or short stories is complex and requires a deep understanding of scene and novel structure. It always requires mastery in writing. Thousands of novels are published each day, but few are stellar and rise above the crowd. Writers today need to be experts at storytelling, and that takes time, practice, and intense instruction.
Writing a nonfiction book can be challenging! Whether you’re working on a memoir, a self-help book, a travelogue, or any other nonfiction idea, you need to organize your creativity, know your market, and develop a great writing style and voice to engage readers. Platform is important, but without a great book, you won’t get far.
I offer coaching as a monthly subscription, allowing you to jump in and out anytime. Unlike most coaching packages, which require you to pay huge sums up front for six months to a year (and which you might find, shortly into the program, that you don’t want to continue), you can access my personal, professional help one month at a time, with no further commitment.
Having ongoing coaching as you plot and write your novel will give you accountability, inspiration, impetus, and encouragement to stay the course and get that novel finished! And if you feel you need more intimate, extensive help, consider enrolling in a mentorship!
There are two coaching packages available, depending on your needs.
Option 1
$295
/ monthly
What’s included?
- A one-hour Zoom consultation (value $150) every month (you can do full hours or choose to break up into two half-hour sessions). You can opt for a phone call instead of Zoom if you prefer (if you’re in the US).
- Up to 20 pages of material critiqued extensively each month (value $200). That can be scenes/chapters of your fiction or nonfiction manuscript, notes about your plot and/or characters, scene or chapter outline,* or anything else you want me to read and give you feedback on.
- A 20% discount on any editing or proofreading of any chapters of your book while you are enrolled in coaching (normal rate: $85/hr). Also 20% off any additional pages you want critiqued that month (I charge $10/double-spaced page for critiques). Maximum number of pages per month with this discount: 50.
*Outline pages count as 2 pages, as they are single-spaced (10 pages of outline = 20 pages of a double-spaced scene or chapter).
Option 2
$495
/ monthly
What’s included?
- Two one-hour Zoom consultations (value $300) every month (you can do full hours or choose to break up into half-hour sessions). You can opt for a phone call instead of Zoom if you prefer (if you’re in the US).
- Up to 30 pages of material critiqued extensively each month (value $300). That can be scenes/chapters of your fiction or nonfiction manuscript, notes about your plot and/or characters, scene or chapter outline,* or anything else you want me to read and give you feedback on.
- A 20% discount on any editing or proofreading of any chapters of your novel while you are enrolled in coaching (normal rate: $80/hr). Also 20% off any additional pages you want critiqued that month (I charge $10/double-spaced page for critiques). Maximum number of pages per month: 50.
*Outline pages count as 2 pages, as they are single-spaced (10 pages of outline = 20 pages of a double-spaced scene or chapter).
Writers often have a cauldron of ideas simmering, but the challenge is to turn all those great ideas into a masterpiece that is beautifully and solidly structured.
What takes place during your Zoom coaching sessions?
In your initial session, we’ll chat about where you are in your writing, what challenges and struggles you’re facing, where you might be stuck, and what you specifically want help with. You can send questions or concerns in advance of the session, or you may want to provide a synopsis (rough is fine) or general story summary or outline (no more than 2 pages).
Subsequent coaching sessions will home in on issues such as your writing style, story and scene/chapter structure, how you’re presenting and building on your premise. As I critique your scenes, we’ll focus on weak areas, how to write to genre, and ways to bring your writing to a professional level that will make both you and your readers happy.
Frequently Asked Questions about Coaching
If this describes you, then you can benefit from a coaching package!
“If you want another pair of eyes and a few nebulous comments and grammar tweaks, you might be better served by a beta reader. If you’re seeking serious review by an established editor and fiction writer in several genres, Susanne is a better bet!” ~ Joh Warfield
Mentorship Packages
I’m excited that you’re considering doing a mentorship package with me! I love brainstorming ideas and helping writers craft a solid story that will enthrall readers. I’m dedicated to helping you polish your own unique writing style to fit your target genre. There are so many nuances and factors involved in bringing a commercially viable story to fruition. I’m here to help!
If you’ve never had one-on-one help with a writing coach, you may be unsure of what’s working and what’s not. It’s difficult to see weak elements, such as sagging middles, superficial characters, unclear motivation, unhelpful scene action, stiff or unrealistic dialogue, and stagnant pacing. The best way to level-up your writing to a professional level is to invest in a mentorship. The skills and techniques you will learn that are specific to your writing will be invaluable and will help you with every future novel that you write. This is intensive vocational training at its best!
I truly believe anyone can write a terrific novel if they put in the work and are teachable. I’ve seen train-wreck novels (the plot and writing!) transformed into masterpieces that have won awards and garnered publishing contracts. There is no guarantee your novel will become a blockbuster best seller, but one thing you can be sure of: your ability as a fiction writer will improve immensely as you work toward becoming the best writer you can be. And writing novels you can absolutely be proud of!
The mentorship process is invaluable to developing a professional, responsible, and logical method to bring order to creativity.
From Idea to Outline
$600
/ monthly
From Idea to Outline is an immersive program designed to shepherd hardworking writers from concept to completed outline for their novel and identify next steps for the project as well as weak areas that need special attention.
This one-on-one mentorship is not about bringing a few general ideas for a story to the table and expecting me to come up with a viable story. You’ll need to be prepared to hammer out your plot—with assistance and suggestions—and create a solid scene outline.
Writers will best benefit by this mentorship program if they have previously written at least one draft of a novel. However, if you’ve studied novel structure to some extent and haven’t yet completed a draft, you’ll learn a lot by getting that outline done!
By the end of the 3-month program, you will have a well-crafted full novel outline that satisfyingly addresses these key elements:
- The overall plot
- The character arc
- The central conflict and rising stakes
- The theme at the heart of the story
- The cast of characters and the specific roles they play in your story
- A satisfying climax and resolution to the story
Starting with an initial consultation, we’ll discuss your story ideas, your writing experience (don’t worry if you’re a barebones beginner!), and how much you’ve gotten down on the page. We will follow-up with multiple brainstorming sessions, corralling your ideas into a basic story framework of key scenes, then moving toward a robust, complete scene outline from which you can start writing your book. This mentorship allows you to send questions, ideas, revisions of outlines via email as much as you need to keep making progress.
This mentorship includes the following:
- 2 one-hour Zoom sessions a month
- Unlimited email correspondence to kick around ideas, get unstuck on any aspect of your story, and discuss anything else you’re struggling with
- Free access to more than 15 hours of video recordings from master classes on premise and scene structure
- Free enrollment in the video courses “The 10 Key Scenes That Frame Up Your Novel” and “The 4 Foundational Pillars of Novel Structure.”
Cost is $600 US/month with a 3-month commitment. If you complete your outline before the allotted time period, you can move right into working on your opening scenes and getting feedback on your writing style and premise setup!
Once you pay for your first month, you’ll want to set up your initial Zoom consultation. Click HERE and choose the one-hour coaching option to make your appointment. Let’s get started!
From Outline to Finish Line
$600
/ monthly
This mentorship is ideal if you’ve completed an outline or just want to jump right into a mentorship to help with writing your scenes. It doesn’t matter if you have a very rough draft or have reworked multiple drafts to make your novel the best it can be. But bear in mind—if you haven’t nailed an outline, and you’re “pantsing” your way through, it’s going to be a tougher path.
This mentorship includes the following:
- 2 one-hour Zoom sessions a month
- Unlimited email correspondence to kick around ideas, get unstuck on any aspect of your story, and discuss anything else you’re struggling with
- Free access to more than 15 hours of video recordings from master classes on premise and scene structure
Cost is $600 US/month with a 3-month commitment. If you want continued help after these three months, just extend your monthly subscription (month-to-month basis) and end anytime you like.
Once you pay for your first month, you’ll want to set up your initial Zoom consultation. Click HERE and choose the one-hour coaching option to make your appointment. That will be your start date for your mentorship. Let’s get started!
What My Clients Say About My Services
Get your Free Ebook!
Subscribe to my email blasts to level up your writing and be notified of upcoming events and offers!