Manuscript Consultation

Hi! If you’re seeking a consultation on a completed manuscript or a work-in-progress, I’m available for hire to help you with drafting, revising, or polishing a creative manuscript of any length, at any stage, including novels, novellas, story collections, poetry collections, or other forms. Writing a book is a wild and sometimes frustrating thing, and I want to help you with that process as much as possible.

I’ve taught at Columbia; published a novel, a novella, and a book (and several chapbooks) of poetry; and edited fiction and poetry for Gigantic (may its memory be a blessing) and Peach.

So here’s what’ll happen

• We’ll have a meeting to talk about the manuscript and your goals and what you’re looking for from me. This will be a call lasting no more than an hour.

• Once we cover the scope, I’ll follow up with a timeline for the next two events, in which:

  • I’ll do an edit around that, consisting of line edits and commentary on the manuscript to help work to guide you and the manuscript to where you want it to be. There will be questions and suggestions and I’ll work to call out the moments where things succeed completely, and to point out the parts that seem to get in the way, and suggest ideas and strategies for success.

  • After that, I’ll send a 3-6 page letter to discuss the state of the manuscript, possible strategies for moving it forward, and, if you’d like, a list of books that might help support future edits, to show how ideas you have have been used before in ways that can, again, help to move the manuscript forward.

• If needed, we can then have a follow-up call lasting no more than an hour.

Pricing!

For prose: My base rate for consultation is $.039 per word (10,000 words = $390). Please use the conveniently placed form beside this block of text for a custom quote on your particular project; make sure to include your current word count, as well as a personal assessment of the current direction and needs of your project.

For Poetry: I charge a flat fee of $250, and ask that you please keep your documents at a maximum of 80 pages. If you have questions about chapbook pricing, please let me know.