Pick my brain!

If you have a particular plot point to wrangle, want some feedback on a section (up to 5,000 words of your novel), or need a second opinion on any element of your work, this one-off mentoring session could be for you.

Cost is £108 (£90 plus VAT), including a read of up to 5,000 words.  

Slots are available Monday—Thursday, 10am-4pm, or by arrangements at evenings and weekends. I’ll always do my best to work around your requirements, be they childcare, work, or timezone!

Please contact me to book.

Submission Package Review

There’s a lot of advice around about how to prepare your submission/query package.

Most of it’s good.

It can also be overwhelming.

If you try to follow it all, your brain might explode. Or (perhaps more likely) you can do everything right, but end up with something that doesn’t do you or your work justice.  

I will read your first 5-6,000 words, your synopsis and your cover letter. I’ll send you notes and edits. And we’ll then have a call to discuss your submission, my suggestions, and your strategy.

This service costs £198 (£165 + VAT).

Mentoring

Support. Expertise. Accountability.

Whether you have the beginnings of an idea, or five versions of the same manuscript; whether you are suddenly stuck, or feel as though you keep running into the same wall; if you know your manuscript could be better, but you don’t know how to get it into shape:

it could be that mentoring is the right approach for you.

I’ll make sure I understand what you want to achieve, and then I’ll support, challenge and advise you as we work together to get you to your goal.

Slots are available Monday—Thursday, 10am-4pm, or by arrangements at evenings and weekends. I’ll always do my best to work around your requirements, be they childcare, work, or timezone!

An initial 12 sessions, spread over up to a year, cost £1,140 (£950+VAT).

If you have a Read & Report, Developmental Edit or Line Edit, you can add 3 mentoring sessions, spread over up to 6 months, to get your manuscript to a place where you feel it’s ready for the world. The cost is £300 (£250+VAT).

Read and Report  

Do you want someone with fresh eyes and writing expertise to read your manuscript and give you an honest assessment of what’s working, what isn’t, and what you could do next? Then R&R could be just the thing.

This is especially useful for a draft you aren’t sure if you’ve finished, might have almost-finished, or have got to the end of, but it’s somehow… not there.

I’ll read your manuscript, and write a reader commentary and a report on it. We’ll then have a call to discuss and thrash out ideas for your next draft.

The cost for a report, reading commentary and Zoom call is £18.00 (£15.00+VAT) per 1000 words. I can look at partial manuscripts from 5,000 words up.

Add three mentoring sessions to support your next draft for £300 (£250+VAT).

Developmental Edit

Maybe you’ve finished a draft and can’t see how to make it better.

Maybe you’ve had conflicting feedback and you don’t know which advice to take.

Maybe you’ve been working on your novel for so long that you can’t see the wood for the trees.

A developmental edit might be what you need to move you on.

I will read your manuscript and prepare an in-depth report covering all major aspects of your work. I’ll also comment on key moments through the manuscript so you can see what’s working and what isn’t. As I work I’ll prepare a separate commentary to give you insight into what the reader might be thinking as they read. We will also have a phone or Zoom call to clarify, discuss, and help you to make a plan.

The cost of a developmental edit, including annotated manuscript, in-depth report, reading commentary and Zoom call, is £21 (£17.50+VAT) per 1,000 words. I can look at partial manuscripts fron 5,000 words up.

Add three mentoring sessions to support your next draft for £300 (£250+VAT).

Line Edit

A line edit is, essentially, the process of going through the weeds of a manuscript.

I will read your work and comment on Every. Damn. Thing. I’ll point out plot inconsistencies, tell you how characters are coming across, flag up places when the reader might be confused or delighted or a tiny bit bored. I’ll question the inclusion of scenes that aren’t doing enough work and encourage you to expand in other places. I’ll also include a separate commentary noting what the reader might be thinking as they read. And we’ll have a phone or Zoom call to discuss the edit.

A line edit on your manuscript will make you feel much more clear-sighted about the work you need to do. You should feel confident about your strengths as a writer and have a roadmap for your next draft.

A line edit costs £24 (£20+VAT) per 1,000 words. I can look at partial manuscripts from 5000 words up.

Add three mentoring sessions to support your next draft for £300 (£250+VAT).