1:1 BOOK COACHING SERVICES
Writing a novel can be hellish. But it doesn’t have to be.
Coaching Services to get you out of hell
Maybe you have…
Zero words written but an epic story idea.
20K or 60K words written but you’re totally stuck.
A few chapters written because you’re a pantser who wants nothing to do with outlining but you don’t know where the story goes after the first act.
Limited time and you want a big writing push, but you’re at a loss to write about and how to start.
This is where Novel Planning & Revision Planning can help.
Novel Planning & Revision Planning
Novel Planning
A roadmap to guide your writing project from 0 to 90K words.
Revision Planning
A deep dive into your project to brainstorm twists/solutions & develop a roadmap for revision.
THE BENEFIT - NO JOKE…
Save hundreds of hours of frustration
Planning out your novel BEFORE you start writing can save you (truly) hundreds of hours of frustration.
The same frustration can be alleviated by taking the time to deconstruct your novel when you’re stuck or you know something isn’t working. Perhaps you’re missing some twists. Perhaps your character logic is broken. Perhaps you just don’t know how to finish the story.
The work of deeply knowing your characters, their goals and motivations, and what stands in their way has to happen sometime, and doing this work up front is a game-changer for both efficiency in writing and your sanity.
A good novel is one where we care about the characters
and can relate to and connect with their emotional journeys, regardless of what's happening to them in the plot.
When you can see your whole story in 20 pages (via my Story Workbook),
it’s MUCH easier to see where you went awry and fix it than it is after you’re 100,000 words in and realize that your main character hasn’t developed at all, and halfway through, the plot took a hard right turn that makes no sense.
If you're even considering working with Sam, DO IT!
She is amazing, insightful, positive, encouraging, and can find those little holes that make all the difference.
It feels like Sam really loves MY story, that she gets what I'm trying to say and thinks it's worth saying, and that she clearly wants me to succeed. It's so refreshing. It's wonderful.
Tammy Euliano, Author
When you invest, you get:
A Dedicated Roadmap: Follow an actionable roadmap as you write or revise forward, with a clear understanding of who your characters are, the point of your story, and why it all matters.
The relief of iterating, editing & fixing with ease: With feedback and a plan, your first draft will be organized and editable, as opposed to having to throw out half of it because you wrote yourself into a corner.
Structured Accountability: With me in your corner, holding you accountable we’ll break down your goals, and make an overwhelming project feel doable.
Plot Clarity & Confidence: Know what’s happening in your novel when, how your protagonist changes over time, who your villain is and what they’re up to (which will provide you with a clear understanding of where and when your twists happen) and a solid outline to follow as you write or revise forward. When you work with me, you have professional eyes looking at your words to ensure what you’re writing isn’t full of plot holes, lack of character development, or lack of suspense.
Inside Outline: Part of our work will focus on the Inside Outline, an invention of Jennie Nash, and a tool that takes your draft to the next level.
NOVEL & REVISION PLANNING
INVESTMENT
$600/deadline
*Deadlines are paid upfront, per deadline. Most clients purchase at least 3 deadlines.
Each deadline includes:
Coaching Call with Recordings: A 50-minute video call after each round of written feedback to brainstorm, solve, and get you unblocked.
Access to my Story Workbook, tailored to where you are in the process. We will go through as many deadlines as we need to, with the goal of getting you to a clear roadmap to follow as you write or revise forward.
Each deadline includes in-line feedback on your Workbook and a separate 3-5 page editorial letter. The feedback focuses on what’s working, what’s not, and why.
One-Off 1:1 Brainstorming Sessions
Both revising and writing forward are hard, and at times it can feel absolutely hellish.
I know it can be:
overwhelming (there’s so much to do!),
scary (I’ve already spent so much time on this!),
and frustrating (I’ve written myself into a corner! Again!)
I can help. Let’s get you out of hell.
One-Off Brainstorming Sessions are designed to get you unblocked, so you can write forward.
Whether you’ve gone through novel or revision planning with me, or you’re coming to me with a fresh project and we’re brainstorming a particular plot problem, my goal is to understand your vision so that I know where you want to go.
With a deep focus on motivations, logic, and why your characters are doing what they’re doing, we develop your twists and make sure they land.
1:1 coaching makes a massive difference
One-Off 1:1 Brainstorming Sessions can be booked as often as you’d like.
Each Brainstorming Session is 1:1, via Zoom, for 50-minutes. We spend the first few minutes having you download the high-level plot of your story, and then dive into brainstorming: twists, character motivation, logic, red herrings, POV choice, assumptions, and genre expectations for mystery-thriller-suspense and horror.
All sessions are recorded, so you don’t have to take notes. I send them to you afterwards so you can review them as many times as you’d like.
Subject-matter expertise for mystery-thriller-suspense (MTS) + horror. My coaching practice, and the writing retreats I run via Shadows & Secrets, focus on MTS and horror, which means I’m immersed in this world.
My superpower as a coach is brainstorming twists without ground-up rewrites. Twists, which are logical assumptions proven incorrect, only land when the reader can look back at what’s happened and see where they’ve been manipulated into making an incorrect assumption. We spend this 50-minutes focused on brainstorming solutions that work for YOUR story.
[Sam’s] support & encouragement reminded me why I started writing to begin with.
The critiques and suggestions pointed out my book's weaknesses. The calls helped me figure out exactly how to fix those in the way I wanted. I never received a critique that she didn't follow up with a suggestion on how to fix it, and as a result, I never felt lost or frustrated, only inspired.
Amanda Solimando, Author
ONE-OFF 1:1 BRAINSTORMING SESSION
INVESTMENT
$249 USD/session
Each One-Off Brainstorming Session includes:
50-minutes of 1:1 coaching time, with a focus on brainstorming solutions: We talk via Zoom for 50-minutes. I don’t do any pre-review of materials; we simply get on Zoom and brainstorm solutions for your story.
Can be booked as often as you need. Many clients use the brainstorming option as ongoing coaching support as they revise or write forward.
Less lead-time required to book. I can usually fit these into my coaching calendar with a week or two’s notice.
Sam’s insight into my manuscript has been extremely valuable.
Her balanced feedback helps me recognize what sections are effective and which could benefit from more attention. Her ability to provide thought-provoking suggestions has definitely made my writing stronger. I would highly recommend her as a book coach.
T.J. Hock, Author
Whole Manuscript Feedback: The Manuscript Evaluation
You’ve finished your mystery/thriller/suspense/horror manuscript.
You’ve revised it.
You’ve had beta readers read it.
You’ve had friends read it.
Then, maybe you started querying. And perhaps you started getting feedback like “the characters didn’t grab me as much as I wanted them to”, or “I didn’t connect with the story.”
Or, perhaps you just have this feeling that something isn’t working, and you’re stuck. You don’t know how to fix it, because you don’t know what’s wrong.
I can help.
Nothing beats an outside pair of professional eyeballs. Because my superpower is brainstorming twists without ground-up rewrites, working with me to take your dark story from good to fantastic will result in a clear-eyed look at what’s working - and why, what’s not - and why, and an intense focus on brainstorming solutions based on what you already have on the page.
Availability is typically 4-6 months in the future.
WHOLE MANUSCRIPT FEEDBACK
INVESTMENT
$2,500 USD
A WHOLE MANUSCRIPT REVIEW INCLUDES:
A complete read of your finished manuscript. I look everything from twists and red herrings, to genre expectations, to suspense and propulsive plotting, to character motivations and development, to making sure that the logic behind your villain(s) is sound and believable.
Feedback detailed in a 10+ page feedback letter. I focus on what’s working - and why, what’s not - and why, and brainstorming solutions for how to make your vision shine even more brightly. I do not do in-line comments or copy-editing, as I feel these are detrimental to the story-wide solutions and opportunities we’re after.
A 90-minute brainstorming + feedback review call. After you receive my feedback letter, we get on Zoom for 90-minutes to talk through everything, brainstorm solutions, and make sure you’re clear on your next steps. This call is recorded and sent to you afterwards, so you can watch it as many times as you’d like.
A review of agent feedback, if applicable. If you have an active revise-and-resubmit opportunity, or you have agent feedback you’re not sure how to act on, a review of this feedback and how it can be incorporated into your story is included.
A 25-minute Kickoff call. Before I start my read, we get on Zoom for 25-minutes to talk through your concerns about your manuscript.
Preparing To Pitch
Help with every aspect of your query package.
You’ve done the work, and your manuscript is agent-ready. Maybe even have a dream agent picked out. But you’re terrified, because you’ve read 100 articles warning that if you pitch and they say no, that bridge is burned.
Welcome to pitching hell. I can help.
ANOTHER TRUTH:
You get one shot
with an agent.
That’s one shot to show them what you can do and why your story should be part of the (less than) 1% that makes it through the thousands of queries they receive every year.
That means every single part of your query package needs to be as perfect as you can get it BEFORE you have your first agent pitch session and before you send out your first query (which is why I require my sign-off before I’ll work on pitch preparation.)
Even if everything is perfect, rejection is the norm.
And although it can feel personal, it’s not. It’s entirely about what the agent thinks they can sell.
I’ve been deep in the query trenches, and it’s a world full of rejection and mystery and excitement and waiting and then waiting some more.
Call me weird, but I love it. I love query letters, and synopses, and planning out live pitches. I think this work is fun.
I cannot guarantee that you’ll get an agent after working with me, but we’ll do our damnedest to get your manuscript and your pitch package in as great a shape as we can, and then I’ll be there to guide/encourage/celebrate you once responses start coming in.
I know pitching. I’ve made (all) the mistakes and learned from them.
Sam’s book coaching has been instrumental in my efforts to polish my debut novel to a level worthy of publication.
She helped me recognize the points that needed work and, most importantly, helped me improve on the stakes of the conflict, as well as my main character's arc of change through the story. My novel is a far better book because of her, and I am extremely grateful.
Stephen Mann, Author
When you invest you get…
Polishing of first 3 chapters (or first 5,000 words, whichever is longer): up to 3 rounds of revision
Synopsis and Query Development + Revision: up to 5 rounds of revision each
Elevator Pitch Development + Revision: This is your 1 sentence pitch, also known as a logline. Up to 5 rounds of revision
Optional Add-on: Personalized Agent List: A list of 30+ agents, personalized to your goals and who are looking for stories like yours. I do the research so you don’t have to.
Personalized Pitch Plan: I break down exactly what to do when, so you can proceed with confidence and know exactly what to do if someone responds.
Video Calls: An initial 25-minute Kickoff call to discuss your goals/concerns for pitching, a 50-minute call to form your personalized pitch plan and review the agent list, and 5x 25-minute calls to be used at your discretion (for query/synopsis revision, discussion of first pages, live-pitch practice, OMG an agent responded, etc.)
Call Recordings: I record all our calls and send them to you so you can review them as many times as you’d like.
STEP 3
THE PITCH PACKAGE
INVESTMENT
Starting at $1,500 USD*
*Package must be used within 12 months of kickoff call. Only available to clients with whom I’ve worked extensively with. Here’s why.
The Pitch Package is customizable to your needs. Some clients don’t need help with agent research, but do want help with live pitching. Some need five rounds of development on their query, some need three. We work together to figure out the plan you need and I develop a custom quote from there. All-in, with agent research and 5x rounds of revision, is $3,000 USD.
She provides insightful and well-considered feedback that gets to the heart of the story on the page in a supportive and helpful way. Aware of the elusive nature of the creative process, she helps writers appreciate their strengths while encouraging them to explore other areas to find the perfect balance for their story.
Lisanne Davidson, Author
