Thrillers are the villain’s story, as told by the protagonist.
I coach mystery, thriller, and suspense authors from novel planning through revision and pitching.*
*And the secret to success is figuring out your villain.
Hi! I’m Sam.
I’m a book coach of all things twisty, dark, mysterious, and suspenseful, and a thriller author.
As a book coach, I coach writers who have full-length fiction manuscripts, are serious about their path to publication, and want some brutally honest and professional-level help. Although I coach and love novel planning, I focus specifically on those writers stuck in revision hell and who write MTS (mystery, thriller, and suspense), horror, and romantic suspense.
If you’ve been in revision hell (or are there now), you know what I mean. You’re overwhelmed. You’re frustrated. You don’t know how to fix this manuscript you’ve been working on for 6 months/10 years. Maybe you’ve queried some agents and received feedback like “I like your writing, but the story isn’t there yet,” and you’re wondering WTF you do now to fix it.
I’ve been in the querying trenches and came out strong on the other side, and I know well what it feels like to be in that hellish revision hole, and be starved for someone to tell you why your manuscript isn’t working.
Enter, book coaching. I went through vigorous training to become a book coach myself, both to improve my own writing, and because I LOVE this work. I want to help others avoid the same mistakes I made and provide the help I wish I’d had. I know what makes a manuscript agent-ready, what makes a good story, and how to coach other writers to get their manuscript in its best possible shape.
I am also kind, have a dark sense of humor, am brutally honest, and I promise to tell you the truth about what’s wrong.
How do I know if I need a book coach?
Every serious writer needs a book coach.
In ye olde days of publishing, editors at publishing houses would hand-hold and nurture their new writers, using in-house developmental editing to get a novel where it needed to be. Now, that’s not the case. Today, more than ever, publishers expect agents to bring them near-perfect novels, ready to sell, which means agents are looking for near-perfect novels, ready to sell. Workshops and conferences and craft advice can be helpful, but when all you’re getting are “Sorry, this isn’t for me” emails from every submission, it’s hard to tell what’s wrong and how to fix it.
That’s where a book coach comes in. It’s a burgeoning field, born out of necessity. It’s 1:1, which means every dollar you spend is focused directly on you and your words. A book coach is a professional editorial brain looking at your manuscript and brainstorming with you, in the trenches, AS YOU WRITE, which prevents you from writing 50,000 words into a corner and keeps you honest to your story vision. A book coach is a mentor whose industry knowledge and personal experience as an author (who has been there and done that) is readily available and at your disposal. All this results in a finished manuscript that will be tighter and need less revision, which saves you time. It means being able to count on hearing the truth about whether or not what you’ve written is of agent-ready quality, and if it’s not, it means having a roadmap for exactly what’s wrong/missing/great and how to go about fixing it.
I am part developmental editor, part project manager, part craft instructor, part extremely enthusiastic cheerleader, and part brutally-honest tough-love guide who expects you to work hard because she knows you can. As your coach, I work hard to dive deep into your words with you, to strengthen and tighten your plot and characters, and to help you tell the best version of your story. I am proud to say I am certified through Author Accelerator as a fiction book coach, which required vigorous training.
Coaching levels you up as a writer, and there’s nothing quite like having someone in your corner who cares about your work as much as you do. I believe that excellent story-telling can be coached, and that if you care enough to write a novel and you get stuck along the way, that’s okay. It’s normal. And I can help.
Sam is the best investment I’ve made in my writing aside from putting my butt in the chair!
Kay Larrieu, Author
[Sam’s] support and 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.
I've had lot of people read my book and offer suggestions before, from critique partners to beta readers. None helped me as much as her!
Amanda Solimando, Author | www.amandasolimando.com