manuscript consulting & book coaching
When I can, I like to work with clients on manuscript consults or book coaching services. What are those things? More below.
Manuscript consulting: Over the span of about a month, I’ll look closely at your work-in-progress with an eye on two things: what your primary concern is with the manuscript draft, and my sense of what you need to do to finally finish it. After that, you’ll get a feedback letter and revision syllabus (3-6 pp.) that covers the larger issues in the work, an in-depth craft diagnostic (2-4 pp.) analyzing trends in the work, and we’ll have a one hour meeting on Zoom to discuss all of it (or in person if you live in Pittsburgh). Manuscript consulting is usually best for writers who have finished a full draft of a book manuscript and need holistic input about where to go next.
I’m currently accepting clients for… book-length memoir.
Book coaching: For this service, we’ll discuss what you feel are the current needs for your work-in-progress, and how I can help you work through them. From there, we’ll set a regular meeting schedule and goals, with an eye on moving the writing closer to where you’d like it to be. Book coaching is usually best for writers who are in the thick of drafting or revising a full-length manuscript, and need help with targeted issues like structure, characterization, momentum, etc.
I’m currently … not accepting book coaching clients.
If you’re interested in any current services, fill out the form below. If the project and schedule works, I’ll get back to you with more details about rates, scheduling, all the fun stuff.
For announcements about future services, please follow my Instagram feed.
“Mike gives incredibly smart editorial feedback, and excels at delivering that feedback with wit and grace. He has a gift for seeing right to the heart of a book.”
Alex Marzano-Lesnevich, author, The Fact of a Body
“Mike offers the rarest combination—craft knowledge both deep and broad, the instructional skills to convey that expertise in a customized way to the work of another writer, and a warm, generous approach to others' stories. Armed with his astute (yet charitable) feedback, I was finally eager to dive back into revision. Months later I still regularly consult his notes, which seem (inexplicably!) to offer new insight every time.
I've worked with a lot of editors over my writing career, and I wish Mike had been, well, all of them.”
Lindsey Deloach Jones, former client
“Mike was able to see ways to improve my manuscript’s structure that I wasn’t able to see myself. He was enthusiastic about the work and gave me a vision for the structure that allowed me to more closely approach my book’s potential. He was also a joy to work with and very knowledgeable—many of his lessons I use still.”
Jason Prokowiew, former client and author of the forthcoming memoir War Boys