small-group coaching:
Writing and publishing memoir
. . .
The personal touch, in a collegial setting
Small-group coaching lies midway between personalized, one-on-one coaching, on the one hand, and a full-on class, on the other. With a small group, there’s the camaraderie of other writers, facing many of the same challenges that you are, and also plenty of personal attention.
You’re working on your first book, a memoir. But in thinking about publishing, where do you start?
This small-group coaching session (or possible multi-session) is designed to help you as a new author find your footing in the planning process. Before we meet, you’ll fill out an extensive questionnaire that will paint a portrait for me of who you are and where you are in your journey. I’ll review that information to determine where our group conversation ought to begin and where it might lead to. As part of the conversation, we’ll talk about the business of publishing, whether with a traditional press, a hybrid press (as contrasted with a services organization), or self. And we’ll also likely talk about the joys and challenges of writing about the self. Who knows? You may even find new critique partners or beta readers in the group.
If you find yourself overwhelmed by the glut of information online — some of it conflicting, some of it predatory — this tailored-to-you session could be just what you need. Come join us, for straight answers and the start of your journey.
If you’re already an old hand at publishing, this group is not for you.
Target launch date: Currently on hold.
This is a new offering, and it’s something of an experiment. I’ll be running it the first several times at no charge, just to see how things pan out. What I’ve sketched here is the starting point. My plan is to follow the conversation, allow it to develop organically. Synergy is all. Perhaps we’ll form a supportive writing and publishing group from this that continues meeting. Perhaps we’ll kick off a study/research group that meets back once or twice, then disbands. Perhaps the one meeting will be enough for everyone to return to their projects revitalized, with new ideas for how to break through their current challenges. Perhaps people will splinter off and find critique partners or accountability buddies.
As I said, it’s an experiment. Which is another reason it’ll be free. At least in this particular incarnation.
. . .
Ping me if you’re interested and I’ll send you the link to the initial questionnaire, which is designed to give me the info I need to prepare, just as I would for an individual coaching session. No commitment. You can decide whether you’re interested after you’ve gone through it. That exercise alone should help give you an idea of the character of what I’m proposing.
To protect the privacy of those attending, these discussions will not be recorded.
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Genres at a glance
Expository and narrative nonfiction
/ big ideas and explainers, creative reflection and memoir, personal essay, cultural commentary, travel. Short and long form.
Flash and short fiction
/ mystery, suspense, thriller; history and alt history; time travel; mainstream lit, up lit, women’s fiction, literary fiction.
“The desire to tell the truth haunts the serious memoirist, and so it should. But there is a step beyond the truth. For the writer, the ultimate reward of a memoir may be to produce a work in which the facts are preserved but the experience is transformed.”