Writing Coaching and Editing

Q. If you were a customer, what do you wish you knew about your trade? Any inside secrets to share?

A. I'm assuming this is referring to writing, and getting work published. I'm not sure there are really any inside secrets as far as publishing in magazines. Duotrope is a very useful site to find where to submit to. Carefully looking through there, and all magazines that publish writers you love, going from one magazine to the next through their bios, helps you cull where to send. You really want to focus on the ones that fit what you're doing.

If you write experimental work, submitting to regular magazines is OK, but not necessarily that focused on what you're trying to accomplish. There are certain magazines that really stand out as industry standards in the field of the innovative. Those are useful. Also, those that are just plain high reputation across the board are good, if you can get in. Print is extra good, but online is becoming more accepted all along. And now, thank goodness, even print magazines are mostly accepting online submissions. It's a good time to be submitting.

A bio is helpful. A dry list of where you've been published isn't that eye catching, but listing some that you know that magazine editor's admire is good. Duotrope asks which publishers, for example, the editors admire, in their interviews, which some of the editors take advantage of.

Getting to know writers and editors on Facebook is becoming more warm and inspiring.

Writing reviews new splashes coming out from the best presses, especially before they come out, is good. If there is a press you really want to be published by, probably not good to do a bad review of one of their books.

Q. Why does your work stand out from others who do what you do?

A. I am a pleasant person who would never make you feel embarrassed about your work process. I'm honest about what needs to be done when editing your work, and coaching you in writing, but gentle about it, and have a playful sense of humor, so we have fun.

I am particularly known in the niche of Experimental Fiction Writing, with a strong understanding of the field. I also have a good understanding of esoteric subjects.

Q. What do you like most about your job?

A. I ADORE my job. I work with brilliant writers across the globe, such as Peru, Belgium, and Hong Kong, and love helping open minds to new ways of doing what they want with fiction writing.

When I teach group classes, there is a kind of spiritual bond that forms between all the students, and it seems easier for students to connect in depth online than in a physical classroom.

Working with non-fiction, whether essays or books, I very much enjoy helping a person find just the right way to communicate the message, and feel a lot of personal satisfaction from it coming together, and the self-confidence it engenders in the writer.

When ghost-writing a book on health, I was very proud to share the information I knew to the world in a way that I knew was more information than the "author" knew, and his reputation allowed a lot of people to read the book.

Q. What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?

A. I think, really, most customers find me and feel a certainty about wanting to work with me, actually. There isn't anyone doing just what I do with Experimental Fiction Writing, and some people feel a strong draw toward the spiritual, or adventurous, exploratory, or politically daring, linguistically rule breaking, structurally avant-garde, outside the box kind of fiction. They find my ideas to resonate, my understanding and support warming, my teaching methods stimulating. So, I don't actually get asked many questions, per se, about teaching.

Q. Do you have a favorite story from your work?

A. I was inspired to teach writing online by looking at someone else's website, who teaches a very specific kind of fiction. I came across her work when she judged a contest I was in, and awarded my story first place.

I didn't tell her she was my inspiration. One day, she signed up for MY class in fiction writing.

Q. What do you wish customers knew about you or your profession?

A. Well, I hope they know this is most often done for more like 70 an hour rather than 15, so they appreciate the deal they're getting.

Q. How did you decide to get in your line of work?

A. I've always loved literature from the time I was a child, when I started writing it myself. I studied a lot extra, taking summer school classes that I was the only student in, for example, got my BA, and MA, and MFA in the subject. So I have a lot of experience in what it's like to struggle with getting something across, and having a good teacher explain what works in a kind and understanding way, instead of a way that just adds to the frustration.

I like bringing my experience in the writing and literary world in to aid others, to help people get important ideas out there in non fiction, to work on my own schedule in a way that doesn't require a lot of transportation, to be my own boss. When I first taught in Universities, I realized how favored I was as a teacher when lots of people came in and sat on the floor often, as there was no more chair space, just to sit in on my class because they had heard how exciting it was. And my students' feedback generally said I was the best teacher they'd had. That continues today.

Q. What are your most common types of jobs?

A. Most commonly I teach Experimental Fiction Writing, but I have done all kinds of things.

Q. Do you do any sort of continuing education to stay up on the latest developments in your field?

A. My recent education is self taught, you could say, as I stay on top of what books are being published by the alternative presses, read the interviews, essays, and dialogues on the subject of literature and publication, connect with the authors and write reviews and literary theory and learn from how people respond. I read numerous literary magazines, see what the trends are and personal taste of the editors, learn as much as I can about the behind the scenes aspects through participating in groups.

Q. What are the latest developments in your field? Are there any exciting things coming in the next few years or decade that will change your line of business?

A. Though the recession is cutting down a lot on books being published, particularly in print, this is a great time for Experimental Fiction. A lot of great books are coming out from a list of publishers I'm familiar with, and Facebook and other social networking methods are helping people notice those books and take a personal interest in helping promote them.

As more people become comfortable with ebooks, more people will publish them, making it easier for authors to find an audience.

Q. If you have a complicated pricing system for your service, please give all the details here.

A. For writers I can work with relatively easily, such as fiction writers who are educated in literature, etc., I can charge as little as 15 an hour. This may include working on a few versions of your chapter of a novel, or a short story, etc., as we send it back and forth until it's polished, as you consider the suggestions I give, and implement those you like. For someone requiring remedial work, scholarly perfection for a style fitting into a specific journal's requirements, etc., it can go a little higher.

For someone who wants me to do more complex work, such as promoting, interviewing and seeking out publication venues, working on new chapters as I get a chance, and so forth, I can charge 70 a week, at a minimum. Please be aware, that the normal rate for this kind of work is 70 an hour. For someone who stands to get rich with the writing, I'd prefer a higher rate.

For a approximately 10 weeks one on one coaching, if you have applied, and there is an ease of working between us, 300 for what I call 400 hours, which is not necessarily to the exact minute, is my minimum. Some people will be on an intense schedule, with non fiction work that requires a lot of intense left brain checking of facts in scholarly sources, etc., which can go up a bit beyond that price.

A ten weeks class of Experimental Fiction Writing with Writers College is only 224 for 12 weeks, but this is a light load.

For studying through UCLA Extension Writing Program for 10 weeks, they charge around 750, of which a small percentage per student goes to me, and the rest to their program. They provide Blackboard, which is far preferable over what I use independently for group classes. This class is intensive, requires quite a bit of work.

Q. If you were advising someone who wanted to get into your profession, what would you suggest?

A. My profession is teaching writing. I'm 52, and have been publishing since a teenager, with great dedication. This isn't something you can jump into very easily without a lot of focus daily on publication. I publish primarily in magazines. This has the relatively instant gratification going for it. It may take several months for a magazine to get back to you. Magazines take on average around 1 percent of what they are sent, so most writers send each piece out many times. Then, there is the wait for it to be published, once it's accepted. Patience, and dedication, paying attention, with love, to what others are doing, coming up with your own angle on writing and finding your own niche in teaching would be important.