At the writing stage?
Start here! 
You’re deep into your first, second or twentieth draft of a middle grade or YA genre novel and ready to come up for air. Maybe you’re stuck on a tricky scene, a goal-less villain, a flat fantasy world or a clueless mystery and you need help ploughing through. Or things are going well but you want some professional feedback on what you’ve got so far before finishing the whole manuscript and realising you’ve gone astray somewhere along the way.
Blog posts for children's and YA authors at the prep stage
Services and courses for children's and YA authors at the prep stage
Cub Report: Element-specific feedback on your opening
£150
Cub Reports are a great way to get feedback on a specific area of writing craft. They focus only on your first 10,000 words so are great for letting you know if you’re heading in the right direction or, if you already have a completed manuscript, giving you the suggestions and guidance you need to tackle revisions.
I’ll read your first 10,000 words and address only one plot element you want me to focus on. Pick from Audience, Genre, Character Goals or your own choice.
Starter Critique: an overview of your first 10,000 words
£400
The Starter Critique can point you in the right direction, exploring areas of story craft you need to work on further or plot problems that need addressing before you write the next chapter. Or perhaps you’ve already finished your manuscript but your budget doesn’t allow a critique or developmental edit on the full word count.
A partial critique will focus on the beginning of your novel and provide ideas and recommendations that you can apply to the rest of your work.
Custom coaching: Weekly feedback and support
£400 per month
With custom one-on-one coaching you can send me your pages weekly or monthly and get incremental feedback as you write. You’ll get the accountability that comes with fixed deadlines plus regular critiques and advice to stop you heading too far in the wrong direction with your story.
We’ll arrange a weekly live chat via Slack to discuss feedback and any questions or challenges you have and you can send me unlimited questions and messages any time.
Books
- Understanding Show, Don’t Tell by Janice Hardy
- The Emotion Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi
- Pixar Storytelling by Dean Movshovitz
- Feeling Like a Kid by Jerry Griswold
- Writing Scary Scenes by Rayne Hall
- Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody
- Writing Irresistible Kidlit by Mary Kole
- The Magic Words by Cheryl B. Klein
- Into the Woods by John Yorke
- Make a Scene by Jordan Rosenfeld
- Story Genius by Lisa Cron