Ways to Work With Me

There are two main ways we can work together to further your creative writing projects. If you’d like ongoing support to revise a single essay or story, or to develop a growing body of memoir or novel chapters, I can help you Shape Up Your Story.

If you’re interested in feedback and guidance on how to revise and improve a longer or complete manuscript that’s ready for fresh eyes, I can provide a thorough, holistic, and detailed Developmental Edit of your work.

Shape Up Your Story

You’re looking for a dedicated and insightful first reader who can elevate your work, cheer you on, and provide input that matches your vision for your writing. You work independently but a check in every now and then to talk through ideas and roadblocks would make all the difference.

You'll send your full draft for review, or submit pages regularly while you develop your work. You’ll receive supportive feedback as in-line notes or holistic comments that help you advance and finalize your writing.

Once a month, we'll meet for 45-minutes to troubleshoot current challenges, reflect on your progress, and ensure you have a workable strategy of next steps for drafting, revising, or submitting your work.

3-Month Coaching Includes:
Initial Strategy Session
Feedback on up to 10k Words per Month
45-minute Monthly 1:1 Check in

investment

Shape Up Your Story is $375 monthly for a minimum of 3-months

Developmental Editing

You may wonder, “What is a developmental edit and do I need one?” A developmental edit is the step that you know needs to be done and are too overwhelmed or bleary-eyed to do once you finally type the last sentence of your manuscript (maybe for the fifteenth time). A developmental edit is a moment to solve for creative and structural opportunities and issues that can elevate the work that you would like to see on a library shelf some day (with your name on it) and prevent you from spinning your wheels on line edits and aimless rewrites that don’t further the project.

I first read a project in its entirety and make preliminary notes about questions, major themes and patterns, and anything else that stands out to me. After it sinks in a bit, I'll go back through and develop a deeper analysis. 

I provide my feedback to you in an "editorial letter" which is generally a few pages long and hones in on different elements of a manuscript with recommendations for improvement. Depending on the nature of your project the categories could be narrative components like pacing, character, and story, or, things like themes, order, and overall structure.

In the manuscript, you will receive inline comments and questions about particular areas to improve and those that shine. These specific inline notes will often connect with broad strokes comments I make in the editorial letter.

A developmental edit does not include ghostwriting, line editing, or proofreading. It is careful recommendations and holistic analysis that will help you take your project to the finish line.

Developmental Editing Includes:
Initial Strategy Session
Editorial Letter
In-line Comments
1 Follow-up Session to Discuss Feedback

investment

Developmental editing fees are dependent on word count, timeframe, and the genre or style of the work.

Why Work With Me?

I’m a queer, multi-genre poet, essayist, and fiction writer. I have published poetry, experimental hybrid memoir, and personal essays, and I’m happy to tell you how I wrote, edit, and published anything I’ve written.

I’ve been a professional writing coach and editor since 2018 and I’ve had the honor of supporting projects ranging from Young Adult Fiction, Science Fiction, Historical Fiction, Memoir, Personal Essay, Screenwriting, Children’s Picture Books, and more.

I love helping people express the stories they long to tell and making them clear, excellent, and cohesive. I’m kind, creative, and an abstract thinker who can connect the most obscure dots, but who won’t miss a single plot hole. I can help you see the forest for trees, while tracking key details.

Client work

So Many Ways to Draw a Ghost Book by Chelsea Granger

Broken Mirror Book by Cody Sisco

Silence in the Age of Enthusiastic Consent Essay by Kat Taylor

in their own words

“Having deferred my MFA thesis defense (and actually writing it) for over a year and a half, I was in an uncertain place when I decided 2021 would be the year I'd get it done. I knew I needed to do something different, and Molly's coaching skill and encouragement were exactly what I needed to get the writing done.

Not only did she give me insightful and encouraging feedback throughout my writing process, but she also gave me tips to stay on track and organized when the work felt overwhelming. She also gave me a hardcore mock thesis defense, which more than prepared me for the real one.

She's my first writing coach and she's phenomenal. I'll be returning for my next project and all the projects after that, too!”
-Gen

“Molly is insightful about what holds us back from pursuing our creative dreams, and offers practical steps to break down these barriers. I love talking with her about the possibility for my project, and then getting her help getting into action on it!”
-Marisol

“She was calm and supportive and able to give suggestions without making me feel like I'd made mistakes. She broke down the entire process and laid out for me where I could improve and what needed to be done and it was a LIFESAVER! She made a plan for me and gave me hope.”
-Patrick

“Molly was helpful and open to my questions and ideas. She had great suggestions and resources to offer and she showed examples of what I could do to promote my work in different ways. I felt very comfortable with her, like I was having a conversation with a friend.”
-Leonora

“My experience working with Molly has been truly invaluable. After seeing me through the completion of my first personal essay and encouraging me during the unfamiliar aspects of the publication process, she has remained a constant source of support.

She routinely provided wildly useful craft and organizational tools, magical inspiration, and insightful feedback while I finished the first draft of my novel. As I embark on the revision process, I know there's no one I'd rather have in my corner.”
-Kat

"I knew I had a book that I needed to write, and I looked for a writing coach that could be my North star during the process. Molly is a dream. She keeps me accountable, cheers me on, provides only constructive feedback that advances my skills. My writing has improved and she's always raising the bar so each chapter just gets better. With two kids and my own business to manage, I don't think I could have done it without her!"
- Laura

"I've so enjoyed working with Molly as a writing coach extraordinaire! She's been wonderful for my sensitive writing soul in encouraging me to just be my own authentic voice and follow the vision.  I had been stuck in my novel and with some genius suggestions on where and when to use backstory, I was suddenly back in the game after a whole year hiatus.”  
- Shelley

Want to learn more and connect about your writing?