Work with me

Do you want to write, but don’t know where to begin? Have you started stories with good ideas and loads of enthusiasm, only to find you get stuck and stop writing after a few pages or a few chapters? Maybe you have finished stories hiding on your hard drive, but need that extra nudge to get one ready to send off to a contest, agent, or publisher? Or perhaps you’re a more experienced writer considering indie publishing with questions you’d like to discuss with an indie author or recognise there are practical indie skills you need help with? Ready to look for paid assistance to take your writing further?

I’m offering a very limited number of opportunities for pre-published Christian romance or women’s fiction writers to work one-to-one with me. My strengths are story development and brainstorming. My sessions are far more intensive than most critique groups offer, and dig deeper into your story than most editors do. I love working with writers to help them develop their unique style and writing voice, and tell the stories they want to tell!

Plot development workshop

Helpful if you’re in the early stages of plotting your story and want to make sure you’re on the right track; or if you’re mid-story and feel stuck or lost, as if you’ve taken a wrong turn but you’re not sure where. If you’ve lost enthusiasm for the story you loved so much at first, this session should get it back!

It’s an intensive process, and I’ll push you to dig deep into your characters and their story. First I’ll ask you to complete the same worksheets I use when planning my own books. I’ll assess these, then we’ll do an hour long session by private messaging, where we can brainstorm any issues I see in what you’ve sent me and we can discuss the specific questions you have. We’ll cover a LOT in that hour, and you’ll have a written copy of everything we discuss to keep and refer back to. After the session, I’ll make notes of any additional suggestions I have, and send them through to you. You might leave the session with your head in a whirl, we will have discussed so much! But chances are good that after thinking it through, you’ll also be unstuck, with a clear idea of your characters’ main issues and conflicts, and the turning points of the story. We can follow up with one or two emails if needed.

Book proposal workshop

Are you teetering on the edge of submitting a query letter, synopsis, and initial chapters to a publisher or agent, but need some feedback before you do? Are you finding telling your whole story in the five or so pages of a synopsis a near-impossible challenge?

I don’t write your synopsis and query letter for you, but I can help you to put them together in a way that presents you and your story at the absolute best!

Query and synopsis critique – if you have a query and synopsis written, and want to make sure they shine, I can provide detailed written feedback on them, together with the first five pages of your manuscript. I ask you to complete a questionnaire about your story and yourself as a writer, and assess how the query and synopsis presents both. I’ll look at things like character GMC, plot progression, and the relationship arc to ensure everything you need to show off your story to an agent or editor is in the synopsis, and assess the opening pages of the story for character, pace, setting, and hooks.
Query, synopsis, and first three chapter critique – as above, but including an in-depth written evaluation of the first three chapters and a follow-up email.
Synopsis workshop – if don’t have a synopsis but need one, if you’re stuck and can’t pull the synopsis together, or if you’ve never written a synopsis before and don’t know what to include, this workshop will help you get clarity on both what a synopsis needs and the specifics to include for your story.
First chapter critique – a deep developmental evaluation of your first chapter, providing written comments on the chapter itself plus a separate report suggesting ways to strengthen character, conflict, plot, setting, pacing, point of view, and any other aspects of writing craft.

Mentoring

Patient, encouraging, and supportive individual coaching based on your needs. This might range from brainstorming story specifics, discussing a problem section of your story, getting unstuck from writer’s block, workshopping an aspect of indie publishing you want to develop skills in, considering how to target and market your stories, decoding contest judge/ editor/ agent feedback and how that applies to your ms, or whatever you need it to be.

Indie skills training / author assistant

Know you want to publish your books yourself but stuck on the practicalities? If you have a DIY attitude and want to learn how every aspect of indie publishing works, I can teach you how to take your book from edited manuscript to published book by doing almost everything yourself! (Not everything, editing and proofreading should always be outsourced, we’re just too close to our stories to do that ourselves!)

Alternatively, I can assist published and pre-published authors with all aspects of book preparation from cover design to proofreading to formatting, advice on finding beta readers, building a review team, building a mailing list, website design, and marketing.

Why choose to work with me

I offer a free first 1000 word critique OR email dialogue to discuss your writing goals, so we can decide if we’re likely to work well together before you pay anything;
I’m an experienced critiquer and qualified coach, with excellent story development and mentoring skills;
I love working with other writers to support and develop their skills;
I won’t try to make you write like me, I respect your natural voice;
I’ve indie published over twenty-five books, as well as been part of many successful boxed sets;
I’ve had books in the USA Today bestseller list three times;
I’ve submitted to Harlequin Love Inspired, including finaling and semi-finaling in their contests, and have taken books through full request and revision process there (before deciding to withdraw them and successfully indie publish instead). I’ve studied and understand their requirements;
You’ve read and enjoyed my books;
You want to work with a Christian mentor who emphasizes faith and a relationship with God in her books, without being preachy;
You write clean Christian romance and want to work with someone who loves and understands the genre;
You want to independently publish your books but don’t know where to start.

Why working with me may not be right for you

You aren’t willing to make changes to your story or don’t feel comfortable receiving criticism. I will respectfully suggest changes I feel will strengthen your story and point out what I feel isn’t working as well as it could. Possibly a lot of changes. That’s a developmental editor’s job, but I’ve been on the receiving end too, and appreciate it can be ouchy! Before considering developmental edits, pray over whether you’re ready to have your story criticised;
You write other genres besides Christian romance or women’s fiction. I don’t have the experience in other genres to give your ms the skill level it deserves, so you will do better finding an editor or author assistant who specializes in your genre;
You read one of my books and hated it!
You didn’t feel I understood your writing in our initial 1000 word critique or email discussion. Individual writers’ styles don’t always mesh well, and it’s wise to trust any concerns you have about working with a specific editor or mentor, especially before paying any money;
You’re looking for a critique partner to exchange free edits with, not a paid developmental editor/ mentor/ author assistant.

If you’re interested in finding out more, email me – autumn at autumn dot macarthur dot com and tell me a little about yourself, your writing, and what your goals are for working with me. Costs of all services vary depending on the work required, but before committing to any work with me, you’ll receive a written contract and a firm price.