What services are available through Next Journey Books?

Excellent question! What I give are promises—a promise to take the journey with you, guiding you through the entire book writing process. 

I promise to ask good questions, (ones that take thought and reflection on your part) challenge problem areas you might be ignoring, and help you find your voice. 

While I make no promises, guarantees, or assurances about the outcome, I will be another set of eyes, use proven methods and tools, and be a steady presence on your journey.

Putting it bluntly, no one can, including me. The market is a constantly moving entity and hard to please.

Obviously, I cannot lay Excalibur upon your shoulder to grant you magical powers guaranteeing you’ll be the next Stephen King or J.R.R. Tolkien, or a slew of other household names. 

Maybe this year's ‘hot’ books will be mystery, romance, or horror, thereby making your Fantasy book a bit more difficult to be heard. 

Dreams are fantastic. They spur us on and keep our motivational fires burning. Does that mean I can assure you’re going to be a New York Times Best Selling Author. No.

What I can do is help you write the best book you can, whether you’re going to submit to agents, self-publish, or hybrid publish your book.

One guarantee I do give is I will bring all my experience to the table to help you write the best you possibly can.

Probably not, especially if it is a first draft. Those are never ready for immediate publication.

Even if we revise your book together, it will likely need several more reversional passes, beta reader feedback, copyediting, and proofreading, even if you’re self-publishing.

If you hope to traditionally publish, you'll need to work on your pitch and polish your first chapters. 

But, if you choose to work by my side, your manuscript will be much less likely to have fatal flaws and could read like a multiple draft manuscript. 

As with the other questions along this line, no. There are risks in any creative process. 

I promise you won’t be alone and I’ll be with you to confront the occasional overwhelming choices, to remind you and cheer on you're writing, and to brainstorm your best options based on the information we have.

Hiring a book coach is the best investment you can make as an author. As a coach, I’m with you for the long haul.

Through ongoing coaching, you’ll learn how to plan a book that will hook your readers and pull them through until the end.

Book coaching is an ongoing relationship (sometimes based on pre-determined deadlines) that include reading and commenting on pages; exercises to help focus your project on genre, audience, and market; and having regular, scheduled conversations to discuss your work.

It’s like having a cheerleader, project manager, editor, and friend by your side every step of the way as you reach your writing goals.

The right book coach can help you conquer writing challenges. It’s a way to ensure that your book is in the best shape it can be—for submission to agents and editors or for self-publishing.

A book coach is also an experienced, professional editor.

A book-coaching relationship is personal, one-to-one. Not all coaches are a fit for all writers. That’s why our relationship has to start with your free Source Call. After you complete the Intake questionnaire, we’ll chat on the phone or have a video call to talk about your goals and expectations.

If we work together, I will help you make a plan for your work with concrete deadlines, usually every two weeks. Each deadline includes a written review of your material and comments.

My focus is on developmental level feedback. Does your book work on a story level. Do your project have narrative drive and clear protagonist change?

Is your main character moving your story forward rather than reacting to it? Are there ‘logic holes’ in the pages? Are you showing rather than telling? 

Once the foundation is solid, I can help you refine your storytelling through editing—focusing mainly on pacing, rhythm, word choice, etc.

Please note that after coaching you should not expect a grammatically, or picture-perfect, manuscript. 

My feedback style is honest, not always want you want to hear, but comes with a great deal of encouragement and goofy comments. 

Throughout it all, remember I’ll ask a ton of hard questions and make you revise until it's good. It’s actually I process I love and have had repeated success with. 

Most importantly, commitment to the process is essential. 

You must be teachable. This doesn't mean you have to blindly accept everything I say. But, it does mean you'll consider my suggestions, willingly try new methods, while being professional as we go.

Having your words critiqued is hard. But you will come out of our collaboration a skilled storyteller. 

I work with new or experienced writers who want to go deep in their books and those who seek traditional, hybrid, or self-publishing.

If you're writing a book only for your grandma, I'm probably not the coach for you.