Want to improve your fiction? I can help! Not editing, though I’m happy to work as an editor if that’s just what you need, but rather than just work on one project together, I want to work on your writing as a whole.

What I Do

I work on big picture matters — plot, story, character, theme, tone, voice. I want an interesting character in an interesting world with an interesting problem. What I want in someone I’m want to help is a writer who has come to the realization that what they are doing right now may be good, but it can be better. I’ve noticed in all the critiques I’ve done that by the time a story gets past the third or fourth draft, the author can be exhausted by it, and being told that the story needs a rewrite will mean that they will never touch it again. Any advice given is going to be for the next book for them to keep track of as they’re writing, but the book, as it was presented, was in its final form.

And that’s perfectly all right. That’s why a writing coach is not an editor. The coach will work with you, not the piece, to get you from getting to that point where you feel exhausted at ever touching a story again or keep starting new projects without ever finishing something.

If you think what you’re doing is great and just needs cosmetic changes, there are lots of people who can help you. I can help you, if we go into the agreement with the understanding that you do not want to change what is on the page, but you just want it to have better posture. What I’m really looking for are people who have gotten to the point where peer edits and writing groups present more problems than answers and are really ready to move to the next level of their craft. I can’t promise you a New York publisher for your next book, but I will promise that you will see your story and writing a whole new way.

What I Charge

I will typically charge $60 for a critique of your first three chapters,. I won’t hold you to a strict word count, but for planning purposes, I consider the average length of a chapter to be about 3,500 words. I accept payment by Paypal.

Qualifications

I’m a former teacher and trainer who’s been involved in the Alberta writers’ community and multiple writers’ and critique groups since 1998. I’ve been a high school teacher, taught adult ESL, and done corporate training. I like teaching–lately I’ve taught bread-baking workshops and done interpretative talks and storytelling about Japanese folklore and urban legends–but my real love is writing. And talking about writing. And teaching writing. And… actually writing.

Through my years of writers’ groups and online critique groups, and some freelance volunteer editing, I’ve probably done more than three hundred hundred critiques. I love helping people learn and get better, and working with writers one on one.

Want to know more or inquire about my availability? Email me at at barbara_geiger@icloud.com.