Click here for my Fairfield University College Writing course website.

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Mentoring

Publishing can often feel like (and be!) an opaque industry and this mentoring program aims to demystify some of that with concrete strategies, specific information about industry standards, expectations and protocols as well as providing feedback on student work. This one-on-one program is suited for writers ready to begin submitting essays and short stories to literary magazines, to those interested in pitching a variety of publications to build their careers and platforms and to writers who wish to begin querying agents.

In addition to feedback on their writing (both pitches/query letters and the work itself), mentees will receive resources on the differences between pitching and submitting, timing of pitches, etiquette for making initial contact and follow-up with editors or agents, and guidance on publications of all kinds–big and small, paid and unpaid, online and in-print, niche and general interest–that provide a platform for writers at various stages of their careers to share their work.

Early Morning Accountability  – ONLINE – Mondays 6am

In his book on writing, From Where You Dream, Robert Olin Butler advises forcing yourself to become a morning person. “If you arrange your life so that you can spend two hours writing–or an hour, given the exigencies of some working lives, but ideally two hours–you make that time sacrosanct at the beginning of the day.” While it might not be possible to do every day, or for two hours at a time, this class is about giving yourself an hour at the beginning of each week in which to enter the dream world of writing. We’ll start with reading a poem and a prompt each week, but students are invited to write whatever is taking their interest. We’ll end each week by coming together to hear from anyone who wants to share a few sentences from that morning’s work. But, most of all, the class will provide accountability, consistency, and community in the challenge we all face in arranging life so that we can write.

Nonfiction Book Proposal – ONLINE – Fridays 10:30am-1:30pm

Nonfiction books are often sold on proposal, meaning that agents or editors commit to a project based on key components like a detailed outline, a few sample chapters, and a marketing plan. In this workshop-based class we’ll tackle a different part of the proposal each week and students will get feedback from the class and from the instructor. It’s suggested but not required that students already have a sample chapter or two to work with. By the end of this class, students will have a complete proposal that’s been carefully considered, revised, and edited, and is ready to submit to agents or editors.

Private Tutoring:

Private tutoring for high school students including experience with college essay coaching and preparation for SAT verbal, AP Language & Composition, and AP Literature & Composition exams

Contact with questions about scheduling and rates: