Overview of Services
Ghostwriting & Book-Doctoring
Maybe writing isn’t your thing, or maybe you don’t have the extra hours it takes to engage in time-consuming edits. Working as a ghostwriter or book doctor, I begin with raw materials—rough drafts, social media posts, or primary documents—as well as a series of interviews that I’ll conduct with you. Drawing from these, I’ll craft a narrative that reflects your vision and your voice. Please note that these services are quite pricey, and are usually engaged through agents or publishers as a part of a book deal or potential book deal.
Book Proposal Coaching
Book proposals are their own genre—and a difficult one at that. Part style, part substance and part sales, they must work on many levels at once to represent a complex whole in a confined space. I’ve written and collaborated on several book proposals, including those that sold for six- or seven figures, and I can assist with the development of a whole book proposal, or specific components: a full chapter outline, an overview, or sample chapters.
Coaching & Consultations
I think of coaching work as a continuation of my work as a teacher—work that I hope will always be in my life. In this role, I’ll look at your writing with attention to your goals for your next draft or how you’d like to position it in the market, consider the best next steps to help you get there, and have a conversation with you about it. This could be a one-off session or a package of calls responding to multiple drafts or a particular need.
On Collaboration
I come to the work of collaboration as both a teacher and a writer, and so I know how to guide and I also know the experience of being guided. I know how much of our hearts we put on the page when we write. I know that a collaborator needs to treat the writing with respect as she works with the author to bring it to the next level, and so I work to encourage growth in the writing while staying true to the author’s voice and intentions.
I bring my skills as a narrative nonfiction writer to all of my collaborations. My essays have appeared in The Believer, Harper's Magazine, McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern, and in the anthology Pittsburgh Live/Ability, and my work has been recognized by Longreads, Longform, and Best American Essays. My book, The Invention of Miracles: Language, Power, and Alexander Graham Bell’s Quest to End Deafness, blends memoir, historical narrative, and an extended argument for disability justice. It was reviewed on the front cover of the New York Times Book Review, was named a NYT Editors’ Choice book, and was a finalist for several prestigious prizes.
To ghostwriting and collaborative work, I also bring my skills as a researcher and journalist. I’ve received research fellowships from both the Massachusetts Historical Society and the Library of Congress, and I excel in taking raw material—whether rough drafts, interview material, blog posts, or news coverage—and shaping it into a compelling narrative or argument.
As a person who was raised in a family of inter-generational deafness, I am committed to using my skills to forward disability justice movements, and I also have a broad interest in history, science, education, the arts, and social justice, as well as a commitment to working with storytellers and thinkers from groups underrepresented in their field.
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Photos by LeeAnn K Photography