In a 2002 New York Times article, author Joseph Epstein discouraged the 81 percent of Americans who said they have a book in them from writing one. “Save the typing, save the trees, save the high tax on your own vanity,” he said. “Don't write that book, my advice is, don't even think about it. Keep it inside you, where it belongs.”

Epstein didn’t understand the importance of story as legacy. Story as medicine. Story as a way of finding meaning. He didn’t understand that some people write a book for an audience of one and that others are simply unable to rest until they produce the book they feel called to write. Epstein couldn’t imagine writers who didn’t aspire to make it onto bestseller lists, writers who simply want to be remembered, to heal, or to help others.

After my little brother Tom was diagnosed with and treated for cancer in his early forties, he started writing personal essays. As his stories accumulated, he began to dream of seeing them collected in a book. He didn’t have the skills, experience, or stamina to make that happen, but I did.

Tom lived with cancer for 14 years. He died hours after the publication of his memoir Stupid Things Papa Did When He Was Younger. The book contained incredibly funny and entertaining cautionary tales, all of which he used to tell his little boy at bedtime.

Tom didn’t have the time to wait for a publisher to choose him. Fortunately, he didn’t have to. Thanks to eBooks and print-on-demand, I was able to publish Kindle and paperback editions that rival those of major publishing houses in quality and appearance. And because I published it, it’ll stay in print for as long as I live.

What’s your story?

Like Tom, you don’t have to wait for a publisher to choose you. If you have a book in you, I can help you publish it by:

  • Meeting with you regularly to help you reach your milestones

  • Editing what you’ve written

  • Coming up with cover designs

  • Formatting and publishing a Kindle edition

  • Formatting and publishing a trade paperback edition

cost

Rates for my services depend on your writing skill, the complexity of your project, and how much you’re able to do on your own.

I offer services at two price points, and you’ll likely need them both:

  • One-on-one coaching

  • Production, which can include editing, writing, research, formatting, designing, and publishing (production is usually about half the price of coaching)

Every book is different, but for every hour of coaching, count on at least three or four hours of production.

Literary midwifery

My involvement in midwifing published works into existence has included:

  • Ghost-writing How to Want Sex Again, a book for women about using EFT (tapping) to overcome issues that prevent them from enjoying a healthy sex life

  • Coaching the author of Chillpreneur as she planned and wrote a book for Hay House that encourages women to embrace entrepreneurship on their own terms

  • Editing, designing, formatting, and publishing my brother’s book

  • Creating, orchestrating the production of, and publishing the Mixed Emotions card deck, which helps people put their feelings into words and then use that information to make decisions, resolve conflicts, and more

Chillpreneur, How to want sex again, and Mixed emotions.jpg

In addition, I’ve:

  • Completed a one-year certification program in poetry at the University of Washington

  • Participated in Self as Source with Christina Baldwin, where I had one of the biggest “aha moments” of my life

  • Journaled and blogged as a way of finding clarity and meaning