Step away from the chaos into organized, sustainable, enjoyable book writing.
If you cringe whenever someone asks you...
“So, what’s your book about?
When can I read it?”
...but it feels like that answer might be "never" because your ideas are all over the place, you can't clarify your message, and writer's block is your constant companion, you're in the right place.
We both know you’re creative, you know your stuff, and you’ve got something to say to the world.
And if I took a look at your bookcase, I’d probably find shelves of V.E. Schwabb, Michael Pollan, Paulo Coelho, Jane Austen, Siddhartha Mukherjee, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Beatrix Potter, Ken Follett, Eckhart Tolle, Isabel Wilkerson, Margaret Atwood, J.K. Rowling, Brené Brown, James Patterson, William Shakespeare, George R. R. Martin, Nora Roberts, Zadie Smith, Sonia Shah, or dozens of the other extraordinary authors who’ve come before.
Because people who want to write books usually love reading them. And you’ve got a long history of reading to guide your plans for your book.
For this book of yours that’s going to break barriers, change lives, and engage readers.
And why is it all of these authors can create such magical worlds or share such fascinating ideas in such relatable and persuasive ways… and yet, when you try to write your book, something’s missing?
The words just don’t flow and you’re wondering if you’re up for this challenge after all.
Friend, let’s change that…
Imagine next time you walk into your favorite bookstore, you see your name on the shelves.
Crazy Deep Knowledge
— Amanda Fletcher, Writer
If any of these sound familiar,
raise your pen.
- You need help taking all your messy, frankly a little disorganized ideas and creating a sensical, structured roadmap to write from.
- You're tired of how long it's taking, and you're ready to get your book written this year, not 5 years from now.
- You know that if you had accountability, and someone to work through the tricky parts with, you could really do this.
- Even though writing this book means so much to you, you're overwhelmed by life's obstacles, writer's block, and procrastination.
- You want professional feedback and guidance from someone who's been there, worked in publishing, and helped other writers do what you want to do.
- You're afraid to even make a move because what if you do it wrong?
Wouldn't it be nice to share your vision with someone who can help you shape your book idea into your masterpiece, without judgment?
Highly Recommended!
“I worked with Holly to publish my book, The Long Shadows: The Story of Jake Erlich, and then we worked together on my author platform. I’d highly recommend working with Holly for your author needs.”
— Dr. Andy Erlich, Author of The Long Shadows: The Story of Jake Erlich
How amazing will it feel to finally have your book out in the world & loved by readers?
To discover someone 3 time zones away has chosen it for their bookclub?
A lot of writers (new and old!) really struggle with getting the story they want to tell down on paper.
Nevermind having to go out and promote it… because they’re authors, not marketers and sales people.
Being an author ain’t always easy.
Your frustration is REAL and VALID.
Even if you know writing and story structure like you know your own hand; even if you’ve studied plot development, taken dozens of writing classes on memoir-writing, and are in a writing group with Stephen King. Some writers have even given up completely on their books because they didn’t think they could do it.
But you aren’t going to be one of those writers.
Opening the front cover... your heart stutters as you take a look at the copyright page and see your name there.
Go from a half-finished, messy Scrivener file to THAT.
6 months from now, let this be you:
- Completed the first draft of your book or your book proposal* (as long as you commit to and follow through on our plan)
- Understood whether your project is “to market” and how to position it to best sell
- Grown as a writer, feel confident in your work and feel ready to put yourself, and your work, out in the world
- Achieved confidence in your work, knowing that anytime someone asks you if your book is out, you can proudly say, “Yes, and here’s the link where you can check it out!”
- Clarified your voice, message, themes, and plot to truly resonate with your ideal readers
- Created and honed your own personal writing routine, that is designed for you and works for you
- Learned to consistently achieve the weekly writing word counts that feel good to you
- Developed a strong and inalienable sense of when to write, how to write, and when to stop so you never feel burnt out by writing again
- Have benefitted from continuous feedback on your writing so that you know that the words you’re putting out are good, and have tools and tricks to strengthen your writing going forward
- Ready to get a manuscript assessment or developmental from a top editor and feel confident that your required revisions will be significantly less than had you done it on your own
- Developed a plan to publish or pitch your book to agents, with personalized templates for blurbs and pitches
- Visualized a path towards making your writing your career
The Alchemy Framework
1. Chaos
When we first start working together, we’ll focus on eliminating the chaos that could (or has already) block your writing flow. Think: creating the physical, temporal, and mental space you need for writing your book.
But that’s just the beginning.
On our very first call together, we’ll audit where you are, create a roadmap for where you want to go, and you’ll leave with an actionable, easy-to-follow gameplan for writing your book that will take all the stress and overwhelm out of the process, leaving you to just write breathtaking, page-turning words.
2. Clarity
As you get comfortable with your new writing routine, we’ll move into clarifying your message. Whether you plan to aim for a book deal or self-publish, we will design the right path for you.
If you’re going for the book deal, this is where we’ll start designing and clarifying your book proposal. If you’re self-publishing, we’ll work together to clarify your outline and you’ll jump straight into writing.
Whatever your choice, I’m going to be with you every step. As we move forward, I will give you periodic feedback on portions of your writing and we’ll discuss how to strengthen it.
3. Wisdom
After a few months together, the word count will be climbing higher than ever before and you’re going to start to realize something amazing:
You feel like an author.
Imposter syndrome disperses like morning fog and you step into your new life as a writer. Whatever your day job, whatever your expertise, whatever your skills, you are a writer now, and you feel it.
By this point, you’ll be nearly the end of your first draft or book proposal and we’ll start thinking about your platform. How can we make the biggest splash possible with this book?
This is where we’ll start drafting your launch or querying plan.
4. Brilliance
The goal of every Alchemist was to reach the stage called Red Brilliance. It was the Philosopher’s Stone… the Magnum Opus… and perhaps, to some, the meaning of life.
By the end of our time together, if you’ve maintained your promised writing schedule, you’ll have a completed first draft or book proposal, a launch or querying plan for your book, and the clarity, wisdom, and brilliance you’ll need to show the world your work and make an impact.
Welcome to your Magnum Opus.
Alchemical Writing Project Management is Your
Brilliant Solution in a Chaotic World
You know you’ve got a BRILLIANT book that readers will LOVE, but getting it out into the world isn’t easy. I can take you from a frustrated, confused, and “aspiring” author to a published author, proud of the book you’ve created.
A Masterclass in the Art of Storytelling
“If you are a story-weaver, this … is your loom. This author-created roadmap to writing your book is the perfect tool for those of us who want to visually organize and track a book’s story arc, character development, and metadata. It also provides a masterclass in the art of storytelling. A brilliant solution for the overwhelmed novelist.”
— Amanda Dzimianski, Editor, Poet + Author, Writing Coach
Beyond My Expectation
— John Hulbert, Author of Yeshua and Journey to Love
Your Alchemical Journey to a Finished Book
Taking you from Chaos to Brilliance in 6 months, this partnership is for you if you’ve been dreaming of writing that book, but haven’t been able to manage it yet.
We’ll take you from idea to finished first draft (or book proposal) in just 6 months. Not only that, you’ll come away with an actionable plan for getting your book into the world and the hands of your ideal readers.
6-month partnership
- 6 months of support to help you finish your book, for real this time, without the burnout
- One 1-hour, one-on-one session where we get you setup in my special outlining Blueprint and off to a good start on your plot draft
- 6 one-on-one calls and Voxxer or email support in between to help you get your book written
- Strategy work to help you build an author platform that feels joyful, sustainable & sells books
Book a free call to learn more and find out if book coaching is right for you.
Completely unblocked!
“I had hit a writing wall with edits before I used Holly’s blueprint for book outlines on Airtable, and once I started plugging my book into it, the wall dissolved and I was able to tackle my edits with no problem! The blueprint has examples already loaded onto it, like character arcs, plot points, etc, and the software is extremely user friendly and has tons of cool features to help bring your book to life! I will definitely be recommending this blueprint to all my writer friends!”
— Holly Amber Webb, Author
Ready to turn your book idea into gold?
Sometimes, all you need is a little guidance, a helping hand, and a friend who gets it. Alchemical Writing Project Management can be that for you.
You can get a writing coach anywhere, and you can scour Google to DIY your publishing and platform needs, but you can’t Google ‘How to be less stressed and actually enjoy finishing my book’.
Well, you can, but all you’ll get is a lackluster blog post about ‘meditate and find a critique partner’ or something. 🙂
What makes this different?
I am a certified Project Management Professional which means I’ve got literal years of experience running successful projects, I’m a fellow published indie author, and I’m a big believer in your book.
Yes, even though I haven’t even heard of it, yet!
Because I know the deep, agonizing yearning to tell a story—to tell it the right way. I have suffered the same hair-pulling years of frustration you are suffering now (13 years, in fact!). I’ve had those thoughts of not being good enough because I couldn’t figure out how to fix something in my book. I’ve felt defeated, alone, and hopeless with a WIP, and I don’t want another writer to ever feel that way again.
I’ve been writing poetry since 2000, fiction since 2005, and nonfiction since 2014. I’ve published four books, and won an award for poetry, too. I went to grad school for publishing, and until 2023, I was the program manager of an entire publishing division for educational books. I’ve worked with dozens of authors to help them publish, so they can make their bucket list dreams come true.
What does this mean for you?
It means I know what I’m talking about, I’ve been in the trenches of agony when you just can’t seem to make a story work, just like you, and I’ve figured out how to pull anyone out of those trenches. Oh, and because I’m a project manager, too, I know how to do it efficiently, without the pain, and if you need it, I can be your personal PM and get you back on track one-on-one.
This is what I wish I’d had when I was where you are: a friend who cared and had actually done what I was trying to do. Together, we can help you skip the hopeless parts and get right to the hopeful ones.
I’m the project manager author friend I wish I’d had 15 years ago. And I can be yours, too… without waiting a decade and a half.
Ready to get started?
First, we’ll book a quick call to make sure that this is right for you. No uncomfortable sales pitch. If we’re a good fit, I’ll make an offer and you’re welcome to say no, think about it, or jump right in today.
If you decide to move forward, we’ll get the details taken care of and book your onboarding call.
Six months from now? You’ll be writing “the end” and have a solid plan for your publishing next steps.
100x Easier to Keep Track of Everything
— Jennifer Rivers, Author, Educator, and Book Person
F.A.Q.
Let’s find out. You can book a free discovery call with me at your convenience. Click here to see my calendar and book your discovery call.
I only want to be your coach if I am the right coach for you, so I take our discovery call seriously, and if we’re not a good fit, or if I don’t think I am the right coach for your needs, I’ll tell you. I don’t do sleezy sales because not only is that gross and uncomfortable, I also know if our energy is in alignment and I’m offering what you need, we’ll both know that.
Absolutely. I give you my personal Voxxer handle so that you can send me a message whenever you need. Voxxer is like voice memo texting—instead of typing a text, you record yourself talking. I’ll get the message and send you a Vox back.
I will reply to you within one business day, during my working hours, Monday through Friday. I take weekends off to be with my family. If you Vox me at 4pm on a Friday, I may not be able to get back to you until Monday, for example.
Yes! And I can’t wait to do so.
However, I want to make one thing very clear: I am your writing coach, not your developmental editor, your line editor, or your proofreader. You may still choose to hire any one of those prior to publishing your book if you’re planning to self-publish, or even if you’re planning to query.
My role is to guide you through the writing process, helping you to create the best possible first draft. I will give you feedback on your writing, offer suggestions to strengthen it, and point out areas of weakness, but I won’t provide a detailed editorial feedback document.
After we’re done, if you’d like that kind of support, I have several great editors I would be confident referring you to.
No. That’s not my speciality.
I am your writing coach, not your developmental editor, your line editor, or your proofreader. You may still choose to hire any one of those prior to publishing your book if you’re planning to self-publish, or even if you’re planning to query.
My role is to guide you through the writing process, helping you to create the best possible first draft. I will give you feedback on your writing, offer suggestions to strengthen it, and point out areas of weakness, but I won’t provide a detailed editorial feedback document.
After we’re done, if you’d like that kind of support, I have several great editors I would be confident referring you to.
No, no one can guarantee that, and if they say they do, run.
Do you remember the 2022 antitrust trial from when merge Penguin Random House with Simon & Schuster, and then-CEO of Penguin Random House, Markus Dohle, said: “Everything is random in publishing. Success is random. Best sellers are random. So that is why we are the Random House!”
Forget what he said. That’s crazy talk. Do you think Proctor and Gamble think the success of Tide Pods was random? No. Books are a product, just as Tide Pods are, and the success of your book is based on a number of factors. There’s some luck involved, but it’s not random. Thousands of successful indie authors can tell you that.
Whether or not your book is published will depend on 4 main factors:
- The quality of your writing.
- The clarity of your idea and how well it’s shown in your book.
- Whether or not your book is “to market”—meaning, it’s written to well-established structures, tropes, universal fantasies, and if the idea is something people care about.
- Your perseverance in getting it into the world.
I can’t control those for you, I can only guide you. What I can guarantee is that I will give you and your book my dedication to making it as good as it can possibly be. But you’ve still got to do the work.
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