Writing your first book and expecting it to get published is like playing tennis for the first time and expecting to qualify for Wimbledon. Unless you’re extraordinarily talented or lucky, you need a coach.

I've not only worked at Doubleday, which was the largest publisher in the U.S. at the time, I've also been employed as a newspaper and magazine editor, am the author of four books, and have written over a hundred magazine and newspaper articles. 

Additionally, I’ve taught a freelance writing course at Fairfield University, and still teach a twice annual Zoom class, How to Get Your Book Published, sponsored by Book Passage, northern California’s leading independent bookstore.

As a result, I can help polish your novel, ghostwrite your memoir, provide a commercial assessment of your writing project, or help bring to fruition that story you always wanted to tell so it has the best chance of being accepted in the hyper-competitive world of commercial publishing.

My past clients include a senior Wall Street Journal reporter, winner of the James Beard Foundation’s Annual Outstanding Restaurant in America Award, the Chief Foreign Correspondent for CBS News and many first-time authors. To see what my clients say, click here.

Editorial services are billed either at a rate of $85 an hour, or a flat fee, depending on the project and service required.  

In summary, writing should be a joy. When it's not, I can help you to knock down the barriers you’re struggling with whether they’re psychological, practical, structural or otherwise. My real-world experience combined with my frank approach to subjects many published authors, agents, and publishers are reluctant to talk about can help an aspiring author successfully navigate the often confusing, sometimes contradictory, world of book publishing. For details on how I can help see below.