Show up with your uncertainties. Leave with confidence.
Writing can be incredibly isolating, especially when you feel like you’re just guessing about what the market wants. Sometimes, talking through your ideas with someone knowledgeable can be the difference between weeks of frustrated effort and a career-changing breakthrough.
Putting my experience to work for you
As someone who spent years reading mountains of submissions for a publisher, I had to learn how to quickly identify what ingredients made for a book we could really sell. Often, manuscripts came to me with only half those ingredients in place. So, I learned to help authors uncover the missing pieces that would take their work from “What a nicely written book” to “This is what the market has been waiting for!”
Let’s Build Your Strategy Together
Looking for advice to execute your great idea right the first time?
Keep reading.
Do you wish you had someone to call when the writing gets tough?
“My first editorial experience with Erin was when she told me a story had potential, but urged me to try changing the point of view. Doing so transformed the story, and gave me confidence in Erin as a sensitive and thoughtful reader.”
—Laura Alary, Sun in my Tummy
The one conversation that could save you weeks—or months—of work
What’s better than getting good advice after you’ve shared your manuscript? Getting it before you finish writing—or even before you start!
Imagine being able to call up an industry professional and get answers to your burning questions—and to the questions you didn’t even know to ask. You’d be freed from so much anxiety about the best way to approach your project, whether you’re interested in traditional or self-publishing.
That’s why I offer one-on-one calls where we work through your biggest questions about a book idea, a manuscript in progress, your query letter, or publishing in general.
One-Off Consulting Calls
General Consultation
I know the publishing industry can be standoffish, and there seem to be gatekeepers at every turn.
I’m here to invite you in and give you some real information to work with. In a General Consultation you’ll get half an hour to pick my brain as someone who has been:
- a submissions-pile reader
- a publicist and marketer in traditional publishing
- an in-house editor making acquisitions decisions and editing books
- the one pitching those books to gatekeepers like review-journal editors, library wholesalers, and chain-bookstore buyers
- a traditionally published author
- a self-published author
Are you struggling with questions like these?
- I have too many ideas! Which one is the most likely to do well?
- How can I turn this book idea into something a publisher will want to acquire?
- Is this idea something that will do well in today’s market?
- Is traditional publishing or self-publishing the best route for me?
- How do I avoid falling for publishers who are out to scam authors?
- If I’ve already written and illustrated a series of unpublished books, what are my options for publishing them?
A chat with me may be exactly what you need to move forward with clarity.
Focused Consultation
Want to discuss a specific piece of writing or your query letter?
Choose a Focused Consultation and send up to 1,500 words for me to read beforehand. I’ll arrive ready to give you verbal feedback on your work and to answer any other questions we have time for.
Pricing for one-off consulting calls:
| Focused Consultation | General Consultation |
| • A 30-minute phone call • Verbal feedback on up to 1,500 words of writing • Discussion focused on other questions as time allows | • A 30-minute phone call • Discussion focused on your burning publishing questions |
| $120, due upon booking call* | $80, due upon booking call* |
*Prices are in Canadian dollars. Local sales tax applies.
To arrange a consultation, please provide a 1–2-paragraph explanation of your idea or situation, including your intended audience and your hoped-for publication path. I’ll sit down with you for a 30–minute call to discuss them.
I take your satisfaction seriously
If you reach out about an area of publishing where I don’t have experience or expertise, I’ll let you know before you book. I never want to take someone’s money only to disappoint them!
How much time and research can I save you? Let’s find out!
Looking for someone to nurture you through the rough patches of your writing journey instead? The next service may be for you.
“Erin, you are so good at getting to know people, listening, and hearing where they are coming from and where they are at. You excel at being the light, the kind word, the reassurance, the encouragement, meeting people where they are at and helping them move forward. You think differently, playfully, joyfully, and, well, creatively.”
—Amy
Ongoing Support
Writing is hard. It’s lonely. And so much depends on your own state of mind.
Sometimes you just need someone you can trust to talk you through your worst slumps—someone who’s compassionate enough to remind you that you can do this, and knowledgeable enough that you’ll actually believe them.
I’m an author myself as well as an editor, and I know the struggle well. We can count on our loved ones to be encouraging, but in our hearts, we know they don’t have the expertise to back up their praise. On the other hand, we can buy fifteen minutes with an agent or editor at a conference…but then we need to thicken our skins in case their judgment is harsh. What we really need is the best of both worlds! That’s why I created Scribble Support.
Scribble Support
This service is for writers who want someone to act as emotional support, sounding board, and perspective-giver through the writing or revising process.
Book a 45-minute call to talk about:
• A knotty writing problem you need help reframing
• Identifying and remembering your own strengths
• Creative motivation—and lack thereof
• The mortifying agony of self-doubt
• Surviving rejection notices
• And more*
Your initial 15-minute call is free.
*Remember that, as much as I’d like to call this “author therapy,” this service is not a substitute for real therapy with a qualified provider!
Pricing for ongoing Scribble Support
Sessions
(45 min)
| 1 | 3 | 5 | 10 |
| $100 save $00 | $270 save $30 | $425 save $75 | $800 save $200 |
Want me to read your work-in-progress before we start? Request a quote now for a reading fee based on your word count. And remember, your first Scribble Support session is free with a SubstantivePlus or Premium Substantive package.
“Gentle and considerate communication style: you are direct, but thoughtful in the way you speak to others. This makes you a good listener, and also a great person to get feedback from as you come from a place of non-judgement and give solid advice.”
—Maggie
Book a Consultation
email me at erin@erin-alladin.com, or use the contact form below.
What To Include:
Tell me about the project you need support with, including its genre, target audience, and hoped-for publication path.
General Consultation
$80 for one 30-minute session discussing your burning questions.
Focused Consultation
$120 for one 30-minute session discussing up to 1,500 words of your writing.
Scribble Support
$100 for one 45-minute session.
$270 for three 45-minute sessions.
$425 for five 45-minute sessions.
$800 for ten 45-minute sessions.
Prices are in Canadian dollars. Local sales tax applies.
Erin Alladin 