"What if I don't need all three phases?"

Many clients come to me for last-mile help, or to handle those one or two things outside of their comfort zones on a long list stuff they’ve eagerly attempted themselves. That’s totally fine. My job is to bring your work to fruition, to market, and to an audience. It doesn’t matter if I’m there for you from start to finish, or to pinch-hit (or clean up!), so long as your book finally makes its way into the world.

"Does Matt Work on (Insert Genre) Books?"

I’ve worked on titles from nearly every genre, fiction and non-fiction, with the exception of Romance… and I’d certainly work with you on your Romance book, too; it just hasn’t come up! Do I work on (insert genre)? I’m qualified to work on stories. I know how to build a good one, and how to help you get the most out of yours.

"How Will We Communicate?"

If you’ve signed on for one-on-one sessions, those will usually take place over video conference, preferably via Zoom. We can also do our sessions over the phone. Most other interactions take place over e-mail, since it’s an excellent, searchable record. To that end, we’ll do our best to maintain relevant subject lines, and expect replies within a business day. Text messaging (MMS / SMS) is used for time sensitive situations that can be resolved quickly, such as in the case of log-in authorizations or other just-in-time concerns. When it makes sense for everybody and the circumstances, in-person meetings are an option. I do not conduct business via social media or social media messaging apps.

I never, ever use generative AI for actual creative work (writing, image assets, video, audio) and I strongly recommend you don’t, either. I do use the technology to assist with redundant tasks or other “busy work” in the service of getting the job done. In short, I use AI to do the laundry, not design the clothes.

"What Happens When Life Gets in the Way?"

Three, six, and twelve month working relationships are, like any relationship, a mutual commitment. To that end, it’s expected that you and I with both respect each other’s time. That said, the unexpected can be expected now and then and we’ll have to cancel and re-schedule a booking. The best practice is to simply be considerate and provide as much notice as humanly possible. Similarly, flexibility is the rule when it comes to re-scheduling. In the event, perish the thought, of a long-term illness or other interruption, accommodations can be made. Specific details will be found in the service agreement we’ll sign when we start working together.

"What Are Matt's Invoicing Terms?"

Invoicing is handled electronically via either Square or Stripe through secured and encrypted protocols. I never have access to your payment information. Payment is accepted via debit card, credit card, or ACH bank transfer. Invoices are payable when issued and considered past due on the seventh day after being issued. Late payment penalties apply. Retainers (sprints / concierge consulting) are treated like limited-time subscriptions: invoices are issued and paid automatically a few days before the beginning of each monthly retainer period. For hourly work, I typically invoice on or around the 15th and 30th of each month for work done in the previous two weeks. Larger / higher-priced individual services and projects are invoiced in three installments: the first to start the work, the second somewhere near the mid-point, and the third on delivery or on the “no later than” date of completion. You can see my invoicing policies here.

Services For Writers

Coaching, consulting, and tailored services to support you every step of the way as you finish your book, bring it to the world, and find your readers. This page lays it out for you, including pricing.

Getting to "Done"

One on one ongoing support bringing your story to fruition, whether you only have an idea, you’re stuck in the middle, or you’ve just finished that first messy draft, tailored to your specific challenges and goals.

Accountability and habit-building
Regular coaching sessions
Organizational best practices
Story structure assistance
Developmental editing

(Need one-time help with a sticky story problem or a publishing question? Let me be Your Story Buddy!)

Publishing

Independent publishing book creation (e-book, print book, audiobook), and distribution assistance and guidance for all major marketplaces.

Copyright / ISBN / Books In Print
Industry-standard EPUB e-book creation
Amazon / IngramSpark print design (cover and interior)
Audiobook recording and production
Distribution assistance
Best practices advice

Finding Your Readers

Marketing infrastructure, collaborative strategic audience development, launch management, and human marketing utilizing your authentic voice and organic outreach.

Author website
Email mailing list / newsletter
Selective social media platform establishment
Integrated automation
Media outreach (podcasts, YouTube, reviewers, traditional media)
Content management

How We Work Together

I specialize in helping writers who are in their “second act” or “later in life” (don’t say late to the party, ’cause the party doesn’t stop until the calendar runs out!) address issues common to all writers and particular to those who are 50+, 60+, 70+ and up.

That said, every writer’s situation, skill level, experience, and ability is unique. So you and I will begin with a free discovery call to suss out where you’re at, what you hope to achieve, and how I can best help.

Our agenda will be tailored to your specific needs. We’ll address those needs in a series of regular coaching sessions, usually in three-month sprints.

Just want to pick my brain for an hour in a stand-alone guided brainstorming session to crack a particular problem you’re having with your story? The Your Story Buddy offer is just right — and it’s a great way to get a taste of what it’s like to work with me.

Three Month Sprints

Coaching

Scope and Commitment:
13 one-on-one coaching sessions (12 weeks plus one floater)

Best For:
All-purpose general writer coaching: Accountability, organization, practice optimization, and addressing immediate challenges as they come up.

Investment:
$1,800 (one time, up front)
or
$700 / month for 3 months

Coaching Plus

Scope and Commitment:
Up to 12 hours per month limited retainer includes:
13 one-on-one coaching sessions (12 weeks plus one floater).
Asynchronous support.

Best For:
When you want a little out-of-session help with things like draft critiques or other feedback, in addition to the weekly one-on-one sessions.

Investment:
$3,500 (one time, up front)
or
$1,350 / month for 3 months

Premium Coaching

Scope and Commitment:
Up to 20 hours per month limited retainer includes:
13 one-on-one coaching sessions (12 weeks plus one floater).
Deeper asynchronous support, light done-for-you services.

Best For:
Writers wanting more flexible hands-on help beyond the manuscript at hand on things like marketing infrastructure, research, some done-for-you services, and tighter ongoing asynchronous support.

Investment:
$5,500 (one time, up front)
or
$2,250 / month for 3 months

Special note: all clients in active three-month sprints also receive a 15% discount on any individual service.

Concierge Creative Consulting

For writers and authors later in life with the means and availability to match your ambition and commitment: I offer semi-exclusive concierge consulting services on a six- or twelve-month basis.

Limited to no more than two clients at any one time, concierge creative consulting is full-service structured assistance that goes far beyond weekly one-on-one coaching sessions (although those are still included).

I’m at your service for up to forty hours per month on everything you need to bring your work to fruition, to market, and to an audience, from editing to book packaging and production, to distribution help and author marketing infrastructure (website, mailing list, social), content management, outreach, and anything else to help bring your work to readers.

Concierge creative consulting brings you a highly specialized virtual assistant, writing coach and editor, project manager, and executive producer dedicated to your creative success.

As always, exactly how I help is based on your own level of experience, expertise, and need.

Six Month Investment:
$30,000 (one time, up front)
or
$5,500 / month for 6 months

Twelve Month Investment:
$54,000 (one time, up front)
or
$4,500 / month for 12 months

“Matt has been a supportive and helpful mentor for me since 2015. Look no further.”

~ Glendele Way-Agle
Playwright, director, and author

Individual Services

Bringing your book to fruition and to market involves a lot of moving parts and specialized skills. If you have more time than money, many of those things can be learned, and most you can do yourself.

If you’d rather hand some of those things off to an expert who’s literally done it all since the turn of the century, these done-for-you services are for ideal.

Critique and Editing

Manuscript Critique

What it Is:
A high-level written review of the strengths and opportunities for improvement in your fiction or creative non-fiction work.

What’s Included:

An in-depth, detailed written critique of your manuscript with a focus on tone, pacing, story structure, character arcs, theme, and voice.

Investment:
Novel-length (65K+ words): $0.015 per word ($1,000 minimum)
Shorter works: $0.016 per word ($100 minimum)

Comprehensive Edit

What is Is:
A masterclass in fiction and creative non-fiction story structure and architecture with your manuscript as the syllabus.

What’s Included:

A “10,000 foot view” written critique of your manuscript highlighting strengths and opportunities for improvement, with a focus on tone, pacing, story structure, character arcs, theme, and voice.
Inline, in-context suggestions and comments directly in your manuscript to show you exactly where to act on the suggestions from phase one.
Once you’ve had time to review the inline comments and suggestions, a one-on-one phone or video call so I can answer any questions or provide any clarification you might need.

Investment:
Novel-length (65K+ words) works: starts at $3,000
Shorter works: $0.045 per word ($250 minimum)

Copy Editing

What it Is:
Once you’ve exhausted all your own editorial efforts: Word-by-word inspection of your manuscript for grammar and technical issues.

What’s Included:
In-context corrections and suggestions for your manuscript, with a focus on continuity, consistency, and contextually appropriate grammar and spelling. Includes a one-on-one phone or video call to answer any questions or provide any clarification you might need.

Investment:
Novel-length (65K+ words): $0.025 per word ($1,500 minimum)
Shorter works: $0.026 per word ($200 minimum)

Book Packaging and Production

Want to release your book in multiple formats? Ask about bundled services discounts.

E-Book Design and Development

What it Is:
An industry-standard EPUB 3 file.

What’s Included:
Creation of an industry standard EPUB 3 file from your manuscript and cover art, guaranteed to be compatible with Amazon KDP and all major e-book retailers, with an optimized file size.

Extras:
Cover art, interior illustrations, footnotes, indexes, appendices, endnotes, appendices, charts, diagrams, or fixed-layout books (comics / children’s books) will add to the project cost.

Investment:
Novel-length (65K+ words): $0.0045 per word ($300 minimum)
Shorter works: $0.0045 per word ($100 minimum)

Print Book Design and Packaging

What is Is:
Interior and cover PDF files compatible with Amazon KDP, IngramSpark, or the print-on-demand provider of your choice for a paperback or hardcover print book.

What’s Included:
Design and development of files required for cover and interior print-on-demand creation of a paperback or laminate-cover printed book, created according to print design / readability best practices and guaranteed compatible with the print-on-demand service of your choice.

Extras:
Cover art, dust jacket, interior illustrations, footnotes, endnotes, indexes, appendices, tables of content, charts, diagrams, and other features will add to the project cost.

Investment:
Novel-length (65K+ words): $0.008 per word ($500 minimum)
Shorter works: $0.007 per word ($250 minimum)

Audiobook Production

What it Is:
Dramatic reading from your manuscript and production of retail-ready audio files.

What’s Included:
Narration from your manuscript, including, if applicable, dramatic performance. Editing, audio production, and audio file preparation, all to Audible and industry standard specifications.

Extras:
Accents, a high number of distinct character voices, multiple actors, and special and / or environment effects will add to the project cost.

Investment:
Novel-length (65K+ words): $0.08 per word ($5,000 minimum)
Shorter works: $0.08 per word ($300 minimum)

Recorded your own audio and need editing / production of your raw files? Your cost will be considerably lower. How much so depends on the overall quality of your provided audio files. Ask!

Marketing Infrastructure

Your author marketing infrastructure consists of three interdependent parts: your website, your mailing list, and your primary social media network. Want help with some combination of two, or all three? Ask about bundles!

Extendable Author Website

What it Is:
A self-hosted starter author website with your own domain name.

What’s Included:
Your own website with your own custom domain name, blogging capabilities, security features, search engine optimization for better discovery, caching for faster page loads, backups to your Dropbox or Google Drive, essential pages (Home, About, Contact, Blog, and, of course, one for your book), one year of hosting and monthly maintenance.

Extras:
Your site will be built for future as-you-need-them add-ons for extra functionality. Suggestions for enhancements right out of the gate include an online store, podcasting, or a built-in mailing list. Let’s talk about it.

Investment:
Starts at $2,500

Mailing List Service Provider Setup

What is Is:
Assistance setting up the mailing list service provider or your choice.

What’s Included:
Done-for-you setup of a mailing list service provider of your choice (I recommend MailerLite), including sign-up form, list segmentation and contact tagging, a “value add” giveaway for new subscribers, and a new subscriber onboarding automation. If you have a website (or I’m making one for you) I’ll integrate your mailing list with your site, too.

Extras:
More automation sequences, newsletter template, content management… extra features will depend on your needs.

Investment:
Starts at $350

Social Network Platform Setup

What it Is:
Setup assistance and strategy / tactics consultation for your author brand on the social media network of your choice.

What’s Included:
Basic profile setup (specifics vary based on platform); one-on-one strategy and tactics to optimize your social networking approach as an author.

Extras:
Post assets (images and / or reels / shorts, for example); content management.

Investment:
Starts at $300.00

Podcasting / YouTube

Many writers and authors host a podcast or keep an active YouTube Channel… or both! If that’s something that rings your bell but the idea of editing and producing audio and video gives you pause, let me help.

Looking to do a “video podcast” with both audio-only and video editions of each episode? Talk to me about a bundled rate.

Need longer-term guidance and consulting to bring your podcast or YouTube channel from idea to launch? Book a free discovery call with me and let’s see how I might best help you.

Podcast Episode Production

What it Is:
A produced industry-standard MP3 audio file for a single episode.

What’s Included:
Editing, optimizing, engineering and production from up to 60 minutes of your single-speaker raw audio files to create a single episode MP3 file with metadata and a transcript.

Extras:
Exceptionally noisy raw audio files, multiple speakers, extensive content editing, interstitials and other special requests or quality issues will add to the base price.

Investment:
Starts at $5 per minute ($250 minimum)

YouTube Video Episode Production

What is Is:
A produced industry-standard long-form video file of a single episode ready for upload to YouTube.

What’s Included:
Editing, title card, color correction, and audio production from up to 30 minutes of your single-camera single speaker raw video file(s) to create an upload-ready video file with transcript.

Extras:
B-roll, interstitials, graphics and effects, image or text overlays, multiple cameras or camera angles, multiple speakers , poor lighting or other quality issues with the source material.

Investment:
Starts at $10 per minute ($350 minimum)

Frequently Asked Questions

You have questions? Let’s see if I can predict a few…

"What if I don't need all three phases?"
Many clients come to me for last-mile help, or to handle those one or two things outside of their comfort zones on a long list stuff they’ve eagerly attempted themselves. That’s totally fine. My job is to bring your work to fruition, to market, and to an audience. It doesn’t matter if I’m there for you from start to finish, or to pinch-hit (or clean up!), so long as your book finally makes its way into the world.
"Does Matt Work on (Insert Genre) Books?"
I’ve worked on titles from nearly every genre, fiction and non-fiction, with the exception of Romance… and I’d certainly work with you on your Romance book, too; it just hasn’t come up!

Do I work on (insert genre)? I’m qualified to work on stories. I know how to build a good one, and how to help you get the most out of yours.
"How Will We Communicate?"
If you’ve signed on for one-on-one sessions, those will usually take place over video conference, preferably via Zoom. We can also do our sessions over the phone.

Most other interactions take place over e-mail, since it’s an excellent, searchable record. To that end, we’ll do our best to maintain relevant subject lines, and expect replies within a business day.

Text messaging (MMS / SMS) is used for time sensitive situations that can be resolved quickly, such as in the case of log-in authorizations or other just-in-time concerns.

When it makes sense for everybody and the circumstances, in-person meetings are an option.

I do not conduct business via social media or social media messaging apps.
"Does Matt Use AI?"
I never, ever use generative AI for actual creative work (writing, image assets, video, audio) and I strongly recommend you don’t, either.

I do use the technology to assist with redundant tasks or other “busy work” in the service of getting the job done.

In short, I use AI to do the laundry, not design the clothes.
"What Happens When Life Gets in the Way?"
Three, six, and twelve month working relationships are, like any relationship, a mutual commitment. To that end, it’s expected that you and I with both respect each other’s time.

That said, the unexpected can be expected now and then and we’ll have to cancel and re-schedule a booking. The best practice is to simply be considerate and provide as much notice as humanly possible.

Similarly, flexibility is the rule when it comes to re-scheduling.

In the event, perish the thought, of a long-term illness or other interruption, accommodations can be made. Specific details will be found in the service agreement we’ll sign when we start working together.
"What Are Matt's Invoicing Terms?"
Invoicing is handled electronically via either Square or Stripe through secured and encrypted protocols. I never have access to your payment information. Payment is accepted via debit card, credit card, or ACH bank transfer.

Invoices are payable when issued and considered past due on the seventh day after being issued. Late payment penalties apply.

Retainers (sprints / concierge consulting) are treated like limited-time subscriptions: invoices are issued and paid automatically a few days before the beginning of each monthly retainer period.

For hourly work, I typically invoice on or around the 15th and 30th of each month for work done in the previous two weeks.

Larger / higher-priced individual services and projects are invoiced in three installments: the first to start the work, the second somewhere near the mid-point, and the third on delivery or on the “no later than” date of completion.

You can see my invoicing policies here.

Let's Talk About Your Work

The first step toward working together is to talk to each other.

Book a free one-hour discovery meeting so I can learn more about you, your work, and your goals and intentions regarding your work… and so we can get to know each other!

There’s no obligation beyond simply showing up and having a chat.

Book it!

Book our discovery meeting below. Depending on your “location” preference, a Zoom appointment will be automatically created, or I’ll call you at the designated time instead.

Be sure to include a few words about your goals and intentions, the help you’re looking to receive, questions you have, and so on… anything that might help us both make the most of our time.